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Behold It is I: Scripture, Tradition, and Science on the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist
The Catholic Faith begins and ends with Jesus Christ, culminating in the Eucharist as its Source and Summit. “Behold, it is I,” Jesus says, and the faithful believe. Examining these words of Jesus, Fr. George Elliott and Dr. Stacy Trasancos provide some of the most convincing proofs for the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist from Scripture, Tradition, and the scientific investigation of Eucharistic miracles. In three sections, they walk readers The reader may be joyfully surprised at where the journey of this book will lead you, from the burning faith of the saints all the way back to Christ in the Gospels. It plainly sets forth the reality that the Eucharist is the Body of Christ. Just as in Biblical times, Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament is not a ghost and not a myth, but flesh and bone, hands and feet. “Behold,” He said, “It is I.”
240 pages, Hardcover
Published October 19, 2021
23 people are currently reading
77 people want to read
About the author
Stacy A. Trasancos
7 books17 followersI am a wife and homeschooling mother of seven. I hold a PhD in Chemistry from Penn State University and a MA in Dogmatic Theology from Holy Apostles College and Seminary. I worked as a chemist for DuPont in the Lycra® and Teflon® businesses.
Now I teach chemistry and physics for Kolbe Academy online homeschool program, where our kids are enrolled. If you are interested in enrolling your homeschooled student in a homeschool or an online course, visit the Kolbe Academy page. I am teaching these online courses this 2016-17 school year: Introduction to Physics and Chemistry, Core Chemistry, Core Physics, AP Chemistry, AP Physics 1. The AP courses are College Board approved and prepare a student for advanced placement (AP) exams for college credit.
In the fall and spring 2016, I am teaching a “Reading Science in the Light of Faith” at Holy Apostles College & Seminary. The course is funded by a John Templeton Foundation grant through John Carroll University for teaching science in seminaries. I am on the Board of Directors for ITEST (the Institute for the Theological Encounter with Science and Technology) where the essays from the course will be shared with the public. The course is tuition-free (thanks to the grant) for seminarians. If you are interested, contact Holy Apostles to inquire about admissions and enrollment. (Note: This course is processed on an individual basis due to the tuition discounts.)
In the Spring 2017, I will begin teaching a new course developed at Seton Hall University where Fr. Stanley L. Jaki was a Distinguished Professor. The course is titled “Catholic Theology of Science.” Fr. Jaki’s work was the subject of my first book, Science Was Born of Christianity: The Teaching of Fr. Stanley L. Jaki.
My newest book, Particles of Faith: A Catholic Guide to Navigating Science came out from Ave Maria Press in October 2016.
I teach, research, and write from our family’s 100-year old restored lodge in the Adirondack mountains. My updated CV is linked above.
You can find me on Facebook mostly. I post lots of pictures of our family’s activities. I also use Facebook for discussions about faith and science, to gather ideas and learn what is on people’s minds. I have a Twitter account, but I am bad at it.
Now I teach chemistry and physics for Kolbe Academy online homeschool program, where our kids are enrolled. If you are interested in enrolling your homeschooled student in a homeschool or an online course, visit the Kolbe Academy page. I am teaching these online courses this 2016-17 school year: Introduction to Physics and Chemistry, Core Chemistry, Core Physics, AP Chemistry, AP Physics 1. The AP courses are College Board approved and prepare a student for advanced placement (AP) exams for college credit.
In the fall and spring 2016, I am teaching a “Reading Science in the Light of Faith” at Holy Apostles College & Seminary. The course is funded by a John Templeton Foundation grant through John Carroll University for teaching science in seminaries. I am on the Board of Directors for ITEST (the Institute for the Theological Encounter with Science and Technology) where the essays from the course will be shared with the public. The course is tuition-free (thanks to the grant) for seminarians. If you are interested, contact Holy Apostles to inquire about admissions and enrollment. (Note: This course is processed on an individual basis due to the tuition discounts.)
In the Spring 2017, I will begin teaching a new course developed at Seton Hall University where Fr. Stanley L. Jaki was a Distinguished Professor. The course is titled “Catholic Theology of Science.” Fr. Jaki’s work was the subject of my first book, Science Was Born of Christianity: The Teaching of Fr. Stanley L. Jaki.
