How a Miracle of the Eucharist Brought about the Feast of Corpus Christi
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Miracle of the Eucharist of Zaragoza 1427 - The Eucharist became a Baby
Zaragoza has been a city especially blessed by Our Lord Jesus through His Mother Mary and St. James, the Apostle, from the earliest days of Our Church.
Miraculous events of the most unique circumstances have been attributed to Zaragoza. St. James, a close relative of Our Lady, and very loved by her, had left Jerusalem for Spain very soon after the Ascension of Our Lord into heaven. St. James and his disciples worked dilligently to bring the faith to the people of Spain. He is the patron saint of Spain, and his major shrine, SANTIAGO DE CAMPOSTELLO, has been a major Pilgrimage place throughout the centuries, second only to Jerusalem and Rome.
THE MIRACLE
Against this background, we begin the narrative of one of the most unusual Eucharistic Miracles we have researched. There was a married couple living in the city, whose marriage was very stormy. They argued about most everything. They could find nothing good to say of each other. It was almost as if they lived to torture each other. The wife complained bitterly to her friends about her treatment at the hands of her husband. The friends consoled her, but could offer nothing very constructive in the way of advice. On one occasion when she was bewailing her outcast state, one of her friends suggested she go to a sorcerer in the town, who could make a love potion which would make her husband return to the amorous way he treated her when they first married. She hesitated, because of her Catholic upbringing, but not for very long. She was willing to investigate; she was not making any commitments. When she explained her plight to the sorcerer, he saw a great opportunity for himself, in being able to desecrate and blaspheme the very heart of Christianity, the Eucharist. He was very cunning, however, and the woman very gullible.
The next day, she went to the Church of St. Michael in a deceptive attitude of piety. She could have been compared to a cloistered nun in her behavior. She went up to the altar to receive Our Dear Lord, then withdrew to a dark corner of the church, as if in prayer, to remove the Host from her mouth. She placed It in a sack, and left for the sorcerer's house.
When she arrived, she opened the bag to find, not the Host, but a PERFECTLY FORMED, BEAUTIFUL LITTLE LIVE BABY. A bright Aura surrounded His Body. She was in a state of shock. This was more than she had bargained for. She showed the product of her treachery to the sorcerer, who was bewildered. But his hate for Christ was stronger than his fear or confusion. He was still ready to go forward with his plan. He convinced her to take the Baby home, and burn It in a fire. She was then to carry the ashes back to the sorcerer, who would make a potion which the wife would mix into her husbands food or wine. Were these two so obsessed with their plot, or so caught up in their individual desires, that they were not aware of what they were willing to do? How bad could the wife's situation have been, that now she was willing to sacrifice and burn a Miraculous Child? How much hate did the sorcerer have in his heart not to realize that the Divine had interceded here? Whatever the reasons, they continued with their conspiracy. The wife, now obviously devoid of all reason, brought the Baby home.
She put It on a fire, tying It to a metal rod, and turning It, as you would barbecue a pig on a spit. The results were not at all what the lady expected. Instead of burning up, the Child became brighter and brighter as It was turned in the fire. When the fire went out, the Baby was not only not dead, but was brilliant in light. The Lord finally had His way. As she ran through the streets, holding the baby in her arms, great tears streamed down her face, tears of fear and repentance.
She begged Our Dear Lord for forgiveness. When she arrived at the sorcerer's house, he was completely overcome by the events. He fell to his knees in fear, and begged forgiveness from the God he had so hated, was so willing to blaspheme. He called to his god, whom he now believed to be also the God of the Christians. The wife and the sorcerer, their attitudes now completely different than when they plotted the Sacrilege, went to the Cathedral in Zaragoza; the wife to confess her sins to a priest; the sorcerer in search of the Vicar General of the Diocese, to ask how he could receive pardon for his terrible sin.
The account of the Miraculous Transformation of the Host to a Baby circulated the town like wildfire.
That Saturday, in solemn procession, the Baby was transferred to the Cathedral. There were, in the procession, all of the dignitaries of the city. There was the head of the Cathedral, the head of the Church of Our Lady of Pilar, the clergy of ALL the Religious Orders in and around Zaragoza, as well as all the secular priests of the area. The heads of the city marched in the procession, IN ADDITION to all the Nobility, and most of the commoners of the town. In short, just about everybody in town was there.
At the very back of the procession, the Archbishop, under a canopy, processed with the Child on a Golden Plate. The Child was placed on the altar of San Valero, under heavy guard, but where the entire assemblage of Zaragoza could witness and venerate the Miracle from heaven. The Baby was kept there all day Saturday, and on Sunday Morning, the Archbishop celebrated the Votive Mass of the Blessed Sacrament, in honor of the Eucharistic Miracle in their midst. During the Offertory, as the Archbishop offered the gifts of bread and wine to the Lord, the Child, gleaming more brightly than ever before, disappeared, and in Its place, the Consecrated Host reappeared. The Archbishop knew that there was no need to consecrate this Host.
He consecrated the rest of the hosts, and at Communion, he consumed the Miraculous Host. The results of the Miracle were overwhelming.
We, the people of God, were given a twofold gift of faith - a unique miracle in which a consecrated Host became a living, breathing human being - and then, at a time chosen by God, turned back into its original form again. The second gift was the brilliant light which covered the Child. The intensity changed as each new situation unfolded. During the time the Baby was in the fire, the aura of light seemed the strongest. There is no scientific explanation to warrant this.
Devotion to the Eucharist became extremely strong. The people of Zaragoza have been known down through the centuries, and are considered to this day, defenders of the Eucharist. Artists have been inspired by the magnificent Eucharistic Miracle, to paint masterpieces which appear in all the churches of the area. A question arose as to whether the Real Presence of Jesus is present when, by miracle, a Consecrated Host turns into Flesh, or a Baby, as in the instance of Zaragoza. We go to the teachings of ST. THOMAS AQUINAS for the answer. He states: "UNDER THESE NEW ASPECTS, THE BODY OF CHRIST REMAINS REALLY PRESENT IN SACRAMENTAL FORM".
We can also go to Sacred Scripture for inspiration. In Psalm 77, Verse 15, we read YOU ARE THE GOD WHO WORKS WONDERS, AMONG THE PEOPLE YOU HAVE MADE KNOWN YOUR POWER.
