The Ninth Station of the Eucharist, the Wedding Feast of Cana. O Sacrament most Holy, O Sacrament Divine, All praise and all thanksgiving, Be every moment Thine. In the second chapter of St. John's Gospel, Jesus is at a wedding. His mom is there, his disciples are there, and there's a bride and groom who are about to be embarrassed as they run out of wine. Mary in her motherly love with her compassionate heart recognizes this and tells her son. Jesus says, "My hour has not yet come." And yet his mother is insistent, but also knows that it is the time. So she says to the servants that are present there, "Do whatever He tells you," initiating and bringing forth the first miracle where Jesus turns water into wine. It's pretty interesting. This reveals to everyone that Jesus has tremendous power. He can change substances.

Now we know that Jesus is one with the Father, that Jesus is the second person of the Most Holy Trinity, in total union with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit. The three of them are one. And thus, what the Creator did, what the Father did to create the whole world. Jesus was in union with the Father that whole time and with the Holy Spirit. And thus, if God can create the whole world out of nothing, clearly God can change water into wine. And this sign at a wedding feast speaks volumes. Why did Jesus' first miracle take place at a wedding feast? Ultimately because Christ is a groom. He is a divine groom who came to marry His bride, the church. We'll read later in Ephesians chapter five, how Christ is the groom who espouses his church, is willing to die for her, willing to lay down his life for her, to protect her, to defend her, to uplift her, to serve her. And thus, this image of a wedding where Christ is the groom who's going to lay down his life and the sacrifice on Calvary, who's going to pour out his blood. So yes, Jesus changes water into wine.

Earlier in the stations, we heard about that fourth station of the Eucharist, about the Exodus. And what was the first miracle that Moses worked in the Exodus? He turned water into blood. Changing a substance is apparently, something that we hear a lot about in Scripture. Moses turned water into blood. Jesus changes water into wine. And thus, at every single mass, through the power of the Holy Spirit, the priest has the ability to bring about the miracle of transubstantiation as wine becomes Jesus' blood. Moses changed substance, Jesus changes substances, and in every single mass, that miracle continues to happen. Because those words of Jesus, "This is my body. This is the chalice of my blood." Those are words of truth spoken in the power of the Holy Spirit, fulfilling the ordinances, the commands of the Lord. Do this in memory of me. Change happens. And I'll tell you this, it's easier for God to change water into wine and wine into his blood and bread into his body, than it is for him to change our hearts. Bread and wine don't have free will. And yet we do. We do, and our children do, and our grandchildren do, and our godchildren do, and change can be hard. And yet God desires change. He desires us to change. And deep in every single one of our hearts, we want to change. There's parts of us that we know don't work. There's habits. There's dispositions. There's ways that we live that aren't working.

So I ask you today to just reflect upon that, what is it in my life that needs to change? What am I doing today that I don't want to do tomorrow? What did I do last week that I don't want to do this week? And realize that you can change, that God can change you. That you don't have to remain the same. That there is hope and life and joy and peace that's made ready for you, and we can receive that. So yes, at a wedding feast, God turned water into wine, and at every mass, He turns wine into His blood. Let's also pray for the grace that we ourselves will be changed. Changed into the saints of His kingdom. To live here on earth and one day in heaven with Him forever. Amen.

The Tenth Station of the Eucharist, the Multiplication of the Loaves and Fishes. "O Sacrament most Holy, O Sacrament Divine, all praise and all thanksgiving be every moment thine."

The multiplication of loaves and fishes is found in all four gospel passages. It's a tremendously unique miracle. In several of the gospels, it happens more than once. He takes, he blesses, he breaks, and he gives. And what is it that he takes? Five loaves and two fish. What to most people seems pretty insignificant, Jesus takes and feeds thousands of people. One thing that is so powerful about this passage is the fact that God provides. We can trust our God. He's going to provide, even when these people are tired and they're exhausted and they're in a deserted place and they need food. Just as in the manna that came down from heaven, God is going to provide for you and for me. And what is he going to provide? Food. But not just any food, heavenly food. And he's going to be able to provide it for the whole world. Think about what happens on every Sunday morning. Every Sunday morning, Catholics all across the globe receive the flesh and the blood of our Lord in an overabundance. It said in the gospel passage for the multiplication of loaves and fishes that there was leftovers and they put them in baskets. They collected them. What happens at the end of every single mass? After we give our Lord to those who come forward to receive Him in Holy Communion, we take what is left over and we put it in the tabernacle. What happens in this miracle continues to happen in every mass. Now, sadly, as we know, in many places here in the United States of America, there aren't thousands upon thousands at every mass starving and hungering for the Eucharist. Sadly, our churches are often more than half empty. It's a problem. Those who should be hungering and thirsting for God have fed themselves on the things of the world. They're not happy. They aren't satisfied.

But we know that Christ does give us His body and His blood. It's beyond all imagining how thankful we are that He takes, He blesses, He breaks, and He gives. I want to challenge you to look at that little boy who gave something away, and Jesus took it and He blessed it and He broke it and He gave it and it changed the world. I want to challenge you to look at your financial giving to the Lord. I want you to see yourself as that little boy. Do you think that little boy really had six loaves and three fish? Or did that little boy give abundantly in everything to the Lord? What happens when we give abundantly to the Lord? What happens when we give our all to the Lord? And what can the Lord do with that? Financially, do I give my all? Or do I just give a little? Because the good Lord can only take what we give. He can only bless what we give. And believe me, Christ will receive and Christ will bless in an abundance. In the ninth station of the Eucharist at the wedding of Cana, we realize that God has the ability to change substance. In this, we realize that Christ has the ability to bless and to multiply. If that is the case, then let's give him everything.

Dear Lord, I give you my life. I surrender my life. I surrender everything to you. I give it to you as a gift. So you may take it, you may bless it, you may break it, and you may give it. Let's allow ourselves to enter deeply into this mystery and be transformed. Amen.