Marriage

Land animals and the human couple

The 6th day, dome of Genesis. Basilica of San Marco, Venice (13th century). Earthly animals are represented in pairs, and the human being looks dark because he is earthly, made of the dust of the earth, but called to be a child of God, a child of light. He will complete God’s work, united to God, united in the bond of love of the couple, will be led from darkness to the light of love for his neighbor.

On the sixth day, God’s work is completed. This is the work of the God who is Trinity, who is a loving relationship, who creates by his Word and gives life by his own Spirit, by his own breath. In other words, to live God’s life is to love, and to love as he loves us. To lead us to this perfection of love, his Word becomes flesh. Indeed, it’s his Word that perfectly expresses his desire to share his joy, which is why his Word is creative: to pour out his love on others, so that the joy of seeing creatures happy can complete and bring love to perfection by multiplying it. Shared joy is multiplied joy. Everything in God’s work speaks of multiplication. This joy that spreads among creatures is the joy of love brought to perfection, for Jesus tells us: “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for those one loves”. (John 15:13). This is God’s will, his greatest desire: that we should be happy, just as parents desire the greatest happiness for their children. So, if human beings had no doubts about this, they would let themselves be led by God’s will, just as a little child trusts its loving parents. So it’s a question of matching two wills, of trust. This is the purpose of God’s work, and the sixth day will tell us exactly that: why all this, all this work, is very good. Indeed, after the first five stages through which God brought creation to perfection, concluding each time that it was good, he will say that it is very good when he completes his work. Indeed, this stage reveals the goal that has been reached: everything is very good, because everything has been brought to the perfection of love. Finally, the human being is able to dominate and lead the terrestrial animals that crawl on the earth, towards heavenly realities. Once again, these animals are the image of our vices and virtues, but now the text tells us that the human being will be able to lead them to their perfection. Let’s see what this perfection consists of. It’s that human beings are the image and likeness of God. God, who is love, becomes visible through the love of the couple: man and woman, he created them in his image and likeness. It is the word likeness that tells us of perfection, the completion of the work, for everything created in the image possesses the capacity to be fully resembling, but being in the image does not yet imply full likeness. Indeed, one’s image, one’s portrait, may not be faithful to its model. Being in the image does not yet imply perfect likeness. So it will take several stages to bring what is in the image up to full likeness. The whole history of mankind tells us of God’s work to bring us to full likeness with him, to the greatest love. And he accomplishes this through his Son, his Word. “I and my Father are always at work”, Jesus tells us. It is through the witness of love that all creatures will be brought to perfection. (For further information, see the 6th day in the article Genesis 1:1 – 2:3 The seven days, stages of love).

Good Friday

The Cross, Tree of Life, basilica of San Clemente, Rome (12th century). Christ, alive and appeased on the cross, offers God’s life, God’s love to the world. Like the true vine that gives life to the branches. The Father’s hand is at the top of the cross, he is the vinedresser who can lead everything to good, who takes care to make the men and women who love him bear fruit. Thus, the trusting filial relationship with God is restored, and paradise is once again open to humanity, which now lives in closeness to God, appeased and forgiven. The river of life of God’s love will irrigate the earth in all four directions, as described in the Book of Genesis.

