Ancient Anxanum, the city of the Frentanese, has contained for over twelve centuries the first and greatest Eucharistic Miracle of the Catholic Church. This wondrous Event took place in the 8th century A.D. in the little Church of St. Legontian, as a divine response to a Basilian monk's doubt about Jesus' Real Presence in the Eucharist.

During Holy Mass, after the two-fold consecration, the host was changed into live Flesh and the wine was changed into live Blood, which coagulated into five globules, irregular and differing in shape and size.

The Host-Flesh, as can be very distinctly observed today, has the same dimensions as the large host used today in the Latin church; it is light brown and appears rose-colored when lighted from the back.

The Blood is coagulated and has an earthy color resembling the yellow of ochre.

Various ecclesiastical investigation ("Recognitions") were conducted since 1574.

In 1970-'71 and taken up again partly in 1981 there took place a scientific investigation by the most illustrious scientist Prof. Odoardo Linoli, eminent Professor in Anatomy and Pathological Histology and in Chemistry and Clinical Microscopy. He was assisted by Prof. Ruggero Bertelli of the University of Siena.

The analyses were conducted with absolute and unquestionable scientific precision and they were documented with a series of microscopic photographs.

These analyses sustained the following conclusions:

The Flesh is real Flesh. The Blood is real Blood.


The Flesh and the Blood belong to the human species.


The Flesh consists of the muscular tissue of the heart.


In the Flesh we see present in section: the myocardium, the endocardium, the vagus nerve and also the left ventricle of the heart for the large thickness of the myocardium.


The Flesh is a "HEART" complete in its essential structure.


The Flesh and the Blood have the same blood-type: AB (Blood-type identical to that which Prof. Baima Bollone uncovered in the Holy Shroud of Turin).


In the Blood there were found proteins in the same normal proportions (percentage-wise) as are found in the sero-proteic make-up of the fresh normal blood.


In the Blood there were also found these minerals: chlorides, phosphorus, magnesium, potassium, sodium and calcium.


The preservation of the Flesh and of the Blood, which were left in their natural state for twelve centuries and exposed to the action of atmospheric and biological agents, remains an extraordinary phenomenon.

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A holy hour before the blessed sacrament
Eucharistic and Marian Year
2005

Part I
Let us Adore the Lord!



Hymn(Stand)

Introductory Prayers (Kneel)

Leader: Who has the right to climb the mountain of Yahweh, who has the right to stand in his holy place? He whose hands are clean, whose heart is pure, whose soul does not pay homage to worthless things, and who never swears to a lie. The blessing of Yahweh is his, and vindication from God, his saviour. Such are the people who seek him, who seek your presence, God of Jacob! (Ps 24:3-6)

(Moment of silent adoration and examination of conscience)

Come, let us adore(Ps 95:1-9) (Stand)

Leader: Come, let us adore Jesus in the Eucharist!

All: Come let us adore Jesus in the Eucharist!

Leader: Come, ring out our joy to the Lord, hail the God who saves us. Let us come before him, giving thanks; with song, let us hail the Lord!

All: Come, let us adore Jesus in the Eucharist!

Leader: A mighty God is the Lord, a great king above all gods. In his hands are the depths of the earth; the heights of the mountains are his. To him belongs the sea, for he made, and the dry land shaped by his hands.

All: Come, let us adore Jesus in the Eucharist!

Leader: Come in! Let us bow and bend low; let us kneel before the Lord who made us, for he is our God, and we the people who belong to his pasture, the flock that is led by his hand.

All: Come, let us adore Jesus in the Eucharist!

Leader: O that today you would listen to his voice: "Harden not your hearts as at Meribah,
as on that day at Massah in the desert, when your fathers put me to the test; when they tried me, though they saw my work.”

All: Come, let us adore Jesus in the Eucharist!

Act of Adoration (Kneel)

Leader: Jesus, our God,

All: We adore you, here present in the Blessed Sacrament of the Altar, where You wait day and night, to be our comfort while we look forward to Your unveiled Presence in heaven.

Jesus, our God, we adore You in all places where the Blessed Sacrament is reserved, especially where You are less honored, and where sins are committed against this Sacrament of Love.

