Come Witness a miracle

One of my favorite Bible passages of all time is the Wedding Feast at Cana. You can read about all the insights I’ve gleaned through prayer in this article, The Greatest Wedding In All Of History, but today I want to hone in on one specific moment. But let’s quickly revisit John 2:

On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there; and both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding. When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to Him, “They have no wine.” And Jesus said to her, “What business do you have with Me, woman? My hour has not yet come.” His mother said to the servants, “Whatever He tells you, do it.” Now there were six stone waterpots standing there for the Jewish custom of purification, containing two or three measures each. Jesus said to them, “Fill the waterpots with water.” So they filled them up to the brim. And He said to them, “Draw some out now and take it to the headwaiter.” And they took it to him. Now when the headwaiter tasted the water which had become wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the headwaiter called the groom, and said to him, “Every man serves the good wine first, and when the guests are drunk, then he serves the poorer wine; but you have kept the good wine until now.” This beginning of His signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and revealed His glory; and His disciples believed in Him.

This wasn’t a private miracle. The Blessed Mother could have kept it intimate, something that just her and Jesus would know about, but instead she drew others in to experience her Son’s miraculous powers. When Jesus even says, “Woman, how does your concern affect me?” it was like He was giving her an out. Mary could have breathed a massive sigh of relief, a “Whew, okay, never mind,” because she knew if Jesus was going to start doing miracles, it would be the start of his journey to Calvary.

But she persisted.

She was strong enough to let Him go, in this moment. She stood her ground when it was probably the last thing she wanted to do. And her response? She drew others into it and said, “Do whatever He tells you.”

Wow.

We see something similar at the end of the Blessed Mother’s life. In Liber Requiei Mariae (one of the earliest narratives concerning the Assumption of Mary, though take note, this document is not infallible but gives us a valuable glimpse into what may have transpired), we read the St. Gabriel visits the Blessed Mother and tells her the Lord is preparing for her to enter Heaven. What’s her response? She gathers in the apostles and calls them together from the ends of the world, wanting once again for people to witness the glory and splendor of our God.

Here’s why I love this so much: when it comes to my mom’s lymphoma diagnosis and my fertility journey, I feel called to bring in others to experience the Lord’s healing power. Mom was recently diagnosed during a routine mammogram with a rare and aggressive stage four lymphoma, and chemo won’t work. BUT THE LORD IS HEARING OUR PRAYERS. He is opening doors and making straight our paths, and He is on the move. She’s been told her treatment will miraculously have little to no side effects, and the doctor expects she’ll live a long and happy life. We’re not out of the clear by any means and barely starting this journey, but you MUST see how the Lord is at work here!

Similarly, after losing my two babies early in pregnancy, undergoing three surgeries this summer, struggles with getting pregnant, and prayerfully discerning adoption, the Lord is making moves in Peter’s and my heart in growing our family. We have total FAITH that we will have a baby in our arms, the most pure miracle that there is: LIFE. And you MUST see how the Lord is at work here!

I think when it comes to miracles, there’s common ground across the board and it looks like ground zero (note: I’m no theologian!), but it’s simple enough: you need proof that something is dire—like an official diagnosis—before a miracle can happen. Yes, there’s every day miracles, but in order for the Lord to work WONDERS, He needs plenty of room to do so. That looks like being at your lowest low in order to be raised to the highest heights. If you feel a cold coming on, and suddenly you feel better—wow! What a nice little miracle! But if you were just hit with a grim cancer diagnosis or have years of pain and suffering, and then the Lord turns everything on a dime—now THAT’S a miracle I’m after. But it has to start there: at rock bottom. When there’s not just cheap wine or a few bottles left: there needs to be no wine.

And I think drawing people in is at the heart of being a witness. I don’t want to just write some blog post once we conceive a child, and I don’t want to just share that my mom’s cancer is in remission, or that she’s totally cured, or whatever the Lord has planned for us after it’s happened.

I want to draw others in to watch these miracles unfold with the same faith that the Blessed Mother has—before they happen. It reminds me of Blessed Solanus Casey’s preaching: thank God ahead of time!

We are all called to do this.

And we can’t do it alone. Why? Because WOW can our faith be so small sometimes! In Mark 6 we read that Jesus couldn’t perform miracles because of the lack of people’s faith, meaning we MUST have faith in order for the Lord to heal, cure, and work. At times our faith can be so shaken, especially when it hits so close to home, so we need one another to offer and share your faith so that the Lord is able to work these miracles. It may take a village, because I for one have really bad days when my faith in the Lord’s plan is barely standing.

So let us pray that the Blessed Mother continues to show us how to deepen our faith in her Son so that we may continue to draw others to His most Sacred Heart!