Erding Miracle of the Eucharist
Erding Miracle of the Eucharist Originally, the Erding Miracle was called the Miracle of REGENSBURG - DEGGENDORF - ERDING, because it was on the road from Deggendorf to Regensburg that the Miracle took place.
This is an area of Bavaria just north of Munich. Today, this is a part of Germany, but at that time, it was the Kingdom of Bavaria.
Bavaria is the magnificent, storybook part of Germany that we read about in Grimms’ Fairy Tales.
It has always maintained the atmosphere of the Tyrolean Alps, the Beer Halls, the quaint chalets, the down comforters, the cobblestone streets. The Castles of Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau, built by King Ludwig and his father, were models for the castle in Disneyland.
The people of Bavaria have always been known for their reverence to the Catholic Church.
The southern part of Germany has remained loyal to the Pope, and the Catholic Church, throughout the Protestant Reformation, and the various wars which have devastated Germany.
The main character in our narrative is a farmer, whose name is not known. He was a devout Catholic, receiving the Eucharist whenever he was able.
Life was hard for him. No matter how he tried, he could not make ends meet. One day during Lent in 1417, he walked to the Church of St. Peter in Alten Erding (Upper Erding) with another farmer friend, whose fortunes had been much better than our farmer.
He shared the difficult times he was having.
The farmer started to explain, “If the harvest is good, the grapes are bad. If the chestnuts do well, the olives are rotten. The cows give milk, but the sheep have little wool, and they don’t bear lambs. I have never known good fortune; I have not even seen it from a distance. They say fortune has long hair like a horse. I have never been able to catch it.”
He continued, “I’m experiencing extreme poverty. I’m ashamed to tell you about it. There are time when, in order to save my wife and children from hunger, I do without food for myself. I’m not afraid of hard work. I’ve known what it’s like to work through the day and into the night. And yet, I can’t seem to get ahead.”
The farmer concluded, “Tell me, my friend, what is the secret of your success? You seem to do well. Your life seems to be in good order. Do you have a secret charm? If so, will you share your secret with me, so that I may have some success in my life?”
The other farmer looked at his walking companion with sympathy. He answered, “I keep the Blessed Sacrament in the little chapel of my house, day and night, all year long.”
What he was trying to tell the other farmer was that the Lord was the ruler of his life. He kept Jesus in the chapel of his heart. The house that safeguarded the chapel of his heart was his body.
He was speaking in symbols, but the other man was too simple to understand the message.
The poor farmer thought he had been given the secret charm he had been searching for. As we said before, he was not a bad man. He was not very intelligent.
He saw how well the other man lived. The man attributed his success to the Blessed Sacrament. This farmer also believed in the power of Our Lord Jesus in the Eucharist.
It made sense to him that if he had the Lord with him at all times, in his house, his fortune would change.
THE ERDING MIRACLE
The farmer worked the plan out in his mind over and over again. He fantasized how he would execute the scheme.
He continued in his mind, imagining how his life would change after he secured his lucky charm, the Blessed Sacrament.
His opportunity came on Good Thursday of that year.
On the anniversary of the day that Our Lord Jesus gave us the Eucharist, the farmer thought to literally take this gift, and change his life.
He brought a clean linen cloth to Church with him. He would put the Sacred Body of Christ into that cloth. It was washed and ironed just that day.
At Communion time, he nervously followed the crowd up to Communion.
He feared that all eyes were on him. He looked around cautiously as he walked in line up to the Altar Rail.
He knelt and waited for the priest to come to him. Beads of sweat broke out on his forehead. His eyes narrowed.
His body shook. He was afraid he wouldn’t be able to accomplish his plan. As the priest approached him, he watched his eyes to see if the priest noticed anything unusual about him.
The Host was put on his tongue.
He got up and left the altar, but didn’t close his mouth. He went to a corner of the church, where he could take the Host out of his mouth, and place it in the clean kerchief without being noticed.
It had not gotten wet from his tongue. All had gone according to plan. He left the church, proud of his triumph. He was joyful as he began the trip back to his home. He anticipated his new found fortune.
His conscience began working on him almost immediately.
Was what he had done a sin?
We reiterate here that he was a man of simple belief. He had very little or no instruction in our Faith Belief.
He was fervent, but completely uneducated. He believed instinctively. Each time he accused himself, he justified his actions.
Had he committed a sin? Perhaps, but his intentions were good. He only wanted to make things better for his family.
Shortly, all he could think about was the sin, and possible consequences. He had heard that Sacrilege was not only an unforgivable sin, but Sacrilege Theft was a criminal offense against the state. He also thought he remembered something about The Death Penalty for such a crime.
He was a nervous wreck by the time he decided to turn around, go back to the Church and confess his sin.
He hoped that by turning himself in immediately, he showed signs of repentance and good faith. He was sure the priest would deal with him mercifully.
As he turned around to go back in the direction of Erding, the Host slipped out of the linen cloth, floated high into the air, and then plummeted to the earth. When it hit the ground, it disappeared.
The farmer panicked. He looked all over the ground for the Host, but it was nowhere to be seen.
He ran back to the Church at breakneck speed. The priest was talking to members of the congregation as he arrived, out of breath, and obviously out of sorts.
He told his sin to the priest, going into great detail about how the Host flew up into the air, and then came back to earth.
The priest wasted no time in running out onto the road, with the farmer and half the town in hot pursuit.
From a distance, the priest could see the Host on the ground, gleaming, visible from far off. As the priest converged on the Host to pick It up, the Body of Our Lord Jesus flew up into the air again, stayed there for a time, and then plunged to the earth and disappeared, as It had done the first time.
The Bishop of the area was informed of the Miracle.
He came out to the place in the road where it had occurred, followed by a large contingency of his priests, plus a great crowd from the town of Erding.
When the bishop approached the Holy Spot, the Host gleamed again, and took to the air for a third time.
This time, possibly to impress the bishop, the Host remained suspended in the air for a long time. All eyes were glued to the Host. The bishop tried his best to catch hold of the Host, but to no avail.
Finally, the Host fluttered, and returned to the earth to disappear for the last time. It was not seen again.
The large assemblage of faithful dropped to their knees in prayer.
The Holy Spirit spoke first through one of them, and then through the whole group. This was a sign from Our Lord that He wanted the Blessed Sacrament to be venerated in this place in a special way.
They told the bishop and the pastor of the church that they were going to build a special chapel here.
It was to be in honor of the Blessed Sacrament, and in penance for the sacrileges and blasphemies which had been committed against Our Lord in this most vulnerable form.
They marked out the spot, and, as a community, built a beautiful church.
News of the erding miracle spread all over Bavaria, even into parts of Germany and Austria.
The new church of Erding, in honor of the Blessed Sacrament, became a place of Pilgrimage.
The bishop gave his approval, and bestowed graces on pilgrims who venerated the Blessed Sacrament in this special church.
Erding Miracle of the Eucharist dvd and book Miracles of the Eucharist
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