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THE HOLY EUCHARIST
The Core of the
Messages and Signs in Naju
A Eucharistic miracle in Naju witnessed
by a Bishop and a priest from Canada
Bishop Roman Danylak
from Toronto, Canada, (originally from Ukraine) unexpectedly witnessed a
Eucharistic miracle during an open-air Mass on the Blessed Mother's mountain
near Naju in late afternoon of September 22, 1995. The Sacred Host Julia Kim
just received from the bishop was turning to a lump of bleeding flesh in the
shape of a small heart on her tongue. After his return to Canada, Bishop Danylak
wrote a testimony, in which he stated:
"For the first time, human eyes saw the living
Heart of Our Lord and Savior, the Heart that had so loved the world that It
offered Itself in the holocaust that we might live and not be lost" (Ad Jesum Per Mariam: Testimonies on
Naju, Mary's Touch By Mail, 2003).
Fr. Joseph Peter Finn from London, Ontario,
Canada, who accompanied Bishop Danylak to Korea and also witnessed the same
miracle while concelebrating the Mass with him, offered an explanation of why
God sent us such a stupendous miraculous sign in a booklet published soon after
his return to Canada:
"Reliable church authorities openly admit that
in all Western Europe the practice of our Catholic faith and consequent love and
worship of our Eucharistic Lord is dying out. In our own part of the world
Sunday Eucharist is no longer the spiritual highpoint of the week for too many
Catholic families. In Ontario, Canada alone it is estimated that at least fifty
per cent of baptized Catholic students registered in Catholic high schools
scarcely ever attend Sunday Eucharist by themselves or with their parents.
Christ Jesus in His Eucharist is not an integral force in their young
lives.
And with a loss of the sense of what is sinful as
often lamented by John Paul II himself and the marked fall-off in recourse to
the Sacrament of Reconciliation in a worthy confession, how many sacrilegious
Communions take place all over the world today?" (The
Reality of the Living Presence ?Eucharistic Miracle in Naju, Korea
by Fr. Joseph P. Finn, published by Ave Maria Centre, Toronto, 1996.Imprimatur
by Bishop Roman Danylak).
Pilgrims from the
Philippines also witnessed a
Eucharistic miracle in Naju
Fr. Jerry Orbos, SVD, who came to Naju together
with about thirty other pilgrims from the Philippines, also witnessed a
Eucharistic miracle through Julia during a Mass in the Naju Parish Church (May
16, 1991). After he saw the Sacred Host turned into visible flesh and blood in
Julia's mouth, he prayed, "Lord, forgive me, forgive us for the many times we
took you so for granted in communion." Fr. Orbos knelt before the tabernacle
and prayed for a long time together with other pilgrims, several of whom were
crying.
Erosion in
Eucharistic devotion caused by modernist influences in the
Church
Despite the infinite and most awesome dignity and
sacredness of the Eucharist, a severe erosion of the devotion to it has occurred
in many parts of the world in recent decades. The most privileged and sublime
experience of Holy Communion has often turned into a matter of habit with
superficial devotion and, sometimes, even an occasion for sacrilege.
The underlying cause of the widespread weakening
of the Eucharistic devotion has been the loss of the firm belief in the Real
Presence of Our Lord in the Eucharist in the minds of many, which in turn has
been, in large part, a consequence of misinterpreting the teachings of the
Second Vatican Council on ecumenism. The Council Fathers clearly warned against
such a danger: "Nothing is so foreign to the spirit of ecumenism as a false
irenicism which harms the purity of catholic doctrine and obscures its genuine
and certain meaning" (Unitatis
Redintegratio, November 21, 1964). Despite this concern and warning,
many liberal theologians have used the Council's emphasis on reconciling with
the separated brethren as an opportunity to push ahead their own agenda of
diluting the traditional Church teachings, distorting their true meanings, and
refraining from vigorous propagation of the authentic Church teachings in the
name of pursuing unity with others. These progressive forces in the Church have
been advocating unity for the sake of unity even by making compromises on the
divine teachings, which were received from God and, therefore, are not subject
to human alteration or interpretation according to individuals?opinions and
likings. Correcting this evil and restoring the splendor and purity of the
authentic Catholic Faith is the most urgent task in the Church today. As "the
other sacraments, and indeed all ecclesiastical ministries and works of the
apostolate, are bound up with the Eucharist and are oriented toward it"
(Catechism of the Catholic Church
#1324), the abuses of and indifference to the Holy Eucharist lie at
the heart of the current crisis in the Church, and, by the same token, the
restoration of the authentic faith in the Eucharist holds the key to the true
reformation needed to overcome the crisis in the Church and the world now. Also
as God accomplished His Only Son's Incarnation through the Blessed Mother and
wills to accomplish the Church's final triumph over evil through her (cf. Gen. 3:13 and True Devotion to
the Blessed Virgin, St. Louis de Montfort, #50), the strengthening of
the Eucharistic devotion must be accompanied by the restoration of fervent
Marian devotion. It is no coincidence that the erosion of both devotions has
occurred simultaneously. The restoration of both devotions will also occur
together.
