Religion, as defined by Dictionary.com, “a specific fundamental set of beliefs and practices generally agreed upon by a number of persons or sects” or “the body of persons adhering to a particular set of beliefs and practices” (Religion). In both definitions of the word, religion is being described as a set of beliefs, meaning that faith is what drives these organizations and communities forward. Part of faith is believing in things that may or may not be visible to the eye or physically possible.
In the Catholic faith, there are many instances and examples of when the members of this religion have believed in situations that would seem fake or made up. We have come to know these are miracles. According to Terence L. Nichols “Scriptural miracles…have something to tell us about how God acts in the world” (abstract) Throughout the Bible, there are hundreds of miracles done by Jesus and his followers. Most were written down after being passed down orally. These miracles are very important to the faith as a whole, demonstrating it’s heavenly power that is given to it’s followers and signifying the importance of it’s teachings.
The first miracle to be done by Jesus was the miracle at the wedding at Cana. In this passage found in The Gospel of St. John. Jesus and Mary, as well as his disciples, were invited to a wedding in a city in Galilee called Cana. At this wedding, the bride and the groom had run out of wine, so Mary turned to her son and asked him for his help. Jesus then told the servants to “fill the waterpots with water. And they filled them to the brim” (King James Version, John 2:7). After they filled them with water, Jesus told them to pour the wine into cups and bring it to all the guests.
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There are many reasons as to why this is a very significant and important miracle. According to Stephen Hartdegen, “The account of the marriage feast at Cana stands at the beginning of Our Lord’s public ministry” (p. 86). Even though Jesus had told his mother that “mine hour is not yet come”, meaning that it wasn’t his time to use his heavenly messianic power, Jesus complyed (King James Version, John 2:4). Him giving in to his mother’s request also goes to show the relationship Jesus had with Mary.
Mary only appears in the St. Johns Gospel three times, once at the wedding at Cana, once in Gallilee, and once at the foot of Jesus’ cross when he was crucified. Although these occurences are few in number, they “quite revealing as regards Our Lady’s relationship both to Christ as Messias and to the messianic people” (Hartdegen, 85). Her request to her son to create wine for the bride and groom shows her very sympathetic and warm human nature. Mary wasn’t necessarily asking for her son to perform a miracle. She might have been simply stating a fact or an observation rather than a command for her son. The intent or context of this engagement is unknown.
Wine, which was the focal point in this miracle, was known as a gift from God that “gladdens the heart of man” (King James Version, Psalm 112:15). Wine was used at the last supper as an offering, symbolizing the his blood that was going to be shed at his crucifixtion. Not only was wine used for entertainment purposes asit is today, but it was also used as a religious ritual. During the Catholic mass, the priest raises a chalice and says “This is the chalice of my blood., which will be shed for you and for many for the forgivness of sins. Do this in rememberance of me”. In this case ,wine is being used as a religious religious ritual, showing the similarities between the wine, which is a gidt of man, and Jesus, who was the Son of God, also a gift from God.
