Second Sunday in Ordinary Time
“For greater things you were born.” (Ven. Mother Luisita)
SUNDAY, JANUARY 16th Jn. 2: 1-11 “His mother said to the servers, ‘Do whatever he tells you.’”
For all of our lives, this is the best advice possible from our Blessed Mother Mary regarding her Son Jesus: “Do whatever He tells you.”
This was the first miracle performed by Jesus, who said to His Mother: “My hour has not yet come.” Though no words were spoken, Mary knew He would not refuse this request of charity! Father Ed breaks open this key scripture passage with Mary’s last words recorded in the Gospels.
MARY AND THE WEDDING FEAST OF CANA by Fr. Ed Broom, OMV
Try to imagine now that you are at a wedding Feast in Cana. You are present with Jesus, Mary, and some of the Apostles.
The environment is festive, joyful and peaceful as you can imagine in most weddings. The Bride and Groom have true love for each other and are hoping and praying for the best for their future. The couple know Our Lady, her Son Jesus, and some of Jesus’ friends, the Apostles, and we can imagine them being there to share in the joy of the wedding feast.
Then, amidst the joy, there is a crisis at the wedding that will speak to all of us who have attended a wedding. Wine was a key element of the wedding celebration, but for some reason the wine came to an end. This indeed would be very embarrassing to have friends and relatives show up for the celebration and the couple now unable to offer them at least a small glass of wine.
Being keenly aware of the environment, the celebration, the situation, and the ensuing embarrassment, Our Lady reacts to help. Our Lady desires the joy and happiness of this couple on their wedding day and she will try to make their joy secure. Mary turns to Jesus and tells Him that they have no more wine. Jesus responds by saying that His hour has not yet arrived. Mary and Jesus are united in all times and circumstances, in heart, mind and soul. Mary turns to the waiters and tells them: “Do whatever He tells you.” These were the last words recorded of Mary in the Gospels, in all of Sacred Scripture. We can say beyond the shadow of a doubt that these words contain the best advice in the whole world. Mary was saying to the waiter, as well as to the whole world, to obey Jesus in all things!
A first joyful miracle!
As a result of Mary’s powerful intercession, Jesus performs His first public miracle at the Wedding Feast of Cana, thereby preventing a very embarrassing situation on the wedding day of this young couple.
The Apostles witness this and their faith in Jesus grows.
Let us now go deeper into this mystery of the first Public Miracle of Jesus, through the intercession of Mary, and let God speak to our own hearts, minds and souls. Let us beg for the grace to know Jesus, love Jesus, and follow Jesus all the more closely through the presence and intercession of Mary, the Mother of God and our own dear Mother. To help, we’d like to offer five suggestions for meditation on Mary, Our Lord, and this miracle at Cana and what we can learn from this wonderful episode in scripture.
1. Mary leads us to Jesus.
We learn a very clear lesson in the Wedding Feast of Cana: Mary leads us to Jesus. There was never anybody on earth as close to Jesus as Mary. Therefore, if I want to get closer to Jesus, to know Him better, love Him more ardently and follow Him more closely, I should turn to Mary. Talk to Mary with a lot of love and confidence, and beg her for the grace to know Jesus better. Mary begged Jesus’ intercession, and then directed others to follow Our Lord, so that they could continue to experience joy.
2. Mary obtains joy for us.
The wedding feast was a joyous occasion and Mary was there. Mary wants you to be joyful in this life and forever joyful in heaven. True joy comes from sharing our lives with Jesus and Mary. All people in the world want to be happy, but many are not because they are looking for happiness in the wrong places—often in sin, separated from Jesus and Mary.
3. Mary helps us to solve our problems.
At the Wedding Feast of Cana a serious problem occurred—they ran out of wine. It was through Mary’s intercession with Jesus that this problem was resolved, quickly and easily. Our life is full of problems, from the beginning until the end. Often, when we try to resolve our problems on our own, our problems get worse and worse. Our problems snowball or we get tangled up in our problems.
One of the titles for Mary is Undoer of Knots. Knots, here, mean problems. We all have knotty problems in our lives. Our Lady can help us, she earnestly desires to help us, but she is waiting for us to ask her. What type of problems might we have? Tons of them! Some of these might be yours: problems within your family or with extended family, problems at work with a boss or co-worker, financial headaches, maybe even a health issue—your own or that of a family member. Look at your life and beg Our Lady to help you to see the biggest problem that you are experiencing right now. Talk to Our Lady about this. Through her intercession, Jesus turned water into wine at Cana. She can intercede for you with Jesus to turn your water (problem) into wine (a solution to the problem).
4. Miracles can happen.
This was the first miracle that Jesus performed and it was through Mary’s presence and intercession. Because of this powerful miracle, the faith of the Apostles in Jesus was strengthened. Beg Our Lady to strengthen your own faith in Jesus every day! Faith is believing in Jesus truly present in our lives without seeing Him. Pray that you never lose your faith. Pray that you will grow in your faith daily. Pray for the grace to be able to share your faith with others who have either lost their faith or never had it. One of the best ways to grow in our faith is to generously share it with others!
5. Marriage and Courtship
This Biblical passage took place in the context of a marriage. Ven. Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen wrote a book called “Three to Get Married”—a great book to read if you are contemplating married life and even if you are already married! If you are married, do not be surprised if at times you find your love is waning. Turn to Mary! She will ask Jesus to be present in your marriage and turn your water into wine, so your love for each other will grow and continue to grow as the years pass. If you are single and feel called to married life, it is very important to pray that God will help you choose the right person, one who will share your life with you and help you get to heaven! By far, this will be the most important decision in your whole life.
Now imagine now that you are sitting in front of both Jesus and Mary in this wonderful wedding banquet. Contemplate the eyes, the faces and the beauty of Jesus and Mary. For those who are married, beg Mary and Jesus for the grace to live your vocation of marriage with great love for God, each other, and the children God sends you. If you are still discerning your vocation, beg Mary and Jesus for the grace to know what your vocation in life is and to follow it faithfully until you arrive safely home in heaven.
