Perfect Human Expression of the Spirit
One
Annunciation and Pentecost
The Annunciation and Pentecost are two key moments where the Holy Spirit acts as a mother, conceiving Jesus and giving birth to the Church. But they are also, of course, two key moments in which Mary acts as a mother. In fact, as the Church has increasingly taught over the last one hundred years or so, these two events show us the Holy Spirit acts as a Mother through Mary to conceive and form Jesus first in her womb and secondly to conceive and form Jesus in us.
The Catechism synthesizes this teaching when it states, “Before the Incarnation of the Son of God, and before the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, (Mary’s) prayer cooperates in a unique way with the Father’s plan of loving kindness: at the Annunciation, for Christ’s conception; at Pentecost, for the formation of the Church, his Body.”
Likewise, in his letter on Mary, Redemptoris Mater, Mother of the Redeemer (1987), Pope St. John Paul II writes, “There is a unique correspondence between the moment of the Incarnation of the Word and the moment of the birth of the Church. The person who links these two moments is Mary: Mary at Nazareth and Mary in the Upper Room at Jerusalem. In both cases her (Mary’s) discreet yet essential presence indicates the path of "birth from the Holy Spirit."
Who gives birth to Christians? The Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit acts as a mother. Through whom? Through Mary. In other words, the Annunciation and Pentecost reveal that the Holy Spirit acts as a mother through Mary to form Christ in her womb and in the souls of Christians.
Two
Two Mothers
At the Annunciation in Nazareth, the Holy Spirit overshadowed Mary to conceive Christ in her womb. Mary cooperated by her belief and obedience with the Spirit for the conception of Christ. Mary then gave birth to Jesus in Bethlehem.
At Calvary, Jesus breathed the Holy Spirit upon Mary, enabling her to spiritually conceive the Church, the body of Christ. Mary cooperated again by her belief and obedience with the Spirit for the conception of the Church. At that same time, Jesus proclaimed Mary as our Mother. Finally, at Pentecost, the Holy Spirit and Mary gave birth to the Church.
The Holy Spirit and Mary cooperated in two miraculous acts: they conceived the Son in her womb at the Annunciation and gave birth to Christ at the Nativity. Likewise, the Holy Spirit and Mary conceived the Church at Calvary and gave birth to it at Pentecost.
We have two mothers, the Holy Spirit and Mary, one divine and one human, working together to conceive and give birth to Christ and the Church.
Three
Mary as the Perfect Human Expression of the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit, as we have seen, is the divine feminine principle, and fulfills the role of divine mother in creation, the Incarnation and at Pentecost. Who could serve as a better reflection of the Holy Spirit than Mary, the perfect human instance of femininity and motherhood?
So profound is Mary’s expression of the Holy Spirit, that St. John Paul II says that she is able to serve as the Holy Spirit’s maternal face, “From the Cross the Savior wished to pour out upon humanity rivers of living water, that is, the abundance of the Holy Spirit. But he wanted this outpouring of grace to be linked to a mother’s face, his Mother’s.”
Later in the same talk, John Paul stated, “Calvary reveals the close and enduring link between the gift of the Holy Spirit and the gift of Mary as mother…The link between the gift of the Holy Spirit and the motherhood of Mary emerges again at Pentecost, when she awaited with the disciples for the coming of the Holy Spirit…therefore, as the bond with Mary grows deeper, so the action of the Spirit in the life of the Church grows more fruitful.”
John Paul II just said, the more we develop a personal relationship with Mary, the more powerfully will the Holy Spirit act in our lives.
Four
Marialis Cultus
Before John Paul II, Pope St. Paul VI wrote about the Holy Spirit and Mary in a letter called Marialis Cultus. There he reminds us that the early Church, “had recourse to the Virgin’s intercession in order to obtain from the Spirit the capacity for engendering Christ in their own soul.” The early Church turned to Mary to receive Jesus from the Spirit. Paul VI then invokes a powerful prayer by St. Ildephonsus of Toledo, Spain written in the 600s, “I beg you Holy Virgin that I may have Jesus from the Holy Spirit, by whom you brought Jesus forth. May my soul receive Jesus, through the Holy Spirit, by whom your flesh conceived Jesus.”
As St. Ildelphonsus’ prayer shows, the early Church turned to Mary, their mother, so that the Holy Spirit would conceive and give birth to Christ in their souls. They turned to Mary because the Holy Spirit acts as a mother through her.
Five
Maximilian Kolbe
More recent saints testify to the intimacy between Mary and the Holy Spirit. St. Maximillian Kolbe concluded that Mary’s is a perfect reflection of the Holy Spirit. In a conference given February 5th, 1941, St. Maximilian Kolbe writes, “The Third Person of the Blessed Trinity never took flesh; still our human word ‘spouse’ is far too weak to express the reality of the relationship between the Immaculata and the Holy Spirit. We can affirm that she is, in a certain sense, the ‘incarnation’ of the Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit that we love in her; and through her we love the Son. The Holy Spirit is far too little known.”
One of the greatest living scholars on Kolbe’s theology of the Holy Spirit and Mary is Fr. Gregorz Bartosik. Once, in a personal conversation, he made this summary of the way Kolbe understood the relationship between Mary and the Holy Spirit, “According to Kolbe, Mary and the Holy Spirit are two separate persons, but their union is so close, that though Kolbe called Mary the ‘Spouse of the Spirit’ he felt it was not adequate. In fact, Kolbe preferred to call Mary the “Quasi-Incarnation” of the Holy Spirit. Kolbe said the Son became manifest in Jesus and the Holy Spirit became manifest in Mary.”
I also had a personal conversation with another great Mariologist, Fr. Rene Laurentin, who after more than fifty years of theological reflection, summed up his thoughts on the relationship of the Holy Spirit and Mary by saying, “What the Holy Spirit does as God, Mary does with Him: she participates with Him as His visible sign. Mary is the sensible visible presence of the Holy Spirit.” And he said, “Mary is, precisely, the most perfect visible image or expression of the Holy Spirit in this world, illuminated as she is by the Spirit from within.”
In the joint mission of the Son and the Spirit, the mission of the Son is manifest in Jesus and the mission of the Spirit is manifest in Mary. Since Mary is not the incarnation of the Spirit, we can conclude Mary is the perfect human expression of the Spirit.
Suggested Resolutions:
Choose one resolution for today to help you grow closer to God, or create your own. Here are some ideas to inspire you.
Just like Mary, make an effort to do everything in collaboration with the Holy Spirit, asking for the guidance of both the Holy Spirit and Mary in every action.