A month from today we will be enjoying a wine tasting at Castello Banfi (castello means castle), which was founded in 1978 thanks to the will of the Italian-American brothers, John and Harry Mariani. From the beginning, the goal of the two brothers was to create a state-of-the-art winery combined with the most advanced science in the vineyards for the production of premium wines. On June 21st, we'll get to see if they succeeded in their mission!
Though the focus of WINE: Women In the New Evangelization is not the wine we drink, but rather represents Jesus' first miracle as written in the second chapter of the Gospel of St. John, on June 21, we will be enjoying a wine-tasting lunch and guided tour of the wine cellars at Castello Banfi in Montelcino. Wine played a very important role in the life of a Jewish person during the time of Jesus, and at the wedding of Cana we see the beauty and importance of wine in our Catholic faith as Our Blessed Mother tells her Son,"They have no wine," and thus starts Him on the path of His public ministry. Mary's final words in Sacred Scripture, "Do whatever He tells you," are the very roots of WINE: Women In the New Evangelization—it is all about doing the will of God! (But as women, it is much easier to do God's will with our sisters by our side, helping us out!)
Now imagine if we were all helping one another to do God's will. Imagine if we were all being elevated in our gifts of the Spirit to do this! Surely we would set the world on fire! Ahhhh, a perfect segway into our saint today, St. Catherine of Siena, who once said, "Be who God meant you to be, and you will set the world on fire!"
Today, pray to St. Catherine of Siena, patroness of Italy, and ask her to help us open our hearts to the fire of love from above that wants to consume us.
Looking forward to journeying with you!Kelly & Teresa