HOPKINS, MN — A Hopkins, Minnesota, priest froze mid-prayer at the altar, his hands seemingly locked to a chalice he could not lift, in a moment caught on video that has since spread rapidly online.
Father Brent Bowman was celebrating Mass on Sept. 14 at St. Gabriel's Catholic Church for the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross when the moment happened.
Chesterton Academy students, faculty and staff, along with parishioners, were in attendance.
Footage of the Mass shows Bowman struggling to speak and move as he prayed over the bread and wine, growing visibly overwhelmed during the consecration.
Two days later, Bowman released a statement through the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis to explain what he experienced.
"During the Mass, I had a private spiritual experience while praying the Eucharistic prayer over the bread and wine and I want to humbly share and clarify what I experienced all for God's glory and praise," he said.
"To clarify up front, my experience was NOT what the Catholic Church considers a 'Eucharistic miracle,'" Bowman wrote.
"The forms of bread and wine retained their accidents (i.e., their appearance and taste) during this entire experience. Never did I see real blood or human flesh with my eyes."
However, Bowman described being given what he called internal knowledge of the power of the consecration prayer as he spoke it, to the point that he had difficulty continuing.
"With each word, I became more physically overwhelmed as seen in the video. At the same time, I was given sensory knowledge of the weight of God's power coming down upon the altar, and I felt the heaviness of Jesus's substantial presence in the chalice in my hands. The chalice became too heavy to hold as I felt it pulled down to rest upon the altar. I felt my hands fixed to the chalice of the Precious Blood, and I could not physically move it. Attempting to elevate the Precious Blood, which I was not able to do for a period of time, I believe I was given grace to understand more deeply the bittersweetness of Our Lord's Passion and how much blood Christ shed for the immense weight of all our sins. I believe I experienced this weight in the chalice. This spiritual experience emotionally and physically overwhelmed me as evident in the Mass recording."
Father Brent Bowman
Bowman said experiences like his are unmerited gifts and not evidence of any person's own holiness.
He asked that the moment lead others to reflect more deeply on the Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist.
Watch the moment during Mass here.
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