Jesus, our God, we adore You for all time, past, present and future, for every soul that ever was, is, or shall be created.

Jesus, our God, who for us has endured hunger and cold, labor and fatigue, we adore You.

Jesus, our God, who for our sake has deigned to subject Yourself to the humiliation of temptation,to the perfidy and defection of friends,to the scorn of Your enemies, we adore You.

Jesus, our God who for us has endured the buffetings of your Passion,the scourging, the crown of thorns,the heavy weight of the cross, we adore you.

Jesus our God, who for our salvation,and that of all mankind was cruelly nailed to the Cross,hung thereon for three long hours in bitter agony we adore.

Jesus, our God, who for love of us,did institute this Blessed Sacrament does offer Yourself daily for the sins of men, we adore You.

Jesus, our God, who in Holy Communion becomes the food of our souls, we adore You.

Jesus, I live for you, Jesus, I die for you, Jesus,I am yours, in life and in death. Amen

Reading(All Sit Down)

Ez 34:11-16

A reading from the book of the Prophet Ezekiel Thus says the Lord God: I myself will look after and tend my sheep. As a shepherd tends his flock when he finds himself among his scattered sheep, so will I tend my sheep. I will rescue them every place where they were scattered when it was cloudy and dark. I will lead them out from among the peoples and gather them from foreign lands; I will bring them back to their own country and pasture them upon the mountains of Israel (in the land’s ravines and all its inhabited places). In good pastures will I pasture them, and on the mountain heights of Israel shall be their grazing ground. There they shall lie down on good grazing ground, and in rich pastures shall they be pastured on the mountains of Israel. I myself will pasture my sheep; I myself will give them rest, says the Lord God. The injured I will bind up, the sick I will heal (but the sleek and the strong I will destroy), shepherding them rightly.

The word of the Lord.

All: Thanks be to God.

(Some moments of silent reflection)

Hymn: (All Stand)

Ang Panginoon ay Aking Pastol

KORO: Ang Panginoon ang aking Pastol,
Pinagiginhawa akong lubos.

1. Handog n’yang himlaya’y sariwang pastulan,
ang pahingahan ko’y payapang batisan.
Hatid sa kaluluwa ay kaginhawan,
sa tumpak na landas, siya ang patnubay. (KORO)

2. Madilim na lambak man ang tatahakin ko,
wala akong sindak, siya’y kasama ko.
Ang hawak n’yang tungkod ang siyang gabay ko,
Tangan n’yang pamalo, sigla’t tanggulan ko. (KORO)

Part II

Meditating on the Mystery of the Eucharist

Gospel (All Stand)

Jn 13:1-17

Now he showed how perfect was his love
+ A reading from the holy Gospel according to John

Before the feast of Passover, Jesus realized that the hour had come for him to pass from this world to the Father. He had loved his own in this world, and would show his love for them to the end. The devil had already induced Judas, son of Simon Iscariot, to hand Jesus over; and so, during the supper, Jesus — fully aware that he had come from God and was going to God, the Father who had handed everything over to him — rose from the meal and took off his cloak. He picked up a towel and tied it around himself. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash his dis­ciples’ feet and dry them with the towel he had around him. Thus he came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?” Jesus answered, “You may not realize now what I am doing, but later you will under­stand.” Peter replied, “You shall never wash my feet!” “If I do not wash you,” Jesus answered, “you will have no share in my heritage.” “Lord,” Simon Peter said to him, “then not only my feet, but my hands and head as well.” Jesus told him, “The man who has bathed has no need to wash [except for his feet]; he is entirely cleansed, just as you are; though not all.” (The reason he said, “Not all are washed clean,” was that he knew his betrayer.)

After he had washed their feet, he put his cloak back on and reclined at table once more. He said to them:

"Do you understand what I just did for you? You address me as ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’
and fittingly enough, for that is what I am.But if I washed your feet­ – I who am Teacher and Lord­ –then you must wash each other’s feet. What I just did was to give you an example: as I have done, so you must do."I solemnly assure you, no slave is greater than his master; no messenger outranks the one who sent him. Once you know all these things,blest will you be if you put them into prac­tice.

The Gospel of the Lord.

R. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

REFLECTION (All sit down)

Ecclesia de Eucharistia

The presider may give a brief reflection, or the following reflection may be read, or, in place of the reflection, a prayerful silence may be observed.

Let us listen to the Encyclical Letter, Ecclesia de Eucharistia, of Pope John Paul II on the Eucharist in its Relationship to the Church

"The Lord Jesus on the night he was betrayed” (1 Cor 11:23) instituted the Eucharistic Sacrifice of his body and his blood. The words of the Apostle Paul bring us back to the dramatic setting in which the Eucharist was born. The Eucharist is indelibly marked by the event of the Lord’s passion and death, of which it is not only a reminder but the sacramental re-presentation. It is the sacrifice of the Cross perpetuated down the ages. This truth is well expressed by the words with which the assembly in the Latin rite responds to the priest’s proclamation of the “Mystery of Faith”: “We announce your death, O Lord”.

The Church has received the Eucharist from Christ her Lord not as one gift however precious among so many others, but as the gift par excellence, for it is the gift of himself, of his person in his sacred humanity, as well as the gift of his saving work. Nor does it remain confined to the past, since “all that Christ is all that he did and suffered for all men participates in the divine eternity, and so transcends all times.”

When the Church celebrates the Eucharist, the memorial of her Lord’s death and resurrection, this central event of salvation becomes really present and “the work of our redemption is carried out.” This sacrifice is so decisive for the salvation of the human race that Jesus Christ offered it and returned to the Father only after he had left us a means of sharing in it as if we had been present there. Each member of the faithful can thus take part in it and inexhaustibly gain its fruits. This is the faith from which generations of Christians down the ages have lived. The Church’s Magisterium has constantly reaffirmed this faith with joyful gratitude for its inestimable gift. I wish once more to recall this truth and to join you, my dear brothers and sisters, in adoration before this mystery: a great mystery, a mystery of mercy. What more could Jesus have done for us? Truly, in the Eucharist, he shows us a love which goes “to the end” (cf. Jn 13:1), a love which knows no measure.

This aspect of the universal charity of the Eucharistic Sacrifice is based on the words of the Saviour himself. In instituting it, he did not merely say: “This is my body”, “this is my blood”, but went on to add: “which is given for you”, “which is poured out for you” (Lk 22:19-20). Jesus did not simply state that what he was giving them to eat and drink was his body and his blood; he also expressed its sacrificial meaning and made sacramentally present his sacrifice which would soon be offered on the Cross for the salvation of all. “The Mass is at the same time, and inseparably, the sacrificial memorial in which the sacrifice of the Cross is perpetuated and the sacred banquet of communion with the Lord’s body and blood”.

The Church constantly draws her life from the redeeming sacrifice; she approaches it not only through faith-filled remembrance, but also through a real contact, since this sacrifice is made present ever anew, sacramentally perpetuated, in every community which offers it at the hands of the consecrated minister. The Eucharist thus applies to men and women today the reconciliation won once for all by Christ for mankind in every age. “The sacrifice of Christ and the sacrifice of the Eucharist are one single sacrifice”. Saint John Chrysostom put it well: “We always offer the same Lamb, not one today and another tomorrow, but always the same one. For this reason the sacrifice is always only one... Even now we offer that victim who was once offered and who will never be consumed”.

The Mass makes present the sacrifice of the Cross; it does not add to that sacrifice nor does it multiply it. What is repeated is its memorial celebration, its “commemorative representation” (memorialis demonstratio), which makes Christ’s one, definitive redemptive sacrifice always present in time. The sacrificial nature of the Eucharistic mystery cannot therefore be understood as something separate, independent of the Cross or only indirectly referring to the sacrifice of Calvary.

(Silent Reflection)

ACCLAMATION(Jn 6:35, 53-58) (Stand)

Leader: I am the bread of life.

All: I am the bread of life.

Leader: He who comes to me will never be hungry; he who believes in me will never thirst.

All: I am the bread of life.

Leader: I tell you most solemnly: if you do not eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you will not have life in you.

All: I am the bread of life.

Leader: Anyone who does eat my flesh and drink my blood, has eternal life, and I shall raise him up on the last day.

All: I am the bread of life.

Leader: For my flesh is real food, and my blood is real drink.

