Answer
Supposed “eucharistic miracles” are often pointed to by Roman Catholics as evidence for the “real presence” and/or transubstantiation in the Eucharist. Most of the claimed eucharistic miracles involved one or both of the elements miraculously being turned into literal blood or literal human flesh. Some of the reputed events are as follows:
Sienna, Italy - August 17, 1730: Consecrated Hosts remain perfectly preserved for over 250 years. Rigorous scientific experiments have not been able to explain this phenomenon.
Amsterdam, Holland - 1345: The Eucharist thrown into fire overnight miraculously is miraculously unscathed.
Blanot, France - March 31, 1331: The Eucharist falls out of a woman’s mouth onto an altar rail cloth. The priest tries to recover the Host but all that remains is a large spot of blood the same size and dimensions as the wafer.
Bolsena-Orvieta, Italy – no date specified: A priest has difficulties believing in the “Real Presence,” and blood begins seeping out of the Host upon consecration. Because of this miracle, Pope Urban IV commissioned the feast of Corpus Christi, which is still celebrated today.
The Roman Catholic Church has connected many so-called miracles to what they call the “Presence” (the actual body of Jesus Christ) in the “Host” (the piece of bread taken as communion). This teaching, called “transubstantiation,” is absolutely not biblical, even though scriptural references are applied—misinterpreted and out of context—to support it.
First of all, it is necessary to refute any false teaching (including eucharistic miracles) by weighing them against what the Bible has to say. Jesus’ position is presently “seated at the right hand of the Father” in heaven, according to Colossians 3:1. No priest, pastor, or anyone else has the power to call the King of Kings down from His lofty position, particularly to enter into a piece of bread which will then be eaten. This is not what Jesus meant when He stated that He was “the bread of life,” as written in John 6:51: “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world." He did not mean that we literally eat His flesh, as Catholic dogma teaches. Rather, Jesus is referring to spiritual life which is available only in Him. We no more eat His literal flesh than we literally eat the Word of God. When Jesus said to Satan, “It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God'" (Matthew 4:4), He was obviously referring to spiritual life depending on the spiritual food that is the Word of God, just as physical life depends on physical food.
Likewise, no one has the authority to turn wine into blood, another teaching of the Roman Catholic Church that is not found in Scripture, although, again, they attempt to apply the words of Mark 14:24 to support their belief: “‘This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many,’ he said to them.” Using common sense, what possible spiritual gain could there be from the physical eating of the person of Jesus Christ? He is Lord; He is God of all creation, why on earth would He agree to become a wafer, or a piece of unleavened bread? Besides this, when He was resurrected, He was in His glorified body. How can a glorified/eternal/undying body become a piece of bread? What Jesus was saying is that without Him, it is impossible to sustain life in an eternal sense, because without Jesus, a person is lost and they are facing not life, but spiritual death, which means that his eternity will be spent away from the presence of God, in hell.
All of the above “eucharistic miracles,” plus many, many others, have nothing whatsoever to do with salvation, or with the spreading of the gospel. When we assess each one and let the light of Scripture shine upon it, it becomes evident that none of them are beneficial to the body of Christ, but are either demonically-inspired tricks to confuse and seduce people into believing something that is false, or are just flatly untrue stories that have been made up by those who put stumbling blocks in the path of those who might be seeking after the true God of the Bible.
Just because the name of Jesus Christ is invoked does not mean that the person or persons “worshiping” Him are focusing on the true Jesus, nor does it mean they even know Him. Jesus is not brought down from heaven to enter the bread, as the Catholic Church claims. Such an idea has no basis in Scripture and, in fact, is flatly contradicted. There are many other questionable doctrines and dogmas, teachings and traditions, rites and rituals within the Roman Catholic Church, of which “eucharistic miracles” is one.
