Eucharist: Understood Through the Instrumentality & Language of the Body
Published by Stephen Michael Leininger in Stephen Michael Leininger · Thursday 22 Jun 2023
Tags: Eucharist, TOB, John, Paul, II, Body
Tags: Eucharist, TOB, John, Paul, II, Body
Eucharist: Real Food & Real Drink — Understood Through the Instrumentality & Language of the Body
Common Complaint of Those Leaving the Church: I’m Not Being Fed!
According to the Pew Research Center:
Of those Church members raised in the Church from childhood, a Pew Forum Study (Faith in Flux) found only about 2/3 (68%) of “Cradle Catholics” remain. Of the 1/3 who leave the Church, about half leave and become Protestants and about half leave and remain unaffiliated with any religion. … Of those who left the Church and became Protestant, 71% gave as a reason that their spiritual needs were not being met. … among all former Catholics who are now Protestant (evangelical or main-line), 71% say that now their faith is ‘very strong![1]
How could that be? In their Catholic life, in the Mass, they felt their spiritual needs were not being met. Here is a big reason: Only 31% of Catholics believe in the Real Presence.[2] Based on a 2011 survey, some believe that figure is unrealistically low.[3] Regardless, the Church needs to explain better why and how the Eucharist benefits the Communicant — spiritually and physically. We need to explain how, when parishioners want to be fed, there is no better food than the Eucharist! After all, Jesus is THE Divine Physician (Mt 9:12, Mk 2:17, and Lk 5:31).
Years ago, I informally surveyed a few priests. I asked them why we must eat the flesh and drink the blood of Jesus. Each of them replied with some variation of the following:
- We receive Sanctifying grace.
- It is the source and summit of the Church.
- We become one body with Christ (in the Mystical Body sense).
None of them alluded to the concrete reality behind the food and drink referred to in the Eucharistic Discourse (John 6:25-59). We need to show the laity that when Jesus says his body is REAL food and his blood is REAL drink, he literally means it. He is NOT being symbolic.
Before verse 6:54 in John’s Eucharistic Discourse, Jesus uses the Greek word phago to indicate eating. This word is used to describe physical eating, or it can be used as a metaphor (e.g., Micah 3:2–4). It is typically used to describe physical eating in general. “However, after his followers started to grumble, Jesus switched to a more drastic but fitting word that would not allow for misinterpretation. The new word Jesus used is trogo. This word means to literally chew, crunch, gnaw the food.”[4] While phago can also be used to describe physical eating, “one way to distinguish the two, using our everyday language, is to say phago refers to “eating for essential nourishment.” In contrast, trogo refers more to “dining, with the express purpose of masticating all the food so that one can savor it,” as when we go to a fine restaurant to eat our favorite meal, perhaps making groans of pleasure as we eat.
“This puts a little distance from defining ‘trogo’ as mere ‘chewing’ or ‘munching,’ since animals do the same kind of chewing but without being cognizant of an intimate gourmet meal shared with another.”[5] Regarding the word trogo, it is essential to note there is no example in Scripture, in any koine, or in any other classic literature, of trogo being used in a spiritual or metaphorical sense. It is always used to indicate a physical act. Furthermore, in Scripture, trogo is always used in the present participle form, not aorist, thus meaning a repeated and continual eating of the flesh of Jesus.[6] Trogo is not the language of metaphor.
The Eucharist is not meant to be considered chiefly spiritual when referring to its efficacy. It is equally to be interpreted in the concrete, physical sense. In a recent Catholic Answers article titled “Love God with Your Body,” we glimpse the fuller meaning of the word physical. The article’s subtitle reads, “Jesus commands us to love God with all our hearts, and that’s not just some metaphor. He means it literally.”[7] The authors go deeper by quoting St. Thomas Aquinas and St. John Chrysostom.
Quoting Aquinas, they write:
There is a twofold principle of love: for love can come about by passion or by the judgment of reason: out of passion when a man does not even know how to live without the thing he loves, and by reason insofar as he loves as reason dictates. He says therefore that he loves with his whole heart who loves with his flesh, and he loves with his soul who loves by the judgment of reason. And we ought to love God in both ways: with our flesh as the heart is moved with feeling for God in our flesh, whence it says in Psalm 83:3: “My heart and my flesh have exulted in the living God.”[8]
Quoting Chrysostom, they write:
The love of the heart is one thing, the love of the soul another. The love of the heart is in some sense carnal, that we should love God even carnally, which we cannot do unless we draw apart from the love of worldly things. Therefore, the love of the heart is felt in the heart. The love of the soul, however, is not felt, but understood, since it consists in the judgment of the soul.[9]
It is part of the Magisterium of the Church that the Sacred Heart of Jesus is interpreted as referring to his human biological Heart.[10] Since Jesus’ biological Sacred Heart is part of what the Communicant receives in the Eucharist, the question becomes: How powerful is the Sacred Heart in purifying the physical body of those who receive him in the Eucharist?
Theology and Instrumentality of the Body
In the Theology of the Body, Pope St. John Paul II examines how man’s body should be understood in light of the Scripture passage that reads, “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them” (Gen. 1:27). As the starting point of his examination, JP II considers the nuptial meaning of the body, i.e., the unitive and procreative. He teaches that valid marriage is a sign of the Triune nature of God. JP II tells us that:
1) the body and it alone can bring the invisible into the visible;2) the body is essential for expressing love in the physical world; and,3) the language of the spirit must be expressed into the visible world through an adequate language of the body.
Based on what is written above and elsewhere, it would be accurate to add one word to the title of JPII’s theology — instrumentality. The better title would be: The Theology of the Instrumentality of the Body for receiving and expressing grace.
I have researched and written about the relationship between science (mainly the biological sciences) and Scripture for twenty-five years. It is my belief the Theology of the Salt (TOS), as taught through “The Science & Theology of Salt in Scripture” (STOSS), can be classified as a significant branch of TOB.
Through extensive research, thirty-four mysteries of cutting-edge biological science have been discovered. So advanced are these biological mysteries, modern-day scientists have only recently discovered them. This fact becomes even more astounding when we realize the first book of Scripture was written over three-thousand years ago.
