Jesus' sign at Canaa

Three days later there was a wed-ding at Cana in Galilee and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus was also invited to the wedding with his disciples. When all the wine provided for the celebration had been served and they had run out of wine, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” Jesus replied, “Woman, what concern is that you and me? My hour has not yet come.”

However his mother said to the servants, “Do what ever he tells you.” Nearby were six stone water jars meant for the ritual washing as practiced by the Jews; each jar could hold twenty or thirty gallons. Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them to the brim. Then Jesus said, “Now draw some out and take it to the steward.” So they did.

The steward tasted the water that had become wine, without knowing from where it had come; for only the servants who had drawn the water knew. So, he called the bride—groom to tell him, “Everyone serves the best wine first and when people have drunk enough, he serves that which is ordinary.-Instead you have kept the best wine until the end.”

This miraculous sign was the first, and Jesus performed it at Cana in Galilee . In this way he left his glory appear and his disciples believed in him.

The Gospel in Our Life Experience

How would it feel to have one's weeding reception tightly guarded by the country's top security units because Heads of States of 10 Southeast Asian countries are holding a meeting at the same place? Ask Clarice Veloso, US-based but Cebuano by lineage, and her American groom Sophio Lugo. Their wedding at the National Shrine of St. Joseph in Mandaue City, Cebu followed by the reception at the Shangri-La's Mactan Island Resort and Spa in Lapulapu City, Cebu coincided with the Leaders' Summit at the resort.

The wedding at Cana did not enjoy the same level of security. But it turned out to be the most secure because Jesus, the disciples, and Mary were there. Wine was running out, and the hosts were at risk of great embarrassment. Mary “forced” out a miracle from Jesus who earlier declared that his time to exercise miraculous powers in public had not yet come.

This Cana event is the major headache of Mary's malefactors. But we who respect the Blessed Virgin because we love her son, Jesus Christ, rejoice over the fact that we have an intercessor whom Jesus could not refuse. More than that, we who honor the Blessed Virgin are secure because we know that Mary will lead us to no other person than Jesus Christ. We have a powerful intercessor in heaven, and our “spiritually motherless” brothers and sisters attacking us for being Marian must respect our belief just as we respect their refusal to honor Mary. Pananampalataya lang, walang personalan. However, we must take note of the responsibility attached to being a Marian. The Blessed Virgin Mary Has this demand: “DO WHATEVER HE TELLS YOU.”