Hostias Celestiales: Milagros Eucaristicos para Niños

by Kathryn Griffin Swegart

Your children likely know all about the Eucharist, that central ritual beloved by Catholics worldwide. But do they know that God’s presence in the Eucharist is miraculous?

Heavenly Hostss presents documented Eucharistic miracles in story form to bring middle-grade readers to a better understanding of the Real Presence. One story details a fourth-century priest in the Sahara Desert who loses his faith until the Christ Child appears in the Host; this miraculous sighting causes the priest to return to God. In another tale, Antonio, a ninth-century altar boy, stands firm in a test of faith and is rewarded for his fidelity. And in one memorable story in Italy, a thirteenth-century debate over the true nature of the Eucharist is settled when a donkey falls to its knees before a monstrance containing the consecrated Host.

These stories and more—including a tale involving the future pope Francis—demonstrate God’s involvement in the lives of Catholics throughout the centuries, including today. Through these miraculous accounts set in various historical times and places, your children will discover a new appreciation for the Eucharist and its illustration of God’s love for those who follow Him.
Heavenly Hosts is an essential book for all Catholic families. Saint Pope John Paul II called for us to "rekindle Eucharistic amazement" in the New Evangelization. Heavenly Hosts encourages us to understand, appreciate, and love the Eucharist.

Genres: Catholic, Religion, Nonfiction, Childrens

80 pages, Paperback

Published January 18, 2019

About the author

Kathryn is a professed Secular Franciscan with a Master’s degree from Boston College. Her passions are her family, reading, and writing for young readers.

Reviews

[Steven R. McEvoy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the second book by Kathryn that I read in under a week, after finishing her historical fiction, Perilous Days Brave Hearts Book 1, I picked up this and book two of the Brave Hearts series. This book is a wonderful little read. I have come across sections in many books about Eucharistic Miracles but have yet to read a book dedicated to them. I picked this book up to read with my kids and started reading it on my lunch at work. I literally could not put it down. I ended up reading through my whole lunch, and my commute home and finished the book before the kids got in the door from school. I started reading it with my youngest two that night.

So right off the top, even though this book was written with children as the target audience it can be enjoyed by readers of any age. And it will inspire an, encourage, and stoke up the faith of any believer. In our house it is being enjoyed by readers from 8 to 50 years of age.

The chapters are:
Introduction
Miracle of Skete, Egypt Third Century
Miracle of Lanciano, Italy Eighth Century
Miracle of Rimini, Italy 1227
Miracle of Assisi, Italy 1240
Miracle of Kranenburg, Germany 1280
Miracle of Krakow, Poland 1345
Miracle of Avignon, France 1461
Miracle of LaRochelle, France 1461
Miracle of Pibrac, France 1587
Miracle of Tumaco, Colombia 1906
Miracle of Fatima, Portugal 1916
Miracle of Buenos Aires, Argentina 1994
The Real Presence: A Lesson from Saint Philip Neri 1555
Real Miracles in Real Places

In the introduction Kathryn states:

“Every time we attend the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, a miracle happens. The priest elevates the host and says, “Take this, all of you, and eat of it, for this is my Body, which will be given up for you.” Like the chrysalis, a big change occurs. We can’t see this change. We believe it because Jesus told us so at the Last Supper when he instituted the Eucharist. Our Catholic faith teaches us that at the moment of consecration, Jesus is present under the appearances of bread and wine. He is there Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity. He becomes our spiritual food. The Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist is a mystery of God’s love, Eucharistic miracles do not prove this great mystery; they strengthen our faith. We believe in our hearts.”

The Eucharist is central to being catholic. And as Catholics it should be central to our lives. What these stories do is remind us of the importance and power in the consecrated hosts and wine. The introduction ends with these words:

“When you attend Mass, remember these stories. If you use your imagination, you can picture Him in the Host. After you receive Him at Holy Communion, be thankful that He is with you in this beautiful miracle of the Eucharist.”

And I have found that these stories are staying with me not just when thinking about the mass. But throughout the day. A few of these specific stories I was familiar with, but many I had not encountered previously. The stories in this volume span almost 1700 years. And these are but a few samplings of the eucharistic miracles that have been recorded. One of the stories that touched me most in this collection is that of The Miracle of Rimini Italy in1227, I do not recall coming across this story before. But the aged mule bowing and choosing Christ in the eucharist over a bunch of grapes was greatly enjoyed both by myself and the kids, thought I see myself more in the father in this story and needing Christ to bring me around time and time again.

This is a wonderful book, for readers of all ages!

Read the review on my blog Book Reviews and More and reviews of other books by Kathryn Griffin Swegart.

Note: This book is part of a series of reviews: 2019 Catholic Reading Plan!

[Ava · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great little book of Eucharistic miracles from Skete, Egypt, in the third century, to Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 1994. I loved that the author told these miracles as stories, which made them more relatable. If you want to introduce children to the real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, this book is a great place to start!

