Translation of the Holy Gospel According to John (2:1-11)
At that time there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee: and the mother of Jesus was there. And Jesus also was invited, and His disciples, to the marriage. And the wine failing, the mother of Jesus saith to Him: They have no wine. And Jesus saith to her: Woman, what is that to Me and to thee? My hour is not yet come. His mother saith to the waiters: Whatsoever He shall say to you, do ye. Now there were set there six water pots of stone, according to the manner of the purifying of the Jews, containing two or three measures apiece. Jesus saith to them: Fill the water-pots with water. And they filled them up to the brim. And Jesus saith to them: Draw out now, and carry to the chief steward of the feast. And they carried it. And when the chief steward had tasted the water made wine, and knew not whence it was, but the waiters knew who had drawn the water: the chief steward calls the bridegroom, and saith to him: Every man at first sets forth good wine: and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse: but thou hast kept the good wine until now. This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee; and manifested His glory, and His disciples believed in Him.
A Message From St. Thomas Aquinas’ Summa Theologica III, Q. 44, A. 3.
Whether Christ worked miracles fittingly on men?
Objection 2. Further, as stated above (III Q., 43, A. 2), Christ worked miracles by Divine power: to which it is proper to work suddenly, perfectly, and without any assistance. Now Christ did not always heal men suddenly as to their bodies: for it is written that, taking the blind man by the hand, He led him out of the town; and, spitting upon his eyes, laying His hands on him, He asked him if he saw anything. And, looking up, he said: I see men as it were trees walking. After that again He laid His hands upon his eyes, and he began to see, and was restored, so that he saw all things clearly (Mark 8:22-25) It is clear from this that He did not heal him suddenly, but at first imperfectly, and by means of His spittle. Therefore it seems that He worked miracles on men unfittingly.
On the contrary: It is written : He hath done all things well: He hath made both the deaf to hear and the dumb to speak (Mark 7:37).
I answer that: The means should be proportionate to the end. Now Christ came into the world and taught in order to save man, according to John 3:17: For God sent not His Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world may be saved by Him. Therefore it was fitting that Christ, by miraculously healing men in particular, should prove Himself to be the universal and spiritual Saviour of all.
Reply to Objection 2: Christ came to save the world, not only by Divine power, but also through the mystery of His Incarnation. Consequently in healing the sick He frequently not only made use of His Divine power, healing by way of command, but also by applying something pertaining to His human nature. Hence on Luke 4:40, He, laying His hands on every one of them, healed them, Cyril says: Although, as God, He might, by one word, have driven out all diseases, yet He touched them, showing that His own flesh was endowed with a healing virtue. And on Mark 8:23, Spitting upon his eyes, laying His hands on him, etc., Chrysostom [Victor of Antioch] says: He spat and laid His hands upon the blind man, wishing to show that His Divine word, accompanied by His operation, works wonders: for the hand signifies operation; the spittle signifies the word which proceeds from the mouth. Again, on John 9:6, He made clay of the spittle, and spread the clay upon the eyes of the blind man. Augustine says, Of His spittle He made clay—because ‘the Word was made flesh.’ Or, again, as Chrysostom says, to signify that it was He who made man of the slime of the earth.
It is furthermore to be observed concerning Christ’s miracles that generally what He did was most perfect. Hence on John 2:10, Every man at first setteth forth good wine, Chrysostom says: Christ’s miracles are such as to far surpass the works of nature in splendor and usefulness. Likewise in an instant He conferred perfect health on the sick. Hence on Matthew 8:15, She arose and ministered to them, Jerome says: Health restored by our Lord returns wholly and instantly.
There was, however, special reason for the contrary happening in the case of the man born blind, and this was his want of faith, as Chrysostom [Victor of Antioch] says. Or as Bede observes on Mark 8:23: Whom He might have healed wholly and instantly by a single word, He heals little by little, to show the extent of human blindness, which hardly, and that only by degrees, can come back to the light: and to point out that each step forward in the way of perfection is due to the help of His grace.