All: I am the bread of life.

Leader: He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood lives in me, and I live in him.

All: I am the bread of life.

Leader: As I, who am sent by the living Father, myself draw life from the Father, so whoever eats me will draw life from me.

All: I am the bread of life.

Leader: This is the bread come down from heaven: anyone who eats this bread will live for ever.

All: I am the bread of life.

(Silent Reflection)

Part III

An Offering of Prayers

(Stand)

Leader: Let us pray that our presence here may be acceptable to God the Almighty Father.

All: May the Lord, who has called us to his presence, welcome us, listen to our prayers,
and bring us closer to himself.

HYMN (Stand)

Isang Pagkain, Isang Katawan, Isang Bayan
1. Katulad ng mga butil na tinitipon,
upang maging tinapay na nagbibigay-buhay.
Kami nawa’y matipon din at maging bayan mong giliw

KORO: Iisang Panginoon, iisang Katawan,
Isang bayan, isang lahing sa ’yo’y nagpupugay. (Ulitin)

2. Katulad din ng mga ubas na piniga at naging alak:
sino mang uminom nito: “may buhay na walang hanggan.”
Kami nawa’y maging sangkap sa pagbuo nitong bayang liyag. (KORO)

THE NEW COMMANDMENT (Sit)

Leader: “I give you a new commandment: love one another. Just as I have loved you, You also must love one another” (Jn 13:34).

All: I give you a new commandment.

Leader: “Do not judge, and you will not be judged” (Mt 7:1). "Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned” (Lk 6.37).

All: I give you a new commandment.

Leader: “Why do you observe the splinter in your brother’s eye, and never notice the plank in your own?” (Mt 7:3)

All: I give you a new commandment.

Leader: “If you forgive others their failings, your heavenly Father will forgive you yours” (Mt 6:14).

All: I give you a new commandment.

Leader: “Love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you” (Mt 5:44).

All: I give you a new commandment.

Leader: “If you only love those who love you, what right have you to claim any credit?” (Mt 5:46)

All: I give you a new commandment.

Leader: “Always treat others as you would like them to treat you” (Mt 7:12).

All: I give you a new commandment.

Leader: “If you are bringing your offering to the altar, and there remember that your brother
has something against you, leave your offering there before the altar, go and be reconciled with your brother first, and then come back and present your offering” (Mt 5:23-24).

All: I give you a new commandment.

Leader: “Be compassionate as your Father is compassionate” (Lk 6:36).

All: I give you a new commandment.

Leader: “In so far as you did this to one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did it to me” (Mt 25:40).

All: I give you a new commandment.

Leader: “By this love you have for one another everyone will know that you are my disciples” (Jn 13:35).

All: I give you a new commandment: love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also must love one another.

INTERCESSORY PRAYERS (Stand)

Leader: “If you ask for anything in my name, I will do it” (Jn 14:14). In the spirit of the new commandment, and in the name of Jesus, let us now pray for the needs of the world and of the Church.

All: Lord, we ask this in your name.

Leader: For your servant, and the servant of your servants, Pope Benedict XVI: that he may have the fortitude to be a witness of faith, and a voice of love and truth, to the world;

All: Lord, we ask this in your name.

Leader: For all bishops and priests: that they may lead your people
in the true ways of the Gospel;

All: Lord, we ask this in your name.

Leader: For all consecrated souls: that they live up to the commitment of their consecration;

All: Lord, we ask this in your name.

Leader: For vocations to the priesthood and the religious life: may they be plentiful and holy;

All: Lord, we ask this in your name.

Leader: For truly committed lay apostles: that they be leaven to the world;

All: Lord, we ask this in your name.

Leader: For all Catholics: that their lives be always in accordance with the teachings of the Church;

All: Lord, we ask this in your name.

Leader: For union, love and cooperation amongst all Christians;

All: Lord, we ask this in your name.

Leader: For non-believers: that they may come to know Christ;

All: Lord, we ask this in your name.

Leader: For those who work for the cause of peace and justice in the world: that their efforts be rewarded with success;

All: Lord, we ask this in your name.

Leader: For the poor: that they find a remedy for their material needs and live in richness of spirit;

All: Lord, we ask this in your name.