My newest book, Particles of Faith: A Catholic Guide to Navigating Science came out from Ave Maria Press in October 2016.
I teach, research, and write from our family’s 100-year old restored lodge in the Adirondack mountains. My updated CV is linked above.
You can find me on Facebook mostly. I post lots of pictures of our family’s activities. I also use Facebook for discussions about faith and science, to gather ideas and learn what is on people’s minds. I have a Twitter account, but I am bad at it.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
December 6, 2021
This more than just another summation of evidence on the Church's teaching on the Eucharist. The third part of this book also looks at some of the evidence from the perspective of science by looking at miracles and discussing some specific Eucharistic miracles.
In "Part 1: What Does the Bible Say?" They look at the Old Testament, The Institution Narratives, The Gospel of John, and then scripture related to after the crucifixion.
In Part 2, they go into four of some of the earlier Church Father's is separate chapters.
I liked the focused way they presented all three parts of this book. I especially appreciated when going into texts; they were not just proof-texting from limited sections but more extended sections. For example, when discussing Chapter 6 of John, they have you read the whole chapter as presented in the book to see the entire context before diving in. There is a lot of attention to detail here in giving the information.
I found the Review/Summary at the end of each chapter especially useful. Helpful to memorize the information and use it as a resource.
The review/summary includes:
- Key Ideas
- Good Facts to Memorize
- Effective Questions to Ask When Discussing the Real Presence
Each section is also extensively footnoted.
If this book only contained the first two chapters, it would have been worth buying.
The main reason I had bought this book was that I had read Stacy Trasancos other books and knew I wanted to see her perspective regarding the science of Eucharistic miracles. Her background includes being a research chemist for DuPont. She is a convert from atheism and holds a doctorate in chemistry and a master's degree in dogmatic science.
The chapter on "Miracles and Transubstantiation" is an excellent primer on the subject that makes careful distinctions as it enters the realm of theology, philosophy, and science. There is so much to think about here as she answers some anticipated questions and some less so—a great introduction to the subject of miracles in general.
The following chapters cover:
- Eucharistic miracle that occurred in Bolsena, Italy, in 1263
- The more recent Buenos Aires series of Eucharistic miracles in the 1990s.
- The Lanciano Report of the Eucharistic miracle occurred in the eighth century.
This section is a fascinating look at the scientific evidence for these fairly well-known cases. However, Stacy Trasancos is cautious about what the science can confirm regarding previous investigations.
One of the problems is that so many accounts of these miracles have been inaccurate, and the evidence does not fully support conclusions drawn. Some pieces of evidence point to these cases being miraculous, but it is not the slam dunk popularly presented. Moreover, there are aspects to these stories that are either mistaken or open to other interpretations. What I found especially interesting is how vital the chain of evidence is regarding contamination.
> Perhaps for future Eucharistic miracles there could be a protocol for a congregation or celebrant to follow if someone sees a Host bleed or become tissue or the wine becomes physiological blood. At that point, the Vatican should convene a team of scientists and doctors to write a plan detailing how to collect and store the sample, where to send the samples for the same testing each time, who to include in the analysis, and how to report the results compared to a bank of data.
We need a "CSI: Eucharistic Miracle" (CSI being Communion Scene Investigation)
One of the questions I have heard people often ask is why don't we use scientific evidence of Eucharistic Miracles more to make our case to non-Catholics? If we do so, we need to strongman our case and present only factual data to make our case. These Eucharistic miracles can be used to make a cumulative case in conjunction with scripture and the Church Fathers. I have learned a lot from Jimmy Akin regarding applying critical thinking skills to subjects. So I admire Stacy Trasancos for doing the same and only going as far as the current evidence supports.
In "Part 1: What Does the Bible Say?" They look at the Old Testament, The Institution Narratives, The Gospel of John, and then scripture related to after the crucifixion.
In Part 2, they go into four of some of the earlier Church Father's is separate chapters.
I liked the focused way they presented all three parts of this book. I especially appreciated when going into texts; they were not just proof-texting from limited sections but more extended sections. For example, when discussing Chapter 6 of John, they have you read the whole chapter as presented in the book to see the entire context before diving in. There is a lot of attention to detail here in giving the information.
I found the Review/Summary at the end of each chapter especially useful. Helpful to memorize the information and use it as a resource.