These mysteries are not written in Scripture in a textbook fashion. Instead, they are written and hidden in an Applied Sciences fashion. Why Applied Science? The Bible was not written for scientists alone. It was written so that all could understand its words to the specific degree that each individual can receive it through God’s Grace.
Why is it Important to Know the Thirty-four Scientific Mysteries of Biology Hidden in Scripture
To begin with, to know ourselves, we must understand the Incarnate Son of God, who is the prototype of Adam and, therefore, all man. The incarnation points explicitly to Jesus’ Human Body and spiritual soul. According to the Catechism, “In reality, it is only in the mystery of the Word made flesh that the mystery of man truly becomes clear.”[11][12] Knowing the biological sciences of His Human Body will teach us a great deal about our humanity!
By doing so, we will acquire an adequate anthropology of the spiritual and biological foundation of the Economy of created Grace for all rational human persons. It is an Economy that allows all rational human beings to obtain the grace necessary for eternal life. According to the self-identified Theology of the Body Evangelization Team:
Between 1979 and 1984, Pope St. John Paul II delivered a series of Wednesday audiences that eventually became known as the Theology of the Body (TOB). This profound teaching offered what St. John Paul called an “adequate anthropology” [i.e., scientific and theological explanation of humanity] — an examination of what it means to be human, made in God’s image and likeness, and how that reality is made visible through the human body, giving a Sacramental View of Reality [emphasis SML].
Pope St. John Paul II the Great answered, “Why is it Important to Know the Thirty-four Scientific Mysteries of Biology Hidden in Scripture?” TOB teaches us that the body, and it alone, is capable of expressing into visible creation the invisible: the Spiritual and the Divine life of Grace. In other words, through the instrumentality of the physical body and spiritual soul, fallen Man is redeemed and made capable of both receiving and expressing Love and Grace. God deliberately designed us with that purpose in mind. The anthropology becomes clear when we understand the meaning of the spiritual soul.
Informed by God Himself, St. Hildegard of Bingen writes:
Of all the strengths of God’s creation, Man’s is most profound, made in a wondrous way with great glory from the dust of the earth and so entangled with the strengths of the rest of creation that he can never be separated from them; for the elements of the world, created for Man’s service, wait on him, and Man, enthroned as it were in their midst, by divine disposition presides over them, as David says, inspired by Me [God]:
“Thou hast crowned him with glory and worship, and given him dominion over all the works of Thy hands” [Psalms 8:6–7]. Which is to say: You, O God, Who have marvellously [sic] made all things, have crowned Man with the gold and purple crown of intellect and with the sublime garment [Flesh] of visible beauty, thus placing him like a prince above the height of Your perfect works, which You have distributed justly and rightly among Your creatures. Before all Your other creatures You have conferred on Man great and wonderful dignities.[13]
According to the Catechism:
[Jesus] has loved us all with a human heart. For this reason, the Sacred Heart of Jesus, pierced by our sins and for our salvation [cf. Jn 19:34],” is quite rightly considered the chief sign and symbol of that … love with which the divine Redeemer continually loves the eternal Father and all human beings” without exception [Pius XII, encyclical, Haurietis aquas (1956): DS 3924; cf. DS 3812.].[14]
The Spiritual Soul
To help answer this question: Why is it Important to Know the Thirty-four Scientific Mysteries of Biology Hidden in Scripture, let us explore the nature of rational man’s Spiritual Soul.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church defines the spiritual soul thus:
Sometimes the soul is distinguished from the spirit: St. Paul for instance prays that God may sanctify his people “wholly”, with “spirit and soul and body” kept sound and blameless at the Lord’s coming [1 Thess. 5:23]. The Church teaches that this distinction does not introduce a duality [SML] into the soul [cf. Council of Constantinople IV (870): DS 657]. “Spirit” signifies that from creation, man is ordered to a supernatural end and that his soul can gratuitously be raised beyond all it deserves to communion with God [cf. Vatican Council I, Dei Filius: DS 3005; Gaudium et Spes 22 § 5; Humani Generis: DS 3891].[15]
Matthew also talks about the spiritual soul. He writes,”
“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?” And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart [i.e., the human spirit — SML], and with all your soul [that which controls the body], and with all your mind [the intellect]. This is the great and first commandment” (Mt 22:36-38).
The spiritual soul can be described thus:
The spiritual soul consists of higher powers and lower powers. The spirit consists of the higher powers of the spiritual soul. The upper powers of the spiritual soul, often identified as the spirit, are: intellect (not to be confused with the biological brain); free will (i.e., Love and Charity); memory (i.e., the spirit of the spiritual soul can never forget any knowledge it acquires), and; understanding (i.e., the ability —through the gift of grace — to penetrate and comprehend the thoughts of God).[16]
In passages where the spirit and soul are listed separately, the word soul refers to the lower powers that control the body’s functions. Our spiritual soul is the substantial form of the body (CCC #365). Thus, it would be beneficial to understand the spiritual soul in light of the distinction between soul and spirit. Paul writes, “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Heb 4:12). Remember, these two levels of power do not constitute a duality (CCC #367).
When Scripture tells us of the overflow/abundance of the human heart, I believe it indirectly teaches us about the Theology of the Body and the Language of the Body. For example, Matthew writes: “You brood of vipers! How can you speak good things, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the [inner] heart the mouth speaks” (Mt 12:34).
The scriptural mouth[17] is that which sends out, expresses, and communicates. In Scripture, the Father is never sent. Only the Son and the Holy Spirit are sent. In physical Creation, only the human body sends out the visible and invisible, the spiritual and the divine, as JP II tells us.[18] Therefore, when the Son of God took on a human body, he also took on a human scriptural mouth.
Through the spiritual soul, we gain a much deeper understanding of Pope St. John Paul II’s Theology of the Body and Language of the Body. He also tells us: it is only through the body and in the language of the body that the invisible, i.e., the spiritual and the divine, are made visible within creation.[19]
Instrumentality in Light of Our Spiritual Soul
For man, the scriptural mouth is the entire human body. It breathes in that which can either enlighten (through the grace of the Holy Spirit) or darken (with pride and lust). JP II’s words bear repeating:
The body, in fact, and it alone is capable of making visible what is invisible: the spiritual and divine. It was created to transfer into the visible reality of the world, the mystery hidden since time immemorial in God.[20]
Our bodies are the means through which we express spiritual love (i.e., the Language of the Spirit) or, on the other hand, artificial/chemical/imitation love. Both options are sent out/expressed accurately via the Language of the Body. A more accurate understanding of distinguishing TRUE spiritual love from artificial/chemical love can be achieved through biological scientific mysteries discovered in the Bible.