Leader: For the jobless: that decent and meaningful employment be made available to them;

All: Lord, we ask this in your name.

Leader: For the sick: that they be given healing of body and mind;

All: Lord, we ask this in your name.

Leader: For our dead: that they be granted the fullness of life promised to those who believe in Christ;

All: Lord, we ask this in your name.

Leader: For the whole world: that all things in it may be renewed, and so become a new creation in Christ;

All: Lord, we ask this in your name.

Leader: For all of us gathered here today: that as we are now physically present before you, we may always be present in heart and spirit before the Father;

All: Lord, we ask this in your name.

Leader: For those we have offended, and for those who have offended us: that reconciliation be effected and friendship and love restored;

All: Lord, we ask this in your name.

Leader: For private, family and public morality;

All: Lord, we ask this in your name.

Leader: For the Pro-Life Movement: may it grow strong all over the world, so t hat we may see an end to the abominable crime of abortion;

All: Lord, we ask this in your name.

Leader: For honesty, integrity and transparency in public officials and institutions;

All: Lord, we ask this in your name.

Leader: For an end to graft and corruption in society;

All: Lord, we ask this in your name.

Leader: For our country: that it may for ever remain faithful to the Faith of our fathers;

All: Lord, we ask this in your name.

Leader: For our families: may they be truly Christian;

All: Lord, we ask this in your name.

Leader: For our children: that they grow as citizens of this country and as children of God;

All: Lord, we ask this in your name.

Leader: For our youth: that as they venture into the world, the light of the Gospel may always guide them;

All: Lord, we ask this in your name.

Leader: For endangered marriages and broken families: that love and understanding may unite them again;

All: Lord, we ask this in your name.

Leader: For our elderly: that they may face the future in serenity and peace;

All: Lord, we ask this in your name.

Leader: Let us now pray silently for our personal intentions... (brief pause)
We ask all this in the name of Jesus our Lord;

All: Amen.



Prayer for the National Eucharistic and Marian Year

(Kneel)
Lord Jesus Christ,
We celebrate a year of grace,
a year we dedicate to the Holy Eucharist
and to the Blessed Virgin Mary, your Mother.
We need to experience as a nation
the transforming power of the Eucharist
and the loving care of Mary, our Mother.
For we are a wounded people,
wounded by political conflicts and tribal wars,
wounded by unjust socio-economic divisions,
wounded by corruption and moral degeneration.

Lord Jesus Christ,
as often as we celebrate the Holy Eucharist,
we remember how much you love us.
Let the Eucharist help us to work together as a people
so that in every home, barangay, town and city
all may live in a culture of peace, unity and renewal.
May the prayer of Mary, our Mother, accompany us
as we journey together in this year of grace
toward national healing and reconciliation.

Lord Jesus Christ,
we believe in the transforming power of the Eucharist
and we trust in loving care of Mary, our Mother:
grant them in your tender mercy
what we ask for in faith, hope and love. Amen.

Our Lady of Guadalupe, pray for us.
Saint Lorenzo Ruiz, pray for us.
That in all things God may be glorified.

WE PRAY WITH JESUS (Stand)

Leader: I will sing forever of the love of the Lord.

All: Through all ages my mouth shall proclaim his truth.

Leader: Let us now, together with Jesus and in his own words, pray:

All: Our Father in heaven, holy be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread, forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Do not bring us to the test, but deliver us from evil.

Part IV

Benediction

HYMN (Latin or English) (Kneel)

Tantum ergo sacramentum veneremur cernui
et antiquum documentum novo caedat ritui;
praestet fides supplementum
sensuum defectui.

Genitori Genitoque laus et jubilatio;
salus, honor virtus quoque sit et benedictio;
Procedenti ab utroque compar sit laudatio.
Amen.

Or:

Humbly let us voice our homage
For so great a sacrament;
Let all former rites surrender
To the Lord’s New Testament.
What our senses fail to fathom,
Let us grasp through Faith’s consent!

Glory, honor, adoration
Let us sing with one accord!
Praised be God, almighty Father;
Praised be Christ, His Son, our Lord;
Praised be God the Holy Spirit;
Triune Godhead be adored. Amen.

