January 19, 2026
The Gospel according to St. John, II, 1–1
At that time there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. And Jesus also was invited, and his disciples, to the marriage. And the wine failing, the mother of Jesus saith to him: They have no wine. And Jesus saith to her: Woman, what is that to me and to thee? My hour is not yet come. His mother saith to the waiters: Whatsoever he shall say to you, do ye. Now there were set there six waterpots of stone, according to the manner of the purifying of the Jews, containing two or three measures apiece. Jesus saith to them: Fill the waterpots with water. And they filled them up to the brim. And Jesus saith to them: Draw out now, and carry to the chief steward of the feast. And they carried it. And when the chief steward had tasted the water made wine, and knew not whence it was, but the waiters knew who had drawn the water: the chief steward calleth the bridegroom, and saith to him: Every man at first setteth forth good wine, and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse. But thou hast kept the good wine until now. This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee; and he manifested his glory, and his disciples believed in him.
Summary of the Morrow’s Meditation
We will interrupt tomorrow the order of our meditations to reflect on the assistance of Jesus and Mary at the wedding of Cana, as the Gospel tells us. There we will learn: 1st, the happiness of living united to Jesus and Mary; 2nd, we will study the way to practice this union. We will then take the resolution: 1st, to think often of Jesus and Mary, and to invoke them with confidence; 2nd, to propose them as models in all our actions. Our spiritual nosegay shall be the word of the Imitation: To be with Jesus is a paradise; to be without Jesus is a hell.
Meditation for the Morning
Let us transport ourselves in spirit to the feast of the wedding of Cana; let us consider there Jesus and Mary honoring this feast with their presence, edifying all the guests by their so modest demeanor, their manners so good and so sweet. Let us adore there in particular Jesus performing the first of his miracles, miracle of charity and obligingness.
FIRST POINT
Happiness of living united to Jesus and Mary.
How happy were the newly married, to have invited Jesus and Mary to their feast! Thanks to this august presence, all there was holy and edifying, all there was happy. When the wine failed, Mary, who always has her eye open on the needs of those who love her, perceives the embarrassment in which one was going to find oneself; and, without waiting for her intercession to be claimed, she employs the omnipotence of her Son. After an apparent hardness, which teaches us that, in the order of divine things, natural and purely human sentiments have no right to intervene, Jesus changes the water into a delicious wine, which makes the master of the hotel say: How have you reserved the best wine for the end? Oh! how one gains by living united to Jesus and Mary, and by doing all one's actions in this union! Then all the bitternesses of life are sweetened, all graces are given to us; Jesus and Mary assist us and make us find sweetness even in death itself, which they change into delights, according to the word of this holy Religious who said: I did not believe that it was so sweet to die. But, on the contrary, how sad is life, separated from Jesus and Mary! It is the life of the world, where always something is lacking, and the divine consolations are no longer there. In the world, no enjoyment without pain; often even one finds only grief where one hoped to find pleasure. The world, it is a reed: if one leans on it, it bends and lets you fall, or it breaks and pierces your hand; sometimes even it kills you. Yes, my God, outside of you, there is only deception, sadness and boredom; in you alone, happiness. Are these the sentiments that I have of the world and of Jesus Christ?
SECOND POINT
How to Practice this Union.
We practice this union by thinking often of Jesus and Mary, by invoking them with confidence, by proposing them as models in all our actions. 1st. By thinking often of Jesus and Mary. The thought of Jesus and Mary is a thought which elevates the soul, which purifies it, which inflames it with love. It is a thought which consoles in afflictions, which sustains in temptations, which encourages in discouragements, which rejoices in joys. It is a thought which makes us forget the world and its vanities, which makes us despise its maxims and its judgments. It is a thought which makes us live in heaven while we are still on earth. 2nd. By invoking them with confidence. Jesus and Mary are always ready to hear us, to help us, to console us. They are our father and our mother, and what father, what mother, would not hear their child? They are our friends, and what friend would not help his friend? They are our protectors, and what protector would not protect his protected? They are our advocates, and what advocate would not plead the cause of his client? They are our saviors, and what savior would not save his saved? Oh, how good it is to invoke Jesus and Mary with confidence! 3rd. By proposing them as models in all our actions. Jesus and Mary are the perfect models of all virtues. To imitate them is to be sure of being virtuous. To imitate them is to be sure of pleasing God, who sees in us the image of His Son and of His Mother. To imitate them is to be sure of being happy, because virtue is the true happiness. Oh, how good it is to imitate Jesus and Mary!
Resolutions and spiritual nosegay as above.
Note on the Recovery of Missing Meditation
Important Note on This Meditation (First Week after Epiphany: Sunday)
This meditation (Sunday of the First Week after Epiphany) was lost in the original English publication by Benziger Brothers (1894 third edition), where pages 251–282 (and beyond) are missing from the available digitized copy.
The content has been recovered and translated directly from the corresponding section of the original French edition (Méditations pour tous les jours de l'année, by Rev. M. Hamon, 3rd edition equivalent, 1894), preserving the exact meaning, style, tone, and meditative structure of the 1894 English translation as closely as possible.
This recovery ensures continuity of the work while respecting the historical source material.