Eucharistic miracle

In Christianity, and in particular Catholicism, a Eucharistic miracle is any miracle involving the Eucharist. While transubstantiation, or the transformation of whole substance of the bread into the body and the transformation of the whole substance of the wine into the blood of Jesus Christ during a Catholic Mass or Orthodox Liturgy is correctly deemed a Eucharistic miracle, it is more appropriate to call it a "Mystery" of the Faith in order to distinguish it from extraordinary, often empirical, manifestations of God. In general, reported Eucharistic miracles usually consist of unexplainable phenomenon such as consecrated Hosts visibly transforming into myocardium tissue, being preserved for extremely long stretches of time, surviving being thrown into fire, bleeding, or even sustaining people for decades. Verification of Eucharistic miracles often depends on the religious branch reporting the supposed miracle, but in the case of the Catholic Church, a special task-force or commission investigates supposed Eucharistic miracles before deciding whether they are "worthy of belief." As with other miracles, such as Marian apparitions, belief in approved miracles is not mandated by the Catholic Church, but often serves as reassure believers of God's presence or as the means to "send a message" to the population at large. It is also not uncommon for religious authorities to allow secular sources to investigate, and confirm, at least specifics (such as muscle type) of the supposed miracle.

Catholic Eucharistic Doctrine draws upon a quasi-Aristotelian understanding of reality, in which the core substance or essential reality of a given thing is bound to, but not equivalent with, its sensible realities or accidents. In the celebration of the Eucharist, by means of the consecratory Eucharistic Prayer, the actual substance of the bread and wine are changed into the body and blood of Christ. This change in substance is not, however, a physical change; the physical aspects or outward appearances of the bread and wine—their accidents—remain as before. This substantial change is called transubstantiation, a term reserved to describe the change itself. This differs from most Protestant Eucharistic theologies, which believe that the substance of the sacramental elements do not undergo such a change. Protestant views on the fact of Christ's presence in the Eucharist vary significantly from one denomination to another: while many agree with Roman Catholics that Christ is really present in the Eucharist, few would acknowledge that the nature of that presence comes about by a substantial change or transubstantiation.

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