2nd Luminous Mystery: The Wedding at Cana

By Ivonne Hernandez

​St Peter Julian Eymard's Words:

“Why is our Lord not my center? Because He is not yet the ego of my ego, because I am not completely under His control, under the inspiration of His will; because I have desires that are competing with the desires of Jesus within me; because He does not mean everything to me. … What am I to do? I must enter into this center, abide in it, and act in it, not indeed by the sentiment of His sweetness, which does not depend on me, but by repeated attempts, by the homage of every action. … Abide in our Lord. Abide in Him through a sense of devotedness, of holy joy, of readiness to do whatever He will ask of you. Abide in the Heart and the peace of Jesus Eucharistic. “ [1]


MEDITATION:

The mystery of the wedding feast at Cana speaks to us of our free will. “Do whatever He tells you.” These words from Mary to the servants at the wedding echo in our hearts today. They present to us a challenge and a choice. “And when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to myself.” (John 12:32) From the Host as from the Cross He is always drawing us to Himself, drawing us near “to bind us with the chains of His love”, [2] and to fill us with His Peace. It is up to us to accept His invitation, to make the Eucharist the center of our lives and to follow Him.

Only the true center of the universe can draw all things to Himself. Just like the planets revolve around the Sun and are held in its path by gravity, whatever we place at the center of our lives will pull us in its direction, and influence our path. When we choose other goods over the supreme Good, we are in reality worshiping false gods, like the god of money, the god of honor, the god of power, or the god of self. These lesser goods will pull us away from the path God chose for us, not because they are stronger in themselves, but because as we grow closer to them we distance ourselves from God. The nearer we draw to the Eucharist, the stronger we will feel its pull, and the less power these other “gods” will have over us. We must make Our Eucharistic Lord the center of our lives, and we “must enter into this center, abide in it, and act in it.”
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To abide in our Lord is an act of the will. We must repeatedly strive to grow in virtue, follow the teachings of our Mother Church, and frequent the Sacraments, not only when we receive the sweetness of consolations, but especially when we do not. The enemy of our souls will continuously try to lure us with other goods, with promises of temporary relief and consolation, but we must “hold unwaveringly to our confession that gives us hope, for he who made the promise is trustworthy.” (Heb 10:23) We must remain close to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, receive Him often and spend time with Him. He will then draw us to Himself with the chains of His love and fill us with His Peace. We will learn to recognize His sweet voice and we will want nothing more than to follow Our Mother’s instructions and do whatever He tells us. He will then smile and say, “My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me.” (John 10:2)


SEND:

When you meditate on the mystery of the wedding feast at Cana think of how the servants listened to Mary and Jesus. Did they struggle and hesitate? What might have been tugging at their hearts competing with the desires of Jesus for them? Think of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament and of what He might be asking of you today. Is He at the center of your life right now?
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[1] Eymard, The Real Presence, p. 141
[2] Eymard, The Real Presence, p. 185