Tips for Bringing Young Children to Mass Part 2: For Parents
The Heart of the Body
Photo by Jacob Bentzinger on Unsplash
June is the month of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Perhaps it's being born in June that has led me towards developing a devotion to Jesus’s Sacred Heart. Whatever the reason, Jesus’s heart has been on my mind.
You may already be familiar with the 750 Eucharistic miracle that occurred in Lanciano, Italy. During consecration, a piece of host turned to bloody tissue, and the wine turned to blood. Over twelve centuries later, the tissue, still intact, was given to scientists for examination. Imagine everyone’s surprise to discover that the substance, once under the appearance of bread, was found to be none other than cardiac tissue. Other Eucharistic miracles since then have produced the same findings.
His heart.
In our human bodies, blood and the heart are an essential team. They are life-giving. If anyone is found without a heartbeat, they are declared dead. If any part of the body is cut off from its blood supply, it dies. In fact, the likelihood of an injury healing on its own is largely connected to the injury’s blood supply. Simply put: the entire body centers around the heart.
“The Eucharist makes the Church. Those who receive the Eucharist are united more closely to Christ. Through it, Christ unites them to all the faithful.” CCC 1396
The Body and Blood of Jesus are essential and life-giving to the Body of the Church, the way the heart is in our bodies. The catechism tells us the Eucharist unites us, much like the heart unites the far ends of the body. Could it be Jesus is telling us something with these miracles? If we, the Christian faithful, are the Body and Christ is the head, could it be that His flesh given to us in the form of bread is the heart?
It’s no coincidence that the tissue from that eucharistic miracle was found to be cardiac tissue. The next time you receive the Eucharist, remember you are receiving His Sacred Heart.
About the Author
Christine Martinovich is a freelance writer focused on Catholic family life, marriage, and parenting. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Child Development and has spent over a decade working with children in early childhood programs and special education settings. Her professional experience has given her a deep appreciation for the dignity of each child and the beauty of how faith and healthy development can grow together. As a lifelong Catholic, now a wife and mother who has experienced a renewal of faith in her own life, Christine is passionate about helping families raise their children in a faith that is lived, loved, and never taken for granted.
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