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Covenants Part IV: Ezekiel's Dream of the New Covenant of Salt Temple
STOSS Books
Published by Stephen Michael Leininger in Stephen Michael Leininger · Monday 23 Mar 2020
Tags: TempleEucharistbiologygraceJesus

Part IV: Ezekiel’s Dream of the Temple:

What Does Ezekiel's Dream Tell Us about the Meaning of Covenants?


Introduction

This post is the final installment of the four-part blog series through which is presented a fuller understanding of covenant theology. The case being made through this blog series is this: All covenants between God and man are covenants of salt, which are the Big Picture of Scripture. As with most big picture scenarios, the fullness of understanding of the puzzle is achieved when the last piece of the puzzle is put into place. It is only then that we more fully grasp (which can never fully happen this side of Heaven) the meaning of Scripture. Thus it can be said that the final installment of this blog series is the most important. That is also why it is the longest — by far. Approximately eleven-thousand words, to be more precise.
To recap our progress thus far: In Part I of this series, an overview is given to help us understand the what(s) ... and whys... of biblical covenants entered into between God and man. In Part II, we learned that all covenants between God and man are covenants of salt. In Part III, we learned that the Dead/Salt Sea is a symbol of fallen human nature, in particular the biology of our fallen and disordered human nature. In this, the final installment, we will learn what the New and Eternal Covenant of Salt looks like. What are the components that help us to recognize its fulfillment? Through this blog, we will, perhaps, cement our understanding of the symbolic link between the Dead Sea and our fallen human nature, body and soul.
In this blog-post, we will first discuss the surface layers of the theology, which can be gleaned from the passages describing Ezekiel’s dream. Following that, we will begin to explore the much more profound meaning of these passages as they relate to an understanding of the fulfillment of the Old Testament covenant of salt, and the beginning of the New Covenant of Salt. While doing so, keep in mind the theological teaching of the Church relative to the relationship between the Old and New Covenant. The Church teaches: God intended the full meaning of the New Testament to be hidden within the words of the Old Testament which, in turn, manifest and shed light on the understanding of the New Testament.[1] Ezekiel’s dream directly relates to our knowledge of the New Covenant.

Ezekiel’s Dream Interpreted

Let’s begin by quoting a portion of Ezekiel’s dream. He writes:
Then he brought me back to the door of the [rebuilt – SML] temple; and behold, water was issuing from below the threshold of the temple toward the east (for the temple faced east); and the water was flowing down from below the south end of the threshold of the temple, south of the altar. Then he brought me out by way of the north gate, and led me round on the outside to the outer gate, that faces toward the east; and the water was coming out on the south side.
Going on eastward with a line in his hand, the man measured a thousand cubits, and then led me through the water; and it was ankle-deep. Again he measured a thousand, and led me through the water; and it was knee-deep. Again he measured a thousand, and led me through the water; and it was up to the loins. Again he measured a thousand, and it was a river that I could not pass through, for the water had risen; it was deep enough to swim in, a river that could not be passed through. And he said to me, “Son of man, have you seen this?”
Then he led me back along the bank of the river. As I went back, I saw upon the bank of the river very many trees on the one side and on the other. And he said to me, “This water flows toward the eastern region and goes down into the Arabah; and when it enters the stagnant waters of the sea, the water will become fresh.[[2] SML] And wherever the river goes every living creature which swarms will live, and there will be very many fish; for this water goes there, that the waters of the sea may become fresh; so everything will live where the river goes. Fishermen will stand beside the sea; from En-ge′di to En-eg′laim it will be a place for the spreading of nets; its fish will be of very many kinds, like the fish of the Great Sea. But its swamps and marshes [they do not receive the river flowing from the Temple – SML] will not become fresh; they are to be left for salt [dead, fallen man – SML]. And on the banks, on both sides of the river, there will grow all kinds of trees for food. Their leaves will not wither nor their fruit fail, but they will bear fresh fruit every month, because the water for them flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for healing” (Ez 47:1–12; all passages are from the RSVCE).     
To help understand the meaning of these passages, we read from The Science & Theology of Salt in Scripture:
Rev. Mitch Pacwa is a well-known and well-respected Scripture scholar. On March 20th, 2007 he gave a homily that was broadcast on EWTN radio. His focus for the homily was a discussion of Ezekiel’s prophetic dream (Ez. 47:1–12) of the restoration of the Temple that was destroyed by the Babylonians in the year 587 BC. In the narrative of the dream, Ezekiel describes an interesting feature of the restored Temple: he describes a fresh water river that flows out from the altar within the Temple and down through the desert, transforming everything in its path into a paradise rich in vegetation and life. It continues to flow onward to the Dead Sea[3] which, as Pacwa describes it, is nine times saltier than the oceans. It is so salty that if you drink its water you will die. The high concentration of salt prevents life from surviving in or around it. It is utterly fruitless [cf. Judges 9:45]. Other rivers, such as the Jordan, flow into the Dead Sea but their waters immediately become salty. In Ezekiel’s vision, however, the waters that flow from the restored Temple turn the salty water of the Dead Sea (a.k.a. Salt Sea) into sweet/pure/fresh water.[4] As a result, its waters become fruitful and full of life, as does the land surrounding it. The Gospel reading for that same day was about a man paralyzed for thirty-eight years who couldn’t make it to the healing waters of Bethesda, or Beth-zatha as it is written in some manuscripts (Jn 5:1–16). By explaining how the two readings complement each other, Pacwa made the case that the Temple in Ezekiel’s vision was Jesus and that from Him would flow Living Water that heals the sick and transforms death into fruit-bearing life.[5]
Continuing from Volume One of STOSS:
There are two references to life in the above quoted passage and each has a distinctly different meaning. The context of the phrase “every living creature” seems to indicate every form of biological (organic) life; while the last reference in the phrase “every living creature which swarms will live” seems to be indicative of the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit as a consequence of coming into contact with the river of Living Water. Hence, in this context, living refers to the eternal spirit/soul.
We must answer the question: why is it that only a “creature that swarms” will live? The answer comes by understanding the characteristics of a swarm. A swarm lives and functions coherently through interaction, and only through interaction (i.e. expression, in one form or another). For example: a single ant finds a sugar cube and a little while later, a multitude of ants are following the pheromone trail (as also do cockroaches) to that sweet delight;[6] bees inside a hive, watch the “dance” of another bee and acting on the basis of that dance are led to a source of food;[7] the six or seven birds surrounding a lead bird will modify their flight trajectory based on the sudden movements of a startled bird;[8] and, a locust transforms to swarming mode because of increased levels of serotonin brought on by tactile stimulation and other types of contact.[9] One might be tempted to think that the use of swarming in Scripture is simply implying living together through a sort of group coherence. That would be a reasonable interpretation were it not for the context in which it was used, i.e., the multiplication of grace among largely non-hierarchical “creatures” and the consequences thereof. While the Temple from which the Living Water proceeds has a hierarchy (a ministerial priesthood), the swarm does not. Grace is the communication/sending out of Living Water to man; calling him to communion with the Father, through the Son, and in the Holy Spirit. When man follows the “call/communication/grace” that triggers the “swarming” instinct, he finds life.
Through the reception of the Sacraments of the Church, especially Baptism[10] and the Eucharist, we are enabled to communicate the Living Water of the Holy Spirit (in the language of the body) to those around us. The symbolism of “living creature” indicates this communication of grace occurs through man’s mouth/body when in a nuptial and fruitful/multiplicative union with the resurrected NC Temple.
As Venerable Fulton Sheen tells us, “The plan of the Incarnation was based upon the communication of the Divine through the human, the invisible through the visible, and the eternal through the temporal. It was, in a certain sense, the foundation of a Sacramental universe in which material things would be used as the channels for the spiritual.”[11] Jesus tells St. Faustina that “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;”[12] Furthermore, in the Gospel of John, Jesus tells us, “If any one thirst, let him come to me and drink. He who believes [[13] – SML] 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 heart. Our understanding of this passage will become more fully appreciated when we talk about the Eucharist.

Jesus is the Rebuilt New Covenant Temple

Before discussing the temple in Ezekiel’s dream, it will prove to be essential to know the difference between the synagogue and the temple.

Temple versus Synagogue

Synagogue: The synagogue is sort of a Jewish community center. Primarily, it provided a place for people to gather for the reading and systematic interpretation of Scripture. It also served as a place for various functions, such as funerals, business gatherings, ceremonies, educational activities, and other types of meetings.[14] The synagogue is like a modern-day parish hall or worship center, perhaps containing a pulpit upon which the Scriptures were read and taught. It was also a place where fellowship, Bible studies, and meetings occurred. There were no altars upon which a holocaust could be offered to God. Offerings of the heart and mind could be made (e.g., thanksgiving for the of the Word of God), but no offerings requiring a priest. No offering requiring the addition of salt[15] to that being offered. The Ark of the Covenant was not present in the synagogue, i.e., it was never considered to be the dwelling place of God on earth. In the synagogue, there is no “godes” (the Holy) or “debir” (the Holy of Holies).[16] In ancient Judaism, there existed multiple synagogues, but always and only one Temple. There is no place in the Bible where the synagogue is described as eternal, even as a dwelling place of God! Jesus never said: Destroy this synagogue, and in three days I will rebuild it. John never clarifies, telling us that the synagogue Jesus was referring to was his body.
Old Covenant Temple: In the Bible, the word “Temple” signifies a sanctuary, a place sacred to the Divinity, a house (dwelling place) of God.[17] In all of historical Scripture, there has always been only one place at any given time where God dwelt — in a unique way — within creation. Arguably, the first place was the “tree of life” in the Garden of Eden. The second place would be Mt. Horeb (the Mountain of God) (Ex. 3:1). The third place was the Ark of the Covenant (Ex. 25:10). The fourth place was the stone Temple (built to house the Ark). The ‘stone’ Temple of Jesus’ glorified body would be the fifth and final one, destined to exist for all eternity.
The critical point is this: it was ordained by God that there be one — and only one — special dwelling place for God, continuously existing (in the case of the temple of stone) from the time of David onward. Starting with Solomon’s time and continuing until the resurrection of Jesus, that dwelling place of God was within the literal stone walls[18] of the Temple. It was always located in the same place and according to the same structural layout.[19]

Are There Billions and Billions of Temples??