[Ann Warren · Rating 5 out of 5]

We read this book aloud as a family and we all enjoyed these stories about Eucharistic Miracles! These were some lesser known stories (to us anyway), and told in short chapters the kids could follow. My son received it as a first communion gift and I highly recommend it for this age/occasion! Very good family read!

[Shari · Rating 5 out of 5]

True stories of the beautiful Eucharistic Miracles that occurred showing that the Eucharist is the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ. Used as a morning time devotional with kids.

[Carolyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of short tales based on real Eucharistic miracles from throughout history. I read a couple of stories to my daughter each night, and she was attentive and interested. Great for emphasizing the power of God and the miraculous fact that Jesus comes to us body, blood, soul, and divinity in the Eucharist.

A great gift for Catholic kids, especially those around the age of their First Communion. Could use another pass by a proofreader, but that didn't detract from our enjoyment.

[Malena · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful group of stories

Such a great li title book of stories for little kids. They explain the miracles of the eucharist in a very easy and engaging way for kids to fall in love with the Eucharist. Great gift for first communicants.

[April · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book! This was an excellent read aloud to accompany prep for First Holy Communion. The only thing I would have liked to have seen in this book was brief historical notes after each story (connected to each story) to make researching them for a deeper dive on each one a bit easier.

[Christine Calabrese · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a lovely book with true stories of miracles for children and adults. Thank you to my friends here on Goodreads for reviewing and recommending. I love it and recommend to all. Truly Our Lord is present, Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity under a veil of bread. He is the BREAD of LIFE. A wonderful book for anyone, protestants too, who have not known the beauty of Our Lord's presence in this sacrament. Read and believe! Great Christmas gift!

[Anna · Rating 2 out of 5]

I, disappointingly, was not impressed with this book. I was expecting a rich collection of descriptions of Eucharistic miracles. Instead the author chose unlikely minor characters to fill the main spot and only touched on the miraculous. All that, in addition to some editing errors that were missed (wrong tenses, words dropped from sentences, etc.), makes me unlikely to purchase this as a FHC gift for others, which is what I was ultimately hoping it would be.

[Danielle Z · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wish the writing was better but otherwise it was good

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a quick read. Each story is about the length of a chapter. I wish I could say I liked this more than I actually liked it. The idea of writing stories about Eucharistic miracles is wonderful. But most of the stories were kind of bland. The miraculous parts were not really the focus and sometimes seemed detached from the rest of the writing. I think both my kids and I would have preferred to read factual descriptions of these events rather than having them tacked on to bits about invented minor characters.

[Michelle Rogers · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful presentation of Eucharistic miracles that was perfect for young souls to read to help stoke the fire of faith. The stories are pretty amazing; each centered on the Eucharist and miracles surounding the True Presence of Christ. The chapters each focused on a different miracle, were short and were relativelu easy to read/follow for even younger children.

[Elkaza · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book may be for kids, even so I still a lot from it and really enjoyed reading it. Thus, this book is good for anyone who wants to know more about the Special role of the Eucharistic within the Catholic Church.

Amazing miracle stories from history, that reminds us, that we need to keep close to Jesus Christ, and our Catholic Faith.

A must read, for all Catholics, no matter your age.

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Written in a way that was engaging to my boys, though I did some minor editing as I read these stories aloud. As soon as we finished my 5th grader asked to take it to his (Catholic) school to share with his teacher and classmates. They had an extra credit assignment this week on Eucharistic Miracles and he thought his teacher might read some of these stories to the class.

[Kaelynn Judd · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is fitting for older children and adults alike. The stories are told in a very engaging way, and I love how often children are the main characters in the stories. I would highly recommend it!

[Mia Emslie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disappointing. I loved another book by this author: Miraculous! Catholic Mysteries for Kids. Expected this to be similar.. no. Where the other one was full of fascinating, unusual stories of actual recorded miracles… The stories in this one were abrupt-feeling & hardly even interesting.

[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely intro to Eucharistic miracles. Perfect for first communion. It includes stories from the perspectives of children and animals to bring them alive for children.

[Atlantis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short stories suitable to read and discuss with young children studying for First Holy Communion or to help them learn how the Holy Eucharist affects the world.

[Claudia McClure · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sweet book!

[Bernadette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful book about true Eucharistic miracles. A story before bedtime prayers worked great in our family!

[Crystal · Rating 5 out of 5]

We loved it!

This is just right for teaching kids about Eucharistic miracles. The kids and I enjoyed these stories. Highly recommend it.

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read aloud for the Easter season of our morning basket!

[J Zepeda · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Great Book

A simple easy to understand study of Eucharistic miracles. The last story has special meaning to Pope Francis. Highly recommend.

[Catherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amazing stories of Eucharistic miracles from the 3rd century through 1994. My kids and I couldn’t put it down.

[Two Hearts Homeschool · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars, will probably pass this on to a friend and not keep it in our home library.

[Joyce · Rating 3 out of 5]

Captured my students' attention and imagination. Content incomparable. Narration sometimes confusing for my Gr. 3 students.