This Holy Week Retreat,
we had the privilege of having three guides:
Martha, John the Baptist, and Mary.
With them, we wrestled questions and issues
that we face in the world and in our own lives.
We faced our temptations for disenchantment,
disillusionment, and dismay.
We learned that disenchantment happens to the best of us,
including Martha and our Lord; what matters is what we do with it.
We saw how disillusionment is sometimes
a necessary door to wisdom, as in the case of John the Baptist.
And we discovered that we need
to constantly engage in discernment
like Mary, who followed her son–
even when she did not understand him.
We spoke of the apparent divine indifference and inaction
in our lives, but in the process, we learned
about divine guidance–the way God acts and does His work
His way in the world.
Let us now prepare to end this year’s retreat
by recalling our Lord’s very first miracle
at–of all places–a wedding party.
Read the account of the Wedding at Cana,
and pay special attention to Mary
because it is she who models here for us
how best to follow her son.
You may want to play this piece of instrumental music
to set the mood and to pace yourself in reading the passage.
We suggest you pray in silence
for the rest of the music
before you move on.
Music from Julian Lloyd Webber, “To a Wild Rose”