My wife and I have been married for almost a full iPhone generation. This said, I feel like I can speak from a place of experience when I say that I didn't really know my wife when we got married. We have navigated some treacherous waters together: right/wrong ways to hang up our towels, whether or not a couch cover is an improvement, and where we should keep our shoes. Moments like these plumb the depths of the human soul forging lasting bonds within our blessed union. I can say honestly that she is so much more than who I thought she was. I hope she would say the same about me.
This is the beauty of concrete relationships. I can look my wife in the eyes, and she looks back. When I hug her, she hugs back. When I reveal my crazy to her, she reveals back. We grow in intimacy because we share ourselves in concrete, tangible ways. She gives her heart to me, and the more she reveals, the more I experience her, the more I fall in love.
If nine months of marriage is enough to reveal that there is more to my wife than what I knew on my wedding day, then I would hope that after 30 years of relationship with Jesus, I would be able to say that there is more to him than I originally thought. In light of our current relationship, I can look back and say that I really didn't know Jesus when I was baptized. I can say that I didn't really know Jesus when I received my first Reconciliation, First Communion, Confirmation, etc. because they were just starting points, and he has continued to reveal himself. Constant gift. Overflowing.
A quick Google search of "Eucharistic miracles" will provide numerous historical instances where the Eucharist became visible flesh and blood. You can do your own fact checking here. To me the most amazing fact that emerges from study of these miracles is that the Eucharistic flesh is myocardial tissue. The Eucharist, the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus is given from his heart. To look upon the Eucharist isn't just to gaze into the eyes of Jesus, it is to a glimpse the very heart of God.
This is the beauty of the Sacraments in the Catholic Church. Concrete relationship with Jesus. In the Sacraments, I can look at Jesus, knowing that he looks back. I can touch Him, knowing that He touches back. I can speak to Him in prayer, knowing that he speaks back. We grow in intimacy because he shares himself in concrete, tangible ways. He gives his heart to me, and the more he reveals, the more I experience him, the more I fall in love.
What was from the beginning,
what we have heard,
what we have seen with our eyes,
what we have looked upon
and touched with our hands
concerns the Word of life--
-1 John 1: 1-4
