John 2: 1-11

St. Maximillian Kolbe once said: “Jesus and Mary always bring joy and harmony to all our mundane activities, if we but give them access to our lives.” We see this quote come to life in the scripture we just read about the Wedding at Cana. The Gospel of John opens and closes Jesus’ public life with a dialogue between Jesus and Mary. At Cana, Mary does not ask for anything in particular, but just tells her Son about the lack of wine at the party, knowing he will take care of the need. At Calvary, Mary accepts John, and all of us, as her children, once more without asking anything.

Will she do less for us today who wish to call her “Mother?” Does Jesus refuse her anything when she makes known our needs? Her only command in scripture is, “do whatever he tells you.” She leads us to obey Christ. She does not judge us, but simply receives us. Mary is the great believer who places herself confidently in God’s hands, abandoning herself to his will. This mystery deepens as she becomes completely involved in the redemptive mission of Jesus.

How does Mary keep her disposition set on the will of God and consequently her Son? There are two important events to look toward: first, her Immaculate Conception and second, her fiat at the annunciation. In Mary’s glorious Immaculate Conception she chose to fully consecrate herself to God and not give into the temptations of original sin. This is what’s so Immaculate about her Conception: she chose to be God’s servant. God did not “create her” without sin, she has free will and could have chosen, as we do, to give into sin, but she chose God. This became even more clear in her fiat to be the Mother of God. She was certainly afraid, the angel Gabriel had to tell her “do not be afraid, Mary.” But she saw the light of God through her fear and remained the humble servant she had been since her conception.

We obviously weren’t Immaculately conceived as Mary was but we can go to our Mother and pray for Jesus to give us those graces that assisted Mary. She is our Mother, we need to trust that she will come to our aid and carry us, in her mantle, to the Sacred Heart of her Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.

When Jesus told us to be perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect, He must have meant for us to love others unconditionally and forgive, because who but God can forgive sins? So Mary loves us unconditionally and forgives us when we forget her or turn away momentarily in our sins. But she is interested, as is God himself, for their wills are the same, in making us more worthy of grace now and more ready for God’s judgment at death. Our ideal, then, as we consecrate ourselves totally, is to deepen that love relationship with her and carry the message of her power and mercy to everyone we know, first to our family and friends and co-workers, then to our parish and community and neighborhood, finally to all nations and all hearts. But our effectiveness will flow from consecrating our bodies and souls, all our powers and virtues, every relationship and human experience.