After the consecration, Christ is present on the altar under the appearances of bread and wine. From time to time it has been recorded that Our Lord has been seen in the sacred Host under the appearance of an infant. It is related of St. Peter of Alcantara, a Franciscan monk who lived in the sixteenth century and was the confessor of St. Teresa of Avila. St. Peter said Mass with a singular devotion. One day the boy who served his Mass came home and told his mother that he would not serve that priest’s Mass anymore. His mother asked him the reason why and the child said: “More than once I have noticed that, when I am serving on the altar, that priest has held a little child in his hands, which he ate at the communion. I am afraid of going up to the altar with him, he might grab hold of me and eat me.” The mother, who knew what a saintly life the monk in question led, understood what had happened and explained to her child the mystery of the apparition he had witnessed. After that he served the saint’s Mass with great joy and devotion.
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