A true Catholic is aware of the role of Mary who says: “Do whatever He tells you”.
Praised be our Lord Jesus Christ!
I invite you to take the Word of God in the Gospel of John 2, 1-12, from which we took the theme of our camp: “Do whatever He tells you”.
“Three days later, a wedding was celebrated in Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus and his disciples were also invited. When there was a lack of wine, Jesus’ mother said to him: They have no more wine. Jesus answered her: Woman, is this up to us? My time has not yet come. Then his mother said to the servants: Do whatever he tells you. Now there were six stone jars there for the purifications of the Jews, each containing two or three measures. Jesus orders them: Fill the jars with water. They filled them to the top. Take it out now, Jesus said to them, and take it to the chief servant. And they took it. As soon as the chief servant tasted the water that had become wine, not knowing where it came from {although the servants did know, as they had taken the water}, he called the groom and said to him: It is customary to serve the good wine first, and then then, when the guests are almost drunk, serve the less good one. But you have saved the best wine so far. This was Jesus’ first miracle; He carried it out in Cana in Galilee. He manifested his glory, and his disciples believed in him. After this he went down to Capernaum, with his mother, his brothers, and his disciples; and they only spent a few days there.”
As I prayed to preach about this biblical passage, I felt like a character in this story. And I saw myself in that scene as one of the employees, who were in agony because they had run out of wine. And a guest, with a keen eye, looked at each affliction and saw that there was a lack of wine in the kitchen of the place where the wedding party was taking place.
She goes to where Jesus was and whispers: “They have no more wine.” Jesus had not yet performed any miracles at that time. And he said to her, “My time has not yet come.”
The certainty that Jesus would do something was so great that that lady went back to the kitchen and said to the employees (I was one of them, as I put myself as a character in this story): “Do you see that boy there?”, and I asked- “The one with the big beard?”, and she said: “Exactly him! Do everything He tells you.”
And we, the employees, went to Him and asked: “And what should we do?” to which He replied: “Go fill the jars with water”. Anyone who knows that region, especially at that time, knows that there were no taps. Everyone used to get water from wells, which were not close to the houses where people lived; they were at a distance of five hundred meters to a kilometer. And off we went, the employees, to fill those jars.
We fill the jars. And Jesus said to us: “Take the water and take it to the chief servant.” And who had to carry the water? I! We, the servants, were wondering whether we should simply bring him water, especially the head of the servants, but I remembered what Mary, that Lady, had told us in the kitchen: “Do whatever He tells you”.
And there I went and, suddenly, the chief servant’s praise came: “You kept the good wine until now!”
Even without knowing what will come, if I am willing to do what Jesus says, the water will be turned into wine and the miracle will happen! Mary asks us: “Do you want a miracle in your life?” Do everything He tells you.
Our Lady never wanted to take the place of Jesus, because the Mother’s heart rejoices when the Son is exalted. A true Catholic is aware of the role of Mary who says: “Do whatever He tells you”. Mary is an obedient servant. She knows her place. If Mary said: “Do whatever He tells you”. Let’s go, then, to the Gospel to find out what Jesus said next.
Are we doing what Jesus told us? Am I letting Jesus guide the rules of my life? Brother and sister, leave the reins of your life in the hands of Jesus!
Let us take the Word in Matthew 4, 7: “Jesus said unto him, It is also written, Thou shalt not put the Lord thy God to the test.” Do you know why, sometimes, the miracle doesn’t happen? Because, as Saint James says in the Word, we don’t pray the right way. Understand: God performs the miracle you need and not what you just want. Answer me: Why do you take your child to get vaccinated? Why does he/she want it? No, but because it is necessary for the child’s health. Jesus has the right doses to give you. That’s why stop occupying God with nonsense! He is an expert in matters of the impossible.
Do you know how the hour of grace, kairos, God’s time, happens? Have you ever been in a situation where it seemed like the more you prayed the more complicated the situation became? Until there came a time when you said, “Lord, are you not listening to me?” Many people, whose friends and family were very ill, have heard the doctor tell them: “There is no way!” And it is in these moments, when everything seems lost, that God comes with the hour of grace. The hour of grace happens when we have nothing else to do, then He comes and does the impossible!
In Matthew 4:10 it is written:“Jesus answered him, Get back, Satan, for it is written: ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’”
Many people see God as a service provider, who they turn to only when they need something, as if the Lord had an obligation to give them what they asked for.
Worshiping God is not putting ourselves in His presence only when we need something, but doing this always, and miracles come as a result. Often, the God of life for many people is someone, money, or something else…
The great men of God are like road signs that lead us to the Lord, but they are not God. One day, these men may make mistakes, because we can all make mistakes, and we will be disappointed by them, that’s why we can’t stop at the signs, because they only point us to a destination, but they are not the destination.
We will enter heaven if we follow the advice of a Woman who said: “Do whatever He tells you”. Do you want to be happy? Do whatever He tells you! If we do what He told us we will have victory. Choose to live Our Lady’s advice.
Matthew 5:20: “At once they abandoned their nets and followed him.”
Often, we want to be the Holy Spirit in the lives of others, however, our righteousness, often, even though we are people of God, does not differ in any way from those who are not of God. Many times, we want to teach others moral lessons, but our lives are not reflecting God. If my struggle to be God’s is nothing, if my life is nothing different, if it hasn’t changed, I’m sorry, then it’s no use! It’s like salt that has no taste.
Jesus said, “You are the salt of the earth and the light of the world.” If the food is good and tasty, you don’t even remember the salt, but if it’s salty or unsalted, you notice it right away. The salt has to be in the right amount. Be salt! Being salt is this: neither appearing too much nor appearing too little.
Jesus also said, “Be the light of the world.” We remember the light when it is too bright or too weak, but when it is just right we don’t even notice it. So, being light is not appearing too much or too little. Do what Jesus said: Be light in people’s lives in the right way!
“But I tell you, do not swear at all, not even by heaven, for it is the throne of God;
nor by the earth, for it is his footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, for thou canst not make one hair white or black. Just say: Yes, if it is yes; No, if it’s not. Everything beyond this comes from the Evil One.” (Matthew 5, 34 – 37).
Don’t want to be a person who has no credit. When we don’t have a life based on what Jesus said, when we are liars, gossips and invent slander about others, we lose credit.
People who have no credit quickly say: “I swear on my dead mother!” But what Jesus teaches us is that we don’t need to swear. May your “yes” be “yes” and your “no” be “no”!
Our generation has often lost the strength of its commitment to the Word of God. Do you want to be happy? Say “yes” when it means “yes”; and say “no” when it’s “no”. If we do what Jesus told us we will be happy!
In all of Our Lady’s appearances, recognized by the Church, she does not come to talk about anything new, but always comes to remind us of what Jesus told us in the Gospel, in the Word of God, and to ask us to pray.
My brother, perhaps, in your house, in your family, the “wine” is missing, perhaps the miracle you need is taking a long time to happen. Do your part and God will help you and, in times of impossibility, know that He will be on call to take the lead and make the impossible happen.
Transcription and adaptation: Tatiane Bastos