The sixth day of the stages of God’s work, tells us how this work is brought to perfection by the human couple who reveal God’s image to the world. This image consists in the loving relationship that human beings are also capable of living, with the same intensity as God, in full likeness. The fruit-bearing couple, the human family, is a clear reflection of God’s love. Yet the text of Genesis, which belongs to the Old Covenant, is an announcement of the New. It is a prophetic text, and Jesus explained at length to the apostles how everything proclaimed in the ancient texts of the prophets announces the work that he, the Messiah, the Son of God, will accomplish. These are prophetic texts whose full meaning will be revealed by his death and resurrection. And so it is precisely on the sixth day of the Holy Week, when Jesus offers his life on the cross, that this image of the couple will be brought to its full likeness; it is from this sixth day of Holy Week that this couple will be able to bear fruit, multiply and thus reflect God’s love in all its greatness. Indeed, when the Bible speaks of the human being Adam in the Bible, it is not just speakingabout our ancestor in history, but above all about Christ himself, who leads the work of creation to its fulfillment.
Let’s see how the apostle St. Paul explains this:
“Scripture says: The first man, Adam, became a living being; the last Adam – Christ – became the life-giving spiritual being. What comes first is not the spiritual, but the physical; only then comes the spiritual. Made of clay, the first man came from the earth; the second man came from heaven. As Adam was made of earth, so men are earthly; as Christ is from heaven, so men will be from heaven. And as we have been made in the image of him who is from the earth, so we shall be made in the image of him who is from heaven.” (1 Corinthians 15:45-49).
St. Paul also speaks of Jesus as the first-born of every creature, reminding us of the words of John the Baptist, who said that although born after him, he was already before him:
“You will be strengthened in everything by the power of his glory, which will give you all perseverance and patience. With joy you will give thanks to God the Father, who has enabled you to share in the inheritance of the saints, in the light. He delivered us from the power of darkness and placed us in the Kingdom of his beloved Son: in him we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. He is the image of the invisible God, the first-born before every creature: in him, everything was created, in heaven and on earth. Visible and invisible beings, Powers, Principalities, Sovereignties, Dominations, all are created by him and for him. He is before all things, and all things subsist in him. He is also the head of the body, the head of the Church: he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he has primacy in everything. For God has seen fit that in him all fullness should dwell, and that through Christ all things should finally be reconciled to him, making peace through the blood of his Cross, peace for all beings on earth and in heaven.” (Colossians 1:11-20).
So, when Jesus is on the cross, it is then that God gives his life to mankind, manifesting to us God’s work on the sixth day, the concluding stage when human beings are brought into full likeness with God, because they can then welcome his love, enter into a trusting, filial relationship with him and bear fruit, that is, reflect his love and mercy in this world.

So let’s take a look at the words Jesus spoke to humanity when he was on the cross, offering his life, placing his breath in the hands of the Father so that he could pour it out on humanity. These last words also remind us of Adam’s words in the second chapter of Genesis, when he addresses the woman, Eve, whose name means “she who gives life”. Adam called his wife Eve (in Hebrew ḥavvah means she who gives life) because she was the mother of every living thing” (Genesis 3:20). Thus, Jesus, the last Adam who leads humanity to the fullness of love and breathes into it his spirit of life, when on the cross, addresses his mother, Mary, by calling her “woman”:
“Jesus, seeing his mother, and near her the disciple whom he loved, said to his mother, “Woman, behold your son.” Then he said to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” (John 19:26-27).
Jesus calls his mother woman, because through her he speaks to all humanity. Mary, in fact, is the image of humanity perfectly united with God, perfectly confident. She did not doubt God’s word that she was to be the mother of the Savior, even though she knew no man. She had replied, “I am the handmaid of the Lord, let it be done to me according to your word.” In this way, she enabled all humanity to welcome the Savior, she welcomed the Spirit of God, who was thus able to give divine life to humanity, it was in this way that the Word of God became flesh, when she was able to trust, to have faith in the plan and the word of God. But, God acts towards humanity like a fiancé towards his fiancée: he cannot force her, he respects her and waits for her “yes”. This “yes” finally came after centuries, thanks to Mary who trusted God, who was ready to do God’s will because she never doubted his benevolence. At that moment, the divine will was united with the human will, and the two became one. And this is what is accomplished in Jesus, when he offers his life on the cross. In the Garden of Olives the night before, he had said: “Father, if you are willing, take this cup away from me; yet not my will, but your will be done” (Luke 22:42). God’s will is finally accomplished on the cross, where he gives us his life, where he makes known to us the infinite love he has for his creatures, so that his creatures may receive life, may enter into the divine Trinitarian relationship in the full confidence of God’s children, the confidence of which Jesus was witness. Thus, God, accomplishing his work on the cross, addresses Mary, who has accepted his love, opening the way for all humanity to accept him in turn, and transmits his life to her. He calls her woman and entrusts her with John, who also receives the gift of divine life and is born into a new family, to which we are begotten by faith. John is not Mary’s son by flesh and blood, but by faith. Through faith in God’s love we are all born into a new life, where we are all brothers and sisters, where we form a new family. “Jesus answered, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” Then, stretching out his hand to his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven, he is my brother, my sister, my mother.” (Matthew 12:48-50). Jesus prepared his disciples to form this new family that knows no boundaries of language or people, saying: “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be amazed that I told you: you must be born again from above.” (John 3:5-7). And so the apostle John also reports: “To all who have received him, he has given the power to become children of God, who believe in his name. They were not born of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man: they were born of God.” (John 1:12-13). It is through the spirit that this new birth takes place, through faith and trust in God. It was this spirit that was to be represented by the water and blood that flowed from his side, a sign of the river of life of God’s love that flows in all four directions to irrigate the world. So, just as it is prophetically said that Eve is born from Adam’s side, it is from the pierced, open side of the last Adam, Jesus Christ, that the new humanity is born. Those who were at his feet, Mary and John, who now form a new family, testify: “One of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out. He who has seen bears witness, and his testimony is true.” (John 19:34). The evangelist St. John, who was himself at the foot of the cross, continues his testimony with the last words of Jesus:
” After this, knowing that everything was now accomplishedso that Scripture could be fulfilled to the end, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” There was a vessel there full of a vinegar drink. A sponge filled with the vinegar was attached to a branch of hyssop, and brought to his mouth. When he had taken the vinegar, Jesus said, “It has been accomplished. Then, bowing his head, he gave up the spirit.” (John 19:28-30).
In this way, Jesus, having offered and breathed his life into humanity, will be able to fulfill the words of Adam, who saw in the woman the mother of all the living. The living are those who live by God’s life and love, becoming a new family, and Mary will be the image of the Church, Christ’s body, which continues to transmit his life to the world, thus engendering new beings with divine life, just as John was able to be born into this new family by contemplating and welcoming the love that God showed him in Jesus on the cross.
Saint Paul, too, will speak to us of this multiplication, of the transmission of divine life to the world, through faith made possible by the same witness of love that the apostles and the faithful will bear to the world, by offering their lives in the image and likeness of Christ:
“My children, for whom I am again in labor until Christ be formed in you!” (Galatians 4:19).

In the very next verse, St Paul speaks of this birth taking place in the pain of the trials of persecution, just as it did for Christ. Indeed, having become a member of Christ’s body, he too will bear witness to his love for the world, even to the point of giving his own life:
“Now I find joy in the sufferings I endure for you; what remains to be suffered from Christ’s trials in my own flesh, I accomplish for his body, which is the Church. Of this Church I have become a minister, and the mission God has entrusted to me is to carry out for you the proclamation of his word” (Colossians 1:24-25).

It is to signify this that Jesus on the cross accepts the bitter vinegar, he accepts to give his life which is accepting the suffering of childbirth, so that mankind may find a new birth, a new life.
Again, St. Paul explains:
“Since we are his children, we are also his heirs: heirs of God, heirs with Christ, if at least we suffer with him to be with him in glory. Indeed, I believe that there is no comparison between the sufferings of the present time and the glory that will be revealed for us. Indeed, creation eagerly awaits the revelation of the sons of God. For creation was subjected to the power of nothingness, not of its own free will, but because of the one who delivered it to that power, in hope that creation itself would be set free from slavery to corruption and share in the glorious freedom of the children of God. As we well know, the whole of creation is groaning, going through the pains of childbirth that are still going on”. (Romans 8:17-22)

For human beings, this witness of giving one’s own life does not necessarily end with the shedding of one’s own blood. It is also in the image of Christ that we offer our lives on a daily basis, in service to our neighbor and in love of family. Let’s see, in the next section, how this can embrace all aspects of our daily lives and bear fruit.

Marriage: the tree of life and the wedding at Cana

Marriage between a man and a woman is the image of the union between God and humanity. In the words of St. Paul:
“As the Scripture says: For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife, and the two shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery: I say this with reference to Christ and the Church.” (Ephesian 5:31-32).
To speak to us of this mystery, to make it visible to our eyes, Jesus gives us two images: the vine and the water transformed into wine. The vine shows us the relationship, the life that is transmitted from the stock to the branches. If the branches are united to the trunk, his lymph, his love, will make them bear fruit with the help of the vinedresser. The water, once it receives the Spirit, the alcohol and the flavor of the wine, finds all its flavor. Let’s look at these two images, which speak to us of the union between God and humanity, a union that takes place at every moment in our lives, just like the exchange and communion in spirit and body that takes place within a married couple, a family.