In general, dust, stone, and salt in the Bible refer to our body's DNA. However, dust and stone in Scripture should be interpreted in the context of the physical hardware of the human body, the physiological components consisting of the individual and collective molecules of DNA existing within the body. Salt, on the other hand, connotes the software of the body, i.e., the actual functioning of DNA, as in genetic expression. While the salt of DNA helps us to understand the symbolism of the Dead/Salt Sea, the dust/stone helps us to understand Jesus as unchangeable Truth incarnate. Adam is not the prototype of man; Jesus is. Jesus was the prototype of Adam. Jesus was the first-born of all creation (cf. Heb. 1:6, Col. 1:15, Ps. 89:27). It also helps us to understand the symbolism of the rebuilt Temple in Ezekiel’s dream and why there are not billions and billions of temples in the Christian world.
In Chapter Six of the first letter of Paul to the Corinthians, we read, “Do you not know that your bodies [SML] are members of [the Mystical Body of — SML[20]] Christ [v. 15] … But he who is united to the Lord becomes one spirit with him (v. 17) … Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God” [v.19-20]. If each of us is a temple of the Holy Spirit, does that mean there are billions and billions of Temples in the world right now? The answer is: absolutely not. That would be unbiblical, as we discussed previously. For all eternity, there will be a single dwelling place for God within the created world — only one Temple; the resurrected and glorified body of Jesus.[21] We are not separate temples; we are temples only because we are built into the one and only Temple, which is Jesus’ resurrected body, wherein the Holy Spirit dwells.
Jesus is not the Temple that becomes the Church, or vice versa. On the contrary, all the baptized are the Church (the Bride) that is built into the Temple in a nuptial mystery. In Old Covenant Scripture, the future cornerstone of the New Covenant Temple (cf. Is. 28:16, Zach. 10:4, Psalm 118:22) is referenced. We now know that Jesus is that cornerstone (Mt. 21:42). We also know that the New Covenant of Salt Temple of stone will exist forever (e.g., Ez. 37:26-28, 1 Sam. 2:35, 1 Kgs 9:3-5, Tobit 1:4). St. Paul describes the temple as growing. He writes, “Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord; in whom you also are built into it [SML] for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit” (Eph. 2:20-22). St. Peter tells us, “Come to him, to that living stone, rejected by men but in God’s sight chosen and precious; and like living stones be yourselves built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (1 Pt. 2:4-5). In other words, the members of the body of Christ, i.e., the Church, are also living stones, and the spiritual house is the Temple.[22] We know that the “spiritual house” referred to in this passage is the Temple. How can we know this? The only place that priests can offer sacrifices acceptable to God is the Temple.

Covenant of Salt Fulfilled

 

Eucharist: What is it, Why is It?

The Eucharist is the ultimate and eternal fulfillment of the Covenant of Salt made between God and man. Marriage, Baptism, and the Eucharist are all covenants of salt covenants in which both an organic and also spiritual bond is formed between God via the incarnate Son of God and his adopted children. A covenant of salt is also a covenant of blood a covenant of a genetic family (remember Adam and Eve). Remember that God described the covenant He made with King David and his succeeding generations (multiplication of human beings via genetic function) as a covenant of salt (2 Chronicles 13:5).
Too often, we tend to separate physical from spiritual, believing them to be mutually exclusive. So, for example, we tend to think that grace only affects our soul, but not our body. The reality is, grace is designed to transform both body and spiritual soul. According to Fr. John Hardon, not only Sanctifying grace, but also Actual grace is given to us in each of the Sacraments.[23] Why? The body is the mouth through which the overflow of the human heart is sent out into the world, and it does so through the sense-able[24] and meta-sense-able[25] language of the body. The language of the body will always accurately express the overflow of the inner heart of man. As the overflow of the inner heart is purified, so is the body, through which that overflow is sent out — expressed in the language of the body.
The Eucharist is 'the source and summit of the Christian life.' [LG 11.] The other sacraments, and indeed all ecclesiastical ministries and works of the apostolate, are bound up with the Eucharist and are oriented toward it” (CCC, n. 1324). During the Mass, when the priest speaks the words of consecration that Jesus spoke during the Last Supper, the entire substance of the bread and wine is replaced by the whole substance of the incarnate Jesus, body, blood, human soul, and Divinity. While the appearance, taste and smell of bread and wine remain after the consecration, that which makes bread, bread (its substance), and wine, wine (its substance), are totally and completely gone, entirely replaced by the substance of Jesus. Why does God maintain the appearance of bread and wine? God revealed the answer to that by telling St. Hildegard of Bingen, “[The consecrated host] appears in human eyes to be bread and wine, for human frailty is so delicate that people would shudder at receiving bleeding flesh and trickling blood.”[26]
Jesus tells us, “It is the spirit that gives life; the flesh is useless. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life” (John 6:63). What Jesus, in effect, is saying is this: You all are focusing on the carnal aspect of what I have just told you. While the literalness of what I am telling you is 100% true, don’t focus on the carnal aspect of that. I know of your human frailties, which is why my flesh and blood in the Eucharist will be hidden under the appearances of bread and wine. My flesh is not life, but the God who dwells within my body (Temple) is life eternal. However, the flesh is the only means through which you can become living stones built into that rebuilt Temple.
Our sufferings/offerings are ‘acceptable and pleasing’ (cf. Malach. 1:10-11, Is. 64:6, 1 Pt. 2:4-5) to the Father only when we unite them with the Son’s infinitely and eternally perfect offering. After an oblation was offered to God on the altar, it then had to be eaten (the offering was not valid otherwise). It was believed that by eating the offering, the offeror would become one with that offering and thus participate in the benefits of the altar sacrifice.[27] Perhaps we can understand a little better why Jesus tells us, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you; he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him” (Jn. 6:53-56). Pope emeritus Benedict XVI writes,
In the Old Testament the shared enjoyment of bread and salt, or of salt alone, served to establish lasting covenants (cf. Num 18:19; 2 Chron 13:5; cf. Hauck, TDNT I, p. 228). Salt is regarded as a guarantee of durability. It is a remedy against putrefaction, against the corruption that pertains to the nature of death. To eat is always to hold death at bay—it is a way of preserving life. The “eating of salt” by Jesus after the Resurrection, which we therefore encounter as a sign of new and everlasting life, points to the risen Lord’s new banquet with his followers. It is a covenant-event, and in this sense it has an inner association with the Last Supper, when the Lord established the New Covenant. So the mysterious cipher of eating salt expresses an inner bond between the meal on the eve of Jesus’ Passion and the risen Lord’s new table fellowship: he gives himself to his followers as food and thus makes them sharers in his life, in life itself.[28]
 Luke writes, “And eating together with them, he commanded them, that they should not depart from Jerusalem.” (Acts 1:4: Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition). Pope Benedict XVI places great significance on the wording that Luke chose to describe Jesus’ eating with them. According to Benedict, the word that Luke used is synalizômenos. Benedict tells us this wording was very important to Luke; that he must have deliberately and purposefully chosen to use it. The literal translation of the phrase in question is “eating salt [SML] with them.”[29] Benedict believed that Luke’s purpose for choosing this word was to form a direct link to the Eucharist. In the Eucharist, we form a sacred salt bond (Covenant of Salt) through and in Jesus.
What Does Ezekiel’s Dream of the Temple Have to Do With the Eucharist?
It is a common theological understanding that the New Covenant is hidden in the Old Covenant, and Old Covenant is fully revealed in the New Covenant. When Jesus tells his listeners to destroy this Temple, and in three days he will rebuild it, he is telling them that the era of the “literal” geological stone Temple is ending,[30] and the New and everlasting Covenant of Salt — the Temple which is his mystical and literal body — is about to begin. Why did Jesus’ body need to become the new Temple described in Ezekiel’s dream? As discussed previously, in all of biblical history, there has been only one place where God dwelled within physical creation. The incarnate Son of God is that dwelling place par excellence.
Here is the essential aspect of the Temple we need to understand. Dr. Brant Pitre tells us, “It’s necessary to point out here that the sacrifice of the lamb was a specifically priestly action. Although modern readers sometimes forget the fact, in ancient Israel, no one but a priest could offer a blood sacrifice. That is what priests did; they were set apart for sacrificial worship.”[31] Furthermore, this unblemished sacrificial offering was to be an eternal and unceasing offering. According to Fr. Martin Von Chechum:
And this [The Eucharist] is indeed that clean oblation which cannot be defiled by any unworthiness or malice of those that offer it, which the Lord foretold by Malachias was to be offered in every place clean to His name.” (Session xxii, Ch. 1). The offering of this clean oblation was predicted by the prophet Malachias in the following words: “I have no pleasure in you, saith the Lord of hosts; and I will not receive a gift of your hand. For from the rising of the sun even to the going down My name is great among the Gentiles, and in every place there is sacrifice, and there is offered to My name a clean oblation.” (Malach. 1: 10-11). All the Fathers of the Church consider this passage to refer to the Sacrifice of the Mass. For this prophecy does not find its fulfillment in the Old Testament, but in the New, wherein also are fulfilled the words which were spoken by God the Father to His Son: “Thou art My Son, this day have I begotten Thee. Ask of Me, and I will give Thee the Gentiles for Thy inheritance.” (Ps. 2: 7-8). This was accomplished when the heathen were converted to the Faith by the preaching of the Apostles. The sacrifice here predicted by Malachias cannot be that which was offered by Christ on the Cross, as non-Catholics assert; for that was made in one place only, on Calvary, not in every place, as the prophet declares. Nor can the supposition be entertained that the prophecy refers to a sacrifice of praise or of good works [on the altar of the heart — SML], for these are no oblation in the proper sense of the word [see endnote for proper definition of “oblation”[32]], nor are they always a “clean oblation;” prophet says: “All our justices are before Thee as a filthy rag.” (Is. 64: 6).[33] As a high priest in the OT had priests of the Levites who offered sacrifice on the altar; the High Priest in the order of Melchisedech, Jesus, made his Apostles priests when he said, do this in memory of me.[34]
Thus it is that we come to the New and everlasting Covenant of Salt, the Holy Eucharist. This is what is meant in Revelations when we read, “Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb” (Rev. 19:9).

