Mary of Nazareth Blog Tour/Rosary Crawl:The Miracle at Cana



Catholic Fire is a part of the MARY of NAZARETH Blog Tour/Rosary Crawl, of which we are delighted to be a part of, along with many other inspiring bloggers. To learn more, visit the Rosary Crawl Itinerary HERE.

Second Mystery of Light: The wedding feast of Cana.

"On the third day there was a marriage at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there; Jesus also was invited to the marriage, with his disciples. When the wine failed, the mother of Jesus said to him, 'They have no wine.' And Jesus said to her, 'O woman, what have you to do with me? My hour has not yet come.' His mother said to the servants, 'Do whatever he tells you"' (Jn 2:1-5).
"On the threshold of his public life Jesus performs his first sign ­at his mother's request - during a wedding feast: The Church attaches great importance to Jesus' presence at the wedding at Cana. She sees in it the confirmation of the goodness of marriage and the proclamation that thenceforth marriage will be an efficacious sign of Christ's presence" (CCC, 1613).

Our Father, 10 Hail Marys (contemplating the mystery), Glory be to the Father



The setting is a Jewish wedding reception in first century Cana – a town just northeast of Nazareth, Israel. The reception would have taken place in the groom’s home, where the public would be celebrating the union of the nuptial couple, as well as the joining of the two families. It was not a private celebration, but a public feast. Thus, the wedding feast would be under the scrutiny of the public eye. It was the duty of the groom’s family to provide for food and drink, which meant that they not only had to use their own income for such a large public event, that often went on for days, but needed to rely on friends to help with the expenses. How well the wedding feast went was a measure of the family’s honor and status. To run out of wine would have been a serious humiliation.

Mary empathizes with the family when they run out of wine and asks Jesus to do something.  But, what can Jesus do? He doesn’t have several barrels of wine with him! Mary knows that he is the Messiah and is capable of performing a miracle to produce the wine. When Jesus responds, “Woman, how does your concern affect me? My hour has not yet come”, he is not being disrespectful. Jesus is letting Mary know that he is not ready to let the world know that he is the Messiah. Mary, however, is letting Jesus know that this is his time to do so. She tenderly requests Jesus to begin his mission as the Son of God by performing his first miracle.

What does this mystery reveal about Mary? It shows us what a compassionate and loving Mother we have. Just as she was alert and attentive to the needs of this family, so, too, she is also alert to the needs of all her children and their families. When we come to her in prayer, asking for our smallest need, she intercedes for us, asking Jesus to intervene. She is the meditator, the one who places herself between Jesus and our desires, needs, and afflictions. Her heart is full of love and she is sensitive and compassionate toward us, whenever we come to her with a request.

To learn more about this mystery, go HERE.

Catholic Fire encourages you to check out tomorrow’s clip at View from the Domestic Church blog. Donna-Marie Cooper O'Boyle will bring us the “Scourging at the Pillar”.

Mary of Nazareth is now available for you to enjoy on DVD in your own home.

BONUS:  CATHOLIC FIRE WILL BE GIVING AWAY ONE FREE DVD OF MARY OF NAZARETH!  To qualify for the drawing, just send me an email with your full name and mailing address at jean.heimann(at)gmail(dot)com and you are entered! The deadline is October 28, 2014.

Only open to U.S., Canada and Mexico residents.

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