Detail of the Tree of Life cross, basilica of San Clemente, Rome (12th century). Scenes from everyday life surrounded by the loving presence of God, In every activity we live the love of God and neighbor, at every moment we can welcome and live the spirit of God’s love. “I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit.” (John 15:5).

In the image above, we see that the curls of the tree of life extend to scenes of everyday life: everything can be done out of love, it’s the life of God that transforms human beings in every moment of their lives. We see a woman feeding the chickens, shepherds, monks writing, and so many other activities that, far from hindering our presence with God, on the contrary express it, for it is he who is “the way, the truth and the life” (John 14:6), he who is present to us at every moment.

Accepting God’s life means trusting him, not doubting that he will never want anything else than our own good. All His work is that we bear fruit, and fruit in abundance. Now, to bear fruit in this world is to bear witness to hope and love, to be a reflection of God’s light, of his mercy for those who need to receive his love. Let’s see how Jesus himself talks about this:
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that bears no fruit, my Father takes away; every branch that does bear fruit, he purifies by pruning, so that it may bear more. But you have already been purified by the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, as I remain in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it remains in the vine, so neither can you, unless you remain in me. I am the vine, and you are the branches. He who remains in me and I in him, the same bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he, like the branch, is cast out and withers. Dry branches are gathered up and thrown into the fire, and they burn. If you remain in me, and my words remain in you, ask whatever you want, and it will come true for you. The glory of my Father is that you bear much fruit and are my disciples. As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete.” (John 15:1-11).

In this way, the cross becomes the tree of life, as we see in the mosaic in the basilica of San Clemente in Rome, above. In the early centuries, Christians didn’t depict the cross with Christ dead on it. They depicted the tree of life, for the dry wood of the cross has become a source of life, from which every human being can draw, becoming the inexhaustible fountain of God’s love. Here’s an extract from a hymn dedicated to the cross by Venance Fortunat (5th century):
“Beautiful resplendent tree, bright with light,
You are adorned in royal purple;
You were chosen as the tree most worthy
To bear this most holy body, to touch its limbs.

Happy cross on which hangs the world’s ransom,
By whom hell trembled in its empire;
Happy are you to bear this fruit of life,
And gathered peoples applaud your triumph.

Hail, Holy Cross, our only hope!
Hail, altar that bore the spotless Lamb.
By the grace of his most holy Passion
Life endured death and death gave Life.”

And also, in another poem by Venance Fortunat:
“Planted by a stream, you show yourself in all your splendor,
your foliage adorned with newly blossomed flowers.
Between your arms hangs a vine
from which flows a wine that is the redness of blood.”

In the mosaic, the curls of the tree of life, which represents the cross, will surround the scenes of everyday life, for it is here that each person puts his or her will in harmony with the will of God. Indeed, Jesus tells us: “I am the way, the truth and the life” (John 14:6), and this means that at every moment, life offers us an opportunity to love, to serve our neighbor, to do God’s will. So, when our neighbor does not welcome us and asks for patience and endurance on our part, this too is a proof of love.
The couple is the place where this experience of love and acceptance of life is particularly intense. Putting ourselves at each other’s service, listening to each other, implies a transformation of our lives; we are called upon to do things we would never have done if we hadn’t linked up with someone else. This gives the impression of losing oneself, of not listening to oneself, of doing nothing for oneself. And yet, this is what it means to give one’s life, to offer it up. Jesus said: “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” (Matthew 16:24-25). Indeed, in marriage, by placing ourselves at each other’s service, we offer God, and therefore life, an opportunity to shape us, to transform us, to discover a thousand new ways of loving that we wouldn’t have discovered on our own. This is how God brings us closer to himself, through a love that is more like his own, who is capable of loving each of his creatures and putting himself at the service of all of them. Our love is much more restrictive; we easily love those who demand of us what we like to do, but we love less what leads us to leave our own image of love, our projects, our plans for love, in order to discover different ways of loving.

