Jesus and his disciples were also invited to the wedding

20 JANUARY (Jn 2,1-11)

Wine in the Ancient Scripture, is one of God’s gifts to gladden the heart of man. The happiness of the heart is the spice of life. Sadness paves the way to sin and death.

Bless the LORD, O my soul! O LORD my God, You are very great; You are clothed with splendor and majesty, Covering Yourself with light as with a cloak, Stretching out heaven like a tent curtain. He lays the beams of His upper chambers in the waters; He makes the clouds His chariot; He walks upon the wings of the wind; He makes the winds His messengers, Flaming fire His ministers. He established the earth upon its foundations, So that it will not totter forever and ever. You covered it with the deep as with a garment; The waters were standing above the mountains. At Your rebuke they fled, At the sound of Your thunder they hurried away. The mountains rose; the valleys sank down To the place which You established for them. You set a boundary that they may not pass over, So that they will not return to cover the earth. He sends forth springs in the valleys; They flow between the mountains; They give drink to every beast of the field; The wild donkeys quench their thirst. Beside them the birds of the heavens dwell; They lift up their voices among the branches. He waters the mountains from His upper chambers; The earth is satisfied with the fruit of His works. He causes the grass to grow for the cattle, And vegetation for the labor of man, So that he may bring forth food from the earth, And wine which makes man’s heart glad, So that he may make his face glisten with oil, And food which sustains man’s heart. The trees of the LORD drink their fill, The cedars of Lebanon which He planted. (Cf. Psalm 104 (103) 1-16).

However, it must always be drunk with moderation and great sobriety. It is seen as a true source of joy and happiness. It is a food that gives life to life.

Let not wine-drinking be the proof of your strength, for wine has been the ruin of many. As the furnace probes the work of the smith, so does wine the hearts of the insolent. Wine is very life to man if taken in moderation. Does he really live who lacks the wine which was created for his joy? Joy of heart, good cheer and merriment are wine drunk freely at the proper time. Headache, bitterness and disgrace is wine drunk amid anger and strife. More and more wine is a snare for the fool; it lessens his strength and multiplies his wounds. Rebuke not your neighbor when wine is served, nor put him to shame while he is merry; Use no harsh words with him and distress him not in the presence of others. (Sir 31,25-31).

The truth that we need to read according to the thoughts of God, the Gospel story of the wedding at Cana is this: never must wine be missing at the table of wisdom. The Eternal and Incarnate Wisdom is Jesus Christ. His wedding with humanity must be a perennial source of joy, happiness and true life. It must be full of life. This is the truth and the symbolism of wine. Where Christ reigns, true life reigns. He is the wine of joy, charity, mercy, piety, compassion and knowledge.

Wisdom has built her house, she has set up her seven columns; She has dressed her meat, mixed her wine, yes, she has spread her table. She has sent out her maidens; she calls from the heights out over the city: “Let whoever is simple turn in here; to him who lacks understanding, I say, Come, eat of my food, and drink of the wine I have mixed! Forsake foolishness that you may live; advance in the way of understanding. (Pr 9,1-6).

The Wedding at Cana are a figure, an image of an infinitely more profound reality. Jesus celebrates the wedding with humanity, with his Church. Might real life be ever missing in the Church? For it not to be missing it is necessary that the Mother of Jesus is always present in every moment and circumstance. It is she who must daily pray to Jesus so that he gives life to his Church, to humanity, to souls and to those who are deprived of true life.

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 the bridegroom and said to him, “Everyone serves good wine first, and then when 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.

Vergine Maria, Madre della Redenzione, Angeli, Santi, otteneteci da Gesù la vera vita.