The Gospel reading today is known as the second Cana miracle, the healing of the royal official's son performed by Jesus in Cana. There is an interesting comparison between the first and second Cana miracle. In the first Cana miracle, the account of opens with a problem (lack of wine) and a request (to make wine). Jesus then responds that his hour has not yet come. In the second Cana miracle, the account opens with the problem of the officer's son near death, and he requested Jesus to come down. Jesus also responds negatively, "Unless you see signs and wonders, you will not believe." The first Cana miracle was performed through physical presence and material transformation. The second Cana miracle, however, was performed from a distance, demonstrating Jesus's authority over space and His power to heal through His word alone. In the first Cana miracle, the belief of a mother (Mary) leads to the faith of the disciple. In the second Cana miracle, the faith of a father leads to the faith of his household. The journey from Cana to Cana is complete, concluding as it began with a response from authentic faith from a Jewish woman and a mother (Mary), and faith from a Gentile man and a father in the end.
The theology of Thomas Aquinas is based on the framework that all things proceed from God (exitus) and are destined to return to Him as their ultimate end (reditus). The second miracle at Cana serves as a concrete manifestation of this exitus-reditus (departure and return) framework. The second Cana miracle demonstrates the Incarnate Word’s universal authority—His power "goes out" from His person to heal across space, mirroring the way all creation proceeds from the Word. So, Jesus's miracles are the "going out" (exitus) of divine power to confirm His divinity. The reditus aspect is found in the movement of the royal official's soul back toward God through faith. So physical healing is basically the healing of the soul. The official's "return" is completed when he and his entire household believe, fulfilling their supernatural end: participation in divine life.