“Jesus and his disciples were also invited to the wedding”
“On the threshold of his public life Jesus performs his first sign – at his mother’s request – during a wedding feast. The Church attaches great importance to Jesus’ presence at the wedding at Cana. She sees in it the confirmation of the goodness of marriage and the proclamation that thenceforth marriage will be an efficacious sign of Christ’s presence.”[i]
Who was invited to the wedding at Cana? The Gospel says, “There was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus and his disciples were also invited to the wedding.”[ii] What an honor for this couple to have Mary, Jesus, and the disciples at their wedding. We too have this same honor of inviting our Blessed Mother, our Lord, and the Church (disciples) to our wedding. Jesus presence at our wedding ensures Christ’s presence in our marriage.
Why were Christ and His mother present at this marriage? “In order to honor this humble and God-fearing couple who, with faithful hearts, had invited Him and His mother to their wedding; to give us an example of humility; to assist them in their poverty, and save their good name by changing water into wine; to reveal His dignity as the Messiah to His disciples by this miracle; and to sanctify by His presence the marriages that are contracted in the spirit of the Church. Alas! How few marriages of our time could Jesus honor with His presence, because He is invited neither by fervent prayer, nor by the chaste life of the couple: He is excluded rather, by the frequent immorality of the married couple and their guests.”[iii]
Jesus tells us, “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.”[iv] We need to ask ourselves: in what name and/or for what purpose do we enter into our marriage? What is the intent of the couple? Is Christ and His Church invited by the couple? If the couple, their witnesses, and friends and family are not gathered together in the name of Christ, then Christ will not be present in that wedding nor in that marriage. Christ and His Church are one and the same. This is why marriage within the Church, and the couple gathering together in His Holy Name, ensures the presence of Christ not only in the wedding, but in the marriage. There is no mistake that the couple who gives their life to each other has much power, but how much more power does the love have when the couple unites that gift of self with the prayers and sanctity of the whole Church. “Let no one make any mistake: unless a person is within the sanctuary, he is deprived of God’s bread. For if the prayer of one or two has such power, how much more has the prayer of the bishop and the whole Church.”[v] Weddings outside the sanctuary are deprived of God’s bread (the Eucharist). They are also deprived of the prayers of the bishop and the whole Church. Weddings within the sanctuary include the Eucharist. Marriages within the Church invite Christ (the Eucharist), and the disciples, represented by the approval of the bishop, as witnessed by his servant the priest or deacon. Marriage within the Church also invites the Mother of God, for she is found within the Church, and many couples give her great honor and devotion through the practice of presenting a bouquet of roses during the Rite of Marriage.
The wedding at Cana along with the adoration of the Magi and the baptism of the Lord are considered the Epiphany or manifestation of the glory of God. It is through these three events that Jesus manifests His divinity. It is also at these events that Christ makes holy or elevates what is natural and necessary for man. Man needs purification, cleansing. Prior to the life of Jesus, the Word made Flesh, there was ritual cleansing. Saint John the Baptist was already baptizing people for the forgiveness of sins. However, the waters were not yet sanctified and elevated to a Sacrament. This water, and all waters for that matter, are sanctified and elevated only when the precious body of our Lord touches the waters of the Jordan. Prior to the life of Jesus, the Word made Flesh, there was marriage for “they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day that Noah entered the ark.”[vi]It is only when our Lord is invited into a marriage that the natural ritual or ceremony of marriage as an institution is sanctified and elevated to a sacrament.
What is so important about the change from a natural ritual to a supernatural Sacrament? First, the ritual or ceremony is just natural, but a sacrament is super natural. Things that are only natural tend to decay and/or corruption. The body in its natural state will corrupt. When the natural is elevated to the supernatural it becomes eternal. The body in its supernatural state is the resurrected body, which will not corrupt. Natural relationships, without the presence of Christ as their center, tend toward corruption. Relationships that center on Christ become supernatural and full of grace.
MOVIE - four Christmases..marriage
Marriage in this movie is said to be a “time bomb waiting to explode”. In fact if you want to ruin a relationship, get married. There is no intention of a total gift of self and definitely no intention of openness to life which are the ends of marriage. In truth if a couple does not intend to give them self completely and intend on openness to life, then not only will they not wish to be married, but they will not be capable of marriage.
TV - Seinfeld: Kramer on Marriage
Mother Teresa said that charity means sacrifice. Marriage is a commitment to lay down your life for that of a friend – to sacrifice. There is “something more” in a relationship and that “something more” is a life of charity, a life of sacrifice for the good of the other.
Why does the world think so poorly of marriage? They think poorly of marriage because they are only thinking of the institution in the natural sense, manmade and without Christ present. They are not thinking of the institution in the supernatural sense, as a Sacrament instituted by Christ and full of grace.
[i] Catechism of the Catholic Church - 1613
[ii] John 2:1-2
[iii] Fr. Leonard Goffine; The Church’s Year
[iv] Matthew 18:20
[v] From a Letter to the Ephesians by Saint Ignatius of Antioch, bishop and martyr
[vi] Matthew 24:38