1. For a long time the parish priest of Moncada in Spain had celebrated
Mass without any scruples of conscience, when suddenly he became the prey of
a violent doubt as to whether he had been rightly ordained. In his
distress, to allay his doubts he determined to put his case before his
bishop. He immediately set out on foot and journeyed to Valencia, the seat
of the diocese. In this place it pleased Almighty God to deliver him from
his trouble, and to give him light and peace by means of a very remarkable
miracle.
The priest had been appointed to say Christmas Mass. He had reached the
awful moment of Consecration, and with trembling hands took the host and
pronounced the words of transubstantiation with a quivering voice. As he
raised the Sacred Host aloft, and knelt again in trembling adoration, the
cry of a little five-year-old child rang out from the congregation: "O
Mama, what a lovely child! See there, Mama! He is up on the altar." A
little lad nearby, apparently forgetful of everything else, stood upon the
chair and clapped his hands with joy. The boy's mother was embarrassed and
bade him hush, for no one else had seen the vision of beauty; only the
innocent child saw it when the Sacred Host was raised on high. Again and
again he entreated his mother to look. "Such a beautiful child, Mama," he
whispered, "just like the little baby over there in the crib."
The mother and child awaited to hear a second Mass which was said by the
same priest at dawn, and again at the Elevation the little boy exclaimed,
"Oh, there he is again, Mama, don't you see? The priest is holding him up
in his hands and now he has laid him on the altar!" The mother bade the
child be silent; she could not see anything, the great grace being granted
only to her little son.
The priest completed the Christmas offering by saying the third Mass. At
the Elevation the boy was all excitement, and the same scene was enacted as
before. The happy mother repeated this strange occurrence to others, and
through them it reached the ears of the priest himself, who it may be
believed was greatly comforted thereby. However, his scruples were not
entirely removed. He doubted whether the child might not have been
deceived, and therefore he requested that the little boy be cross-examined
by him. But the answers of the child were so accurate that he found no
reason to doubt the reality of the manifestation. Full of joy and filled
with gratitude towards God, he invited the little boy and his mother to be
present as often as possible at his Mass, and on each occasion the miracle
was renewed. As doubts still lingered in his mind, he resolved to receive a
final convincing proof. Taking three particles with him to the altar, he
placed two upon the corporal and consecrated them, leaving the third one
unconsecrated but within reach. After Holy Mass was ended he called the
little boy to the altar, and asked him if he saw the divine Infant in either
of the particles, and, if so, in which. "Oh yes, Father," said the boy,
"there He is! See, He is stretching out His hands." The little fellow
seemed quite ravished with delight. On pointing to the other host the
priest asked: "And what about it? Is the Divine Infant also in that other
host?" The child answered, "No." "But are you sure?" queried the priest.
"Oh yes, Father, there is nothing there." At the last manifestation the
peace of the good priest returned to him. Unrest and scruple vanished from
his mind forever, and for the remainder of his life he served God with
greater love and piety.
PRAYER: "O Sacrament most holy! O Sacrament divine! All praise and
thanksgiving be every moment Thine.

2. On the 17th of December, 1899, the fast mail on the way from Bordeaux to
Paris met with a collision. In the mail car was a post office express
clerk, Gabriel Gargam, thirty years old. At the time of the wreck the train
was going at the speed of fifty miles an hour. By the crash Gargam was
thrown fifty-two feet. He was terribly bruised and broken and paralyzed
from the waist down. He was barely alive when lifted onto a stretcher.
Taken to a hospital, his existence for some time was a living death. After
eight months he had wasted away to a mere skeleton, weighing but
seventy-eight pounds, although normally a big man. His feet became
gangrenous. He could take no solid food and was obliged to take nourishment
by a tube. Only once in twenty-four hours could he be fed even that way.
Gargam's condition was pitiable in the extreme. He could not help himself
even in the most trifling needs. Two trained nurses were needed day and
night to assist him. Previous to the accident, Gargam had not been to
church for fifteen years. His aunt, who was a nun of the Order of the
Sacred Heart, begged him to go to Lourdes. He refused. She continued her
appeals to him to place himself in the hands of Our Lady of Lourdes. He was
deaf to all her prayers. After continuous pleading of his mother he
consented to go to Lourdes. It was now two years since the accident, and
not for a moment had he left his bed all that time. He was carried on a
stretcher to the train. The exertion caused him to faint, and for a full
hour he was unconscious. They were on the point of abandoning the
pilgrimage, as it looked as if he would die on the way, but the mother
insisted, and the journey was made.
Arrived at Lourdes, he was carried to the miraculous pool and tenderly
placed in its waters--no effect. Rather a bad effect resulted, for the
exertion threw him into a swoon and he lay apparently dead. On the way back
they saw the procession of the Blessed Sacrament approaching. They stood
aside to let it pass, having placed a cloth over the face of the man whom
they supposed to be dead.
As the priest passed carrying the Sacred Host, he pronounced Benediction
over the sorrowful group around the covered body. Soon there was a movement
from under the covering. To the amazement of the bystanders, the body
raised itself to a sitting posture. While the family were looking
dumbfounded and the spectators gazed in amazement, Gargam said in a full,
strong voice that he wanted to get up. He got up and stood erect, walked a
few paces and said that he was cured. The multitude looked in wonder, and
then fell on their knees and thanked God for this new sign of His power at
the shrine of His Blessed Mother. For two years hardly any food had passed
his lips but now he sat down to the table and ate a hearty meal.
On August 20th, 1901, sixty prominent doctors examined Gargam. Without
stating the nature of the cure, they pronounced him entirely cured. Gargam,
out of gratitude to God in the Holy Eucharist and His Blessed Mother,
consecrated himself to the service of the invalids at Lourdes. Fifteen
years after his miraculous cure he was still engaged in his strenuous and
devoted work. He was for years a living, visible testimony of the
supernatural.
PRAYER: May the Heart of Jesus in the Most Blessed Sacrament be praised,
adored and loved with grateful affection, at every moment, in all the
tabernacles of the world, even to the end of time.

