Eucharistic Miracle of Sokółka, Poland, of 2008.
Sokółka
is a small town in NE Poland, near the border with Belarus. It was October 12,
2008, at an ordinary Sunday Mass. Accidently a consecrated Host was dropped
during distribution of Holy Communion. Normally the priest might pick up and
consume the Host, but it had picked up some dirt. So, as with our stories of the
last few weeks, the Host was put into a container of water, expecting it to
dissolve, and removed to a safe place. One week later, on the 19th, expecting
the host to now be completely dissolved, instead part of the white Host
remained, and it was partially covered by a solid red protruding stain,
resembling a 1x1.5 cm. blood clot. Yet the water was clear. It was
photographed, the diocese was informed and did a preliminary investigation. The
bishop then ordered it be preserved, not in water, but that what appeared to be
a blood clot to be removed from the remaining white Host and placed on a
corporal (the cloth on which consecrated Hosts, the Body of the Lord, are
placed).
A
summary of their findings shows that they found the red material was entirely
myocardial (heart) tissue. The muscle fibers showed centrally located nuclei,
remnants of intercalated discs, and bundles of myofibrils (components of muscle
cells). Pathological signs such as segmentation and fragmentation were present
in the muscle fibers – signs of truly suffering heart muscle tissue, a
phenomenon resulting from the rapid repeating spasms of heart muscle cells in
the context of imminent death. This change cannot happen after death; it only
happens in living heart muscle cells in agony.
The
appearance of some of the muscle fibers was consistent with contraction band
necrosis (CBN), which is specifically caused by stress-induced cardiomyopathy
as well as the late reperfusion stage of a heart attack. Reperfusion may occur
if blood supply is restored to a portion of heart muscle tissue that had
initially been deprived of it from a blockage.
Upon
examination, some of substance of the white bread-appearing Host were still in
contact with the myocardial fibers. An astonishing finding was that the two
were in contacted in an inexplicable way: microscopic interpenetration seen at
their interface. Such cannot be achieved by any human instrument or
methodology, ruling out the possibility of a man-made artifact.
Finally,
the continuing persistence of both the myocardial tissue along with the white
bread-appearing Host is inexplicable: both intact, without signs of decay or
degradation. (That was as of the 2009 investigations – and it remains
uncorrupted still today!)
A
year after the occurrence of the miracle, the diocese declared the event was
not contrary to the Faith and gave permission for veneration. Two years later,
in the presence of a crowd of 35,000, the monstrance containing the corporal
bearing the Host fragment and sacred tissue was solemnly moved to a chapel
inside the parish church, where it now remains exposed for daily adoration,
together with the Blessed Sacrament. Many spiritual and physical healings, from cancer to cardiac arrhythmias,
have occurred through veneration of this Eucharistic Miracle.
Just before Jesus Christ ascended into Heaven He said, “Behold, I am with you always, to the close of the age” (Mt 28:20). Having given His Church the Holy Eucharist, He did mean this physically, as well as spiritually.
Dibby Allan Green