What Does the Eucharist “Do” For Us? How Does it Do It?

 
Unless You Eat my Flesh & Drink my Blood, You Have no Life in You ... But WHY???
 
“But why” is a question that I have asked many people knowledgeable with theological concepts. Nobody, including the priests that I have talked with, has been able to answer that question in a way that, to one degree or another, does not simply beg the question, or is simply inadequate, given the fact that the Eucharist is the source and summit of the Christian life. Some even disbelieve the Church’s teaching that the Eucharist is the real body, blood, soul, and Divinity of the Son of God. Every person who has left the Church for what they believed were greener theological pastures must have lacked any significant belief that the Church’s teaching on the Real Presence was correct. Who, in their right theological mind, would abandon a one-flesh, one Mystical Body relationship with Jesus, which is infinitely more unitive than human marriage? A mere friendship or personal relationship with Jesus is simply not even in the same vicinity for being classified as a covenant of salt part of a sacred family bond with Jesus a one-flesh relationship?
To understand the depths of the intimacy existing within a covenant of salt between God and man, let us examine the words of Cardinal St. John Neuman (a former Anglican priest and theologian who converted to Catholicism). Quoting Neuman, Sheen writes:
When I [Jesus] am ascended, thou shalt see nothing, thou shalt have everything. Thou shalt sit down under My shadow with great delight, and My fruit shall be sweet to thy taste. Thou shalt have Me whole and entire. I will be near thee, I will be in thee [not the language of mere friendship — SML]; I will come into thy heart [critical component of later discussion] a whole Saviour, a whole Christ—in all My fullness as God and man—in the awful virtue of that Body and Blood, which has been taken into the Divine Person of the Word, and is indivisible from it, and has atoned for the sins of the world—not by external contact, not by partial possession, not by momentary approaches, not by a barren manifestation, but inward in presence, and intimate in fruition [again, not the language of mere friendship], a principle of life and a seed of immortality, that thou mayest ‘bring forth fruit unto God’”(Cardinal St. John Neuman, Lectures on Justification, p. 216-219).[35]
Let’s talk about food, drink, and eating in Scripture, specifically the Eucharistic Discourse in the Gospel of John. John writes:
“[v. 54] He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. [v. 55] For my flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. [v. 56] He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. [v. 57] As the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so he who eats me will live because of me. [v. 58] This is the bread which came down from heaven, not such as the fathers ate and died; he who eats this bread will live for eve. (John 6:54–58)”
There have been many books and papers written throughout Church history (including Church Fathers from the first few centuries after Jesus’ death and resurrection) that make the case justifying the Truth of the Church’s claim that at Mass, after the words of consecration are pronounced, the Eucharist becomes the literal body, blood, soul, and Divinity of Jesus. There isn’t enough room in this blog for me to make a comprehensive and compelling case for the Truth of Church teaching on this subject. Instead, I will deal with only one aspect of John 6, i.e. the importance of food and drink in Jesus’ discourse.
Why did Jesus focus on telling us (more than once) that his flesh is real food and his blood is real drink? We know that Jesus was not speaking metaphorically about this particular food and drink. We know this because: 1) it is obvious that everyone listening to his words were interpreting them literally, as evidenced by their grumbling and their repulsion towards what he was saying, not to mentioned their abandonment of their discipleship as a consequence of their interpretation of his words; 2) Even when his Apostles characterized Jesus’ words as being hard to accept, Jesus did not follow his normal practice regarding symbolic sayings/stories by explaining it to them ... because they understood him correctly, he was willing to let them leave him as well, and; 3) Jesus doubled-down on wording.
Prior to John 6:54, Jesus uses the Greek word phago to indicate the physical act of eating. Phago can also be used as a metaphor (e.g., Micah 3:2–4). When used to describe physical act of eating, it describes the act of eating in general. However, after his followers started to grumble, Jesus switched to a more drastic, but fitting, word; a word that would not allow for any misinterpretation. The word Jesus used was trogo. This word literally means to chew, crunch, and gnaw the food. 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,’ while ‘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.”[36] The two pages linked to in this endnote provides comprehensive rebuttals to Protestant rebuttal arguments. It is important to note regarding trago, that there is no example in Scripture, in any koine or in any other classic literature, of trago being used in a spiritual or metaphorical sense. It is always used to indicate a physical act. Furthermore, in Scripture, trago is always used in the present participle form, not aorist, thus indicating a repeated and continual eating of the flesh of Jesus.[37] Trago is not, nor has it ever been, past or present, the language of metaphor.
Why was it so important to Jesus to identify himself as real food and real drink? The answer is this: All organic food and drink will produce a biological effect on the functioning of our salt of DNA. If our body is healthy, the proper food will help to maintain that health. If our body is weak or sick, healthy food will contribute to a return to health. If our healthy body is given bad food, the body will respond accordingly.
When we consume Jesus in the Eucharist, we will experience a positive impact on the functioning of our body – provided we are properly disposed to receive it. I should clarify something. The body and blood of Jesus is a physical body. It is not, however, a mortal body. What that means, in practical terms, is this: the physical world has no effect on Jesus’ glorified physical body, but his glorified physical body can and does affect the physical world, including our body. A glorified body cannot experience pain, would not be subject to the philosophical accidents of dimensive quality (i.e. his body would not lessen in weight or size as his body and blood are consumed in the Eucharist), and could not be killed or injured. For a more comprehensive treatment of the theology of the Eucharist, see Aquinas’ Summa Theologiae, Part III, Questions 73-82 here.

Salt, Water, Light, and the Transfiguration

Throughout my writings relative to the Science & Theology of Salt in Scripture, an inextricable link[38] is revealed between: 1) the salt and dust of DNA; 2) biological water, and; 3) both Divine and also material (created) light. This trio works together in the mouth/body of man, in order to achieve the accurate expression of the overflow of the inner heart. Later, we will see that the human heart is the critical component of the scriptural mouth through which the overflow of the inner heart is sent out into the visible world. A deeper exploration of all three of these linkages are necessary in order to understand how the Incarnation of the Son of God makes possible the Sacraments of Baptism and Eucharist which are not just part of the covenant of salt between God and man, but are, in fact, the ultimate fulfillment of that covenant of salt.
As a consequence of his incarnation, Jesus took upon himself a human mouth. As Archbishop Venerable Fulton Sheen tells us, “The plan of the Incarnation was based upon the communication of the Divine through the human [i.e. sent out via the human body/mouth – SML thoughts] .... It was, in a certain sense, the foundation of a Sacramental universe in which material things [such as both water and Jesus’ physical body — SML] would be used as the channels for the spiritual.”[39] By doing so, this linkage extends to the incarnate Jesus as well. After all, he was human in every way except sin. The truth of this assertion can be seen by examining the Mysteries of Light (i.e., Baptism of Jesus, Changing Water Into Wine at the Wedding Banquet at Cana, Proclamation of the Kingdom of God, Transfiguration of Jesus, and the Eucharist) in general, and the Transfiguration (Mark 9:1-8; Mt. 17:1-8) in particular. Dr. Matthew Tsakanikas writes, “The Transfiguration revealed that Jesus’s humanity is in the fullness of divinity (the eternal Kingdom) ([2 Pt:] 1:16). Jesus’s human nature — his flesh, in which he became man — is the means of entrance into the eternal kingdom (2 Pet 1:11; cf. Heb 10; Jn 1:14). ... Now we must ‘grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord’ (2 Pet 3:18; cf. Eph 4:13–15) and ourselves ‘be swallowed in divinity’ (cf. 2 Cor 5:4, 4:17) ... the divinity Christ [sic] has brought at his incarnation and revealed in the Transfiguration.”[40]
Pope Benedict XVI believes all of the great events in Jesus’ life are timed to coincide with the Jewish festival calendar; he believed the purpose for this timing was to create a link between each festival’s meaning, and its fulfillment in the material reality of eternal Truth made flesh, i.e., Jesus.[41] He links the Transfiguration of Jesus [see note], the miracle in which he and his garments were transformed into exceedingly bright light (Mt. 17:2, Mk. 9:2-3, Lk. 9:29), with the Feast of Tabernacles.[42] The linkage of the Transfiguration with the Feast of the Tabernacles is a view also shared by Dr. Scott Hahn. He links this Feast, which began as a celebration of the harvest, but became a feast that celebrated the building of the Temple (the Tabernacles).[43] The meaning of this Feast tells us much about Baptism and the Eucharist,[44] specifically both Divine and material light. In the Old Covenant, the Temple/Tabernacle was the dwelling place of God. In fact, John 1:14 literally translates into, “The Word became flesh and tabernacled among us.”[45] According to Hahn, the Temple is the “embodiment of God’s covenant [of salt] with David.”[46] While I have made the case that all covenants between God and man are covenants of salt, Scripture specifically identifies God’s covenant with David as a covenant of salt (2 Chron. 13:4), i.e., a covenant of the salt of DNA. This interpretation is made more evident when John identifies the Temple with Jesus’ body (Jn. 2:21) — his salt of DNA, his dust/stone of the earth. John further reinforces this by what he wrote in the next line! He writes, “When therefore he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this; and they believed the scripture and the word which Jesus had spoken” (Jn. 2:22). We also know that Jesus’ body is the Temple because the Triune God dwells within his body (2 Col. 1:18-20).[47]
How is this germane to the inextricable linkage between the salt of DNA, light, and water? Hahn tells us, “the priests daily poured out water from the Pool of Siloam [symbolizing the Bridal Bath[48] — i.e., Baptism -- SML] on the altar steps (part of the ritual purification) and kept the Temple courts illuminated [bathed in light – SML] twenty-four hours a day [for the seven days of the feast (Dt. 16:14)] in anticipation of the eschatological [end-time] prophesies [i.e., the final “harvest”] (see Ezek. 47:1-12; Joel 3:18; Zech. 14:8). In the midst of this, Jesus claims himself to be the true source of water and light, and brings light to a blind man through the waters of Siloam, thus supporting his claim to be the true Temple [Coloe, God Dwells With Us, 115–143; Hoskins, Jesus as Temple, 160–170; Kerr, The Temple of Jesus’ Body, 226–241].”[49] The healing of the blind man is particularly telling in our understanding that Jesus’ physical body (not mortal, but glorified) is the NC Temple from which radiates light, and through which the Living Water of the grace of the Holy Spirit issues forth from our union with that body and soul united to his Divinity through Baptism and in the Eucharist (from under the threshold of the Temple in Ezekiel’s dream). Jesus confirms this through a miracle he performed on a blind man during this Feast. In Scripture, we read:
As [Jesus] passed by, he saw a man blind from his birth. And his disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" Jesus answered, "It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be made manifest in him. We must work the works of him who sent me, while it is day; night comes, when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world [corresponds with the Transfiguration – SML]." As he said this, he spat on the ground and made clay [recall the meta-sense-able significance of “living” mud/clay] of the spittle and anointed the man's eyes with the clay, saying to him, "Go, wash in the pool of Silo′am" (which means Sent; only the Son and the Holy Spirit are sent into creation ... the Father is never sent, but sends out ... communicates – SML). So he went and washed and came back seeing (Jn. 9:1-7).
Let me add a couple of salient points before discussing this passage in greater detail. This miracle occurred on the day after the conclusion of the feast of the Tabernacles (Jn. 7:2), and this would be the last celebration of that feast Jesus would attend prior to his hour. Keeping in mind that water and light are integrally associated with this feast, it is significant that, on the last day of the feast, Jesus told the Israelites, “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 shall flow rivers of living water.' Now this he said about the Spirit” (Jn. 7:37-39); on the day of this miracle, he told us he is the light of the world. So we have three components converging in these passages: salt/dust (the Temple), Living Water, and light. From whence do the rivers of Living Water flow? The heart. How is the overflow of the heart expressed? Through the mouth, i.e., the salt of DNA of the body. What is the overflow of the heart of Jesus? The Holy Spirit, i.e., the one who sanctifies us through grace. Can we become rivers of Living Water, and if so, how? Yes! After being washed clean in the Bridal Bath of Baptism, we becoming one-flesh with the salt/dust of Jesus in the Eucharist, thus experiencing the fulfillment of the Covenant of Salt (cf. Jn. 7:37-39, 1 Pt. 2:4-5, Jn. 2:21, and Ez. 47:1-2).
The miracle of the healing of the blind man is different from most, if not all, other healings in Scripture. It is the first time, with the qualified exception of Mark 7:32-35 and 8:23-25 (both of which are also rich in meaning), that Jesus used a “prop” that was external to his body to perform a miracle. Before sending him off to be washed in the pool of Siloam (a type of the waters of Baptism), Jesus combines the dust of the earth with spit from his mouth to make clay/mud, which he then applies to the blind man’s eyes. I believe all three elements (Pool of Siloam, dust, and spittle representing structured biological water) are essential in order to achieve an understanding of the full meaning of this one miracle. All three were a symbolic part of the means by which the blind man would experience both physical and spiritual healing/purification. The pool of Siloam symbolizes purification through Baptism (the bridal bath of ancient Judaism[50]) — the Sacrament which makes possible the completion of our marriage to Jesus through which we become living stones built into the resurrected Temple (1 Pt. 2:5) — the Mystical Body of Christ. Through the dust of the earth with which Jesus made healing clay/mud, we see that Jesus’ physical body expresses grace, and does so in the sense-able and meta-sense-able language of the body. Through the spit (biological water) from Jesus’ mouth, dust became healing clay/mud (cf. 2 Cor. 4:1-7; Rom. 9:21).

Water & Blood Flowed From the Pierced Heart of Jesus

 
The Mouth and the Language of the Body
While we have already touched upon the understanding that the body is the mouth of the inner heart (the spirit of the spiritual soul) of man. I want to get into a little more detail because it will be imperative in helping to answer the question: why must we eat and drink the body and blood of Jesus?
In my view, the use of mouth in Scripture does not only apply to God the Father, but also to man — including the incarnate part of the Second Person of the Trinity, the Word of God. In Scripture, the word “mouth” is used to denote that by which is sent out the overflow of the heart (an overflow that can be accurately characterized as either light or darkness) and also takes in that which either enlightens (through the grace of the Holy Spirit) or darkens (feeds the pride and lust of the heart). For man, the entire body constitutes the spiritual mouth.
As JP II wrote, “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] and psychosomatic [relating to the mind/mental] reaction.[51] When God speaks or sends forth His Word, He does it with his mouth (Is. 55:11). When man speaks a sense-able and meta-sense-able word (both components are always contributing to the full expression), it is his entire mouth/body, through which the word is sent out. However, the human heart is that portion of the scriptural mouth (i.e., our body) that most closely expresses the virtue of charity or our lack thereof. For example, in Scripture, we read, “You brood of vipers! How can you speak good things, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks” (Matthew 12:34). Also, “For it is from within, from the human heart, that evil intentions come: fornication, theft, murder, adultery, avarice, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, folly” (Mk 7:21-22). All of these acts are not primarily verbal. They may utilize some verbal communication, but they aren’t essential to the expression. Thus, when the scriptural mouth speaks, it is not necessarily with words.
According to St. Hildegard of Bingen, virtues work through the body and spiritual soul together;[52] “a virtue is a divine quality that … fully incarnates itself [SML].”[53] What does this mean? It means: as the heart is purified, so also is the body. Why is this necessary? So that, in its role as the mouth of the heart, the body can accurately express (both sense-ably and meta-sense-ably) virtuous acts and bear good fruit. Christopher West tells us that the body simply gives expression to the experiences of the heart;[54] the spirit expresses itself through a primarily non-verbal language of the body.[55]
Do these sense-able and meta-sense-able expressions have an impact on others? Many scientific studies are reinforcing 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 one’s self, has a sense-able and meta-sense-able effect on their neighbors.[56] Most of us have this tendency to think of our body as a fence — a dividing line as St. Catherine calls it. 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 can discover the body is not even close to being a fence. So permeating are the sense-able and meta-sense-able ‘words’ pronounced by our mouth/body, we would be correct in believing the body is the reason that there is no fence. Through STOSS, we come to understand the body is a veritable transmission tower for the heart. It broadcasts sense-ably (we can, for example, hear the music on our radio), but it also broadcasts meta-sense-ably, i.e., beyond the reach of our sensible faculties. The sense-able part of the expression can convey a lie, but the meta-sense-able part cannot.
According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, "The unity of [spiritual — SML] soul and body is so profound that one has to consider the spiritual soul to be the ‘form’ of the body: i.e., it is because of its spiritual soul that the body made of matter becomes a living, human body; spirit and matter, in man, are not two natures united, but rather their union forms a single nature [SML]."[57] This is why the language of the body is so important. Sanctifying Grace helps to purify the inner heart of man. However, because the body is the mouth through which the overflow of that heart is sent out into the created world, the mouth must speak a language that accurately expresses that which the inner heart is sending out. Pope St. John Paul II tells us: “The body, in fact, and it alone [SML] 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.”[58] If the soul was pure, but the body impure, the body could not accurately express the soul. In fact, it could be said that there never existed a time when God’s justice would require that the soul be judged differently than the body, e.g., the body would justifiably go to hell, but the soul would justifiably go to Heaven.
This is why the sacraments are created such that each Sacrament conveys both Sanctifying and Actual Grace. This way, both the soul and the body are equally purified. The body is meant to be fully subject to the soul. St. Catherine of Siena tells us that at our resurrection on Judgment 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 power of the body, but through the power of the soul, as it was prior to the fall.[59]

