In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost. Amen.
Almighty, everlasting God, You Who govern both the heavens and the earth, graciously hear the humble prayers of Your people and grant us Your peace all the days of our life. Through Jesus Christ, thy Son our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. Amen.
Ps 65:4
Let all on earth worship You, O God, and sing praise to You, sing praise to Your name, Most High.
Ps 65:1-2
Shout joyfully to God, all you on earth, sing praise to the glory of His name; proclaim His glorious praise.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Let all on earth worship You, O God, and sing praise to You, sing praise to Your name, Most High.
A Reading from St. Paul's Letter to the Romans
Rom 12:6-16
Brethren: We have gifts differing according to the grace that has been given us, such as prophecy to be used according to the proportion of faith; or ministry, in ministering; or he who teaches, in teaching; he who exhorts, in exhorting; he who gives, in simplicity; he who presides, with carefulness; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness. Let love be without pretense. Hate what is evil, hold to what is good. Love one another with honor. Be not slothful in zeal; be fervent in spirit, serving the Lord, rejoicing in hope. Be patient in tribulation, persevering in prayer. Share the needs of the saints, practicing hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep. Be of one mind towards one another. Do not set your mind on high things but condescend to the lowly
Thanks be to God.
Ps 106:20-21
The Lord sent forth His word to heal them and to snatch them from destruction.
Let them give thanks to the Lord for His kindness and His wondrous deeds to the children of men. Alleluia, alleluia.
Ps 148:2
Praise the Lord, all you His angels, praise Him, all you His hosts. Alleluia.
A Reading from the Holy Gospel according to St. John
John 2:1-11
At that time, a marriage took place at Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Now Jesus too was invited to the marriage, and also His disciples. And the wine having run short, the mother of Jesus said to Him, They have no wine. And Jesus said to her, What would you have me do, woman? My hour has not yet come. His mother said to the attendants, Do whatever He tells you. Now six stone water-jars were placed there, after the Jewish manner of purification, each holding two or three measures. Jesus said to them, Fill the jars with water. And they filled them to the brim. And Jesus said to them, Draw out now, and take to the chief steward. And they took it to him. Now when the chief steward had tasted the water after it had become wine, not knowing whence it was - though the attendants who had drawn the water knew, - the chief steward called the bridegroom, and said to him, Every man at first sets forth the good wine, and when they have drunk freely, then that which is poorer. But you have kept the good wine until now. This first of His signs Jesus worked at Cana of Galilee; and He manifested His glory, and His disciples believed in Him.
Praise be to Thee, O Christ.
Homily by St Augustine, Bishop of Hippo.
Tract. 9. in John.
Even setting aside any mystical interpretation, the fact that the Lord was pleased to be asked, and to go to a marriage, showeth plainly enough that He is the Author and Blesser of marriage. There were yet to be those of whom the Apostle hath warned us as forbidding to marry ; who say that marriage is a bad thing in itself, and a work of the devil. Yet we read in the Gospel that when the Lord was asked, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause? He answered that it was not lawful, except it were for fornication. In which answer ye will remember that He used these words : What God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.
They who are well instructed in the Catholic religion know that God is the Author and Blesser of marriage ; and that, whereas joining together in marriage is of God, divorce is of the devil. But it is lawful for a man to put away his wife in case of fornication, For by not keeping a wife's faith to her husband she herself hath first willed not to be wife. They also who have made a vow of their virginity to God and have thereby attained to an higher degree of honour and holiness in the Church, are not unmarried, for they are a special part of the marriage of the whole Church, which is the Bride of Christ.
Lord, being asked, went to the marriage, to strengthen the marriage tie, and to shed light on the hidden meaning of matrimony. In that marriage feast the Bridegroom to whom it was said, " Thou hast kept the good wine until now," was a figure of the Lord Christ, Who hath kept until now the good wine, namely the Gospel.
From St. Josemaria Escriva
Our Lady was a guest at one of those noisy country weddings attended by people from many different villages. Mary was the only one who noticed the wine was running out. Don’t these scenes from Christ’s life seem familiar to us? The greatness of God lives at the level of ordinary things. It is natural for a woman, a homemaker, to notice an oversight, to look after the little things that make life pleasant. And that is how Mary acted. Do whatever he tells you.
Implete hydrias (Jn 2:7), fill the jars. And the miracle takes place. Everything is so simple and ordinary. The servants carry out their job. The water is easy to find. And this is the first manifestation of our Lord ‘s divinity. What is commonplace becomes something extraordinary, something supernatural, when we have the good will to heed what God is asking of us.
Lord, I want to abandon all my concerns into your generous hands. Our Mother —your Mother —will have let you hear those words, now as in Cana: “They have no wine!”
If our faith is weak, we should turn to Mary. Because of the miracle at the marriage feast at Cana, which Christ performed at his Mother ‘s request, his disciples learned to believe in him (Jn 2:11). Our Mother is always interceding with her Son so that he may attend to our needs and show himself to us, so that we can cry out, “You are the Son of God.”
Grant me, dear Jesus, the faith I truly desire. My Mother, sweet Lady, Mary most holy, make me really believe!