Jesus is an infinitely just judge. Have you ever heard of a person’s body going to hell while the spiritual soul goes to heaven, or vice versa? The body and soul — together — merit one or the other. What purifies the spiritual soul also purifies the body. The upper and lower powers of the spiritual soul are not cordoned off from each other. Matthew tells us, “For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. The good man out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil man out of his evil treasure brings forth evil” (Mt. 12:30-35).
Do these sense-able and meta-sense-able expressions have an impact on others? Is the body the instrument for expressing the overflow of that which the heart treasures (cf. Eccl 2:8, Mt 6:21, Lk 12:34) — whether good or bad? Many scientific studies reinforce the belief that they do. St. Catherine of Siena touches on this concept when she informs us there are no real dividing lines between our neighbors and us. So close is this sense-able and meta-sense-able relationship, whatever deed one does for oneself, affects their neighbors.[21] Most of us think of our body as a fence — a dividing line as St. Catherine calls it.[21-B] We foolishly believe what happens in the heart stays within the body unless one chooses to make a sense-able expression.
Through a deeper understanding of STOSS, we discover the body is not even close to being a fence. So permeating is the sense-able and meta-sense-able ‘words’ pronounced by our mouth/body, we would be correct in believing the body is the reason there is no fence. Through STOSS, we understand that the body is a veritable transmission tower broadcasting the overflow of the human heart. It broadcasts sense-ably (we can, for example, hear a heartbeat if we put an ear to another’s chest, as John did at the Last Supper), but it also broadcasts meta-sense-ably, i.e., beyond the reach of our sense-based faculties. The sense-able part of the expression can convey a lie which, nevertheless, is still an accurate expression of the liar’s heart. However, the meta-sense-able part cannot.
According to St. Hildegard, virtues work together through the body and spiritual soul.[22] She writes, “a virtue is a divine quality that … fully incarnates itself [SML].”[23] What does this mean? It means as the heart is purified, so too is the body. The higher powers of the spiritual soul (where the Holy Spirit dwells) are not fenced off from the lower powers (which control the body). Why is this necessary? In its role as the mouth through which the overflow of the spiritual heart flows, the body must accurately express (both sense-ably and meta-sense-ably) virtuous acts which will bear good fruit. Christopher West tells us that the body gives expression to the experiences of the heart;[24] the spirit expresses itself in the language of the body.[25]
St. Thomas Aquinas wrote,
Now we have it on the authority of Scripture that “God made man right” (Eccles. 7:30), which rightness, as Augustine says (De Civ. Dei, xiv, 11), consists in the perfect subjection of the body [i.e., salt/dust of DNA] to the soul.”[26]
Aquinas goes on to show supernatural grace’s role in our state of original justice. He writes,
Subjection of the body to the soul and of the lower powers to reason, was not from nature; otherwise it would have remained after sin … Hence it is clear that also the primitive subjection by virtue of which reason was subject to God, was not a merely natural gift, but a supernatural endowment of grace.[27]
Put simply, the body is meant by God’s design to be fully and harmoniously subject to the spirit within the spiritual soul. St. Hildegard writes this about the heart:
The [biological and spiritual] heart is the life and structure of our entire organism. It contains the whole body. Within it, our thoughts are arranged and our will is brought to maturity.[27-B]
St. Catherine of Siena tells us at our resurrection on Judgement Day, our bodies will be “imprinted” with the fruits of the sufferings and labors endured by the body in partnership with the inner heart in the practice of virtue. This imprinted ornamentation, so to speak, will not occur through the body’s power but through the power of the spiritual soul, as it was before the fall.[28]
This imprinting makes sense in light of the philosophical understanding that the soul is the body’s substantial form.[29] To help us understand the concept of soul, body, and form, think of a hand and glove. The hand represents the spiritual soul, and the leather glove represents the body. Without the hand inside, the glove cannot function as such. The matter of the body remains, but it is without form. Adam and Eve’s sin was disobedience to God’s command. Consequently, the body became disobedient to the desires of the inner heart.
The discussions above help us to understand why the thirty-four-plus mysteries of biological sciences hidden in Scripture are so important. The “making visible what is invisible: the spiritual and divine,” is done through the Language of the Body. The thirty-four mysteries teach us much of the invisible vocabulary of that Language.
Additionally, it is vital to know that the biological language of the body is both visible (i.e., sense-able) and invisible (meta-sense-able).
Sources Discussing the Instrumental Use of the Body by the Holy Spirit
According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church:
From the swaddling clothes of his birth to the vinegar of his Passion and the shroud of his Resurrection, everything in Jesus’ life was a sign of his mystery [Cf. Lk 2:7; Mt 27:48; Jn 20:7]. His deeds, miracles, and words all revealed that “in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily [Cf. Col 2:9].” His humanity appeared as “sacrament,” that is, the sign and instrument, of his divinity and of the salvation he brings: what was visible in his earthly life leads to the invisible mystery of his divine sonship and redemptive mission.[30]
On February 20, 1980, JP II said:
The body … [and it] alone is capable of making visible what is invisible: the spiritual and divine. It was created to transfer into the visible reality of the world, the mystery hidden since time immemorial in God.[31]
Furthermore:
The body speaks not merely with the whole external expression of masculinity and femininity, but also with the internal structures of the organism, of the somatic [the entire body and its aggregate parts such as the heart of flesh] and psychosomatic [relating to the mind/mental] reaction.[32]
Examples of the Holy Spirit’s Instrumental Use of Organic Life (e.g., Man’s Functioning DNA)
Elijah’s bones
One of the best examples of this topic in Scripture is in 2 Kings. It reads:
So Eli′sha died, and they buried him. Now bands of Moabites used to invade the land in the spring of the year. And as a man was being buried, lo, a marauding band was seen and the man was cast into the grave of Eli′sha; and as soon as the [dead] man touched the bones of Eli′sha, he revived, and stood on his feet (2 Kgs. 13:20-21).