Our Lord's message through
Julia Kim on the Holy Eucharist
"My real, personal and physical Presence in the
Mystery of the Eucharist is an indisputable fact. I have repeatedly shown the
Eucharist turning into visible Blood and Flesh so that all may believe that the
Eucharist, which is a mystery of the infinite love, humility, power and wisdom,
is My Living Presence. If certain priests do not believe in this Personal
Presence of Mine in the Church, they certainly do not qualify as co-redeemers.
When they ignore Me, Who am Christ, true God and true Man, they are publicly
denying My Divinity while acknowledging My human nature only. That is because
they have lost the ability to discern between good and evil and between
authentic and unauthentic" (July 1, 1995, when seven Sacred Hosts
miraculously came down on the altar before the Blessed Mother's statue in the
Chapel in Naju during an overnight prayer meeting).
The Blessed Mother's messages
through Julia Kim concerning the Holy Eucharist
"You cannot win the victory without going
through the cross. You must understand the amazing mystery of the Holy Eucharist
by which God comes down from Heaven through priests in order to be with you.
Therefore, make frequent Confessions to receive the Lord more worthily; open
your hearts widely, keep them clean and organized, and love one another so that
they may become palaces and tabernacles where the Lord can dwell. Then, the Lord
will live in you, who are unworthy, and set a fire in you" (April 21, 1991,
when Julia saw a vision of the great chastisement of the world and the Blessed
Mother's triumph);
"The Holy Eucharist is the center of all the
supernatural events, but is being trampled by so many children through
sacrilege, insult and humiliation. Therefore, my messages of love must be made
known all over the world more vigorously so that the time of the Lord, Who is
present in the Eucharist, and of the New Pentecost may be advanced"
(November 24, 1994, when the Sacred Host miraculously descended to the Chapel in
Naju twice during the Apostolic Pro-Nuncio's visit);
"Teach the importance of the Mass, the
importance of the Sacrament of Confession and the Mystery of the Holy Eucharist
to all the children in the world who do not know them and, thereby, perpetuate
the gift of the Paschal Mysteries of the Last Supper and Resurrection. The
visible change of the Eucharist shown today was to remind you that Jesus comes
to you through the Sacrifice of the Holy Eucharist, which is a re-presentation
of the Sacrifice completed on Calvary, Golgotha, to wash away all the sins in
the world with His Precious Blood" (October 31, 1995, when the Eucharistic
species of bread and wine miraculously turned into the species of flesh and
blood in the shape of a small heart on Julia Kim's tongue in the presence of
Pope John Paul II during a Mass in his private chapel in the
Vatican).
Official Church teachings on the
Holy Eucharist
"The Council of Trent summarizes the Catholic
faith by declaring: 'Because Christ our redeemer said that it was truly his body
that he was offering under the species of bread, it has always been the
conviction of the Church of God, and this holy Council now declares again, that
by the consecration of the bread and wine there takes place a change of the
whole substance of the bread into the substance of the body of Christ our Lord
and of the whole substance of the wine into the substance of his blood. This
change the holy Catholic Church has fittingly and properly called
transubstantiation" (Catechism
of the Catholic Church #1376). "If anyone denies that in the sacrament of the
most holy Eucharist there are truly, really, and substantially contained the
body and blood together with the soul and divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ, and
therefore the whole Christ, but shall say that He is in it as by a sign or
figure, or force, let him be anathema" (Council of Trent, Session XIII,
October 1551, DS #1651).
"The Eucharist, as Christ's saving presence in
the community of the faithful and its spiritual food, is the most precious
possession which the Church can have in her journey through history. . . The
Church has received the Eucharist from Christ her Lord not as one gift - however
precious ?among so many others, but as the gift par excellence, for it
is the gift of himself, of his person in his sacred humanity, as well as the
gift of his saving work." (Pope
John Paul II, Ecclesia de Eucharistia, April 17,
2003)
Our Lord's Presence in the Eucharist is
"presence in the fullest sense" (Catechism of the Catholic
Church #1374)
God is present everywhere in the universe through
His power, knowledge, and goodness and as the first cause of everything that
exists. Especially, He is supernaturally present in the souls of the faithful,
in the Sacraments of His Church, and in His teachings. But, in the Eucharist, Our Lord's presence is
unique in that it is full, as He is substantially present in it with His Body
and Blood together with the Soul and Divinity (Catechism of the Catholic Church
#1374). It is the whole living Person of Our Lord, Who suffered and
died on the Cross for our redemption and resurrected on the third day as the
First Fruit of His Redemptive Suffering, overcoming sins, death, and all the
evil forces once and for all, Who is truly and actually present in the
Eucharist. That is why we worship the Eucharist as it is the Lord Himself and we
can be united with the whole Person of the Lord by receiving Holy Communion.
