Eucharistic Miracle - Transubstantiation

Transubstantiation

Catholic Eucharistic Doctrine hinges on a quasi-Aristotelian understanding of reality, in which the core substance or essential reality of a given thing is bound to, but not equivalent with, its sensible realities or accidents. In the celebration of the Eucharist, by means of the consecratory Eucharistic Prayer, the actual substance of the bread and wine are changed into the body and blood of Christ. This change in substance is not, however, a physical change; the physical aspects or outward appearances of the bread and wine—their accidents—remain as before. This substantial change is called transubstantiation, a term reserved to describe the change itself. This differs from most Protestant Eucharistic theologies, which believe that the substance of the sacramental elements do not undergo such a change. Protestant views on the fact of Christ's presence in the Eucharist vary significantly from one denomination to another: while many agree with Roman Catholics that Christ is really present in the Eucharist, few would acknowledge that the nature of that presence comes about by a substantial change or transubstantiation.

According to Thomas Aquinas, in the case of extraordinary Eucharistic Miracles in which the appearance of the accidents are altered, this further alteration is not considered to be transubstantiation, but is a subsequent miracle that takes place for the building up of faith. Nor does the extraordinary manifestation alter or heighten the presence of Christ in the Eucharist, as the miracle does not manifest the physical presence of Christ: "in apparitions of this sort. . . the proper species of Christ is not seen, but a species formed miraculously either in the eyes of the viewers, or in the sacramental dimensions themselves...."