Remember, Elisha was dead. His spiritual soul had long ago left his body. Since only Elisha’s bones were present in the grave, we can conclude his death occurred long before the events described in Scripture. The dead man dumped in Elisha’s grave came back to life only after touching Elisha’s bones.
The spiritual soul of the dead man dumped into the grave was not present. The spiritual soul of the deceased Elisha was not present. Consequently, faith played no part in this miracle. Instead, the Holy Spirit’s power was gifted to the dead man dumped in Elisha’s grave using Elisha’s salt of DNA (of Elisha’s bones likely still containing stem cells) as an instrument of resurrection.
Moses staff
Moses’ rod, or staff of God, was cut from an almond tree. It consisted entirely of cells, each containing its salt of DNA. When God commissioned Moses to lead His people out of bondage, he told Moses it would be through the rod/staff that he would perform the signs, i.e., all of God’s miracles (Ex. 4:17) of what we now describe as Gratuitous grace. What are some of these miracles? All of the miracles performed in Pharoah’s court. The parting of the Red Sea. Through the salt of the DNA of the rod, the Holy Spirit would show the power of God.
Upon witnessing the miracle of dust transformed into gnats, “the magicians said to Pharaoh, ‘This is the finger [meaning the Holy Spirit[33]] of God’” (Ex. 8:19). Note also that Moses’ staff made of wood was one of the items put into the Ark of the Covenant. Moses’ staff (previously wholly cut off from all physical water) was budding[34] (a miracle attributable to the life-giving power of the Holy Spirit — a power that was giving new life to the salt of DNA of the previously lifeless rod/staff). When the priests took the Ark across the river Jordan, the water divided (Josh. 3:12-17). Nothing else in the Ark had been previously associated with the parting of waters.
The Hemorrhagic Woman
Mark tells us about the woman who had blood flow for twelve years. He writes:
She said, “If I touch even his garments, I shall be made well.” And immediately the hemorrhage ceased; and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease. And Jesus, perceiving in himself that power had gone forth from him, immediately turned about in the crowd, and said, “Who touched my garments?” (Mk. 5:28-30).
Based on Jesus’ words, we know she hadn’t touched Jesus’ flesh. She only touched the garments he wore. Keep in mind; there were no synthetic garments in those days. All clothes were made of either the salt of DNA of an animal or the DNA of plants. So, it seems that the power of Jesus’ Spirit was sent out (in the language of his body) through his scriptural mouth (i.e., Jesus’ salt of DNA) and mediated through the DNA of the garments, which were in very close proximity to his body.
The Holy Spirit’s power left him and, through the instrumentality of the DNA of the garments Jesus was wearing, was received by the salt of DNA of the woman. Thus, she was healed of the dysfunction of her DNA. It almost seems like this event caught Jesus by surprise — which would be impossible. I think Jesus asked the question, “Who touched my garments,” to emphasize the role of her faith (her openness to the power of the Spirit).
Recall that at Jesus’ Transfiguration, his clothes also mediated his glory. At his Resurrection, the Shroud mediated Jesus’ glory. Similarly, Moses’ face radiated with light after going up the Holy Mountain to receive the stone tablets upon which were written the Law, the Ten Commandments (Ex. 34:29-35).
Incorruptibles
The Holy Spirit uses human biology as an instrument to slow/stop the decay of certain saints. To read about the details of the science behind the instrumentality of the body in accomplishing incorruptibility, go here.
Sheepskin mantle
As Elijah was taken up in the chariot of fire, his sheepskin mantle fell from him to Elisha. The falling of the mantle signified Elisha’s receiving the double portion of Elijah’s spirit, for which he had asked Elijah.
The Human Body Is Made to Express Grace
It is a tenet of STOSS that an individual man can communicate to others the grace they have received from God. I base the credibility of this tenet on several factors that will be discussed in greater detail elsewhere in this article and throughout the STOSS Books website. For now, I will cite four sources that reinforce assertions.
They are:
1) the words of Jesus as relayed by St. Faustina;2) the words of Scripture;3) the words of Archbishop Fulton Sheen; and,4) Pope St. JP II.
Let’s expand a bit on the words of these sources:
1). Jesus tells St. Faustina, “I am Love and Mercy itself. When a soul approaches Me with trust, I fill it with such an abundance of graces that it cannot contain them within itself, but radiates them to other souls.”[35] Let us recall our previous discussion on the spirit versus the soul. The upper powers of the spiritual soul (i.e., spirit/inner heart) cannot be kept separate from the lower powers (those lower powers of the spiritual soul responsible for the accidents and the functioning of the physical body). Therefore, grace will affect both body and spirit. This effect is true whether it be Sanctifying and/or Actual grace given.
2). In the Gospel of John, Jesus tells us, “If any one thirst, let him come to me and drink. He who believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart [believers heart in this passage would correspond to Jesus saying approaches with trust in his conversation with Faustina] shall flow rivers of living water’” (Jn 7:37-38). This living water is the grace of the Holy Spirit, and it is a river flowing out from the believer’s spirit/heart within the spiritual soul. Additionally, St. Paul writes, “Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for edifying, as fits the occasion, that it may impart grace to those who hear [emphasis SML].” (Eph 4:29-30);
3). St. Paul wrote, “For it is the God who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure [recall the heart-treasure links in Scripture] in earthen vessels, to show that the transcendent power belongs to God and not to us” (2 Cor. 4:6-7). Fulton Sheen viewed himself entirely as a frail earthen vessel that he titled his autobiography Treasure in Clay. In Sheen’s book, The Mystical Body of Christ, he wrote, “The graces of God are communicated through ‘frail vessels [emphasis SML].’”[36]
The body is the frail vessel, not the spiritual soul. Remember the phrase: The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. Did Sheen equate the frailty of the earthen vessel with the human body? Later in the book, he wrote, “The Mystical Christ of Pentecost, like the physical Christ of Bethlehem, was small, and delicate, and frail like any new-born thing [the newly breathed spiritual soul is sinless and, therefore, not weak]. Its members were small; its organs were in the process of formation.”[37] This is why the Church is considered the “Prolongation of the Incarnation through space and time.”[38] This understanding will take on even greater significance when we talk about the meaning of the mouth in Scripture and;
4). According to JP II:
Just as a sacrament is an outward sign of an inward (and unseen) reality of grace, the body itself enters into the “definition of a sacrament” (loosely speaking). This is so because it is a visible sign of an invisible reality. Not only is the body a sign of grace received, but it also visibly expresses that which it has received (not possible without the body) and does so efficaciously for self and others. Furthermore, the body not only expresses grace but, as we shall see later, produces it. Thus, the body contributes to grace becoming part of man.[39]
The above examples represent a small portion of the available models that show the instrumentality of the human body in expressing/communicating the graces of the Holy Spirit.