Also because the Three Divine Persons are totally united with each other in one
Divine Nature, we also become united with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit
by receiving Holy Communion. We also become closely united with the Blessed
Mother, as she is always in union with her Divine Son as her Mother and Helper.
Lastly, we are in union and harmony with all the Saints and Angels in Heaven,
the suffering souls in Purgatory, and all the members of the Church on earth as
children of God's Family and citizens of His Kingdom.
This tremendous
supernatural, divine reality is hidden behind the sacramental signs of bread and
wine. As the people two thousand years ago could not recognize the Divinity of
Jesus because they did not have faith, people now cannot recognize the Real
Presence of Our Lord in the Eucharist unless they have faith, which is a gift
from God to those who willingly respond to His Love. Why is Christ hiding
Himself behind the appearances of bread and wine? It is because He justly
expects us to reaffirm our faith in Him and our love for Him before we receive
this tremendous gift of infinite holiness and dignity, which is Himself. If we
do not have faith and love, we are not only unprepared to receive Him but will
be insulting Him if we still receive Him in that condition. "Faith" as a
requirement for receiving Holy Communion means that we totally accept and
believe the Lord's teachings through His Church and also that we are baptized
members of the Church. "Love", which is union with God, presupposes that
we are free from any mortal sins, by which we fall into the state of separation
from Him. Even when we are free from serious sins, it is necessary that we
maintain a humble and contrite heart, also filled with love and gratitude,
especially as we approach the Communion. As Our Lady sang in her
Magnificat, "He has deposed the mighty from their thrones, and has
exalted the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he
has sent empty away" (Luke
1:52-53), we cannot receive graces through Holy Communion, if our hearts
carry pride, anger, greed, lust, or disorderly attachments to the world. If we
have faith and love, the external barrier of the Eucharist looking like bread
and wine will pose no difficulty for our recognizing the Eucharist as our loving
and mighty Lord. The purpose of this Sacrament is our intrinsic union with Our
Lord as well as our worship of Him (cf.
Catechism of the Catholic Church #1391). This union with God and
worship of Him are the fulfillment of our eternal destiny. Through this intimate
union with us, Our Lord nurtures and strengthens our souls with His divine life
and enables us to courageously witness His Truth and Love.
"The Catholic Church has always offered and
still offers to the sacrament of the Eucharist the cult of adoration (latria),
not only during Mass, but also outside of it, reserving the consecrated hosts
with the utmost care, exposing them to the solemn veneration of the faithful,
and carrying them in procession" (Pope Paul VI, Mysterium Fidei,
1965)
Our Lord is fully present even in the smallest part of the
Eucharist
What shall we say about the delicacy of the saints in regard to
the Eucharistic Species? They had uncompromising faith in the Real Presence of
Jesus in even the smallest visible fragment of a Host. It suffices merely to
have seen Padre Pio to realize with what conscientious care he purified the
paten and the sacred vessels at the altar. Adoration could be read on his
face!
Once when St. Th??e of Lisieux saw a small Particle of a Host
on the paten after Holy Mass, she called the novices, and then carried the paten
in procession into the sacristy with a gracious and adoring comportment that was
truly angelic. When St. Teresa Margaret found a fragment of a Host on the floor
near the altar, she broke into tears because she realized what irreverence might
be shown to Jesus, and she knelt in adoration before the Particle until a priest
came to take It and put It in the tabernacle.
With Mary in Jesus
With heavenly insight St. Augustine illustrates still better
how Mary makes herself our own and unites herself to each one of us in Holy
Communion. He says: ‘The Word is the Food of the angels. Men have not the
strength to nourish themselves with this Heavenly Food; yet, they have need for
it. What is needed is a mother who may eat this supersubstantial Bread,
transform it into her milk, and in this way feed her poor children. This mother
is Mary. She nourishes herself with the Word and transforms Him into the Sacred
Humanity. She transforms Him into Flesh and Blood, i.e., into this most sweet
milk which is called the Eucharist.
Thus it is quite natural that the great as well as the lesser
Marian shrines always foster devotion to the Holy Eucharist, so much so that
they can also be called Eucharistic shrines.
Jesus Our Eucharistic Love by Fr. Stefano M.
Manelli,
Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate
Mary's Touch By Mail
Gresham, Oregon,
U.S.A.
June 5, 2004
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