BARABOO — St. Joseph’s Parish in Baraboo is hosting their annual Men’s Retreat on Saturday, February 11 at Camp Gray, E10213 Shady Lane Rd., in Reedsburg.
Titled “Do Whatever He Tells You, the retreat will focus on Mary’s role in salvation history.
Wedding feast
In the passage from John 2:3-5, scripture shares the story of the wedding feast in Cana. At this wedding, the couple runs out of wine to serve their guests. A great cause of shame for the couple, this lack of wine implied that they did not have enough money to serve the people they had invited for this multi-day event.
Mary is the first to notice. This shows us the depth of our mother’s heart: that she saw a need and took it upon herself to help this couple avoid any kind of embarrassment on their wedding day. She turns to the one person she knows can help: Jesus.
“When the wine ran short, the mother of Jesus said to him, ‘They have no wine.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, how does your concern affect me? My hour has not yet come.’ His mother said to the servers, ‘Do whatever he tells you.’” (John 2:3-5)
Jesus’ question, “What is this to you and to me?”, in Greek is ti emoi kai soi. This phrase describes two people looking at the same thing, but with different perspectives.
When Mary comes to Jesus saying, “They have no wine,” Jesus answers saying, “What is this wine to you and to me?” In other words, Jesus is explaining that to Mary, the wine means one thing, but to Jesus, it means another.
Mary views providing more wine as a compassionate act of love towards the couple. Jesus, on the other hand, knows that if he provides more wine, this will be the first miracle he has ever performed. This would be the beginning of his public ministry, and his road to the cross.
Participants from throughout the Diocese of Madison are encouraged to come and dig deeper into their understanding of these key questions during this retreat.
- What “hour” was Jesus referring to?
- What does this passage teach us about Mary’s role in salvation history?
- How does Mary help us today?
Going beyond the historical fact of the wedding, John stresses that Mary’s presence at the beginning and at the end of Jesus’ public life corresponds to a divine plan.
The name our Lord uses to address her in Cana (“woman,” rather than “mother”) seems to show his intention to form a family founded, not on the bonds of blood, but on faith.
This is the same way God addressed Eve in Paradise when promising that from her progeny would come the Redeemer (Gen 3:15).
In Cana, Mary realizes that her maternal mission does not end on the natural plane. God is relying on her to be the spiritual Mother of his Son’s disciples.
Thanks to her intervention, the disciples’ faith in the promised Messiah begins to grow. John himself states this at the end of his account.
“And so, it was in Cana of Galilee that Jesus performed the first of the signs by which he manifested his glory, and his disciples believed in him” (Jn 2:11).
Featured speakers
Featured speakers for the day retreat include Bishop Donald J. Hying of Madison and Fr. James Kubicki, S.J. Their talks and small group discussions will take place throughout the day.
Bishop Hying will be addressing Our Lady of Lourdes. Between February 11 and July 16, 1858, the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared 18 times to 14-year-old Bernadette Soubirous in that small town located in the foothills of the Pyrenees mountains of southern France. The Blessed Virgin told Bernadette in the dialect of Lourdes, “I am the Immaculate Conception.” A basilica was consecrated at Lourdes in 1876 and the faithful flock in pilgrimage to the holy grotto.
It is there that their faith and devotion are aroused, and they recommit themselves to conform their lives to the Christian message. Both physical and spiritual healings have taken place. Great emphasis is placed on devotion to the Eucharist, and just as at the wedding feast of Cana, Mary points to her Son.
Father Kubicki will address “Mary, Woman of the Eucharist, and Living a Eucharistic Life”. Father Kubicki serves as a spiritual director at St. Francis de Sales Seminary in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee. He is a popular conference and parish mission speaker, retreat director, and the author of A Heart on Fire and A Year of Daily Offerings.
The program will open with Mass at 8 a.m. Eucharistic Adoration will be available throughout the day. The Sacrament of Reconciliation will be available in the afternoon.
To register for the program, go to St. Joseph’s website at baraboocatholic.org or call Becky Thompson at 608-356-5353. The registration fee for those who register by Sunday, Feb. 5 is $35. Those who register after February 5 will pay $40.
A continental breakfast and a grilled steak lunch with baked potato and salad are included in the registration fee.