The Human Heart of Jesus — And All Man
St. Faustina writes:
O Most Sacred [Human] Heart, Fount of Mercy from which gush forth rays of inconceivable graces upon the entire human race, I beg of You light for poor sinners.[40]
Jesus tells St. Faustina:
I am Love and Mercy itself. When a soul approaches Me [in the Eucharist, for example — SML] with trust, I fill it with such an abundance of graces that it cannot contain them within itself, but radiates them to other souls.[41]
Once again, the upper powers of the spiritual soul cannot be kept separate from the lower powers. Thus, Jesus is giving us a deeper understanding of the significance of the Spiritual Soul, the Theology of the Body, and the Language of the Body. Therefore, grace must affect both body and spiritual soul.
Ezekiel writes:
I will sprinkle clean water upon you … A new heart I will give you, and a new spirit I will put within you; and I will take out of your flesh the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh [in which the Holy Spirit dwells].” (Ez 36:25-27).
Jesus tells us:
Do you not yet understand that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and is eliminated? But those things which proceed out of the mouth [the overflow of the spiritual heart — SML] come from the heart, and they defile a man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. These are the thing which defile a man, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man (Mt 15:11-20).
When we receive Jesus in the Eucharist, we are brought into close contact with his Sacred Heart. This closeness is precisely why there is no such thing as the Eucharist purifying only the spirit of the spiritual soul. The body, spirit, and soul will be purified to the exact same degree, but not necessarily in the same mode. Never has it been written or intimated by any Magisterial document that Jesus judged one’s spiritual soul and body to merit different final places in eternity. We possess one undivided nature. After the resurrection of the body, that one human nature will, in God’s infinite justice, spend eternity in the same level of Heaven or Hell. Why? Because Jesus could never be unjust in his judgements.
Servant of God John Hardon tells us, in every Sacrament, including the Eucharist, both Sanctifying and Actual graces are communicated.[42] The Sanctifying graces directly purify the spirit / inner heart through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. The Actual graces result from the overflow of the spirit / inner heart unto the soul, which controls the body.
St. Catherine of Siena (a Doctor of the Church) can further verify the above through God’s own words. She writes:
At the time of death, the [spiritual] soul only is reproved, but, at the General Judgment, the soul is reproved together with the body, because the body has been the companion and instrument of the soul — to do good and evil according as the free-will pleased. Every work, good or bad, is done by means of the body. And, therefore, justly, My daughter, glory and infinite good are rendered to My elect ones with their glorified body, rewarding them for the toils they bore for Me, together with the soul. And to the perverse ones will be rendered eternal pains by means of their body, because their body was the instrument of evil. … [The just will experience] generosity and mercy shining in the blessed ones, who receive the fruit of the Blood of the Lamb, the pains that they have borne remaining as ornaments on their bodies, like the dye upon the cloth, not by virtue of the body but only out of the fulness of the [spiritual] soul.[43]
The Biology of The Human Heart: An Efficacious Instrument of Grace
The biological heart communicates with the entire body (every single cell within it) through four means. They are:
1). Neurologically (using the nervous system);[44]2). Biochemically (e.g., hormones);[45]
3). Biophysically (e.g., pulse waves — as from the beating heart);[46]
Does The Beating Sacred Heart of Jesus Produce Both Biological and Spiritual Changes?Upon a visitation by St. John, the beloved Apostle, Saint Gertrude the Great was taken up in spirit to the Last Supper, during which John rested his head upon the bosom of Jesus. John placed Gertrude on Jesus’ right. John placed himself on the left. Then they both laid their heads on Jesus’ chest. Pointing reverently to the bosom of Jesus, John exclaimed:Behold, this is the Saint of saints, who draws to Himself all that is good in Heaven and on earth!” … as [St. Gertrude] felt the constant pulsations of the Divine Heart, and rejoiced exceedingly thereat, she said to St. John: “Beloved of God, didst not thou feel those pulsations when thou wert lying on the Lord’s breast at the Last Supper?” “Yes,” he replied; “and this with such plenitude, that liquid does not enter more rapidly into bread than the sweetness of those pleasures penetrated my soul [remember, what affects the spiritual soul, affects spirit and overflows to the soul, which then affects the body — equally — SML], so that my spirit became more ardent than water under the action of a glowing fire.” “And why,” she inquired, “have you neither said nor written anything of this for our edification?” He [said], … “I deferred speaking of these Divine pulsations until later ages, that the world might be aroused from its torpor, and animated, when it had grown cold, by hearing of these things.”[47]Clearly, the pulsating physical Sacred Heart of Jesus profoundly affected the two saints via both Sanctifying and Actual Graces.
4). The last means through which the biological heart communicates with the entire body is, Energetically (e.g., electromagnetic radiation).[48]The heart is the most potent electromagnetic energy generator in the human body.[49] This cardioelectromagnetic energy not only envelops every cell in the human body, but the magnetic field generated extends outward several feet or more in all directions from the body.[50] The electromagnetic field produced by the heart is 5,000 times stronger than the brain’s.[51]
Rather than turn this article into a scientific dissertation about the biology of the human heart, I will link to an article that provides the option to explore the biological sciences a little more deeply.[52]
Miracles of the Eucharist & the Human Heart of Flesh
Two Eucharistic miracles are unique. One has been approved by the local Ordinary. The other occurred only a few months ago (in 2022) and, as yet, has not been studied.
