Daily Eucharist and the living presence of Jesus
Fr. Jarosław Ciuchna came to Sokółka with two other priests. This took place several places after the miraculous event. It was then that the then parish priest and witness of the Eucharistic miracle, Fr. Stanisław Gniedziejko offered to show the miraculously transformed Host to the visiting clergy.
“I remember that first we prayed for a long time in the chapel in the rectory, in front of the tabernacle where this miracle was kept. When Fr. Gniedziejko took out the corporal from the tabernacle and on it the communicant with a part of the Sacred Heart of Jesus - we fell to our knees. It was absolutely stunning. I probably heard my heart beating - it was pounding so hard with excitement, " recalls Fr. Jarosław Ciuchna. “We fell down with reverence and respect before the living Lord Jesus. Nobody said anything, nobody asked anything. There was no need to even touch like Saint. Thomas. I was glad that at that moment I was so close to this huge mystery of our faith - the real presence of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament," he adds.
“I had the Lord's Body in priestly hands so many times, but it didn't make as much of an impression on me as it did at that moment. The collision of the daily Eucharist and the living presence of Jesus was amazing," recalls the parish priest. “The words of the song come to my lips, or rather only one sentence: 'You are my life, because you are the living God',” he adds.
The Lord Jesus is present in every mass
The parish priest draws attention to a very important fact that we should never forget. “While eating the Eucharist, an extraordinary event occurs. Everyone who receives communion is transformed. He becomes a living member of the Mystical Body of Jesus Christ, which is the Church," he reminds. The priest emphasizes that this truth must be strongly emphasized. “Every Eucharist is an encounter with the living and truly present Lord Jesus. Always".
“The Lord Jesus is present alive and true in every Holy Mass, every Holy Communion. Every Holy Mass is an extraordinary encounter with the Lord Jesus. It is never ordinary. It can never be ordinary. The living Lord Jesus is present there. Great signs take place there: the Lord Jesus dies and rises, the Lord's Blood is always shed there. This is where we draw strength and power from. What is so necessary for us to have a normal, everyday life," emphasizes Fr. Jarosław Ciuchna, curator of the Sanctuary of the Blessed Sacrament.
The priest from Sokółka also encourages us to make participation in Holy Mass a part of our everyday life for yet another reason. “The Eucharist must become not only the beating heart of the Church, but the beating heart of every Christian. One cannot fully enjoy the "privilege" of being a follower of Christ without fully participating in the gifts He has left. If there is Someone who really cares about our lives, we must not deprive ourselves of this "privilege" recklessly, out of laziness or for any reason.
Eucharistic miracle in Sokółka
On Sunday, October 12, 2008, during the Holy Mass. One of the priests dropped the consecrated Host from his hand. The priest interrupted the distribution of communion, picked up the consecrated communicant and, in accordance with the liturgical regulation, placed him in a vessel with water located next to the tabernacle. The consecrated Host was to dissolve in this vessel.
A week after this event - on October 19, the sacristan, Sister Julia, at the request of the then parish priest - Fr. Stanisława Gniedziejko, opened the safe in which the consecrated message was kept. She smelled the delicate scent of unleavened bread. In the middle of the message there was a convex spot of intense red color, which looked like a blood clot, resembling a living body particle.
On January 7, 2009, a sample was taken from the messenger, which was then examined independently by two pathology specialists from the Medical University of Białystok, who issued a unanimous opinion: "The material sent for evaluation (...) in the opinion of two independent pathologists (...) indicates myocardial tissue in the moment of agony, or at least, of all the living tissues of an organism, it most closely resembles it.
By mid-January 2009, the fragment of the message with the changed form had dried naturally and remained in the form of clotted blood. He hasn't changed his appearance since then.
The cult is still alive
Last year, on October 1, celebrations were held related to the 15th anniversary of the Eucharistic miracle in Sokółka. It was a time spent in the spirit of worship of Jesus and great gratitude for the gift of the Eucharist. The jubilee was preceded by parish missions. “For a long time, we have been organizing worship evenings on Saturday afternoons, at least twice a month. They lead us to meet Jesus in prayer and adoration, they are to help us better enter the space of meeting Him, " explains the parish priest.
“May Christ open our hearts and minds to his grace. Let him re-infuse God's love, full trust and teach faith. May His Word, in the power of the Holy Spirit, reach the ends of our parish, region and homeland," asks Fr. Jarosław Ciuchna.