Gifts for the Wedding

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today share a theme of gifts and wedding. The Book of the Prophet Isaiah declares that the exiles returning from Babylon will find Zion a new land espoused to the Lord. Paul declares the many gifts of the Spirit present in the community of Corinth are for the benefit of that community. In the Gospel of John, Jesus performs His first public miracle in the context of a wedding ceremony that previews His wedding to the Church. St. Peter Chrysologus, born about the year 380 at Imola in the region of Emilia, Italy and serving as a deacon and the bishop of Ravenna, Italy in 424, ties together ties together Epiphany, Baptism of the Lord and Cana as was the practice in the early Church.