In 1998 a new Eucharistic Miracle occurred involving the miraculous host consecrated at Betania Venezuela in 1991. The 1991 host experienced a lifting of the sacramental veil, revealing the flesh of Jesus. In the latest miracle (in 1998), the same 1991 host, when exposed for viewing, appeared to be on fire while simultaneously pulsating in the manner of a beating heart. In a 1998 video of the event, one can observe the electromagnetic radiation emitted by the beating heart in the Monstrance. The pulsations lasted about 30 seconds, then returned to its previous miraculous state (i.e., the sacramental veil was still lifted, but the heart tissue was no longer pulsating).[53]
A new Eucharistic miracle has very recently taken place in Guadalajara, Mexico. There is live video[54] of the miracle occurring in a chapel where the Stations of the Cross were being said. The miracle happened on July 24, 2022. During this alleged miracle, the sacramental veil is lifted, revealing the beating heart of Jesus in the Eucharist — i.e., the heart of flesh as it is described in Scripture (Ez 11:19, 36:26). Once again, the physical light being generated by the beating heart is visually observable.
Miracles Involving the Holy Spirit and the Human Spirit of the Spiritual Soul:
We’ve already discussed two miracles in which the consecrated host appeared as a beating heart, radiating the light of electromagnetic energy. There are also Eucharistic miracles where the veil of bread and/or wine are lifted, revealing the flesh and/or blood of Jesus. I have not investigated every instance (there are well over a hundred) in which the flesh is exposed. Still, in every miracle investigated, it was determined to be tissue from the human heart that was revealed. In fact, in at least two instances (not including the two already discussed), the myocardial (heart muscle) cells were determined to have been beating at the time of the miracle.
Rather than talk about Eucharistic miracles of the same type as previously discussed, I want to provide some examples of how the indwelling of the Holy Spirit (Divine Light) within the spirit physically impacts the function of the biological human heart. This phenomenon provides us with another avenue of understanding through which to appreciate Scripture’s teachings regarding the overflow/abundance of that which the human spirit (heart) treasures.
Several saints have experienced dramatic changes to the human biological heart as a direct result of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit within the human spirit (i.e., the upper powers of the spiritual/rational soul). You may recall the Divine Light of the Holy Spirit overflows to the soul, which controls all functions of the body. Thus, profound physical changes can be observed in the biological heart’s function.
Following are some examples:
St. Phillip Neri:
[St. Phillip Neri] kept the longest vigils and received the most abundant consolations. In this catacomb, a few days before Pentecost in 1544, the well-known miracle of his heart took place. Bacci describes it thus: “While he was with the greatest earnestness asking of the Holy [Spirit] His gifts, there appeared to him a globe of fire, which entered into his mouth [symbolizing his scriptural mouth, the body – SML] and lodged in his breast; and thereupon he was suddenly surprised with such a fire of love, that, unable to bear it, he threw himself on the ground, and, like one trying to cool himself, bared his breast to temper in some measure the flame which he felt .... all his body began to shake with a violent tremour; and putting his hand to his bosom, he felt by the side of his heart, a swelling about as big as a man’s fist ... The cause of this swelling was discovered by the doctors who examined his body after death. The saint’s heart had been dilated [expanded – SML] under the sudden impulse of love, and in order that it might have sufficient room to move, two ribs had been broken, and curved in the form of an arch. From the time of the miracle till his death, his heart would palpitate (beat-SML) violently whenever he performed any spiritual action [emphasis SML].”[55]
The miracle above shows that the Divine Light of the Holy Spirit simultaneously produces a physical impact on the human heart of flesh (cf. Ez 36:25-27). Specifically, changes occurred in myocardial cell division, electron excitation of the heart cells (responsible for a beating heart), the generation of pulse waves, and an increase in the intensity of the electromagnetic radiation generated by the beating heart. Let us look at another miracle to preempt those who will try to dismiss this by falsely stating that it was all spiritual, not physical.
St. Gemma Galgani:
Like St. Philip Neri, the same miraculous phenomenon occurred with St. Gemma Galgani, but with a few notable differences.
According to Glenn Dallaire:St. Galgani experienced an increasingly intense burning beginning in the center of her heart and then radiating outward. She describes the sensation as a hot poker penetrating her, so intense she needed ice to cool it. The pain and burning were not merely spiritual but also physical. The skin in the area of the heart was burned. When …a thermometer [was placed] on the skin, the mercury immediately ascended to the upper limit of the gauge. This type of manifestation of the Holy Spirit’s dwelling in the spiritual heart which then overflowed into the physical heart was experienced by St. Padre Pio (his skin temperature, especially during Mass, was over 120 degrees, the upper limit of the thermometer), and also St. Paul of the Cross. Galgani said that while this burning caused great pain to her body, she did not desire that excruciating pain to stop because of the sweetness it produced in the very depths of her soul [i.e., the mouth/body breathed in the Divine, causing the inner heart to overflow and be expressed via the body, especially the human heart — SML]. The palpitations of her physical heart during this phenomenon were so great that her chair and bed would shake, even though she remained quite calm. Like Phillip Neri, St. Gemma’s heart was also expanded.[56]
The above-described heat-related phenomenon is consistent with that which God revealed to St. Hildegard of Bingen (a Doctor of the Church) about our body-soul composite:
Because the soul has a fiery nature, we are warm-blooded creatures. Its paths are windy in nature. The soul inhales the breath of life into the body and then expels it. By inhaling, we dry out, which is good for us since our flesh remains healthy and flourishes as a result of the dryness. By exhaling, the fire of the organism is diminished and warmth is removed. Thus, the whole body is constructed with the greatest sensitivity so that we can be alive, so that we can control all five senses of the body with their cluster of functions. If that warmth were not discharged from the body, the fire of the soul might burn the body, just as a house might be completely destroyed by the heat of a fire.[57]
Given the biological fact that our heart is the largest generator of electromagnetic energy in the body, it can be surmised that it is also the largest generator of heat in the body. The circumstances surrounding Galgani’s miraculous encounter are nearly identical to those of Neri. Let’s examine what was different about her encounter. The difference between Divine Light and physical created light (i.e., electromagnetic radiation generated by the actions of the human physical heart). From STOSS Book’s website, we read:
Divine light does not generate heat. For example, the burning bush in Ex 3:2 was not consumed by the heat generated by a “fire”. Heat capable of consuming a combustible material can only be generated by created light existing within created time. Heat is the result of discreet packets of energy (called photons) traveling in a sine waveform [think of a roller coaster] that interacts with the electrons of physical matter with which it comes into contact. An example of such combustible matter is flesh near the physical heart. This contact causes energy transference, which results in the generation of heat. The human heart generates photons. — a LOT of them. Since a sine-wave can only exist in created time, it cannot be Divine Light (which exists in the Eternal Now). This is so because Divine Light is not material (created) light and is outside time and space. A photon travelling in a sine-wave path is serial in nature, i.e., one peak after another peak after another peak and so on. There are no serial movements in the Eternal Now.[58]
Framing this understanding in light (pardon the pun) of the spiritual soul: in these miracles, the Holy Spirit comes to dwell in the spirit within the human spiritual soul. The inner spiritual heart overflows into the soul, which in turn mediates Divine Light through the human body — and is sent out into the physical world in the Language of the Body. It is worthwhile mentioning that the Language of the Body is not limited to only those expressions that can be observed through the five naked senses.