In his words to Moses, God warns us not to make a graven image for ourselves, not to imagine a likeness to heavenly realities (Exodus 20:4), for God is love. The images we constantly form of love, of what we should do to love, of what we imagine to be the best way to love God and our neighbor, can indeed be illusory, not responding to what God or our neighbor expect of us. When Jesus tells us that we must renounce ourselves, he is calling us to give up imagining what I could do for God and my neighbor, and to listen to the demands and concrete needs of others. The risk, in fact, is to imagine what we could do for our neighbor at our convenience, according to what suits us, but perhaps God, life, proposes that we discover other paths that we haven’t imagined, that perhaps don’t suit us, but correspond to the real needs of our neighbor. Now, our life is a path towards the discovery of the greatest love, God’s love, the greatest joy, but it goes beyond our imagination, it leads us to discover something other than ourselves. In the Bible, God often tells us “my thoughts are not your thoughts, and your ways are not my ways. As high as heaven is above the earth, so high are my ways above your ways, and my thoughts above your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:8-9).

It’s true that in this world there are many misunderstandings, and Jesus was not understood, either, not only by people in general, but also by his parents and apostles. The Gospels tell us that, at the age of 12, Jesus would have liked to have stayed at the Temple in Jerusalem to explain the word of God, but his parents reproached him because they had looked for him and worried about him. “Jesus said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in those of my Father ?” But they did not understand what he was saying. He went down with them to Nazareth, and was submitted to them.” (Luke 2:49-51). Similarly, very often when he speaks to the apostles about spiritual and heavenly realities, they don’t understand. It’s not God who puts us through these trials, these misunderstandings out of malice, it’s that, unfortunately, humanity is in darkness and, to bring a little light into this darkness, we have to confront this misunderstanding. At the same time, the pain of disagreement and conflict can also be a path to greater joy. This is the Father’s will, the joy of seeing our neighbor’s happiness, the joy of having begotten our neighbor to new life, of seeing him in peace, that will also be our peace. In this way, the experience of love grows within us, and so does our joy and confidence. Jesus reminds us: “Now this is the will of the One who sent me: that I lose none of those whom he has given me, but raise them up on the last day”. (John 6:39).
In marriage, we deepen in an exemplary way, in what consists the nature of the love relationship, how is it possible to be one? How is it possible for the joy of the other to become my joy, or for the sorrow of the other to become my sorrow? This is what communion is about, an exchange in the spirit, which is also the Spirit of love that unites the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit in one God. Father, Son and Holy Spirit are different persons, yet their wills want the same thing. So, in our earthly experience, we will always have misunderstandings and divisions, but we often have to accept them and find the common will to love each other in spite of everything, in the desire for the other’s happiness, which will be a source of life for ourselves.
Thus, on Good Friday, a true marriage between God and humanity takes place. God takes all the risks for us, if it can lead us to the greatest happiness, if it can help us discover what love is all about, where our joy lies, our source of happiness.

Water turned into wine, the wedding feast at Cana

The miracle of Cana, baptistery of the basilica of Saint-Maurice, Switzerland. Mosaic by Madeline Diener. Jesus transforms the five jars of water into wine, the image of humanity transformed by God’s Spirit, by his love, into a delicious wine. The red color of the wine also recalls the blood, the life Jesus offered us on the cross. The cup of the covenant stands before the engaged couple at the top of the image. They represent the covenant between God and humanity, between Christ and the Church. This miracle heralds the wedding feast of the Lamb, humanity reconciled and united with God in one body, one spirit.