PRAYER (Kneel)

Leader: You have given them bread from heaven.

All: Containing in itself all sweetness.

Leader: O God, who under this wonderful sacrament have left us a memorial of your Passion:
Grant that we may so venerate the sacred mysteries of your Body and Blood, that we may always feel within ourselves the effects of your redemption; You who live and reign with God the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God forever and ever.

All: Amen.

Prayer of PRAISES (Kneel)

Leader: Body of Christ conceived of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

All: To you be praise and glory forever.

Body of Christ, sacrificed on the cross:
To you be praise and glory forever.

Body of Christ, risen from the tomb:
To you be praise and glory forever.

Body of Christ, price of our ransom
To you be praise and glory forever.

Body of Christ, seal of the new alliance:
To you be praise and glory forever.

Body of Christ, drink of eternal life:
To you be praise and glory forever.

Heart of Christ, pierced through with the lance:
To you be praise and glory forever.

Heart of Christ, rich in mercy:
To you be praise and glory forever.

Heart of Christ, source of love:
To you be praise and glory forever.

Living bread come down from heaven:
Give us your salvation.

Living word of the Father:
Give us your salvation.

Bridegroom of the Holy Church:
Give us your salvation.

Redeemer of the world:
Give us your salvation.

Bridegroom of the Holy Church:
Give us your salvation.

Friend of the young and poor:
Give us your salvation.

When you come on the last day:
Give us your salvation.

FINAL HYMN (Stand)

We offer our lives to the Lord above.
We offer our hopes for it’s Jesus we love.
And now as we pray
May the Lord come and say
That we’ll share in his glory one day.
We offer our hopes everyday we live.
We know without Christ
We have nothing to give.
So now as we pray
May the Lord come and say
That we’ll share in his glory one day.

DISMISSAL

Leader: Let us go in peace to love and serve the Lord in his people.

All: Thanks be to God!

( Source: rcam.org )

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May The Force Be With You

Moral Aspect : Acceptable

Technical : Average

Piloting a fighter craft, friends Anakin Skywalker Hayden Christensen) and Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) dare to rescue Chancellor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) who has been captured by the rebel Gen. Grievous. Complications arise when back with the Jedi Council, Anakin discovers that he will still not be named a Jedi Master despite his daring and bravery. The Council wants Anakin to spy on Palpatine whom it distrusts, while Palpatine wants him to spy on the Council. He also learns that Padme (Natalie Portman) whom he has married in a previous episode, is pregnant. Anakin is consumed by his darker side, sacrifices all he holds dear, even his soul, in order to attain power.

If you have been following Star Wars from its 1977 debut five films ago, you'll find it easier to understand Star Wars Episode III:The Revenge of the Sith, as it represents the crowning conclusion to George Lucas's it's-written-in-the-stars achievement. The film seals the galactic saga that portrays the rise, fall and redemption of Darth Vader. The story is compelling, if only for the struggle in Anakin's being, although the dialogue leaves much to be desired. Actors Christensen and Portman seem to have grown into their roles, delivering more convincing performances than before. But most of all, this episode delivers astounding visuals meticulously executed to the last detail. This has been the cutting edge magnet that attracts Star Wars fan to the box office, and this time Lucas even outdoes himself, offering a spectacle that from a purely visual standpoint would be hard to match in film history.

When all that eye-popping show of force (pardon the pun) is over and done with, the viewer may do well to ask if entertainment such as Star Wars Episode III:The Revenge of the Sith, should be shown to all regardless of age, intelligence or emotional readiness. Just like most cartoons that are passed off as "kiddie stuff" or children's entertainment, Star Wars (and its likes) could contain dangers not readily perceived by the mind that merely seeks to be entertained. (Remember Power Puff Girls which CINEMA dubbed as violent?) The extreme violence in Star Wars Episode III:The Revenge of the Sith may under the circumstances be shrugged off as a "natural" for a movie of this genre—would that be healthy in the long run? Would all Star Wars fans or viewers be able to discern the evil in a film or would the question of morality simply be sidetracked for the visual feast that the film offers? ("Never mind who killed for what; I got my kicks watching dog fights in deep space!")

( Source: cbcpworld.com/cinema )