Glenn Dallaire wrote:
Like Phillip Neri, St. Gemma’s heart was also expanded. So much so that three of her ribs were broken at almost right angles. When her body was exhumed, physicians found that decomposition of the body had begun … except for the heart [emphasis SML]. It was found incorrupt, full of blood, fresh, healthy, and flexible.[59]
The Physical Consequences of Eating Jesus
I believe that we, as a Church, must begin to explain why comprehensively, according to Jesus’ own words, we must eat his flesh and drink his blood if we want eternal life. Every organic food we consume produces one of several consequences for our bodies. They are:
1). Healthy food will lead an unhealthy body to become increasingly and incrementally healthier.2). Junk food will cause an unhealthy body to become even more so.3). Food that is good for us will maintain a body that is already a picture of health.4). Junk food will cause a healthy body to become increasingly unhealthy.
A parishioner may say, I’ve been receiving the Eucharist for years, and I don’t feel any change after receiving Communion. That is not surprising.
1). Many cancers are asymptomatic until later stages. For example, cancers such as Testicular, ovarian, pancreatic, cervical, and prostate, to name a few.2). Hypertension. A silent killer.3). Most feelings are the specific result of biochemical reactions to the presence of certain stimuli. As seen above, significant changes can occur within your body without triggering a response from the nervous or endocrine (i.e., hormone-producing) systems. In other words, without producing sensible feelings.
There have been times when I eagerly sought to be closer to God in the Eucharist and prayer. Like many, I never really felt a massive difference in how I felt. Unfortunately, those periods were interrupted by Mortal sin. That is when I realized how the Eucharist was gradually purifying me. Gradually enough that the change wasn’t noticeable. Immediately after the sin, I realized what I had gained by how much I had lost. I lost my peace, happiness, the joy of others, my outlook on life, etc. I found that I had lost my willpower to resist temptations. While regularly partaking in the Eucharistic banquet, I successfully engaged in complete fasts from all food three times a week. But I did not have the willpower to do that after my sin.
We live in a society obsessed with being healthy. With the Eucharist, Jesus gives us an entire banquet of the most nourishing food we can imagine. Instead, we settle for the crumbs that fall on the floor. As a Church, we must give everyone a reason to seek to consume what will make us super healthy — in body and soul!
Endnotes:
[1] Thomas Richard, “Catholics! Some of the Members are Wandering Away!”, Renew the Church, https://renewthechurch.com/2013/11/13/catholics-some-of-the-sheep-are-wandering-away/, November 13, 2013 (accessed 2/21/23).
[2] Gregory A. Smith, “Just one-third of U.S. Catholics agree with their church that Eucharist is body, blood of Christ,” Pew Research Center, https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/08/05/transubstantiation-eucharist-u-s-catholics/, August 5, 2019 (accessed 2/21/23).
[3] Fr. Thomas Dailey OSFS, “How Accurate Is the Pew Survey on the Eucharist?” Ascension Press, https://media.ascensionpress.com/2019/08/16/how-accurate-is-the-pew-survey-on-the-eucharist/, August 16, 2019 (accessed 2/21/23).
[4] cf. Robert Sungenis, “John 6:54-55, and the Meaning of the Verb ‘to Eat’ Flesh,” http://matt1618.freeyellow.com/trogo.html, March 18, 1999 (accessed 2010).
[5] cf. Robert Sungenis, “John 6:54-55, and the Meaning of the Verb ‘to Eat’ Flesh,” http://matt1618.freeyellow.com/trogo.html, March 18, 1999 (accessed 2010).
[6] cf. Matt1618, “Protestant Argument on why ‘Eat Flesh’, Trogo in John 6 is Metaphorical: A Response,” http://matt1618.freeyellow.com/john6response.html, December 06/2015 (accessed 2018).
[7] Ibid.
[8] Ibid.
[9] Ibid.
[10] Ibid.
[11] Gaudium et Spes, https://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_const_19651207_gaudium-et-spes_en.html, 22 § 1.
[12] Catholic Church, Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2nd Ed. (Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1997), p. 92 (n. 359).
[13] St. Hildegard of Bingen, Scivias (Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press, 1990), 98.
[14] Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2nd Ed. (Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1997), n. 478; Cf. CCC nos. 368, 2669.
[15] Ibid., n. 367.
[16] Stephen Leininger, “The Spiritual Soul,” (Raceland, LA: STOSS Books, 2017. Used with permission), https://www.stossbooks.com/spiritual-soul.html#SpiritualSoul, February 28, 2022.
[17] Stephen Michael Leininger, “Mouth in Scripture,” (Raceland, LA: STOSS Books, 2023), https://www.stossbooks.com/mouth.html#Mouth.
[18] Pope John Paul II in his General Audience of Wednesday, February 20, 1980, “Man Enters the World as a Subject of Truth and Love,” taken from L’Osservatore Romano, https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/library/man-enters-the-world-as-a-subject-of-truth-and-love-8475, February 25, 1980. n. 4.
[19] Pope St. John Paul II in his general audience of January 12, 1983, “The Language of the Body in the Structure of Marriage,” Theology of the Body, n. 7, https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/library/language-of-the-body-in-the-structure-of-marriage-8442, January 12, 1983.
[20] St. John Paul II, “Man Enters the World as a Subject of Truth and Love,” n. 4.
