“His mother said to the servants, ‘Do whatever he tells you.’” (John 2:5).
I have recently completed a consecration to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
It is not my first. And I fervently pray that it will not be my last.
You see when we consecrate ourselves to the Blessed Virgin what we are actually doing is entrusting her MORE FULLY to care for us. In other words, a consecration is showing the Blessed Virgin that I consent to allow her to do with me as she wills because I trust that her will matches the Holy Will of God.
And why can I do this? Well, quite simply because ever single action of her entire life – both on Earth and in Heaven – has matched perfectly with the Blessed Lord! After all, almost the first words we hear the Blessed Virgin utter in the Gospels was “‘Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.’” (Luke 1:38).
And the last words she uttered were at the Wedding Feast of Cana when she instructed the servants to prepare for the First Official Miracle of Christ… “His mother said to the servants, ‘Do whatever he tells you.’” (John 2:5).
And within this frame of perfect obedience, I have been reflecting – following this consecration to the Blessed Virgin.
You see, when we reflect on the story of the Wedding Feast of Cana we most often focus on the initial request of the Virgin, who saw the need of the people and – before they even asked it of her – approached her Son to ask for His intervention. And we also see – in that story – that when her initial request was rejected, her faith in the Love of God the Son was so great that she did not falter and instead turned to the servants with instruction.
And these are very important things to consider. But they are not the only thing. They are just some of the things that the Blessed Virgin did in this story…
But there are more…
You see, what I have found myself reflecting on today was the instruction to the servants… you see the Blessed Virgin had a plan for those servants. She instructed them – as their MOTHER. When I take my children out to a social function, I make sure to follow the example of my own mother – through her actions during my own childhood. And just as my own mother would remind me of her expectations of behaviour while we were out in public, so too do I remind my own children of how they should behave. And sometimes they are weak and forget and make mistakes. And just as my own mother would speak to me about it afterwards, so too does the Blessed Virgin come to us to “speak” to us about this afterwards too.
For just as a mother cannot give birth to the head of the child without the body, neither could the Blessed Virgin give birth to Christ – the HEAD of the Church – without giving birth to the Church itself (meaning me as a member of that Church), as I am the body.
And just as the Head must direct the body in all that we do, so too should my God direct me. And just as my Mother reminds me about that and I remind my children, so too do I pray for the Blessed Virgin to remind me all the days of my life…
For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.