The Heart of the Eucharist

While the Sanctifying Grace received through the Sacrament of the Eucharist is of critical importance to the economy of salvation, it is not going to be the focus of this section. Most non-Catholics seriously question the Truth of the real, physical, and glorified presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. Hand-in-hand with this disbelief, one may be led to ask the question: Why must we eat the flesh and drinking the blood of Jesus? So, in this installment of this blog series, we are going to focus on the Actual graces (which are also sanctifying,[60][61] but not in the same way as with Sanctifying/Habitual Grace) that we receive when we partake of the Bread of Life. Recall that in every one of the seven Sacraments that Jesus gave the Church, both Sanctifying and Actual graces are received.[62]
There are two main components that come into play when we talk about the Actual Graces we receive when we eat the flesh and drink the blood of Jesus. The first is water, biological living water to be more precise. In Part III of this blog series, we talked about this component in some detail. We will not repeat that discussion here. I do, however, want to simply remind us that scientific research is increasingly discovering structured biological water’s critical role in determining the functioning (both beneficial and/or harmful) of every cell in our body. A small portion of that research will be presented here.
At this time, we are going to focus on one of the vital biological components communicating instructions to our biological living structured water. These instructions tell our genes to start, stop, accelerate, or slow down specific genetic processes, actions that will aid or deter the purification or corruption of our body in synchronization with the overflow of our inner heart. St. Paul writes, “Real circumcision is a matter of the heart, spiritual [see spiritual soul — SML] and not literal” (Rom. 2:29). Real circumcision is purity of the inner spiritual heart, but the biological heart is the prime component of the mouth that sends out that overflow of that heart.
When Jesus appeared to St. Faustina, the purpose was to teach her about his Divine Mercy towards fallen man. He instructed Faustina to have a painting of the vision he showed her in 1931. A copy of the first painting of this vision can be seen here. In this image, Jesus’ right hand is raised as if giving a blessing. His left index finger is pointing to his Sacred Heart. Issuing forth from his heart are two streaming rays of light, one red and the other white. The red rays represent his blood, and the white rays represented the water that flowed from his heart after it was pierced by the spear of the Roman soldier at the crucifixion. As we proceed, remember this: the source of the water and blood was Jesus’ Sacred physical heart.

Science of the Heart

Does Jesus’ Divine Heart affect the function of his biological heart, which, in turn, affects the functioning of those who are in a one-flesh relationship with Jesus in the Eucharist? St. Hildegard writes this about the heart: “The [human] heart [i.e., the spirit within the spiritual soul — SML] 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.”[63] In Part II of a blog series titled, Woman: The holy spirit of the Family, I discuss the role of Adam’s heart in the creation of Eve as a woman created in the image of the appropriations of the Holy Spirit. The science of the biological heart is discussed in some detail there. In this blog, we will be limiting the depth our discussion of the biology of the human heart.
The heart communicates with the entire body through four means. They are:
1.       Neurologically (using the nervous system);
2.      Biochemically (e.g., hormones);
3.      Energetically (e.g., electromagnetic energy, i.e., light), and;
4.      Biophysically (e.g. pulse waves from the beating heart).[64]
With the results of research conducted by Drs. J. Andrew Armour & Jeffrey Ardell,[65] it has been learned that the heart possesses its own complex ... network of neurons, proteins, neurotransmitters, and other components. This network is self-organizing and processes information independently of the brain. Detecting the presence of hormones and other neurochemicals in the circulating bloodstream (all hormones are circulated through the bloodstream), the heart transmits this information to the brain, causing physiologically appropriate changes to the brain’s function.[66]
Since rays of red light representing Jesus’ blood issued forth from Jesus’ pierced heart, as depicted in the Divine Mercy image, let us take a look at blood (composed mostly of water) and electromagnetic energy. Three passages in Scripture equate blood with being the life of any creature of flesh. They are: Lev 17:14, Dt 12:23, Gen 9:4, and Acts 15:20. Science is now coming to understand that water in the blood is a critical component of bioenergetics, i.e., biological life — it can be said: no energy --> no life. All metabolic processes of organic life are either consuming, generating, or transforming high grade, well-ordered energy. This grade of energy is vital to life. It is produced via a process known as Energy of Electron Excitation (EEE). Photons of high-grade energy are produced when “water [including within the blood[67]] arranges an indivisible system [of structured molecules of water] with the structure elements (of a cell) making possible electronic excitations which otherwise are highly improbable.”[68] Note: energy of electron excitation (EEE) produces the release of quanta of energy packets, i.e., photons of light. Water is essential to combustion flow in living cells.[69] In fact, water itself, combusts (burns, releases energy), via water splitting.[70]
This splitting of the water molecule occurs naturally in plants through photosynthesis, and it is this process that is the source of all oxygen on earth (see endnote for Journal Source).[71] It is the fusion of two hydrogen atoms that starts the chain reaction that leads to the radiant light (electromagnetic energy) and heat that reaches our planet from the sun.[72] Isn’t it interesting that, in Scripture, the Holy Spirit is often linked to water and life within the created physical world? Isn’t it also interesting that in Scripture (books of Exodus, 1 Kings, 2 Kings, and Joshua), the Holy Spirit is associated with dividing/splitting bodies of water? This fact is not part of the thirty-four scientific mysteries listed in the STOSS Books website, but maybe it should be.
Let’s return to our focus on the heart. As was stated previously, the neurological network within the heart acts independently of the cranial brain — even to the point of learning, feeling, sensing, and remembering on its own.[73][74] It was previously believed that the brain was in control of everything within the body. Everything else in the body was simply following the brain’s orders. Research has now shown that the heart (when it comes to matters of the heart, e.g., emotions, desires, addictions, etc.) is more likely instructing the brain how to function and how to perceive. Not many physicians are even aware of this phenomenon.[75] So, when someone tells you to stop thinking with your heart, you can now officially tell them that would be biologically impossible.
No other organ is more powerful than is the heart in generating global rhythmic pattern information within the body. It transmits electromagnetic, hormonal, neurological, and other information to the brain. Research suggests the information transmitted by the heart to the brain can even alter brain function.[76][77][78] A critical factor in understanding why we must eat Jesus is this: the heart is the largest generator of electromagnetic energy (light) in the entire body, and its electromagnetic field envelops every cell in the body.[79] It does so directly, but also via all of the blood in the body. Every drop of blood we have is pumped throughout the body via the energy of the pulse waves of the beating heart, and is enveloped in the electromagnetic field the heart generates. This cardioelectromagnetic energy not only surrounds every cell in the human body, but the magnetic field generated extends outward several feet or more in all directions from the body.[80][81] The magnetic field produced by the heart is five-thousand times stronger than the field generated by the brain.[82] By using a magnetometer to quantify the heart's magnetic field, it was discovered that the magnetic field of the heart could be detected at approximately three feet away. In contrast, the brain’s magnetic field can only be detected up to about three inches away.[83] The heart’s electrical field is sixty times greater in amplitude (think of the height of a wave on the ocean) than is the brain’s.[84]
There is very little doubt, based on current research that the electromagnetic radiation (light) generated by the heart has an impact, not only on each individual’s body, but also on the body of those with whom we are in close proximity, especially if we have an intimate relationship with that person. German physicist, Fritz-Albert Popp, discovered that the ultra-weak light being emitted from a living organism, which is what human beings are, is so quantum coherent in the ultraviolet to red electromagnetic wave spectrum, that the human body behaves as if it were a laser, but with a few significant differences. These differences are: 1) the radiation intensity from the living organism is several orders of magnitude weaker than a laser; 2) the degree of coherence of the radiation in the living organism is many orders higher than a technical laser; and 3) the radiation generated from within the human body is coherent over a range of wavelengths (polychromatic), while a laser is coherent in only one wavelength (monochromatic).[85]
In the book, Electromagnetism & Life by Becker and Marino, literally hundreds of scientific experiments are cited which show the many and varied biological changes that occur to the body as a result of exposure to electromagnetic radiation.[86]  However, it is important to know that all the electromagnetic energy used in these experiments was mechanically generated. As a result, the biological effects measured in these experiments revealed deleterious effects to the body. Why? Electromagnetic energy generated by the body is coherent beyond our imagination. The electromagnetic radiation that is mechanically generated is not biologically coherent.
When God tells us that no man should put asunder what God has joined together (Mk 10:8-9), he is telling us that it is the Holy Spirit, the Light of Eternal Charity, who has accomplished that joining. He is informing us that this joining is part of a Covenant of Salt. This one-flesh relationship is a direct consequence of both spiritual and physical light. The fact that sex with a prostitute is described as a one-flesh by Paul is indicative of the fact that the physical component is key in interpreting the meaning of one-flesh. The light produced by the flesh of one spouse will have either a positive or negative impact (depending on the degree of purity and holy desire existing within the heart) on the other spouse. Remember, light is a factor in the functioning of a genome coated by living biological water. Next, we will see some examples of the light of the Holy Spirit being responsible for the holy one-flesh bond between a man and a woman in the Sacrament of Marriage (a civil marriage also creates a one-flesh bond, but it is not holy).

Testimony of the Saints

Here are some examples from the saints of the efficacy of the physical human heart effected by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, and in communicating the grace of the Holy Spirit to others.
1).    St Gertrude the Great had a great devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. As a result of her purity of heart, she was granted a mystical encounter with St. John the Evangelist, the beloved Apostle who was given the singular honor of resting his head on the bosom/heart of Jesus during the Last Supper. In the Spirit, St. John took her to Jesus so that she, too, could lay her head on the bosom of Jesus. Then, as she felt the constant pulsations (the spiritual heart does not pulsate) 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 (clearly indicating Jesus’ physical – pre-crucified – heart and resurrected glorified heart), so that my spirit became more ardent than water under the action of a glowing fire.”[87] Note that the sweet pleasures of Jesus’ beating physical heart penetrated St. John’s soul. Also note: as was revealed above, science has shown that the heart’s pulse wave energy communicates with the body.
2).     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].”[88] This miracle shows that the Light of the Holy Spirit produces a physical impact on the heart of flesh. For those who try to dismiss this by saying it was all spiritual, not physical, let us take a look at another miracle
3).     The same sort of phenomenon occurred with St. Gemma Galgani, but with minor differences from those surrounding St. Neri. “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. This pain and burning was not merely spiritual, but also physical. The skin in the area of the heart was actually burned. When Venerable Father Germanus Ruoppolo C.P. placed a thermometer on the skin, the mercury immediately ascended to the upper limit of the gauge. This type of manifestation of the Spirit’s dwelling in the 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). The palpitations of her physical [SML] heart during this phenomenon were so great, her chair and bed would shake, even though she herself remained quite calm. 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. It was found incorrupt, full of blood, fresh, healthy, and flexible.”[89] Note that Divine light does not produce heat. Moses was exposed to it, and Jesus was transfigured by it. Heat is generated when created high-frequency electromagnetic radiation is absorbed into matter, such as the flesh in close proximity to the physical heart, such as what happened during Eve’s creation.

