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.'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.
Spiritual Flowers
The Spouse in the Canticles says that her hands distil myrrh - a liquor which preserves from corruption; her eyes are like those of the dove, in their purity; from her ears hang pendants of gold, as a sign of chastity; her lips are vermilion, the symbol of her modesty in speech; and her nose like the tower of Lebanon, of incorruptible wood. Such should be the devout servant of God - chaste, pure and unspotted in her whole soul and body. - Saint Francis of Sales
Clasp Jesus closely to your breast; let Him be a beautiful and sweet bouquet of flowers upon your heart, so that whoever approaches you may be conscious of the perfume, and know that the fragrance of your life should be of myrrh - the symbol of mortification. - Saint Francis of Sales
Keep always close to Jesus Crucified, in spirit, in meditation, and in reality by Holy Communion. As he who is accustomed to lie down upon a certain species of herb becomes chaste and pure, so your soul and your heart will be very quickly purified from every spot and from every unruly desire when Our Lord, Who is the true Lamb of God, reposes upon your heart. - Saint Francis of Sales
Example
Most pleasing to Our Blessed Lord is our Devotion to His Mother
Saint Teresa relates the following:
'Don Bernadino de Mendoza, to testify his devotion to the Most Holy Virgin, came to offer me his house, at Pico de Olmos, near Valladolid, for a Convent of Our Lady of Carmel. To say the truth, I felt some repugnance to found a religious house far from a town, yet the offering had been made so cordially, and for so holy a purpose, that I considered I ought not to refuse it, and thus deprive the young gentleman of so much merit.
'About two months afterwards he was seized by a mortal illness, deprived of the power of speech, and died without having been able to make his confession. The Divine Master then said to me: "His salvation, my dear daughter, was in great danger; but I showed him mercy, in reward of the house he had made over for the foundation of a Convent consecrated to My Mother, under the title of Carmel. However, he will not be released from Purgatory until the first Mass is celebrated in that Convent."
'From that time my mind was ever occupied with the thought of his sufferings. The foundation of Valladolid could not be formed as quickly as I desired. One day, when I was stopping at Saint Joseph's, at Medina del Campo, whilst I was at prayer, Our Lord said to me: "Make haste, because this soul suffers much." After this nothing could induce me to delay. Being arrived at Valladolid, although the house was unhealthy, I prepared some cells, just for the time being, and provided merely what was absolutely necessary. When Sunday arrived, notwithstanding the delay of the formal authorization, permission was granted to have Mass celebrated on the spot which was destined for the Church. I did not, indeed, believe that the promise of Our Lord regarding this gentleman would be fulfilled then; on the contrary, I was persuaded that the words, until the first Mass, related to that Mass when the Blessed Sacrament would be reserved for the first time in the Church. But when the Priest turned towards us, with the sacred ciborium in his hand, to communicate us, and I had approached the Altar to receive the sacred Host, I saw the gentleman by the side of the Priest, full of joy and resplendent with light. He thanked me for all I had done to deliver him from the flames of Purgatory, and then ascended to heaven.
'Oh, how precious is any service, however small, that we are able to render the Most Holy Virgin! Who can tell how pleasing it is to Our Lord, and how mercifully He rewards it?'
Prayer - O Mother! full of love and clemency towards us, you are penetrated with the same sentiments as your Divine Son, and you also say with Him: 'Whenever the sinner returns to me with sincere sorrow for his offences, he always finds me ready to receive him with kindness and tenderness. I think not of the malice, or the number of his sins, but I only look at the desire he has to be converted; and I am always disposed to implore a remedy for his wounds, because I am, in deed and in name, the Mother of Grace and of Mercy!'
O Mary! since you never reject the sinner who returns to you with a resolution to amend, and since you have the power, as well as the will, to obtain the cure of all the wounds of the heart, behold me at your feet, full of confidence. Behold, I beseech you, the deep and cankered wounds of my soul, and if you will deign to offer your prayers to your Divine Son for me, I shall hope everything for my eternal salvation. Amen.
Aspiration - Through your intercession, O tender Mother, I hope to obtain the eternal happiness of heaven!
Practice - Let all the good works of this day be directed to obtain the conversion of sinners.
- text taken from the book A Month of Mary According to the Spirit of Saint Francis de Sales, by Father Gaspar Gilli