The review/summary includes:
- Key Ideas
- Good Facts to Memorize
- Effective Questions to Ask When Discussing the Real Presence
Each section is also extensively footnoted.
If this book only contained the first two chapters, it would have been worth buying.
The main reason I had bought this book was that I had read Stacy Trasancos other books and knew I wanted to see her perspective regarding the science of Eucharistic miracles. Her background includes being a research chemist for DuPont. She is a convert from atheism and holds a doctorate in chemistry and a master's degree in dogmatic science.
The chapter on "Miracles and Transubstantiation" is an excellent primer on the subject that makes careful distinctions as it enters the realm of theology, philosophy, and science. There is so much to think about here as she answers some anticipated questions and some less so—a great introduction to the subject of miracles in general.
The following chapters cover:
- Eucharistic miracle that occurred in Bolsena, Italy, in 1263
- The more recent Buenos Aires series of Eucharistic miracles in the 1990s.
- The Lanciano Report of the Eucharistic miracle occurred in the eighth century.
This section is a fascinating look at the scientific evidence for these fairly well-known cases. However, Stacy Trasancos is cautious about what the science can confirm regarding previous investigations.
One of the problems is that so many accounts of these miracles have been inaccurate, and the evidence does not fully support conclusions drawn. Some pieces of evidence point to these cases being miraculous, but it is not the slam dunk popularly presented. Moreover, there are aspects to these stories that are either mistaken or open to other interpretations. What I found especially interesting is how vital the chain of evidence is regarding contamination.
> Perhaps for future Eucharistic miracles there could be a protocol for a congregation or celebrant to follow if someone sees a Host bleed or become tissue or the wine becomes physiological blood. At that point, the Vatican should convene a team of scientists and doctors to write a plan detailing how to collect and store the sample, where to send the samples for the same testing each time, who to include in the analysis, and how to report the results compared to a bank of data.
We need a "CSI: Eucharistic Miracle" (CSI being Communion Scene Investigation)
One of the questions I have heard people often ask is why don't we use scientific evidence of Eucharistic Miracles more to make our case to non-Catholics? If we do so, we need to strongman our case and present only factual data to make our case. These Eucharistic miracles can be used to make a cumulative case in conjunction with scripture and the Church Fathers. I have learned a lot from Jimmy Akin regarding applying critical thinking skills to subjects. So I admire Stacy Trasancos for doing the same and only going as far as the current evidence supports.
June 10, 2024
Wonderful reflection on the Real Presence. I loved diving into the scriptures and the Church Fathers. The Eucharistic Miracles section was fascinating as well.
March 4, 2023
Really awesome summation of Biblical evidence for belief in the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist!
The second part goes into the Church Fathers, and for me this is the most convincing part - the early Christians believed the bread and wine really became the Body and Blood of Christ.
The third part wasn’t as compelling as I hoped (but I very much appreciated its honesty about what we can know from these miracles, which I do believe happened), and gets very technical where only an expert would likely understand every scientific word in these chapters (though many are explained).
The first two thirds alone are worth recommending this book for someone who wants to hear the “case” for belief in the Real Presence. Third part is for the scientifically minded and those curious or skeptical for an in-depth look at four Eucharistic miracles.
The second part goes into the Church Fathers, and for me this is the most convincing part - the early Christians believed the bread and wine really became the Body and Blood of Christ.
The third part wasn’t as compelling as I hoped (but I very much appreciated its honesty about what we can know from these miracles, which I do believe happened), and gets very technical where only an expert would likely understand every scientific word in these chapters (though many are explained).
The first two thirds alone are worth recommending this book for someone who wants to hear the “case” for belief in the Real Presence. Third part is for the scientifically minded and those curious or skeptical for an in-depth look at four Eucharistic miracles.
January 14, 2023
Review: Read this in two days. It was either meh or mindblowingly good. It all depends on what you know. For example, I knew that the Last Supper mimics the Passover in the OT. Got it. But then they go into detail about Jewish ceremonial traditions, how there are four cups and it traces out the cups that Jesus was at during His last days. It also made some good connections that I didn’t think about. The last part is about Eucharistic miracles which are super cool to learn about but then it goes into a LOT of detail on the science. I think it would be great for someone who is intrigued in science--I am not that person.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews