An Autumn Rain
A Novena With the Blessed Virgin Mary
Day 7 – Cana
Coming into God’s Presence
Before praying, we become aware of God’s presence and action in our life.
We do not believe that God created the world and then left us to fend for ourselves. He is still present in our lives. The other extreme is to think trust means all will be well and there will be no suffering. Instead, trust is knowing that “all things work for the good of those who love Him.” We believe that God does care. We know He acts in our lives. We are in His hands. Real trust is not expecting everything will be easy, but knowing He permits suffering for our good. Yes, life is a valley of tears, but we trust He will send the autumn rain to make the flowers grow.
We pause in silence to reflect on God’s plan for salvation.
Invocations
+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen
Mary, you trusted in Jesus before you saw His first miracle
// Teach us to trust God in all things
Mary, you told the servants to obey your son
// Teach us to trust God in all things
Mary, you care about our needs before we even ask
// Teach us to trust God in all things
Jesus, Your time had not yet come to perform Your first miracle
// Teach us to trust God in all things
Jesus, You listened to Your mother’s request
// Teach us to trust God in all things
Jesus, You changed the water into wine
// Teach us to trust God in all things
Optional Study: Trust
Spiritual Lessons from the Life of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Sacred Scripture – The Wedding at Cana
A Reading from the Holy Gospel According to John (2:1-10)
When the wine ran short, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.“ [And] 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.“ […] Jesus told them, “Fill the jars with water.“ So they filled them to the brim. Then he told them, “Draw some out now and take it to the headwaiter.“ So they took it. And when the headwaiter tasted the water that had become wine, without knowing where it came from (although the servers who had drawn the water knew), the headwaiter called the bridegroom and said to him, “Everyone serves good wine first, and then when people have drunk freely, an inferior one; but you have kept the good wine until now.“
The Gospel of the Lord // Praise to You Lord Jesus Christ
Reading Options
St. Bonaventure, Mirror of the Blessed Virgin Mary, ch. 5
See how Mary was most meek by gentleness, most patient in all adversity. For she is that same Mary to whom it is said, according to St. Luke: “And he (Simeon) said to Mary His Mother: Behold this Child is set for the fall and for the resurrection of many in Israel and for a sign which shall be contradicted, and thine own soul a sword shall pierce.“ This sword signifies the bitter Passion and death of her Son. The material sword cannot kill or wound the soul, so the sharp Passion of Christ, although by compassion it pierced the soul of Mary, never dealt it a mortal wound. For Mary never killed the executioners of her Son by hatred nor wounded them by impatience. Now, if other martyrs were most patient in their bodily martyrdom, how much more so was our martyr, Mary, in her spiritual martyrdom?
Pope St. John Paul II, Encyclical, Redemptoris Mater, 21
At Cana in Galilee there is shown only one concrete aspect of human need, apparently a small one of little importance (“They have no wine”). But it has a symbolic value: this coming to the aid of human needs means, at the same time, bringing those needs within the radius of Christ’s messianic mission and salvific power. […] As a mother she also wishes the messianic power of her Son to be manifested, that salvific power of his which is meant to help man in his misfortunes, to free him from the evil which in various forms and degrees weighs heavily upon his life.
Interior Dialogue: Conversation Starters
We take time for a peaceful moment to converse with God.
Lord Jesus, at the wedding at Cana Your mother said, “Do whatever he tells you.“ Am I willing to trust You even when I don’t understand? What are You asking me to do in my life today?
Pause for personal prayer
Lord Jesus, although I am sometimes in darkness, I can always look back on the wonderful things that You have done in my life in the past. Am I often grateful for the good things You do for me? In these moments, do I ask for a greater trust so that I will remain faithful in the difficult times?
Pause for personal prayer
Lord Jesus, do I feel the responsibility of passing on the Faith? Am I confident that You are in control? Do I spend time discerning Your will for my life each day?
