Jesus changes water into wine at The Wedding at Cana. Every Catholic man can grow in happiness by seeking the Gift of Understanding from the Holy Spirit so he can more deeply meditate upon the glory of God and by building the Virtue of Religion so he can zealously and joyously practice the Catholic faith.
Liturgy
Christmastime – January 7 or the Saturday before Epiphany – Jn 2:1-11; 2nd Week in Ordinary Time – Sunday Cycle C – Jn 2:1-11
Commentary
The Church recalls the many manifestations of Jesus’ glory in the approach to Epiphany including Jesus’ first public miracle at the Wedding at Cana. Cana is a small Galilean town about five miles from Nazareth, and the couple being married were perhaps family of the Blessed Virgin Mary, or the recently deceased St. Joseph. Prefiguring Jesus’ Resurrection on the third day after the Crucifixion, Jesus initiates His public ministry three days after calling the first disciples; it is also the seventh day after John the Baptist’s announcement of Christ, echoing the seventh day of Creation (Gen 2:1-4), the first Sabbath, a great day of rest and praise of God, a mysterious sign of the New Creation which Jesus inaugurates.
The Blessed Virgin Mary, ever attentive, realizes the married couple faces great embarrassment because the wine has run out. The Blessed Virgin Mary recalls her miraculous conception and her Son’s divinity and intercedes, and her statement, “They have no wine”, is a prayerful request for Jesus to perform a miracle. Jesus’ response, “O woman”, rather than a curt rebuke, reveals the Blessed Virgin Mary to be the New Eve (the sinful Eve of the Garden of Eden, was called, “woman”). The Blessed Virgin Mary, confident her son Jesus will respond, tells the servants to simply do whatever He tells them to do.
Jesus commands the servants to fill six stone jars which hold 120 gallons of water, an abundant amount (the equivalent of about 2 pallets of bottled wine), and He miraculously changes the water into wine, mysteriously foreshadowing His future Real Presence in the wine which is changed into His precious Blood of the Eucharist. Prefiguring abundance and glory of the future Marriage Supper of the Lamb in Heaven (Rev 19:7-9), the head steward affirms the wine is the “good wine.” Always purposeful, Jesus performs the miracle to honor His mother, to manifest His glory to the disciples and strengthen their faith in Him, and to confirm the sacredness of marriage between a man and a woman. After the wedding, Jesus, the Blessed Virgin Mary and the disciples return to Capernaum.
Be awed by Jesus Christ
Because He is the Son of God, everything Jesus says or does is filled with profound and mysterious meaning. Consider that in miraculous creation of wine at the wedding in Cana, the Divine Priest confirms the sacredness of the Sacrament of Matrimony, and previews the miraculous Transubstantiation of wine into His precious Blood in the Sacrament of the Eucharist, a miracle repeated at every single Mass.
Meditate upon the Glory of God
Realize: The word “glory” is a profoundly rich word with multiple meanings (“brightness, splendor, magnificence, majesty of outward appearance”, “fame, renown, great praise, honor”) which is used extensively to describe God in the Bible (470 times) and the Catechism (155 times).
Believe: Reflect upon the Glory of God (CCC 293, 525, 2089).
Pray: Holy Spirit, give me the Gift of Understanding so You guide me to grow in my ability to perceive and praise the glory of the Blessed Trinity in all things.
Joyously practice the Catholic faith
Realize: When Jesus “manifested His glory”, the Apostles came to believe and set the foundation for the Catholic faith as they gave Him glory.
Believe: Reflect upon the ned to Glorify God (CCC 294, 824, 1204, 2085, 2639).
Pray: Jesus, Perfection of Piety, help me grow in the Virtue of Religion (a part of Justice) so I can better understand, love, and glorify the Blessed Trinity by more perfectly practicing the Catholic faith as passed down through the Saints throughout the ages.