The Sunday Sermon Archive

Dear Friends in Christ,

In today's Gospel reading, we celebrate the first public miracle of Our Lord Jesus Christ — turning water into wine at the wedding feast of Cana. There were undoubtedly many other miracles Jesus performed before this, but this is the first public one.

Jesus attended this wedding feast not as a miracle worker or someone special, but as a humble friend and human guest, inviting us to see His approachable humanity and inspiring trust in His humility.

He is the unseen guest in all our gatherings, both private and public, reminding us that God's presence is always with us, offering comfort and reassurance.

We have a couple of thousand years to our advantage, and we know that Jesus is both God and Man. Yet, many of us struggle to feel His presence daily. Developing a habit of prayer and mindfulness can help us become more aware of God's ongoing presence in our lives, Strengthening our faith and devotion.

Jesus first came into this world through Mary's fiat, and through her, He freely gives His graces, encouraging us to trust her as our loving mediator and intercessor.

Very often, we see the workings of God around us, but we attribute them to human causes rather than to divine ones. Our sciences seek natural or material causes and effects, almost exclusively, excluding the sacred or supernatural. This is a great barrier to science, because we unnecessarily limit what we can see or comprehend. Ultimate causes are hidden from "scientific" view because scientists will not allow for any supernatural causes.

Those "scientists" who will accept the historical truth recorded in today's Gospel reading look for natural causes, such as dregs of wine in the jar that mixed with the water, making a kind of diluted wine. This is obviously quite the stretch to deny the supernatural reality. They were stone water jars, not wine jars, and the wine was the finest quality, not watered-down or diluted wine.

There is a virtuous middle course that we need to seek and maintain. We must refrain from attributing everything that happens to God's Will, and we must refrain from attributing everything that happens to material or natural causes. Some pious souls strive to see the Hand of God in everything they do or experience. They will blame God for auto accidents and suggest that "God didn't want me to have that car," and accept zero responsibility for their actions. The truth of the matter may be that God wanted them to keep possession of the auto, but by their carelessness, they caused the loss of the property. God has indeed established the laws of physics, and two objects cannot occupy the same space at the same time; hence, the destruction of an auto because it could not occupy the same space as another auto is God's Holy Will. It is God's Will that we have the freedom to choose and experience the logical consequences of our actions.

However, God sometimes suspends the laws of nature or physics to spare us the consequences of our foolish actions. Most of us can recall very close calls that were somehow avoided. It is most probable that God directly or through the angels intervened for our greater benefit.

The wedding party was not aware that God was in their presence, nor were they in the right frame of mind to ask Jesus for assistance; hence, they did not ask. It was Mary who noticed the embarrassment even before it became one and sought God's intervention. It is for this very reason that we should invite Mary into our lives daily. If she is present in our lives, then she will be able to see our needs even before we do, and she will intervene, and we will most likely never know what has happened until we are in eternity. The best way to invite Mary into our daily lives is through a daily rosary.

If we invite Mary, Jesus will be with her. If we invite Mary, she will lovingly see our needs and seek to have them met even before we realize we need anything. Our lives will be much better in this manner. We will not have just the ordinary wine for our celebrations, but the finest wine ever.

May the Immaculate Heart of Mary inspire, guide, and protect us!

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