Evidence Gleaned From Eucharistic Miracles

Eucharistic miracles are one of the most convincing arguments for believing that Jesus’ physical glorified Sacred Heart is an instrument for communicating Actual graces; graces necessary for purifying the body of all those who partake (worthily) of his flesh and blood during the Mass. There are hundreds of such recorded miracles. They give us visible evidence of the efficacy of his living, beating human heart in purifying our body. Through these miracles, we can see that his heart does indeed purify our flesh, which results in both the strengthening of our virtue (remember that all virtue must be incarnated) and the weakening of our lustful/sinful appetites. Not only that but because it is only the flesh of his heart from which the veil of bread and wine are removed, we can conclude that Jesus wants us to know that it is his heart that plays a critical part in the purification of our body. Why else would it be the repeated focus of these miracles?
Let’s take a look at a small sampling of those miracles:
1.       The first occurred in 750 A.D. at a church in the Italian town of Lanciano. When the ‘veil’ of bread and wine were miraculously withdrawn from a consecrated host, human flesh and blood appeared! While this happened in the 8th century, several scientific tests have since been performed. The testing revealed that the flesh was from a human heart, and the blood was the same type as was Jesus’ blood? The flesh, in section, was determined to have present: 1) the myocardium, which is the part of the human heart that generates the largest electromagnetic field in the body; 2) the vagus nerve, which is responsible for sending messages from the heart to the larynx (voice box; remember all those passages talking about the lambs knowing the voice of incarnate God) and on to the brain, and; 3) the left ventricle, which is the part of the heart that pumps the blood through the body.[90]
2.      The second miracle occurred in 2008 when a consecrated host was inadvertently dropped onto the ground during a Mass celebrated in the eastern Polish town of Sokolka. Following Church practice, the priest placed the consecrated host in water to dissolve it, thus removing the Real Presence of Jesus. Several days later, however, a nun found that the consecrated host had not dissolved completely. She discovered that a red mark had appeared on its surface. The red mark appeared to be blood, but was, in fact, human tissue. Two medical doctors separately determined the tissue was heart muscle tissue (from the myocardium).[91]
3.      The third Eucharistic miracle took place in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 1996. Once again, a consecrated host was dropped on the ground and subsequently placed in water to dissolve. After about nine days, it took on the appearance of blood and tissue. Samples were then sent to three different laboratories for analysis (circa 1996, 1999, and 2004). The last two labs were not informed of the story behind, or origin of, the samples, except to say that they were from a man who died. The results showed that the samples contained both red and white blood cells. The tissue was determined to be heart muscle tissue (myocardia) from the left ventricle.[92] Are you ready to be amazed? The blood cells were found to be alive and functioning. The cells from the heart muscle tissue were found to be moving and still beating [still generating electromagnetic radiation — SML]. Dr. Frederick Zugibe determined the tissue was from a man whose heart had been severely traumatized. The blood type and DNA exactly matched the blood/tissue sample from Lanciano and, therefore, were from the same person. The blood samples were determined to be 100% identical to blood samples taken from the Shroud of Turin and from the Sudarium of Oviedo (thought to be part of the burial cloth that had been wrapped around the head of Jesus).[93][94] The Church has not yet ruled on the authenticity of these miracles.
4.      The most recent miracle occurred in Legnica, Poland, on Christmas day of 2013. Once again, the consecrated host fell to the ground, after which it was placed in the water-filled vasculum. Subsequently, the sacramental veil (accidents of bread and wine) was lifted from the host revealing human flesh, which was later determined, by independent testing/research facilities, to be human heart muscle. Like the other miracles, the heart tissue showed forensic signs of great agony. In 2016, the Vatican approved this miracle and ordered the local bishop to set up a place for adoration of the heart of Jesus made visible to the faithful.[95][96] My listing of the particulars of each of these miracles is minimal. I would highly recommend visiting Carlo Acutis’ website (see endnotes) for a more in-depth appreciation of those miracles.
Conclusions
Part IV of this blog series completes our treatment of covenants, i.e., covenants of salt, in Scripture. I know this installment was quite long, but it was necessary to provide a bare minimum knowledge-base through which we can see the Big Picture of the Bible. Within the format of a blog, it is not practical for me to provide enough information for us to see the whole or complete picture. We will, for the most part, have to wait for the afterlife to attain the perfect understanding of covenants of salt.
There are too many faith traditions that are not fully participating in the consequences and opportunities resulting from the fulfillment of the Old Covenant between God and man. If you are a Christian than consider this: The New and Everlasting Covenant of Salt requires an eternal Temple — not a synagogue (Jer. 33:17-18), a marriage (Rev. 19:9), a bridal bath (Eph 4:4-5; Eph 5:25-27), and an eternal sacrificial offering of the Lamb of God on an altar (Malach. 1: 10-11),[97] offered up by an ordained priest (Ex 32:28-29, Lev 7) who is in Persona Christi (in the Person of Christ), and ordained by the one and only High Priest, Jesus[98] (Heb 4:15; 5:1, 5, 10).
Are all of the above requirements for being a part of a covenant of salt between God and man present in your current place of worship? If not, maybe you should ask yourself, why not?
Too see a list of all bogs (including Parts I, II, and III of this blog series) with descriptions and links, go here: https://www.stossbooks.com/index.php.
Updated: 01/14/2024

Endnotes:

[2]. “Fresh” is a term that directly relates to the Trinitarian dialogue between the Three Persons of the Trinity. The Son is eternally and unceasingly generated by the Father. All of creation is made through the Son, who is eternally begotten in the Holy Spirit. This eternally expression is why we have terms such as fresh, green (referring to organic matter), new creation, etc. An article I wrote titled, “Evil Versus a Good God” will help to understand this in greater detail. It can be found here: https://www.stossbooks.com/evil-vs-good-god.html.
[3]. The following helps to confirm that the Dead Sea is the correct interpretation of the phrase within the passage, “stagnant waters of the sea.” According to Jamieson et al., “The waters flow eastward, that is, towards the Kedron, and thence towards the Jordan, and so along the Ghor into the Dead Sea. The main point in the picture is the rapid augmentation from a petty stream into a mighty river, not by the influx of side streams, but by its own self-supply from the sacred miraculous source in the temple [Henderson] (Compare Ps 36:8, 9; 46:4; Is 11:9; Hab 2:14).”
Citation: R. Jamieson, A. R. Fausset, & D. Brown, (1997). Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (Vol. 1, p. 618). Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
[4] Note: From a typological standpoint, biblical events involving both Elisha and Ezekiel are very similar types, of which the archetype is the rebuilt (New Covenant) Temple which is the resurrected glorified body of Jesus Christ. In both stories, bodies of water are bad, i.e. barren, unfruitful, and lifeless, are made wholesome, fruitful, and life–giving. In the case of Elisha, salt from a new bowl is poured into the bad water of a spring to make it pure, sweet, fruitful (2 Kgs. 2:19-22). The new bowl symbolizes Jesus’ body. The fact that it is a new bowl signifies that it is not Jesus’ mortal body, but his glorified body, the body that has been resurrected from the dead. In other words, it represents the rebuilt (New Covenant) Temple which is the glorified body of Jesus Christ. The event involving Ezekiel is the subject of this present blog post.
[5]. Stephen Michael Leininger, The Science & Theology of Salt* in Scripture, Vol. I, STOSS Books. Kindle Edition. Kindle Location 1000 – 1006. Note: Fr. Pacwa’s homily can no longer be streamed or downloaded from EWTN’s website. Fortunately, I saved the MP3 audio file.
[6]. Wikipedia, “Swarm Behavior,” Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swarm_behaviour#cite _ref-Ballerini_et_al_2-1: Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., April 28, 2012 (accessed 05/04/2012).
[7]. Ibid.
[8]. Ibid.
[9]. Ibid.
[10]. “In both Jewish and Greek cultures of that time, the immediate cosmetic preparation of the bride included a bath with fragrant oils so that she could be as clean and as beautiful as possible. Baptism, Paul is saying, is the Church’s bridal bath that prepares her to be united to her bridegroom.”
Citation: Brant James Pitre, Jesus the Bridegroom (p. 139). The Crown Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
[11]. Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, The Mystical Body of Christ, Ave Maria Press, Kindle Edition, p 26.
[12].St. Maria Faustina Kowalska, Diary of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska, Congregation of Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy (Poland: Congregation Of Marians, 1987; Marian Press, 2005), n. 310.
[13]. Note: The word believe in Scripture is often misinterpreted by non-Catholics; it is often interpreted in the context of present-day understanding, not in the context of ancient Jewish understanding. Scripture tells us this. “Whoever believes [SML] in the Son has eternal life; whoever disobeys [SML] the Son will not see life, but must endure God’s wrath” (Jn 3:36). The two parts of this passage are not mutually exclusive. In ancient Judaism, the word “believe” is inextricably linked to the words obeys/disobeys. Otherwise, the two parts of this passage would contradict each other. If you believe, but do not obey Jesus’ commandments (such as: “do this in remembrance of me” Luke 22:19), you will not have eternal life.
[14]. Rev. John Hardon, “Synagogue (biblical), “Modern Catholic Dictionary, (Doubleday, 1980), retrieved from http://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/dictionary/index.cfm?id=36751, (accessed 06/04/2011).
[15]. In the Old Covenant, all offerings to God had to be salted (Lev. 2:13) [Rabbi Moshe Yoseph Koniuchowsky, written in an email to ‘heb_roots_chr@hebroots.org, “Children of Salt,” Covenant of Salt, http://www.hebroots.org/hebrootsarchive/0209/0209b.html: (accessed 4/08/2008)].
[16]. Barnabas Meistermann, “Temple of Jerusalem,” The Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. 14, (New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1912), from http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/14499a.htm (accessed June 3, 2011).
[17]. Ibid.
[18]. Pope Benedict XVI, Jesus of Nazareth Part Two, Holy Week: From the Entrance Into Jerusalem To The Resurrection, trans. Vatican Secretariat of State, Kindle Edition, (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2011), p. 37.
[19]. Meistermann, “Temple of Jerusalem.”
[20]. “The Church isn’t a collection of individuals who decide to form a club, united through a service of common ideals and purposes. Instead she’s a living body of cells, infused by the life of Christ and united by his will and purposes. ... The term body was used, therefore, merely to make it easier for the mind to grasp the unity existing between the head and members. A body is an organic whole, composed of an infinite number of cells and members, all directed by the head and all vivified by the soul [i.e. the Holy Spirit] and all directed to a common end, which is the conservation of the organism and its ultimate happiness. Now it happens that all these elements are in the Church in an eminent way. The analogy of the human body is, therefore, employed by St. Paul to aid in understanding the supernatural organism of the Church” [Fulton J. Sheen, The Mystical Body of Christ (pp. 37-39), Ave Maria Press, Kindle Edition].
[21]. “Jesus can never be separated from his Mystical Body any more than his divinity can be separated from his humanity. For the Mystical Body of Christ is Christ’s Incarnation, prolonged through space and time. Sheen explains that the Church ‘continues Christ, expresses Christ, develops all the virtualities, potentialities of Christ, makes it possible for Him to extend Himself beyond the space of Palestine and the space of thirty-three years to prolong his influence unto all times and to all men—in a word, it de-temporalizes and de-localizes Christ so that He belongs to all ages and all souls’” [Fulton J. Sheen, The Mystical Body of Christ, Ave Maria Press, Kindle Edition, Location 181-185].
[22]. Pope Pius XII, Mystici Corporis Christi, n. 7.
[23]. Hardon, John (2013-06-25). “Sacramental Grace.” Catholic Dictionary: An Abridged and Updated Edition of Modern Catholic Dictionary (p. 442). The Doubleday Religious Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
[24]. A term I coined meaning something in physical creation that is able to be detected through the unaided five senses.
[25]. A term I coined meaning something in physical creation that is not able to be detected through the unaided five senses, but can be detected through, for example, scientific equipment.
[26]. Hildegard, Scivias, 248.
[27]. Burge, Gary M. (2012-08-07). Jesus and the Jewish Festivals (Ancient Context, Ancient Faith) (Kindle Locations 1184-1187). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.
[28]. Ratzinger, Jesus of Nazareth Part Two, Kindle Locations 3437-3444.
[29]. Pope Benedict XVI, (2011-03-10). Jesus of Nazareth Part Two, Holy Week: From the Entrance Into Jerusalem To The Resurrection (Kindle Locations 3436-3437). Ignatius Press. Kindle Edition).
[30]. Ratzinger, Jesus of Nazareth Part Two, Kindle Locations, p. 37.
[31]. Brant James Pitre PhD., Jesus and the Jewish Roots of the Eucharist, The Crown Publishing Group, Kindle Edition, p. 52.
[32] The law given by God to the children of Israel made it obligatory upon them to offer sacrifice to Him daily; on feasts a more elaborate ceremonial was to be observed. They were to offer to Him lambs, sheep, calves and oxen, and these animals were not to be offered only; they were to be immolated by an anointed priest, with certain prayers and ceremonies. They were to be slaughtered, flayed; their blood was to be poured round about on the altar and their flesh burnt upon the altar. ...These were the sacred oblations whereby the Jews were accustomed to pay to God the homage due to Him and acknowledge Him to be the supreme Ruler over all creatures; Fr. Martin Von Cochem, The Incredible Catholic Mass, Tan Books, Kindle Edition, p 2. Used with permission from Tan Books.
[33] Ibid., 7-8.
[34]. Cochem, The Incredible Catholic Mass, pp. 7-8. Used with permission from Tan Books.
[35]. Archbishop Fulton Sheen, The Mystical Body of Christ, Ave Maria Press, Kindle Edition, pp. 35-36.
[37]. Ibid.
[38]. The depth and scope of this linkage is not yet fully known.
[39]. Sheen, The Mystical Body of Christ, p. 26.
[40]. Matthew Tsakanikas STD, “Second Peter: The Transfiguration Is the Interpretive Key of the Second Coming,” Homiletic & Pastoral Review, https://www.hprweb.com/2019/08/second-peter/, August 5, 2019.
[41]. Joseph Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI), Jesus of Nazareth Part One, translated by Adrian J. Walker (New York, NY: Doubleday, 2007), Kindle Edition, p. 306-307.
[42]. Ibid., 306.
[43]. Scott Hahn, “Temple, Sign, and Sacrament: Towards a New Perspective on the Gospel of John," Letter & Spirit, (Steubenville, Ohio), Vol. 4, (2008), 114.
[44]. Ibid., 108.
[45]. Ibid., 113.
[46]. Ibid., 109.
[47]. Ibid., 108-114.
[48]. Quoting Dr. Brant Pitre’s exegetical treatment of (Eph:5:25-27), we read: “As commentators both ancient and modern agree, when Paul speaks here of Christ ‘cleansing’ (Greek katharisas) the Church through ‘the washing of water,’ he is alluding to the ritual washing with water that he refers to elsewhere as ‘baptism (Greek baptisma) (see Ephesians 4:5). With these words, Paul is describing baptism in terms of an ancient Jewish wedding custom. As New Testament scholar Peter Williamson puts it: In both Jewish and Greek cultures of that time, the immediate cosmetic preparation of the bride included a bath with fragrant oils so that she could be as clean and as beautiful as possible. Baptism, Paul is saying, is the Church’s bridal bath that prepares her to be united to her bridegroom [the Temple, which is the resurrected Jesus — SML].”
Citation: Pitre, Jesus the Bridegroom, p. 139.
[49]. Ibid., p. 114.
[50]. Ibid., p. 139.
[51]. John Paul II, in his general audience of Sept. 5, 1984, “Responsible Parenthood Linked to Moral Maturity,” Theology of the Body, ©Libreria Editrice Vaticana (Third Millennium Media L.L.C., The Faith Database L.L.C., 2008), n. 1.
[52]. St. Hildegard of Bingen, Scivias (Mahwah, NJ: Paulist”Press, 1990), 345.
[53]. Ibid., 37.
[54].Christopher West, Theology of the Body Explained (Boston, MA: Pauline Books and Media, 2003), 94.
[55]. Ibid., 382.
[56]. Ibid., 62.
[57]. CCC., n. 365.