[21] St. Catherine of Siena, The Dialogue, trans. Suzanne Noffke, O.P (Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press, 1980), 62.
[21-B] Ibid.
[22] Hildegard, Scivias, 345.
[23] Hildegard, Scivias, 37.
[24] Christopher West, Theology of the Body Explained (Boston, MA: Pauline Books and Media, 2003), 94.
[25] Ibid., 382.
[26] Aquinas, Summa Theologiae, I, q. 99.
[27] Aquinas, Summa Theologiae, I, q. 99.
[27-B] Hildegard of Bingen, Hildegard of Bingen’s Book of Divine Works: With Letters and Songs, Translated by Robert Cunningham, Jerry Dybdal, and Ron Miller, Edited by Matthew Fox, (Santa Fe, NM: Inner Traditions International/Bear & Company, 1987), Kindle Locations 2380-2381.
[28] St. Catherine of Siena, The Dialogue, 86.
[29] Aquinas, Summa Theologiae, I, q. 76.
[30] Catholic Church, Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2nd Ed. (Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1997), p 129, n. 515.
[31] John Paul II, in his general audience of February 20, 1980, “Man Enters the World as a Subject of Truth and Love,” Theology of the Body, Libreria Editrice Vaticana (Third Millennium Media L.L.C., The Faith Database L.L.C., 2008), n. 4.
[32] Ibid., n. 1.
[33] Translated by J.G. Cunningham. “Letters of St. Augustine-Letter 55,” n. 29, From Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, First Series, Vol. 1. Edited by Philip Schaff. (Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1887.) Revised and edited for New Advent by Kevin Knight. http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/1102055.htm, (accessed 04/15, 2012).
[34] Josephus, Flavius; Marsh, Ernest; Whiston, William (2010-10-07). The Complete Works of Flavius Josephus (Kindle Locations 3599-3600). Unknown. Kindle Edition.
[35] St. Maria Faustina Kowalska, Diary of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska, (Stockbridge: Marian Press, 2005), n. 1074. Used with permission of the Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception of the B.V.M.
[36] Sheen, Fulton J., The Mystical Body of Christ (Kindle Locations 215-218), Ave Maria Press, Kindle Edition. This reference is found in the “Introduction of the New Edition” by Brandon Vogt. Excerpted from The Mystical Body of Christ by Fulton J. Sheen. Copyright 2015 by The Society for the Propagation of the Faith. Used with permission of the publisher, Ave Maria Press.
[37] Kowalska, Diary of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska, Kindle Locations 2935-2939.
[38] Sheen, Fulton J., The Mystical Body of Christ (Kindle Locations 215-218), Ave Maria Press, Kindle Edition. This reference is found in the “Introduction of the New Edition” by Brandon Vogt, Excerpted from The Mystical Body of Christ by Fulton J. Sheen.
[39] John Paul II, “Marital Love Reflects God’s Love for His People,” The Theology of the Body, Daughters of St. Paul, General audience of July 28, 1982, Libreria Editrice Vaticana, (Boston, MA: Pauline Books & Media, 1997), p. 304-306.
[40] Kowalska, Saint Maria Faustina. Diary of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska: Divine Mercy in My Soul (Kindle Locations 1234-1235). Marian Press. Kindle Edition.
[41] Kowalska, Diary of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska, n. 1074.
[42] Servant of God John Hardon, “Sacramental Grace.” Catholic Dictionary: An Abridged and Updated Edition of Modern Catholic Dictionary, (New York: Image Books, Kindle Edition 2013), p. 442.
[43] St. Catherine of Siena, The Dialogue of the Seraphic Virgin Catherine of Siena, trans. Algar Thorold (London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co., 1896), 94.
[44] Rollin McCraty, PhD., Science of the Heart, Vol. 2, HeartMath Institute, (Boulder Creek, CA: Institute of HeartMath, 2015), p. 3.
[45] Rollin McCraty, PhD., Science of the Heart, Vol. 2, HeartMath Institute, (Boulder Creek, CA: Institute of HeartMath, 2015), p. 3.
[46] Rollin McCraty, PhD., Science of the Heart, Vol. 2, HeartMath Institute, (Boulder Creek, CA: Institute of HeartMath, 2015), p. 3.
[47] St. Gertrude and the Religious of Her Community, Life and Revelations of St. Gertrude the Great, trans Poor Clares of Kenmare, TAN Books. Kindle Edition, pp. 303-304.
[48] McCraty, Science of the Heart, Vol. 2, p. 3.
[49] Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt, “Magnetic field measurements of the human heart at room temperature.,” ScienceDaily.com, https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/12/091211131520.htm: ScienceDaily, L.L.C., December 26, 2009 (accessed 12-26-2009).
[50] McCraty, Science of the Heart, Vol. 2, p. 36.
[51] Clarke J., SQUIDS, (August 1994) Sci Am: 46–53.
[52] Stephen Michael Leininger, “Heart of Stone versus Heart of Flesh, (Raceland, LA: STOSS Books, 2023, Used with permission), https://www.stossbooks.com/human-heart-in-stoss.html#HumanHeart, 03/03/2022.
[55] Charles Sebastian Ritchie, “St. Philip Romolo Neri.” The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 12. (New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1911). http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12018b.htm. Nov. 5, 2017 (accessed Dec. 6, 2017).
[56] Glenn Dallaire, “St Gemma Galgani,” http://www.stgemmagalgani.com/2008/11/heart-on-fire-with-love-of-god-st-gemma.html, January 21, 2013 (accessed 11/05/2017).
[57] Hildegard of Bingen. Hildegard of Bingen’s Book of Divine Works: With Letters and Songs (Kindle Locations 2214-2219). Inner Traditions/Bear & Company. Kindle Edition.
[58] Stephen Michael Leininger, “Incorruptible Saints: The Hows and Whys of the Holy Spirit’s Power Over the Body,” (Raceland, LA: STOSS Books, 2023. Used with permission.), https://stossbooks.com/page-incorruptibility-of-saints--how-and-why.html, Updated 05/18/2022.
[59] Glenn Dallaire, “St Gemma Galgani,” http://www.stgemmagalgani.com/2008/11/heart-on-fire-with-love-of-god-st-gemma.html, January 21, 2013 (accessed 11/05/2017).