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January 19, 2025

Dear Parishioners,


I was reading recently a commentary on the Wedding Feast of Cana (our Gospel for this Sunday) and the author suggested that the wine ran out at the reception because Jesus and his disciples drank it all. The bride and groom had probably not accounted for Jesus and his guests in their headcount. They figured Jesus and maybe a +1. Instead, it was Jesus +12.

In all my years and all my meditations on this passage, I had never thought about the scene that way. I had never thought about why the wine ran out. If anything, I took it simply that the bride and groom, or their headwaiter, made some mistake. But this interpretation means it wasn’t anyone’s fault.

Right there we could stop and reflect. It wasn’t anyone’s fault. Not the bride and groom, not Jesus, not Mary. It just happened, and life goes on. How often do we put pressure on ourselves to get things right? We put so much energy into perfect planning, whether it be a dinner party we’re throwing or a vacation we’re taking, and God forbid if something goes wrong. This Gospel is like Jesus giving us permission to mess up. Yes, do your best to plan, but don’t worry if it doesn’t work out as you envisioned it. It’ll be okay. In fact, Jesus is sometimes responsible for messing things up for us. He’ll correct it in his own way, like he did in Cana. It’s a good lesson that we’re ultimately not in control, and that we aren’t the architects of peace and joy. It’s not the perfect dinner party or the perfect vacation, which you planned, that will fulfill all your desires. It’s God’s grace, which he gives in unique ways.

A second item of reflection is that Jesus and his disciples showed up unexpected and unannounced. This was Mary’s doing. John in the Gospel tells us first that “the mother of Jesus was there.” He then writes, “Jesus and his disciples were also invited to the wedding.” John could have phrased it “Jesus and his disciples and his mother were at the wedding.” By phrasing it the way it is, it’s as if Jesus and his disciples were afterthoughts. Mary was the invited guest and Jesus was the +1. Mary wanted Jesus there, and she also wanted her son’s friends there. Mary sends the Lord to our “parties.” And Jesus brings the communion of saints with him.

And when Jesus shows up, he drinks all our wine. That is, he gets involved. He didn’t just sit at a table in the back with his disciples, politely eating some saltines and ketchup packets, and drinking water. They partook of the party as if they were the rightful guests. This was good for the party. Look what happened. Jesus and his crew consumed all the mediocre wine and then gave the party the best wine ever.

We want Jesus to come in unannounced and get involved in our lives. He’ll make something better come from our lives than we would on our own.


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This Sunday, January 19th we have our second Family Mass of the month at 10:30 a.m. in the Holy Family Chapel. Please note, in February our schedule will be a little different: our Family Mass will be on the first Sunday of the month (February 2) and the fourth Sunday of the month (February 23).

Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day. There will be no school on Monday. We will still have both the 6:25am and 8:30am Masses. Enjoy your holiday.

This Tuesday and Wednesday, January 21st and 22nd, our children will be make their First Reconciliation. Please keep these young boys and girls in your prayers. Congratulations, children. Our Lord is looking forward to showing you even more of his love.




Yours in Christ,

Fr. James Wallace

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