[58]. John Paul II, in his general audience of Feb. 20, 1980, “Man Enters the World as a Subject of Truth and Love,” Libreria Editrice Vaticana, n. 4.
[59].St. Catherine of Siena, The Dialogue, trans. Suzanne Noffke, O.P. (Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press, 1980), 86
[60]. “While Actual grace is distinct from Sanctifying grace (as discussed above), it is important to note that Actual grace is also sanctifying (small ‘s’). To clarify the distinction between the two, recall that Sanctifying grace is a direct communication between God and the soul through which that soul is deified. On the other hand, small ‘s’ sanctifying grace is God’s communication to the soul through many other means ... Thus we can appreciate a saying used by many of the saints when they exclaimed, ‘Blessed be the God of all things for sanctifying His elect through one another.’”
Citation: Fr. John A. Hardon, “History and Theology of Grace: Actual Graces,” http://www.therealpresence.org/archives/Grace/Grace_013.htm therealpresence.org. Used with permission from Inter Mirifica.
[61] “It is called external (or exterior) grace because it is presented to a person from outside the intellect and will. External graces alone are not capable of sanctifying, but God often uses them as an occasion for giving internal Actual graces, which can be sanctifying. An external Actual grace can be a person, place, or thing.”
Citation: Fr. John A. Hardon S.J., “History and Theology of Grace: Grace Considered Extensively,” The Real Presence Association, http://www.therealpresence.org/archives/Grace/Grace_002.htm#05: Inter Mirifica, 1998 (accessed 06/23/2014).
[62]. Hardon, “Sacramental Grace,” Catholic Dictionary: An Abridged and Updated Edition of Modern Catholic Dictionary, p. 442.
[63]. 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) All rights reserved. Reprinted with permission of publisher. Kindle Locations2380-2381.
[64]. Rollin McCraty, Ph.D., Science of the Heart, Vol. 2, HeartMath Institute, (Boulder Creek, CA: Institute of HeartMath, 2015), p. 3.
[65]. McCraty, Ph.D., Science of the Heart, Vol. 2, p. 5.
Cited by McCraty: Armour, J.A., “Peripheral autonomic neuronal interactions in cardiac regulation,” Neurocardiology, J.A. Armour and J.L. Ardell, Editors (Oxford University Press: New York, 1994). p. 219-244.
[66]. McCraty, Ph.D., Science of the Heart, Vol. 2, 4-5.
Cited by McCraty: Armour, J.A., Anatomy and function of the intrathoracic neurons regulating the mammalian heart, in Reflex Control of the Circulation, I.H. Zucker and J.P. Gilmore, Editors. 1991, CRC Press: Boca Raton. p. 1-37; and also, Armour, J.A., “Potential clinical relevance of the ‘little brain’ on the mammalian heart." Exp Physiol, 2008. 93(2): p. 165-76.
[67]. Vladimir L. Voeikov, “Biological Significance of Active Oxygen-Dependent Processes in Aqueous Systems,” Water and the Cell, ed. Gerald H. Pollack, Ivan L. Cameron, Denys N. Wheatly (The Netherlands: Springer, 2006), p. 291.
[68]. Ibid., p. 286.
Cited by Voeikov: Szent-Gyorgi A (1957) Bioenergetics Academic Press. New York [Back translation from a Russian edition of the book: GIZ Fiz-Mat.Literature, Moscow, 1960, pp 54-56].
[69]. Ibid., p. 287.
[70]. Ibid., pp. 287-297.
[71]. Weizmann Institute of Science. "New Way To Split Water Into Hydrogen And Oxygen Developed." ScienceDaily, 6 Apr. 2009. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/090406102555.htm, (accessed Oct. 27, 2011).
Journal Source: Stephan W. Kohl, Lev Weiner, Leonid Schwartsburd, Leonid Konstantinovski, Linda J. W. Shimon, Yehoshoa Ben-David, Mark A. Iron, and David Milstein. “Consecutive Thermal H2and Light-Induced O2 Evolution from Water Promoted by a Metal Complex.” Science, 2009; 324 (5923): 74 DOI: 10.1126/science.1168600.
[72]. Planet Facts, “How Does The Sun Produce Energy,” Planet Facts, http://planetfacts.org/how-does-the-sun-produce-energy/, 2011 (accessed 10/31/2011).
[73]. McCraty, Ph.D., Science of the Heart, Vol. 2, p. 5.
[74]. cf. Kate Ruth Linton, “Knowing by Heart: Cellular Memory in Heart Transplants,” Montgomery College Student Journal of Science & Mathematics, Vol. 2, Spring 2003.
[75]. Walter Alexander, "Walter Alexander interviews Rollin McCraty, PhD," Lilipoh (Phoenixville, PA) 14, 55 (Spring 2009).
[76]. McCraty, Science of the Heart, Vol. 2, 8.
Cited by McCraty: McCraty, R., Atkinson, M., Tomasino, D., & Bradley, R. T, “The coherent heart: Heart-brain interactions, psychophysiological coherence, and the emergence of system-wide order.” Integral Review, 2009. 5 (2): p. 10-115; and also Damasio, A.R., Descartes’ Error: Emotion, Reason and the Human Brain, (New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons: 1994).
[77]. University of Western Australia. "Could your brain be reprogrammed to work better?," ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/08/140806025318.htm (accessed October 5, 2017).
[78]. University Of Washington. "Exposure To Low-level Magnetic Fields Causes DNA Damage In Rat Brain Cells, Researchers Find." ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2004/02/040219075606.htm (accessed October 5, 2017).
[79]. Background Note: The Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB) Institute in Berlin has a building specifically designed to shield its interior from all background electromagnetic fields, such as that from the earth. This building is the size of an entire city block. The extraordinary shielding quality of this building enables researchers to obtain data uncorrupted by the influence of any other extrinsic electromagnetic fields. Owing to this unique capability, the American National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) joined forces with PTB to test a newly designed optical magnetic field sensor which was designed to more accurately measure the pico tesla range of the electromagnetic field specific to the heart.
Citation: Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt, "Magnetic field measurements of the human heart at room temperature.," ScienceDaily.com, http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/12/091211131520.htm?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+sciencedaily+%28ScienceDaily%3A+Latest+Science+News%29&utm_content=Google+Feedfetcher: ScienceDaily, L.L.C., December 26, 2009 (accessed 12-26-2009).
[80]. McCraty, Science of the Heart, Vol. 2, 36.
[81]. Katharine O. Burleson, Gary E. Schwartz, “Cardiac torsion and electromagnetic fields:
 The cardiac bioinformation hypothesis,” Medical Hypothesis, 2005, Vol. 64, 1109-1116; DOI:10.1016/j. mehy, 2004.12.023.
[82]. Clarke J. SQUIDS. Sci Am: 46–53.
[83]. McCraty, Science of the Heart, Vol. 2, 36.
[84]. Ibid.
[85]. L.V. Beloussov; V.L. Voeikov; V.S. Martynyuk, Biophotonics and Coherent Systems in Biology, (Kindle Locations 260-264), Kindle Edition.
[86]. Becker, O., Marino, A., Electromagnetism & Life, (Belcher, LA: Cassandra Publishing, 2010), pp. 117-127.
[87]. St. Gertrude the Great, Life and Revelations of St. Gertrude the Great, TAN Books, Kindle Edition, pp. 303-304.
[88]. Ritchie, Charles Sebastian. “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).
[89]. Glenn Dallaire, “St Gemma Galgani.” Glen Dallaire. http://www.stgemmagalgani.com/2008/11/heart-on-fire-with-love-of-god-st-gemma.html, January 21, 2013 (accessed 11/05/2017).
[90]. Carlo Acutis, “The Eucharistic Miracles of the World: Lanciano, Italy, 750 A.D.,” Associazione Amici di Carlo Acutis, http://www.miracolieucaristici.org/en/Liste/scheda_b.html?nat=italia&wh=lanciano&ct=Lanciano,%20750%20D.C., accessed 11/18/2016.
[91]. Carlo Acutis, “The Eucharistic Miracles of the World: Poland, Sokolka, 2008,” Associazione Amici di Carlo Acutis, http://www.miracolieucaristici.org/en/Liste/scheda_c.html?nat=polonia&wh=sokolka&ct=Sok%C3%B3%C5%82ka%202008, accessed 11/18/2016.
[92]. Carlo Acutis, “The Eucharistic Miracles of the World: Argentina, Buenos Aries, 1992-1994-1996,” Associazione Amici di Carlo Acutis, http://www.miracolieucaristici.org/en/Liste/scheda_c.html?nat=argentina&wh=buenosaires&ct=Buenos%20Aires,%201992-1994-1996, accessed 11/18/2016.
[93]. Deacon Donald Cox, "This Is My Body—This Is My Blood," Catholic Journal US, http://www.catholicjournal.us/2012/03/30/this-is-my-body-this-is-my-blood/, March 30, 2012 (accessed 9/07/12).
[94]. cf. Carlo Acutis, “The Eucharistic Miracles of the World: Argentina, Buenos Aries, 1992-1994-1996.”
[95]. Catholic News Agency, “Check out this Eucharistic miracle in Poland,” CNA, http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/check-out-this-eucharistic-miracle-in-poland-96162/; April 18, 2016 (accessed 4/19/2016).
[96]. Carlo Acutis, “The Eucharistic Miracles of the World: Poland, Legnica, 2013,” Associazione Amici di Carlo Acutis, http://www.miracolieucaristici.org/en/Liste/scheda_b.html?nat=polonia&wh=legnica&ct=Legnica,%202013, accessed 11/18/2016.
[97]. And this is indeed that clean oblation which cannot be defiled by any unworthiness or malice of those that offer it, which the Lord foretold by Malachias was to be offered in every place clean to His name.” (Session xxii, Ch. 1). The offering of this clean oblation was predicted by the prophet Malachias in the following words: “I have no pleasure in you, saith the Lord of hosts; and I will not receive a gift of your hand. For from the rising of the sun even to the going down My name is great among the Gentiles, and in every place there is sacrifice, and there is offered to My name a clean oblation.” (Malach. 1: 10-11). All the Fathers of the Church consider this passage to refer to the Sacrifice of the Mass. For this prophecy does not find its fulfillment in the Old Testament, but in the New, wherein also are fulfilled the words which were spoken by God the Father to His Son: “Thou art My Son, this day have I begotten Thee. Ask of Me, and I will give Thee the Gentiles for Thy inheritance.” (Ps. 2: 7-8). This was accomplished when the heathen were converted to the Faith by the preaching of the Apostles. The sacrifice here predicted by Malachias cannot be that which was offered by Christ on the Cross, as non-Catholics assert; for that was made in one place only, on Calvary, not in every place, as the prophet declares. Nor can the supposition be entertained that the prophecy refers to a sacrifice of praise or of good works, for these are no oblation in the proper sense of the word [see endnote #26 for proper definition of “oblation”], nor are they always a “clean oblation;” prophet says: “All our justices are before Thee as a filthy rag.” (Is. 64: 6). As a high priest in the OT had priests of the Levites who offered sacrifice on the altar; the High Priest in the order of Melchisedech, Jesus, made his Apostles priests when he said, do this in memory of me.
Citation: Cochem, The Incredible Catholic Mass, pp. 7-8. Used with permission from Tan Books.
[98].“In the Revelations of St. Gertrude, it is stated that, at the elevation of the Host, the Saint saw Christ with His own hands lifting on high His Heart in the form of a golden chalice, presenting it to His heavenly Father and offering Himself for His Church in an ineffable manner, which it surpasses human understanding to comprehend” [Rev. Fr. Martin Von Cochem, The Incredible Catholic Mass (with Supplemental Reading: Novena of Holy Communions) [Illustrated] (p. 106). TAN Books. Kindle Edition].


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