Praised be Jesus and Mary, now and forever! Amen.
Last Sunday we concluded the season of Christmas. In that recent season, we witnessed three epiphanies of Jesus; namely, His Nativity, His being visited by the Magi, and His Baptism in the Jordan River. On this second Sunday in Ordinary Time, we are introduced to His fourth epiphany which is the changing of water into wine at the wedding feast at Cana. All four epiphanies of Jesus are centered around His identity as True God and True Man. We are introduced to these epiphanies to help us comprehend how glorious and magnificent our Savior is. The revelations of Jesus about His identity give us basic information as regards his being human and divine. He is One Person with a human nature united with His divine nature to accomplish His mission in this world. And this is exactly what we witness in His fourth epiphany.
At a time just before Jesus is to start his earthly ministry, He and His disciples are invited to a wedding feast. And right there and then, His public ministry is advanced when He is asked by his Mother to do something about the lack of wine for the celebration. Here Jesus’ Mother was not merely asking Him to resolve the problem; rather, she also manifests her confidence that with the Lord everything is possible. The Blessed Virgin Mary is more than assured that her Son Jesus will respond to her request. She knows that Jesus will do something not only because He has the power to do so, but also because He cares. This leads Mary to declare one of her profound statements in the gospel: “Do whatever he tells you” (Jn. 2:5). These words are pregnant with meaning. It is a statement of her total trust in Jesus. It is a passage that requires us to get ready for a divine intervention. God works when our faith starts working in our lives. Trusting Jesus is simply believing in what He tells us. Mary knows deep inside her heart that miracles begin to unfold when one has confidence in whatever God wants to happen in his or her life. Jesus knows what is best for us. He knows the right time to manifest His care and goodness to all of us. What we just need to do is to continue believing in and cooperating with Him.
We are still in the midst of the pandemic; and everybody is bombarded by fear, doubts, and uncertainties brought about by this Covid-19. Up to this moment, Covid cases continue to surge to their highest peak across the world. Millions of human lives have been claimed by this pandemic; and a lot of people, instead of fostering faith seem to be driven by anxiety. I think our present situation calls our attention to completely consider once again the beautiful words of the Blessed Virgin Mary: “Do whatever he tells you.” This is an opportune time for us to attentively listen to what Jesus is telling us. Let us not forget that Jesus continues to manifest His love and power to all of us. Let us not allow our faith to be weakened by what is happening around us; rather, let us make this pandemic an opportunity to renew and strengthen out trust in Jesus.
My dearest parishioners, our constant faith in Jesus remains a fundamental element for us to see little epiphanies of His power and care in our lives. There is no pandemic that will hinder Him from revealing His love and power to us. His divine intervention continues to rise in our daily lives, so much higher than what we expect, if we have but faith in Him. Let us be reminded that Jesus is with us. We are never alone in this battle. Jesus is our most powerful ally and friend. In Him, we are victorious. And victory will be our constant experience when are also constant in doing whatever He tells us.
May God bless you and your family!
Fr. Joel Ricafranca, RCJ
Associate Pastor
St. Jerome Parish