Minnesota priest moved to tears encountering Precious Blood of Jesus during consecration

A priest was celebrating Mass this week for Catholic school students, staff, and parishioners at a church in Hopkins, Minnesota, when he had a powerful personal spiritual experience during the consecration about the gravity and reality of the Blood Christ shed for humanity, moving him to tears and making him unable to lift the chalice for several minutes. 

Father Brent Bowman, chaplain of Minnesota-based Chesterton Academy High School, had just consecrated the Eucharist for the Mass Sept. 14 at St. Gabriel’s Catholic Church and then began saying the words of consecration over the wine. 

“Take this, all of you, and drink from it, for this is the chalice… of My Blood,” Father Bowman said, his voice suddenly faltering, “the Blood of the new, and eternal covenant, which will be poured out for you and for many,” he continued slowly, “for the forgiveness of sins.”

“Do this in memory of me,” he said, and he began weeping. He remained bowed over and his hand was held on the chalice, which he did not lift for nearly another minute. He then lifted the chalice, still weeping, and lowered it again slowly after the bells rang. He then knelt and remained there for nearly another minute, still overcome with emotion. A young altar server was beside the altar throughout the consecration, patiently unmoving except to turn the next page of the missal. 

After a few more moments, Father Bowman stood again, and continued the liturgy. 

The Catholic Church teaches the reality that at every Mass, through the priest’s words of consecration, the substance of the communion hosts and wine change and become the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus, while retaining the outward appearance of bread and wine. 

The Mass was livestreamed on the church’s Facebook account and the moment went viral online. Father Bowman issued a statement Sept. 16 on the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis website, explaining what had taken place. 

“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. He clarified that what he experienced would not be categorized by the Catholic Church as a Eucharistic miracle, as the outward appearance of the Eucharist and Precious Blood remained the same. He added that he never saw real blood or human flesh with his eyes. 

“During the consecration prayer over the wine at the altar, as I spoke the words, I was given what I believe to be internal knowledge of the power of these words being spoken and the reality of their effect to the point that I had difficulty speaking,” he explained. “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.”

He also spoke about the difficulty of lifting the chalice during this experience. 

“The chalice became too heavy to hold as I felt it pulled down to rest upon the altar,” he continued. “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,” he said. “I believe I experienced this weight in the chalice. This spiritual experience emotionally and physically overwhelmed me as evident in the Mass recording.”

Father Bowman also emphasized that private spiritual encounters with God, such as the one he experienced, “are completely unmerited gifts and signs of God’s abundant love for all His people. They are not necessarily signs of any person’s holiness.”

Concluding, he expressed hope that the testimony moves people to more deeply contemplate Christ’s Real Presence in the Eucharist and Precious Blood.