Do Whatever He Tells You

"Listen to your daddy," I heard myself saying as my preschooler attempted to escape his arms as well as the tortures that awaited her (AKA potty time before bed; we are cruel, cruel parents because we force her to go potty before sleepy time).

I know I've probably uttered these words before, but on this night I immediately thought of Mary at the wedding in Cana.

Here I was urging my child to listen to her dad. And doesn't Mary do the exact same thing in Cana? "Do what he tells you," she tells the wedding servants.

I can bet she's still saying the same exact thing to me. Do what your Father tells you, but like my preschooler, I sometimes find myself fleeing from his call.

Perhaps I owe it to my Mother to trust that both she and my Father have my best interest at heart - just as most parents do, even the ones who make their kids use the potty and retire at a reasonable hour. It's time I started listening to them, even when I don't like or even understand what they have to tell me.

It's also in Cana where Mary intercedes for the wedding party when they run out of wine. Today she remains our Gracious Advocate before God as the prayer "Hail, Holy Queen" reminds us:

Hail, holy Queen, Mother of Mercy!
Our life, our sweetness, and our hope!
To thee do we cry, poor banished
children of Eve, to thee do we send
up our sighs, mourning and weeping
in this valley, of tears.

Turn, then, most gracious advocate,
thine eyes of mercy toward us; and
after this our exile show unto us the
blessed fruit of thy womb Jesus;
O clement, O loving, O sweet virgin Mary.

Pray for us, O holy Mother of God
That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Amen.