In August 1996, a consecrated Host was found discarded in the back of a church in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It was placed in a container of water to dissolve (the usual procedure for reverently disposing Hosts in such cases), but after several weeks it had not disintegrated. Instead, it had enlarged and turned red. After three years of being kept quietly in the tabernacle, the Host remained unchanged, so the local bishop ordered a scientific examination of the case. A team of five scientists conducted tests on a sample of the Host without being told of its origins, and concluded the following: the sample was of heart tissue from the left ventricle, contained proteins of AB+ blood (the universal recipient), and had a high number of white blood cells which had penetrated the tissue, indicating that it was both a living tissue (otherwise the white blood cells would have died) and that the person from whom the sample was taken was under severe stress and had likely suffered beating to the chest. The scientists conducting the tests could offer no natural explanation for the results, since any sample taken should not have contained living tissue.

Stories like this are viewed as sensations, and heavily scrutinized by skeptics and believers alike, but whether or not one believes that the results of such tests are true in a particular case, as Catholics, it’s easy to take the Eucharist for granted. What we profess to be really and truly the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ appears (usually) as an ordinary piece of bread and is so readily available to us at Mass and in the tabernacle that it seems too good to be true.

I’ve reflected on this often over the past four years, attending a school dedicated to the Sacred Heart, and it’s become clear to me that devotion to the Eucharist is equivalent to devotion to the Sacred Heart. In the Eucharist, Jesus waits day and night for us to visit Him, to receive the love of His Heart that we might be transformed by it and be made capable of sharing it with everyone we meet. In the presence of the Eucharist, God teaches us how to love with His Heart. In other words we learn the charism best in Adoration. For this reason, I think one of the most powerful ways we can live the charism of Sharing the Love of the Heart of Christ is to visit the chapel frequently, even if it’s only for a few minutes. I’ve tried to make a visit every school day, and sometimes I fail, or only manage to slip in for 30 seconds during passing period, but I’ve found that it keeps me grounded. No matter what kind of day I’m having, Jesus is there, waiting to pour out His love, and He’s waiting for you, too.

How can we expect to Share the Love of the Heart of Christ if we have not received it? And what better way to receive it than to spend time in His presence?

Juliet Siemer '26