All this Jesus announced in a very famous gesture, a miracle he performed in order to speak to us, to give us an image that helps us understand the nature of this spiritual reality where we are united with God and become one with him, just as in the union of man and woman, the two become one. Indeed, in his first miracle at Cana, Jesus transforms water into wine. Let’s see how this miracle gives us an image of the union between God and humanity. Jesus, his mother and disciples are invited to a wedding at Cana. When Mary realizes that the wine has run out, she asks Jesus to help the bride and groom. Now, it’s important to remember that since the age of twelve, Jesus had remained submitted to his parents, since they had not allowed him to stay on his own in Jerusalem to explain the word of God in the Temple. This is because God, in his attitude of respect for humanity, to whom he addresses himself as to a bride, cannot force her and impose his will. He always awaits the “yes”, the consent of humanity to receive him. Mary is the first human being to have fully welcomed God’s presence and will, to have agreed to participate in his plan of salvation for humanity. She accepted to be the mother of Jesus, she said yes to God’s proposal. But then, as a human being, she tried to understand how best to assume this task. Knowing that the child she gave birth to would one day fall victim to the jealousies of men, she tried to protect him, keeping him with her in Nazareth. At last, at Cana, faced with human distress and the bride and groom who had run out of wine, she asked Jesus to intervene, to do something. Jesus addresses her as “woman” and says: “Woman, what is there between you and me?” In other words, if Jesus miraculously intervenes at this point, he will have to leave his mother and embark on the path that will lead to his being condemned to death. Is Mary ready to say yes? to let her own son carry out God’s will, to trust completely in this divine will and plan to come to the rescue of mankind? Her answer is decisive, for in addressing her, Jesus is addressing all humanity: do we really want God to come and save us? Jesus is going to explain to us what this plan of salvation will consist of, in what the work of God to lead mankind from darkness to light consists of. That’s why he asks Mary: “Woman, what is there between me and you?” (John 2:4): it’s God addressing humanity as his beloved. So, Jesus is going to explain to us what there is between God and humanity, what is the nature of this bond? This is revealed and announced by the miracle of water turned into wine. Through this miracle, Jesus announces what God, in his person, is going to accomplish to save us, he is going to reveal to us the nature of the bond of love between God and humanity. It’s like a marriage where the two become one, where the joy of one becomes the joy of the other, and the pain of one becomes the pain of the other. Humanity is like water. If this water is ready to welcome and live with the divine Spirit, this Spirit of love will transform it, just as alcohol transforms water and turns it into tasty wine. But this wine will also be the image of the blood, the life that God will offer out of love for humanity. This is how he can transform us, transform our lives, when we believe in the immensity of God’s love for us. When we see that he is ready to give his life for us, regardless of our faults, then it is gratitude, thankfulness, that fills our hearts, then we too are filled with love for him and we dare to believe in the Father’s love. Seeing the victory of love over evil and death, we dare to risk our lives for love, to pursue that same love. Every time we remember Christ’s sacrifice, then, we take a cup of wine and drop a drop of water into it, to represent humanity united with divinity in a single spirit, in a single body, no longer able to separate them. It is the human being who is fully filled with love, a love as great as God’s love for us. By transforming water into wine, Jesus announces what he would accomplish for us, the day when he would transform our humanity by infusing it with his Spirit, his love. On that day, too, on the cross, he would address his mother as “woman” and, having created a new family of brothers and sisters who receive life from the same divine source, he would say: “All is accomplished” (John 19:30), just as on the sixth day, having led humanity out of darkness into light, “God saw all that he had made; and behold, it was very good” (Genesis 1:31).
By saying “yes” to the miracle at Cana, Mary accepts and welcomes God’s plan and will, allowing God to come to our rescue. From that moment onwards, Jesus will begin his public life, leaving his mother’s home and exposing himself to the misguided human beings, at the risk of his own life. The cup of wine will be the image of his blood, of his life offered as a sacrifice for us. At the miracle of Cana, he said to his mother: “My hour has not yet come” (John 2:4), that is to say, it is not now that I am going to offer my life and realize this marriage, this union with humanity, but I am going to undertake this journey, I am going to announce what I have come to accomplish, and since you are ready to accept this, I am going to transform this water into wine. The Gospel tells us that, after tasting the wine Jesus had told the servants to bring to the master of the banquet, he, addressing the bride and groom, exclaimed, “You have saved the best wine for last, while everyone serves the best wine at the beginning of the meal.” Indeed, it was our humanity that was represented by the five jars of water that were transformed into wine. This number five reminds us of our five senses, our human condition, constantly transgressing the five books of Moses, which transmit God’s words of guidance to mankind: only by welcoming the fullness of God’s Spirit, which comes to us, can we be united with him and transformed, acquiring and tasting the flavor of this love that we ourselves will have put into action, just like the servants who filled the jars with water and trusted in Jesus’ will.
Just as at the wedding in Cana, Jesus came to the rescue of mankind to bring joy, so that this wedding fully celebrates the joy of the accomplished, realized union between God and mankind…
As Saint Paul reminds us: “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one. This is a great mystery: I say this with reference to Christ and the Church.” (Ephesians 5:31-32).

