THAT we may conceive a just idea of the power the Most Holy Virgin
possesses over the Heart of Jesus, let us meditate upon those other
words which He addressed to her at the marriage of Cana: _Nondum venit
hora mea_--'My hour is not yet come.'
Without discussing the opinion of certain Doctors, who think that Our
Lord, by these words, meant to say that the wine was not yet wanted, I
shall call your attention to this reflection: that there are certain
times ordained by Divine Providence upon which our conversion and
salvation depend.
It is certain that God had from all eternity determined the hour and
moment when He would work the great miracle of His Incarnation, and
give to the world the first sign of His power, but yet this
determination could be accelerated by prayer.
The greater number of the Fathers assert that Mary, by her loving
sighs and aspirations, merited the acceleration of the Incarnation of
Our Lord. Not, indeed, that He became Incarnate before the time that
He had determined, but that, from all eternity He foresaw that the
Holy Virgin would beg Him to hasten the time of His coming into the
world; and therefore, in consideration of the great merit of her
intercession, He ordained to become Man sooner than He would have done
had He not been petitioned to do so. The same may be said of the first
miracle, wrought by Our Lord at the wedding of Cana. _Nondum venit
hora mea_--'My hour is not yet come,' said Jesus to His Holy Mother,
but as I can refuse you nothing, I shall hasten to hear your prayer.
Oh, how precious is that hour in which Divine Providence wills to
impart to us those special graces and blessings that are necessary for
our salvation, Happy the soul who awaits this hour patiently, and who
endeavours to prepare herself for it when it arrives. The Samarian
woman assuredly was converted at this hour, and upon its arrival will
depend also our own conversion and spiritual regeneration. We will now
consider how Our Lord acted when He worked this miracle.
In the hall were seven stone urns, prepared for the purification,
practised by the Jews. Our Lord ordered them to be filled with water,
_Implete hydrias aqua_; and as the waiters had already been directed
by Mary to follow punctually the orders of her Divine Son, they filled
them 'up to the brim,' as the Sacred Text expresses it. Afterwards Our
Saviour said something interiorly, not understood by anyone, and the
water was instantly changed into most excellent wine. These words
which He spoke were similar, without doubt, to those by which He drew
all things out of nothing, or by which He gave being and life to man,
or by which, also, at His last supper with His disciples, He changed
wine into His adorable Blood, and thus instituted the Most Holy
Sacrament of the Eucharist, giving to us, through it, that most
excellent wine which nourishes us for eternal life.
This fact in the Gospel shows us, moreover, the great confidence we
should have in the powerful intercession of Our Lady. But in order
that she may represent our necessities to her Divine Son, we must
invite her and our adorable Saviour to our banquet, because wine can
never fail when Jesus and Mary are present; this Mother of Mercy being
ever prepared to ask it for us, and her Divine Son ever ready to
bestow it.
However, if we desire Our Lady to intercede with her Divine Son that
He may change the water of our tepidity into the wine of His fervent
love, we must imitate the waiters at the marriage of Cana, and do all
that Our Lord shall tell us. Obey Him, then, with fidelity, O ye
servants of God, fill your hearts well with the penitential water of
repentance, and He will change it into the wine of His holy love. In
order to obtain the spirit of fervour, nourish your mind with holy
thoughts; make frequent ejaculations, and, as a general rule, if you
wish to be recollected in time of prayer, avoid dissipation during the
day, and waste no time in useless reflections upon yourself, or on
what happens around you. Keep yourself in the presence of God, and
repose in the loving arms of His Providence. Bless this adorable
Providence continually during life, and you will glorify It eternally
in heaven, with all the Saints and blessed spirits.