June 24, 2023, will remain a memorable day for me in my faith journey and vocation of bringing Jesus to His people. This summer, I was privileged to serve as a spiritual director on a pilgrimage to Portugal, Spain, and France for some members of my parish family and others from different parishes in the Diocese of San Bernardino and beyond.
Our pilgrimage was designed for us to walk the path of the Blessed Mother in Fatima, Lourdes, and Nevers. As providence would have it, our visit to the different apparition sites of the Blessed Mother Mary in Fatima and Lourdes was further enriched by our visit to the birth place of St. Ignatius of Loyola, the big Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Paris, the chapel of the Eucharistic Miracle in O’ Cebrerio, the Church of the Passion of Jesus in Porto, the beautiful Cathedrals in Borgus and Lyons, and the convent where the incorruptible body of St. Bernadette is kept in Nevers, Paris.
However, the highpoint and most unforgettable moment of our pilgrimage was our visit to the little hamlet of O’ Cebrerio, situated in the region of Galicia in Spain. Our visit to this place of Eucharistic Miracle was providentially on June 24, the same day that Bishop Alberto Rojas convoked the Catholic community of San Bernardino for a Eucharistic Congress. As a spiritual father of a group of 32 men and women, I didn’t want the opportunity to join in the Eucharistic Congress to pass us by, especially since we were in a holy place where the belief in the Real Presence of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament is revered and celebrated. The highlight of our Mini-Eucharistic Congress was the teaching I gave on our bus ride to the place of the miracle. In my teaching, I narrated the story of the Eucharistic miracle of O’ Cebreiro which took place in 1300 when a certain farmer named Juan Santin decided to attend Holy Mass despite a severe winter storm. He travelled from the nearby hamlet of Barxamaior to the little Benedictine monastery church of Santa Maria of Cebreiro. The poor farmer was exhausted and soaked through to the skin. He reached the church just as one of the monks was preparing to offer the Mass. The priest, figuring no one would come to hear Mass in such violent weather, had lost faith in the sacrifice he was preparing to offer: “Who would come all this way in such weather just to gaze upon a bit of bread and wine?” he thought to himself. Confronted with this scandalous lack of faith, the humble farmer offered no response to the priest’s uncharitable rebuke. The priest, in turn, proceeded to offer the Mass, albeit in a careless and hurried fashion.
Later, as the faithless priest pronounced the words of the Consecration, he was astonished to find that the Host in his hands had perceptibly changed into flesh, drops of blood falling from his fingers and staining the corporal, while the wine in the chalice had been visibly transformed into blood. Terrified and overwhelmed with remorse for his lack of faith, he fell to his knees before the altar and exclaimed like St. Thomas, “My Lord and my God!” The faith of the humble Juan had been confirmed, his devotion rewarded, and the monk cured of his disbelief.
After narrating this beautiful story, I asked the pilgrims if they believed that Jesus is truly, really, and substantially present in the Blessed Sacrament? They unanimously shouted, “We believe.” Then, I told them how the ingenuity of one of the young pilgrims with us had personally helped me to value the Holy Eucharist in a more profound way. Our young pilgrim named Ricardo Agustin Perez, Jr., was very gracious throughout the time of our spiritual voyage. He would always use his smart phone to search for a five-star restaurant at every location where we needed to have lunch or dinner. When talking about Jesus and His Real Presence in the Eucharist, I referenced Ricardo’s ability to find five-star restaurants. I pointed at the Eucharistic miracle of O’ Cebreiro and said, “The One whose Body and Blood is at this Altar is the ‘Real Star.’ He does not only have ‘five-star’ but all the stars that can be seen in Heaven and on earth. He is the origin of all stars. He is the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. Jesus is not just food for here and now. Rather, He is the food that endures forever. The young and promising Ricardo was so impacted by the teaching that he knelt down in adoration. His face radiated with joy and his demeanor became that of a young saint. I asked him to keep loving the Eucharist by attending Mass more often. It is at Mass that we encounter the “Real Star.”
To end our Mini-Eucharistic Congress, we prayed for the Church, especially for the Diocese of San Bernardino and for more faith among our younger folks. We sang our Sacred Heart Eucharistic Anthem, which exalts: “O Sacred Heart of Jesus truly present in the Holy Eucharist, I placed all my trust in You.”
Father Benedict Nwachukwu-Uduka is the Pastor of Sacred Heart Parish in Rancho Cucamonga and Vicar Forane for the West End Vicariate of the Diocese.