Pause for personal prayer
Intercessions
Contemplating the undaunting trust of Mary in God’s plan for salvation, we recognize our need for a greater confidence in God, as we pray
// Lord, fill us with confidence in You
For our youth, that they would actively seek out God’s will in their lives, as the greatest path to happiness. Let us pray
// Lord, fill us with confidence in You
For those who are discerning a life of consecration to God, that they would find the guidance and support they need from their communities. Let us pray
// Lord, fill us with confidence in You
For spiritual directors and mentors, that, filled with confidence in the power of prayer and example, they would lead God’s people to embrace His will with trust. Let us pray
// Lord, fill us with confidence in You
Let us pause to ask God to show us where we can grow.
Silently add your own personal petitions.
Let us pray
// Lord, fill us with confidence in You
A Traditional Prayer: Ave Regina Caelorum
14th Century, Added to the Divine Office by Pope Clement VI, Rome
Hail, O Queen of Heaven enthroned!
// Hail, by angels Mistress owned
Root of Jesse, Gate of morn,
// Whence the world’s true Light was born.
Glorious Virgin, joy to thee,
// Loveliest whom in Heaven they see:
Fairest thou where all are fair,
// Plead with Christ our sins to spare.
Closing Prayer
Let us pray
Come Holy Spirit, fill us with confidence in the Father’s plan for our lives. Help us to trust like Mary did, to the point that we are faithful in the good times and the bad.
Help us to recognize Your desire to live in us and to direct our lives, so that we can be Your hands and feet for this world that so needs Your hope.
We ask this through Christ, our Lord. // Amen
+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen
Pray with Us
This novena is an attempt to summarize what the Church teaches about Mary’s role in our lives and what she means for the Church. It is an opportunity to enter into the real, concrete moments of her life, to experience the depth of her sorrow, sacrifice, and love, and to learn from her how to follow Jesus.
Click below if you want to learn more about the different elements of the Novena, or sign up now!
Free Email Version
Sign up today to recieve a daily reminder email to pray this novena over the next nine days.
Optional Study
Theme – Trust
When we follow the Lord into the chaos of the battlefield or deep into the darkest parts of life, we discover how much we really need Him. It is easy to talk about trusting in times of suffering, but living it can feel completely different. It can seem hopeless and impossible. In the midst of these struggles it can even seem like God is silent and has left us to fend for ourselves. But, it’s in this moment, when we feel abandoned and on the brink of despair, where our trust is truly proven. It’s in these times that we learn how desperately we need to trust. If we try to do it on our own, we end up falling away, unable to bear the burden. We need the Lord. Mary shows us what true trust in God looks like and reveals that sacrifice needs trust if it is to ever become pure, persevering love.
Doctrine – Daughter of Zion
Israel, often referred to in the Old Testament as the Daughter of Zion, frequently failed to persevere in trust. Over and over again, the riches of the world and the blinding sorrow of catastrophe lead Israel to abandon the Lord for self-sufficiency or despair. Still, God is the loving Father that allows us to hope despite our suffering or failure. At Cana we see a glimpse of Mary’s great hope. When she says, “Do whatever he tells you” she is saying, “whatever He wants is best. Do His will, not mine.” Though this may seem like a small moment, it reveals something monumental. Mary does not trust in herself or what she thinks is best. She puts the anxiety of the situation and her own opinion to the side to instead trust in the Lord—allowing Him to decide. Mary’s radical trust even in times of crisis, fulfills Israel’s longing for a Messiah and mends their faithlessness. While Israel may have turned from the Lord, Mary never did, making her the true Daughter of Zion.
Personal Takeaway
Like the Israelites our trust is often weak and fragile. We may begin strong, insistent that we will climb up on the cross, grit our teeth, and bear it all. But how often do we give up as quickly as we started? This is especially true when following God feels hard or feels like nothing at all. But it is when God is silent and beyond our understanding that we exercise real trust. The Lord never gives us challenges beyond our strength, and in the face of great suffering, the Holy Spirit emboldens us with greater hope. In these times trust is poured over us like the autumn rain to help us keep our eyes on eternity so that we can persevere through the darkness. If we look to the Lord and not to ourselves, if we strive to trust when all seems lost and insist on trusting all the way to the end, as Mary did, then we will be made worthy of the promises of Christ.