The Holy Spirit
One
Why Mary?
If we have Jesus and the Holy Spirit, why do we need Mary? Why does Mary have such an important role in Catholicism? There is a simple answer: At the Cross Jesus made Mary the Spiritual Mother of all people when He said, “Behold your mother.” From that moment, her mission is to form Jesus in the souls of all believers.
Now how could Mary, who is herself a mere human being, form every Christian to be like Jesus? How could she be the spiritual mother of all the disciples of Christ? Isn’t that too big a task for any human person? Well, it would be, if she were acting on her own but it’s not too big a task if she’s acting with the Holy Spirit.
In fact, St. Louis de Montfort, Bl. William Joseph Chaminade, St. Maximilian Kolbe, Pope St. Paul VI, Pope St. John Paul II, and many great theologians taught that Mary fulfills this universal role because of her profound relationship with the Holy Spirit. It’s the Holy Spirit, working through Mary, who ultimately forms Jesus in the souls of believers.
Beginning with this Rosary meditation, and over the next few days, I hope to help you understand the profound relationship between the Holy Spirit and Mary so that you see clearly that the Holy Spirit does everything through Mary.
Two
The Holy Spirit in the Life of the Trinity
If we want to understand the role of Mary, we need to grasp the mission of the Holy Spirit. And since we cannot understand the Holy Spirit apart from the Father and the Son, we should open our explanation with the Catholic doctrine of the Most Holy Trinity. We begin with the first person of the Trinity: the Father.
God the Father is the eternal source of the Trinity. He is the ultimate giver. He has only one gift to give, the gift of His divine being. In His eternal act of giving this gift to the second person, the Son, we say that the Father eternally begets or generates the Son.
So, the Son is eternally begotten of the Father. We need to keep that word “eternally” in there to clarify that although the Son originates from the Father, the Son like the Father has always existed. There was never a time when the Son did not exist, nor is the Son inferior to the Father since both possess all the perfections of God which the Son receives and which the Father gives. So, the Son shares the same divine essence as the Father.
But the Son isn’t just a receiver, He’s a receiver and a giver. The Son receives divinity from the Father and, together with the Father, gives divinity to the Holy Spirit. So, both the Father and the Son, together, give the gift of divinity to the Holy Spirit.
Now we come to the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son, receiving divinity from both. In a sense, then, we can say that the Holy Spirit’s identity consists in the pure capacity to receive the infinite fulness of divine being. The Holy Spirit is a pure capacity to receive the divine life. In the Trinity, the Father and Son are givers and the Holy Spirit receives.
Three
Masculinity and Femininity in the Trinity
In the Trinity, the Father and the Son are seen as the ones who give, while the Holy Spirit is seen as the one who receives. This clear difference lets us connect giving with masculine qualities and receiving with feminine qualities.
Let me state very clearly, I am not proposing the Holy Spirit is a woman any more than I am suggesting that God the Father is a man. God is neither man nor a woman. God is pure spirit. Yet we also recognize that God possesses all the perfections of masculinity and femininity. Because God is the source of all created perfections, the distinctive created perfections of male and female must pre-exist in God as their origin.
Furthermore, all three divine Persons truly share all perfections equally. Nonetheless, it’s part of traditional Trinitarian theology to assign particular perfections with specific divine Persons, based on where that Person fits in relation to the other Persons of the Trinity. So, for instance, Plato, Aristotle, St. Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, and contemporary thinkers like St. Edith Stein and St. John Paul II have associated masculinity with giving and femininity with receiving.
Since the Father and Son are givers in the Trinity, it makes sense to associate them with masculinity. This is further confirmed by the fact that the Son, when he became incarnate, became a man. Moreover, when speaking about the first Person of the Trinity, Christ named Him with the word for a male parent, i.e., “Father.”
The Holy Spirit, on the other hand, is receptive, proceeding from the Father and the Son, receiving the divine life and love from both. Therefore, just as it makes sense to think of the Father and Son in terms of masculinity, it makes sense to think of the Holy Spirit in terms of femininity.
Four
Why is receptivity a feminine trait?
Why is receptivity a feminine trait? Consider that receptivity just means the capacity to hold or contain things, like a warehouse, a library or a computer. Consequently, a higher or greater perfection of receptivity would be the capacity to receive and hold biological life. In this sense, a human mother would exhibit the greatest perfection of physical receptivity, the capacity to receive and hold human life. And, moving up the scale of being from the created to the divine, we would then be justified in saying that the Holy Spirit is the greatest expression of the feminine perfection of receptivity since the Holy Spirit receives and contains divine life from the Father and the Son.
Five
Companionship and Motherliness
This expression of femininity on the part of the Holy Spirit also appears to be confirmed in Scripture, particularly through the attributes of companionship and motherliness, two characteristics of femininity highlighted by St. Edith Stein, a well-known philosopher and martyr.
She taught that companionship and motherliness are key parts of the feminine vocation. In terms of companionship, Jesus explicitly revealed the Holy Spirit as the Paraclete, literally, “he who is called to one’s side,” otherwise known as the Advocate, one who is called to aid or support. If companionship is tied to femininity, then Christ’s title for the Holy Spirit is strongly expressive of this perfection.
Regarding motherliness, the Scriptural association of this characteristic is even stronger. Although the Holy Spirit is not seen as a maternal source within the Trinity, the Spirit does fulfill a maternal mission in the world, a role evident in three key events: Creation, the Incarnation, and Pentecost.
The Holy Spirit’s feminine qualities within the Trinity assume a maternal dimension in the Spirit’s creative and life-giving work, which conceives and brings forth creation, Christ, and the Church. In this sense, the Holy Spirit acts as the “womb of God,” underscoring the Spirit’s profound maternal presence in the divine economy.
In summary, Mary's role as the Spiritual Mother of all is deeply connected to the feminine and maternal mission of the Holy Spirit. While the Father and the Son are seen as the givers of divine life, the Holy Spirit, as the ultimate receiver, embodies the feminine perfection of receptivity—revealing itself through companionship and motherliness. This maternal role of the Spirit is most clearly evident in the events of Creation, the Incarnation, and Pentecost, where the Holy Spirit acts as the 'womb of God,' working through Mary to form Jesus in the hearts of believers.
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.
Much like Mary, we should strive to do everything in collaboration with the Holy Spirit. Throughout your day, ask for the aid of the Holy Spirit in all of your words and works.
Since the Holy Spirit and Mary are so closely tied together, commit to praying the Rosary every day of the week and reflecting on the presence of the Holy Spirit in your life.