January 7, when before Epiphany - A Command of Love

His mother said to the servers, “Do whatever he tells you.” John 2:5This short phrase, inserted within the story of the Wedding Feast of Cana, gives us much to ponder. It is a command of love, spoken by our Blessed Mother to the servants at the wedding. And though her words were initially spoken to those servants so as to bring forth the first miracle and sign of Jesus’ divinity, we can be certain that our Blessed Mother also speaks them to each one of us.“Do whatever he tells you.” What a beautiful command of love! When we hear these words spoken to us, we must hear them as our Blessed Mother’s perfect and ongoing guidance. So often in life we do what we want to do. We are drawn here or there by our passions and disordered desires. We struggle with being selfish and often make poor choices for our lives. This is the simple reality of sin that we struggle with every day. But if we can heed the Blessed Mother’s words, hearing them as words spoken from her heart to ours, then we will have a new direction in life.Doing the will of God first requires that we listen to the voice of God. We must listen to our Lord speak to us. How well do you do this? Our minds are often flooded with many thoughts, and we are easily influenced by many things. Not only do our disordered passions, feelings and emotions confuse us at times, but there are so many varied and confusing voices within our world itself. We are influenced by those we encounter every day for good or ill, by the mass media, by the things we read or watch, and even by the evil one himself as he tempts us day in and day out.If we can daily strive to eliminate the many misleading voices within our lives and tune in to the simple, clear and profound voice of God, then we have taken a good first step. But from there, we need to “do” that which God asks of us. Hearing God speak can be difficult, but doing what we hear from God can be even more difficult. It has been said that the road to hell is paved with good intentions. Good intentions are not enough. Doing God’s will with all our might is the answer.Reflect, today, upon this twofold question. First, am I able to hear what God asks of me each and every day, or am I misled and influenced by many other voices? Second, how well do I put into action that which I know God asks of me? “Do whatever he tells you.” Ponder this phrase and hear it as a true command of love from our Blessed Mother.Dearest Mother, please speak these words to me every day. As you do, please pray for me that I may listen to all that your Son asks of me and obey His voice with my whole heart. Thank you for your perfect “Yes” and your obedience to God in all things. May I learn to more fully imitate you every day. Mother Mary, pray for us. Jesus, I trust in You.Source of content: catholic-daily-reflections.comCopyright © 2023 My Catholic Life! Inc. All rights reserved. Used with permission via RSS feed.