Gospel for January 19 2025 – John 2:1-11
Gospel Reflections for January 19 2025
Keep the party going!
Jesus did so at the wedding reception in today’s Gospel when the wine ran out.
He knew this couple’s great embarrassment if there was no wine. The party would end! He knew that good wine would keep everyone celebrating their love and marriage. Fortunately, this couple had invited Jesus and He knew how to make new wine.
Today, many people suffer from our enormous LA firestorm. How to recover? This Gospel reveals two clues. First, always invite Jesus into your life. Second, always seek to make new wine! That means you renew your promises often to God and your family. Renewing promises are not just for anniversaries or crises. Wise couples frequently renew their vows to love …in good times and in bad.
I hope that Gospel couple lived a long and happy life, but no one knows the number of our days. Some might have advanced notice from doctors to help them prepare, while others sadly die unexpectedly. Jesus affirms you should live your life as fully as possible no matter how many days you have. However, you can certainly hope that your end is natural …and never at the hands of another.
Our deepest Catholic belief is that every person is loved by God from every moment before birth to your natural death.
I remember a couple that I married years ago invited me to meet their children. While there I noticed a new room beautifully set up for another baby. Long before this new child was born …it was already deeply loved, just as God loves you …long before you were even born.
This is the message of this Respect-Life Month of January.
God designed you with a deep instinct to care for innocent children even before they are born …not as a political imposition …but a real human trait that even led to our evolutionary success.
That is why women rarely want an abortion but may under severe stress feel there is no other choice. If we solve those other stressful circumstances, like poverty, solitude, or fear, then perhaps their choice will change too. Jesus always courageously taught moral issues but always with the deepest never-ending love for everyone involved.
We always hope that all young lives will live a full life. Our Lord’s miracle at that wedding feast affirmed, “Let the celebration of life and love for every person at every age …continue!”
God Bless!
Fr. Dave
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