 When we think about the most challenging parts of the Gospels, among the top things that usually come up are forgiving those who have hurt us, making sacrifices, how we serve the poor, and the way God’s justice works, which is ‘above’ our way of thinking. But perhaps one of the most challenging statements in the Gospels does not come from Jesus, but from His mother, Mary. At the wedding in Cana the wine ran out and she turned to Jesus for help. He responded to her with a question, to which she then directed a reply not to Jesus, but to the stewards: “Do whatever He tells you.” While there are many layers to this passage, what Mary enjoined on them is meant for everyone; in fact, these are words essential for our spiritual growth. Her words are challenging, but what she said contains great wisdom which should be reflected upon regularly. This instruction is probably one of the biggest struggles in the spiritual life, since to do whatever Jesus tells us means we have to lay aside our will in order to accept God’s. But if we do heed her word, accepting the wisdom and mercy of God, we will find great peace. Thus, it is important to hear what Mary said, recognize her wisdom, and with the help of grace, take it to heart.  In biblical times weddings were events that were celebrated for a number of days, so a lot of wine would have been consumed. In this passage, (John 2:1-11) the wedding hosts ran out. However, this story is not about wine that ran short; it is about Mary encouraging Jesus to begin His ministry. Doing this meant she needed to comply with the will of God.* No doubt, the most important point of the entire passage is that Mary chose to do whatever God told her, something she had been doing since she said yes at the Annunciation. During her encounter with the angel Mary had said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” (Luke 1:38) She freely chose to do the will of the Father in order to bring the Son into the world, and continued to be committed to her promise to do so throughout her life. When the wine situation arose at Cana, Mary discerned that it was time to let Jesus go to do what He came into the world to do. And what she told the stewards to do is exactly what she herself was doing: she set aside her will and did whatever God told her. Did she know she was essentially sending Jesus to the cross? She could not have, since she did not know the future any more than any of us do. But what she did know was that whatever was to happen, it was in the hands of the merciful, loving God whom she served. Because her heart was immersed in Love, she was able to humbly let go.  Lest we think that doing the will of God is about being made into a subservient slave without freedom, think again. We are always free to comply with God’s will or to ignore it, just as Mary was always free to do the same. And while she had an Immaculate Heart, she still had to struggle with discerning God’s desires, just as we do. Therefore, we can draw on her motherly example, saying yes even when we do not understand, by remaining open to God and trusting in His wisdom. First and foremost, we must believe that God loves us and desires that which is best for our well-being. Second, we must accept that His wisdom is above ours. When we do not understand what He is asking or why He is calling us to something, it is in trusting in His wisdom, mercy, and the graces He will give in order to carry out His will, that we will find freedom. That is what this kind of response does: it immerses us in His love and leads to freedom. Finally, Jesus made it clear that He does not consider us slaves, but rather, we are His friends: “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. I no longer call you slaves, because a slave does not know what his master is doing. I have called you friends because I have told you everything I have heard from my father.” (John 15:13-15) God continually tells us what He is doing if we but listen.  We are baptized into an intimate relationship with God as His adopted children. But Jesus also treats us as friends, a relationship which is unlike any other type of friendship since He loves us in a perfect, and completely unfathomable way. The friendship to which we are invited by our Lord is an incredible gift. He offers access to everything He has: His Body and Blood, His Holy Spirit, His Father and indeed, His mother. Her Immaculate Heart has always been open to God, that is, it is immersed in Love, and it is this heart that she also opens to us. Just as we share in the intimacy of friendship with Jesus and can enter into His Sacred Heart, we share intimacy with Mary and can enter into her Immaculate Heart for motherly love, guidance, and wisdom. She is continually present to us, ever leading her children into the Heart of Her Son, Jesus.  May we take to heart the instruction of Mary and always seek to do whatever God tells us! May we utilize the gift of discernment which is a grace from the Holy Spirit! And may we enter into the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Hearts which are always open to us! Let us meet in their loving Hearts! Peace!
©Michele L. Catanese * Mary did not ask a question of Jesus; she made a statement that they had no wine. Jesus responded to it by asking why that should concern Him. While that sounds dismissive, in fact, He knew she was telling Him to do something that wasn’t about wine, but rather that she was aware that the time had come for Him to begin His ministry. Without dismissing her, (that is, He was fully attentive to what she was saying), He was asking if she was ready to let Him go into a future which would require suffering. Apparently she was, because her answer to Jesus was to address the stewards, thereby enabling Him to work the miracle which acted to ‘inaugurate’ His public ministry. In effect Mary was restating her ‘Yes’ to God, the affirmation she uttered at the Annunciation: she was ‘doing whatever He told her.’ (Mary said yes to God every day of her life, but the three most important were at the Annunciation, at Cana, and at the Cross when she accepted Jesus’ suffering and death without saying or doing anything to keep Him from it.) Images: 1. Icon; Mother of God Seat of Wisdom by Fr. William Hart McNichols. If you are interested in purchasing this icon in one of many mediums, go to fineartamerica.com/featured/mother-of-god-seat-of-wisdom-351-william-hart-mcnichols.html 2. Fresco painting; The Wedding at Cana by Giotto. 3. My photo; ducks in a river. I have imagined that this is a mother duck encouraging her now grown baby to go from the safety of the stick they are sitting on and to trust getting into the water. 4. Print; The Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Artist unknown; this is a traditional depiction of what is sometimes referred to as the Twin Hearts. 5. My photo; a sunset over the Pacific from Kaanapali, Maui, Hawaii. Note: In compliance with GDPR rules, I wish to make it clear that I do not gather any information on any of my readers at any time.
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