The Wedding at Cana

In the Second Luminous Mystery, we contemplate the Wedding at Cana.

From the Gospel of John (2:1-5)
On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. When the wine gave out, the mother of Jesus said to him, ‘They have no wine.’ And Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, what concern is that to you and to me? My hour has not yet come.’ His mother said to the servants, ‘Do whatever he tells you.’

Commentary by Faustus of Riez, a 5th century bishop:
In Galilee, through the works of Christ, water is transformed into wine; the law disappears and grace emerges; the shadow dissipates, and reality appears; material things are confronted with spiritual ones; the old observance gives way to the New Testament.

Meditation 1
At the wedding at Cana, Jesus performs the first transubstantiation by changing the substance of water into the substance of wine, foreshadowing the other transubstantiation where He will change the substance of wine into the substance of His Blood.

The miracle at Cana is a figure and symbol of what takes place daily on our altars. There is an admirable connection between the first miracle, which initiates His ministry, and the one that concludes it: the Last Supper.

The wine at Cana, which becomes the finest, symbolizes the Blood of Christ in the Eucharist. At the Last Supper, Jesus takes the wine and offers it as His Blood, establishing the new covenant. The miracle at Cana anticipates this sacrifice and the reality of the Eucharist, where the wine is transformed into the Blood of Christ, which purifies and redeems us.

Meditation 2
Although Jesus said that His hour had not yet come, His mother did not hesitate to intervene without being asked, on behalf of the couple in distress on their wedding day. She knows our needs in advance, and is ready to present them subtly but vigorously to Her Son: “They have no wine.” In return, she only asks us to “Do whatever He tells you.”

In this passage, Mary reveals herself as the prototype of every believer: attentive to concrete needs, she presents them to Jesus and encourages those around her to put their trust in Him. The Wedding at Cana provides an opportunity to contemplate the Holy God, who graciously accepts our prayers and desires: He is the God of the “opportune time,” who knows how to give each one what is most needed.

At Cana in Galilee, Mary saw a need and sought to resolve it, pushing Jesus into His public ministry when He had not yet planned to start. Jesus, obedient to His Heavenly Father, also obeys His Mother, even as an adult. This obedience is important for us because it establishes Mary, His Mother, as the intercessor of all graces.

Prayer
Lord Jesus,
who at the Wedding in Cana turned water into wine,
reveal to us the power of Your presence in our lives.
Just as Your first miracle brought joy and hope,
may we experience the transformation that only You can bring.

Most Blessed Mother,
model of trust and intercession,
teach us to look attentively to the needs of others
and to present them to Your Son with the same trust you had.
Help us to be instruments of peace and joy
in the lives of those around us.

Lord, make us servants attentive to the needs of others,
willing to follow Your will,
to put Your words into practice,
and to live in communion with our brothers and sisters.

May the Eucharist become
the new wine of Your grace in our lives,
purifying and renewing us each day
so that we can reflect Your light in the world. Amen

Fr. Jorge Amaro,  IMC