Mary,The Mediatrix of all Graces

John 2:1-12... English Standard Version (ESV)......

The Wedding at Cana.......

 On the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there., 2 Jesus also was invited to the wedding with his disciples.3 When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.”4.. And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.” 5.. His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”

6.. Now there were six stone water jars there for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons.[a] 7.. Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. 8.. And he said to them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the feast.” So they took it. 9.. When the master of the feast tasted the water now become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom 10.. and said to him, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and when people have drunk freely, then the poor wine. But you have kept the good wine until now.” 11... This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him.

The above is more than just a passing story in the Gospel of John.   There is so much depth in its meaning.   Let us look very much closer to the characters involved.   Mary, the  Mother of Jesus, must have been  a woman with a reputation for helping people and for works of charity.   I am sure that in Nazareth she was known as someone with love and compassion for those in need, so here we have the mother and father of the bride in a desperate situation.    They had not bought enough wine, and when what they had disappeared the feast would come to a shameful end.   Whom could they turn to?    Mary saw the despair as they opened their hearts to her.   Mary's heart  returned to them.  Then she turned to Jesus.   Now let us be clear on one point.   Mary knew exactly who Jesus was.   She knew he was the Son of God, she knew he was the Messiah.   She after all had raised him as a child, and they would have read the scriptures together when he was a young man, she had read Isiah and the terrible way this would end and she knew that she was very much a part of it, and a sword would pierce her heart.  That sad journey had not yet begun.  But she approached Jesus on behalf of the people in need..  "They have no wine"  Mary knew what she was asking, and Jesus responded.   "Woman, what is that to me, my hour has not yet come"   Notice he did not call her Mother, but Woman.   By doing this he identified her as the the Woman in Genesis.    "I will put enmity between you and the woman and between your seed and her seed, he will bruise your head and you will bruise his heel"   This was the first great prophesy that there would be a redeemer.   But notice that the enmity would be between the serpent and a mother and son.  In the Early Church when St Paul identified Jesus as the new Adam then there was no difficulty in naming Mary as the New Eve, since this was made clear by Jesus himself both at Cana, and indeed when he told her at the crucifixion "Woman, behold your son" and to St John "Son behold your mother"  We are all children of Mary who, unlike the first Eve, remained faithful to God.   But let us return to the Marriage Feast of Cana.   When Jesus said "My hour has not yet come"   He knew exactly what is mother was asking.   This was going to be the real beginning of his Ministry.   It was fine to be a Rabbi or Teacher, but to start working miracles and follow the path of the Messiah, was it really the time?   So he hesitated.   But he then  trusted the judgement of his mother, who was the Woman, as she told the servants 'to do whatever he asked'.   He was relieved that when the first miracle  was over, and his disciples, who had heard every word of the exchange between Jesus and Mary, and saw the miracle with their own eyes, believed in him.   Now he was ready for his role as the Messiah
  

But let us move on to the relationship between Jesus and Mary.   It was a true relationship of a Son and a Mother.  They both knew that Jesus was the Son of God and why he was on earth.   As Jesus wept in the Garden of Gethsemane, were there not times when perhaps the dreaded hour ahead caused him to feel sad or weep in Nazareth.   Were there times when he found it difficult being with others, when he knew he was so different from others.   Perhaps he saw others sin and wanted to cry out.   Perhaps in the Temple when scripture was read in inadequate ways, he wanted to shout out.   Being the Son of God was not easy.   Yet Mary was always there for him, smiling and holding him tenderly.   That was her role as the Mother of God, to laugh with him and weep with him.   What a bond of love there must be between the two.

Now that bond of love is the key to Mary the Mediatrix of all Graces.    She is not just one of his subjects in Heaven.   In the Book of Kings we read that the Kings of Israel did not have a Queen sitting on a throne beside them, but their mother.   So Bathsheba, the mother of Solomon, sat on a chair on the right of  King Solomon.    To sit on the right was a show of great favour from the King.   They would discuss with the King the matters of justice and law for the ordinary people.    We can therefore draw an image of Mary sitting at the right hand of Jesus, the King of Kings.     But this is a worldly comparison.   After his Resurrection, Jesus kept His human body and ascended into Heaven.    In the same way, Mary on her death was assumed into heaven.    They are still Mother and Son, they are still the new Adam and the  New Eve, and they work together in Heaven as they worked on earth.   You see that in Heaven nothing has changed in their relationship.   Jesus is still the human Jesus.    But one thing is not given to Mary and that is to mediate with God the Father.   This belongs to Jesus alone.  But Mary is still our mediator with Jesus, as she was at the Marriage Feast of Cana.    But all the graces she has come from God the Father and all the graces she can obtain from Jesus comes from God the Father.   In her role as the New Eve and Mother of us all, she is tireless in pleading for every one of us.  But then that is what any good mother is like.   She is the Mother of the Family and is in constant discussions  with her Son Jesus.  There is no need that he sees, that she does not see.  There is no grace given that she has not already begged for.   So that is why we call her the Mediatrix of All Graces.    O Mary my Mother, help all your children to know and love you