The Tree of Life, mosaic in the chapel dedicated to Saint Matrona, inside the Church of the Holy Cross in San Prisco, near Caserta, Italy. From the cup of the covenant, containing the blood of Christ, springs the tree of life, the vine that bears fruit in abundance. The dove represents humanity that has risen to heavenly realities and recognized the presence of God in the humiliated, the dispossessed, in Christ. The eyes of the bride in the Song of Songs are as beautiful as those of the dove, which, sheltered by the rock that is Christ, has contemplated the face of God. The dove is the image of tender love, of a trusting relationship with God, the image of the Holy Spirit who reconciles the world with God, the image of the baptized person in whom the Holy Spirit dwells.

Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.

The Forgiven Sinner, mosaic from the Duomo of Monreale, Italy (12th-13th century). This woman seeking God’s forgiveness has brought a precious alabaster vase filled with myrrh, the balm used to honor the remains of the deceased. It was also myrrh that the wise men of the East brought to the birth of Jesus. It represents homage, thanksgiving to the one who will offer his life for us. By welcoming the prostitute, Jesus exposes his life to condemnation, and at the same time reveals the extent of his love.

With this request of the Lord’s prayer, we accept God’s forgiveness, that is, the infinitely repeated gift of his love. To par-don (for-give) means to repeat the gift, to donate, give it again and again. It means accepting the gift of divine life, of his love that transforms us, like water turned into wine; it means being filled with his spirit. Then our love will be like his, and we too will be able to bring his love and forgiveness to the world, and do the same with our neighbor. Jesus explains this dynamic of forgiveness to us in the episode of the woman who comes to ask him for forgiveness:
“A Pharisee had invited Jesus to eat with him. Jesus went into his house and sat down at the table. A woman from the city, a sinner, arrived. Having heard that Jesus was sitting in the Pharisee’s house, she had brought an alabaster bottle containing perfume. Weeping, she stood behind him, close to his feet, and began to wet Jesus’ feet with her tears. She wiped them with her hair, covered them with kisses and poured the perfume over them. Seeing this, the Pharisee who had invited Jesus said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who this woman is who is touching him, and what she is: a sinner.” Jesus spoke up and said to him, “Simon, I have something to tell you.” – “Speak, Master.” Jesus continued: “A creditor had two debtors; one owed him five hundred silver coins, the other fifty. Since neither of them could pay him back, he forgave them both. Which of the two will love him more?” Simon replied, “I suppose the one who was forgiven the greater debt. – You’re right,” Jesus told him. He turned to the woman and said to Simon: “Do you see this woman? I came into your house, and you didn’t pour water on my feet; she wet them with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You didn’t kiss me; she hasn’t stopped kissing my feet since she came in. You didn’t anoint my head; she poured perfume on my feet. That’s why I’m telling you: her sins, her many sins, are forgiven, because she showed so much love. But he who is forgiven little shows little love.” So he said to the woman, “Your sins are forgiven.” The guests began to say to themselves, “Who is this man, who goes so far as to forgive sins?” Then Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you. Go in peace” (Luke 7:36-50).
Jesus is invited to eat by a Pharisee, an expert in Jewish law and responsible of the religious order, who wants to find arguments against him, to accuse him and condemn him in court. But a woman of ill repute forces her way into the house and covers Jesus’ feet with kisses, and Jesus lets her. Here’s the proof the Pharisee was looking for: Jesus is a friend of prostitutes, therefore this woman allowed herself such a confident gesture. When the woman will see the attitude of the Pharisees who accuse Jesus, she will measure Jesus’ love for her: he has truly risked his life to welcome her, he has risked his life for her. To receive such a gesture of love can only transform us: to feel loved fills us with love, recognition and gratitude, and we too would like to do something for the person who has been so close to us, to make them as happy as we are. Shared joy is multiplied. And Jesus shows us this order of things through his parables and words. Will not the one who has been forgiven a great debt be more grateful? How dis Jesus really healed this woman in need of love? he offered her a gesture of love that she would not have dared to hope for from anyone, she who was despised by all and whose human dignity was not respected. It is through the superabundance of his love that Jesus heals our lack of love. This is how he achieves this union between God and humanity, this marriage, by saying on the cross to the very people who were crucifying and insulting him: “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do”. (Luke 23:34).