Nicole Berlucchi, Writer on a Mission

Visit Tribe of Many Arrows on Etsy. These images are used with their permission,
and I am grateful for these beautiful creations accompanying my reflections this month.

This is the final week of the “That We May Imitate What They Contain and Obtain What They Promise” series will take a daily look at one mystery of the Rosary and how we have the opportunity to imitate it and rejoice in what it promises us. These are called the mysteries of light. They have certainly helped shed light on how I am called to grow in my own relationship with the Lord.

Today, we look at the second Luminous Mystery of the Rosary: the Wedding Feast at Cana.

On the third day there was a wedding in Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus and his disciples were also invited to the wedding. When the wine ran short, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” [And] Jesus said to her, “Woman, how does your concern affect me? My hour has not yet come.” His mother said to the servers, “Do whatever He tells you.” Now there were six stone water jars there for Jewish ceremonial washings, each holding twenty to thirty gallons. Jesus, told them, Fill the jars with water.” So they filled them to the brim. Then he told them, “Draw some out now and take it to the headwaiter.” So they took it. And when the headwaiter tasted the water that had become wine, without knowing where it came from (although the servers who had drawn the water knew), the headwaiter called to the bridegroom and said to him, “Everyone serves good wine first, and then when the people have drunk freely, an inferior one; but you have kept the good wine until now.” Jesus did this as the beginning of his signs in Cana in Galilee and so revealed his glory, and his disciples began to believe in him.

After this, he and his mother, [his] brothers, and his disciples went down to Capernaum and stayed there only a few days. John 2:1-12 (NABRE)

This is a mystery that has taught me so much about Mary and how she helps us grow close to Jesus, about how she will tell us to surrender to Him just as she did, how when we do things change in ways we could have never imagined. Let’s talk about how we can imitate this mystery in order to obtain what it promises.

1. The Lord can handle your directness; in fact, it is all He needs. I talked in the Joyful mysteries about Mary’s directness. Her example of getting straight to the point with the Lord comes through again when she simply states—”They have no wine.” She doesn’t actually ask him to replace the wine, but she points to something that this young couple is lacking. How often are our prayers more of a how or a why or a fix this exactly as I want you to, instead of saying to the Lord—they have no wine. They lost their job. They have a sick child. They have a broken marriage. They have a cancer diagnosis. They lost hope, faith, life. We know in Mary’s statement is entwined a trust that when she identifies a problem that has come to her attention, whatever Jesus does will be the right thing to be done.
2. Trust that the Lord will do what is best; He knows what is for our good. We know Mary is totally trusting because she follows up her statement to Jesus with a statement to the waiters standing around, “Do whatever He tells you.” Mary does not know if He will replace the wine; she trusts that whatever He tells the waiters to do will redeem the situation. He will not leave this couple abandoned to disgrace. Can we do the same in our lives? In big and little circumstances, are we ready to bring it to God and hand it to him to redeem it? It is so hard especially in big circumstances, especially when we feel robbed instead of redeemed by the outcome of a situation. We must trust that in the end, we will see it all redeemed by Him.
3. Be aware of others’ needs like Mary. With Mary’s request, we see how she looks out for others; she is aware of the problem before it’s been announced or brought to the attention of the headwaiter. We can learn from Mary to be observant and help people before being asked for help. The answer might be bringing that person’s issue to prayer and telling Jesus you’ve noticed it, but it could also be a prompting of the Holy Spirit to reach out and create a support system for that person, similar to Mary involving the waiters in whatever Jesus was going to do. She directed them to help Jesus.
4. Do the thing Jesus asks fully, don’t hold back–filled to the brim like the waiters. The waiters have been informed by Mary to do whatever Jesus tells them to do. Jesus tells them to fill the jars with water, and they do not go short on what they’ve been told to do, they go all in and fill those jars to the brim. And guess what? Jars that hold 20-30 gallons of water are not light! They are going to be weighing 150-250 lbs plus the weight of stone. I assume they fill these by smaller jars until they got it filled to the brim. So much work and yet they do not hesitate to keep going until the jar is filled to the brim. And then as if that effort was not enough, they are also asked to trust in Jesus in that moment, because he tells them go take a taste to the headwaiter. I feel like in that moment, I would’ve been like how about I go ahead and taste this before we send it out to the head guy…These waiters must have been so stunned by the exchange between Mary and Jesus, and the direction of both of them, that they trusted whatever was going to happen was going to be OK. And it was. The headwaiter loves the wine, saying it was better than what was served first. Wow! So much trust in this story, but in the end total transformation–the day is saved, the water is wine, the bride and groom have a whole support system behind them they don’t even know about.
5. Celebrate the miracles you taste every day. The headwaiter is the unknowing recipient of a miracle. He’s drinking this amazing wine which has been received in the most untraditional way. In his mind an inferior wine was served and now the couple has given him the best wine. He is oblivious to Jesus’ involvement in this situation. How often are we oblivious to the miracles Jesus is working in our lives each and every day? How often has a friend or family member been able to help us in a difficult situation and we think to credit them alone but forget God’s hand in the situation. I would go so far to say every day we are given on earth is a miracle—a new day. Every morning there is new wine for us to taste, a new beginning, a new outlook, a fresh start. Let’s look at each day as a miracle gift from Jesus—every day better than the last. And let’s not forget the ultimate miracle where Jesus takes water and wine and gives Himself to us in Holy Communion. May we savor that moment each week or day, understanding that we are drinking in Jesus and all the miracles that come with Him.

The fruit of this mystery is to Jesus through Mary. I invite you to listen to Mary to ask her to intercede for you before you know of a problem, to tell Jesus what you need, and when she does to put waiters in your life who will fill jars to the brim and when you need to be the waiter for someone else, that you fill the jar to the brim, doing whatever Jesus asks to the fullest. Mary teaches us that intimacy with Jesus that only a mother can know, and she does so because she wants us to be one with Him.

Visit Tribe of Many Arrows on Etsy. These images are used with their permission, and I am grateful for these beautiful creations accompanying my reflections this month.

If you missed the previous weeks’ reflections, catch them here:

The Joyful Mysteries: Annunciation, Visitation, Birth of Jesus, the Presentation, and the Finding of Jesus in the Temple.

The Sorrowful Mysteries: Agony in the Garden, Scourging at the Pillar, Crowning of Thorns, Carrying of the Cross, Crucifixion.

The Glorious Mysteries: The Resurrection, The Ascension, Pentecost, The Assumption, The Coronation of Mary, Queen of Heaven and Earth.