3. Some years ago, a young man was unhappily led astray into the paths of
Jewish infidelity. While still in the flower of youth, his heart was filled
with dreams of glory to be attained as a distinguished musician. One
evening he was asked to play the organ in one of the principal churches in
Paris; there in that church God awaited him, and prepared for him, not a
triumph of his self-love, but a humiliation a thousand times more glorious.
Already the roof of the sacred edifice re-echoed the sound of the solemn
chants, and the melodious tones of the organ had filled all hearts with
recollection and prayer; every head was bowed and the God of the Eucharist
had blessed His children prostrate in lowly adoration. The unbelieving
musician, alone, dared to raise his haughty brow before that God despised by
his forefathers, but in vain. A mysterious and invisible hand bowed his
head and humbled him to the ground. A miracle of grace was effected; the
young man was conquered; he knelt down a Jew; he rose up a Catholic. His
heart wounded by the Real Presence in the Sacred Host, he left the church;
soon the waters of Baptism were poured upon him, and exchanging his
fashionable attire for the coarse serge of a monk, he bade an eternal
farewell to the pleasures of the world. A living example of the power of
the Sacred Heart of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, he went from city to
city, and from village to village, proclaiming the love of God, repeating
again and again: "The days of grief are departed. I have found peace of
heart since I have tasted the delights of the tabernacle of the Lord." If
you would know the name of this privileged soul, ask it at the cloister of
Mount Carmel, and they will tell you it was Father Augustine of the Most
Blessed Sacrament. If one single visit to the God of the Eucharist
transformed an obstinate Jew into a good Catholic, what may we not hope to
obtain by devout visits to the Blessed Sacrament?
PRAYER: O my Jesus, I adore Thee in this Holy Sacrament, as my Lord and my
God, as my Redeemer and Savior.

4. About the year 1599, in the city of Posen, a very remarkable incident
took place in connection with the Blessed Sacrament. A servant girl, who
was bribed by some unbelievers, stole from the chapel of the Dominicans
three small Hosts, wrapped them in a linen cloth, and carried them to the
house of the wretches who had hired her for the deed. The unbelievers
treated the Sacred Hosts in a most sacrilegious and shameful manner. They
threw them on a table and cut the Sacred Particles. Blood spurted out on
the first one of the sacrilegious creatures and left a stain that could not
be removed. The report of this strange occurrence soon spread abroad and
crowds ran to see for themselves. A blind woman insisted on being led to
the scene of this marvelous incident. Divinely inspired, she cried out:
"If Thou art the true God, He whom our ancestors nailed to the Cross,
restore to me my sight!" She was immediately cured, and went away
proclaiming the miracle. The guilty profaners, fearing the just punishment
of their heinous crime, wished to dispose of the desecrated Hosts, and after
several fruitless efforts buried them to a great depth in a swamp.
One day on the octave of the Blessed Virgin, two herdsmen, father and son,
brought their cattle to pasture near this place. The father went to a
church not far off to hear Mass, while the son guarded the herd. To his
surprise the boy saw the cattle approach the swamp and kneel down with their
heads bent low. The shepherd raised his eyes and saw in the air over the
swamp three shining objects. In amazement he perceived that they were three
Hosts, and he instantly prostrated himself and profoundly adored the God who
revealed Himself by so great a prodigy.
In the meantime, the father returned from Mass. As soon as the boy saw him
he ran to meet him. "Father," he shouted, "our oxen are adoring the Blessed
Sacrament!" "Nonsense!" replied the parent, shrugging his shoulders, "what
folly is this!" "Come and see for yourself," protested the boy, "that I am
telling the truth." While proceeding on his way the old man suddenly
paused, with feet fastened to the ground and with eyes entranced as he
beheld the astonishing scene. There at the farthest end of the marsh three
little lights hung in the air, while the dumb beasts knelt with heads bowed
to the earth. The old herdsman, all doubts gone, knelt in adoration before
the three consecrated Hosts profaned by the unbelievers. After a moment's
prayer, the old man ran to the city and proclaimed the wonder to all whom he
met. The people, however, looked upon him as a fool, and even cast him into
prison. And now a new wonder occurred--the prison door opened and freed the
prisoner. This startled the authorities and they began to investigate. The
Bishop and the clergy were informed and went in procession to the place
indicated by the herdsman. Then the Sacred Hosts, which had remained
suspended in the air, slowly descended and rested in the hands of a saintly
priest. They were taken back to the city amidst great pomp and splendor.
Then the authorities began to debate what disposition to make of the
miraculous Hosts. While they were arguing, the Hosts rose from their hands,
ascended into the air and returned to the marsh. The wish of Our Lord was
evident. So they erected an improvised sanctuary on the spot, and this in
turn was soon followed by a magnificent basilica founded by Ladislaus
Jagellon, King of Poland. Needless to say, thousands of pilgrims have
visited the famous shrine to adore the miraculous Hosts.
PRAYER: O sweetest Heart of Jesus, I implore that I may love Thee more and
more. Jesus meek and humble of Heart, make my heart like unto Thine.
Only in the Catholic Church is Jesus truly present in the Holy Eucharist.
This is one of the great proofs that the Catholic Church is the one true
Church.

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