Friday, August 31, 2018

The Holy Spirit as a Manifestation of the Love of Mary, the Mother of Jesus Christ.

The following is a discussion of several aspects of the Marian motherhood of Christ, Christians and the consequent Marian aspect of the Holy Spirit as the Love of God which causes Christians to imitate Mary's life with Christ.

Mary as Mother of God and Christians.

Mary is the mother of Jesus Christ, who is God incarnate. As a mother is a mother of a person and Jesus was a divine person, therefore Mary is the mother of a divine person. As a divine person is God, and Mary as the mother of a divine person, then Mary is the mother of God. As Mary is the mother of God, which occurs within the divine work of salvation, Mary is intimately involved with the ad extra Trinitarian work of salvation. Mary's role towards Christ as His mother extends to her role as the mother of all Christians. For Mary became the mother of God, so men may become like God as having Christ as their brother (Rom 8:29). If Jesus is the brother of Christians, then Christians have a familial relationship with Christ which infers the mother of Christ is the mother of Christians.

Mary's Maternal Cause through the Sacraments.

Men enter into Christianity by being born again through baptism (Titus 3:5). Baptism is the sacrament of life in which the Holy Spirit is infused into the soul. Baptism is then the sacrament that imitates Mary as the maternal cause of Christ's birth. Baptism is then a Marian sacrament and correspondingly, the infusion of the Holy Spirit and the accompanying gifts of the Holy Spirit in baptism are also Marian. For a Christian who is born again through baptism is born as through Mary as the mother of all Christians.

As Mary is the mother of Christians and Christians are born again through the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit is maternally caused by Mary as from a mother who causes the new life of Christians. The Holy Spirit and the gifts of the Holy Spirit all have Mary as the maternal cause, along with Christ as the meritorious cause and the sacraments as the instrumental causes. As the Holy Spirit has a Marian cause, the Holy Spirit will act consistently with Mary's life to bring about the life, assumption and glorification analogous to that of Mary in the life of Christians. The work of the Holy Spirit is then a divine work that tends towards the glory of God, through the glory offered to Christ, from Mary. 

Marian Aspect of Pentecost as the Birth of the Church.

For Christ came from Mary, and the Holy Spirit came from Christ in imitation of Mary's virginal birth of Christ through the power of God. Consequently, the Pentecost event (Acts 2) is the entrance of the Holy Spirit into the Church is a Marian, birth event which brings about life to the church, just as Mary gave life to Christ. The birth of the Church through the Holy Spirit as an imitation of Mary infers the sacraments of baptism and the Eucharist, along with St Peter's preaching and the prayers of the Christians are also Marian actions (Acts 2). All actions of the Holy Spirit in the Church are in some manner an imitation and fruit of Mary's life, who herself had a life inspired by the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:26-38).

The Holy Spirit's work of Love as through Mary.

As one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit is love (Gal 5:22-23), and the Holy Spirit is caused by Mary, the love of the Holy Spirit is a manifestation of the love of Mary. It is fitting that the Marian aspect of the Holy Spirit be granted to Christians, for the Holy Spirit's action in the life of Mary is a manifestation of the love of God towards all men through Mary's consent to grant life to Christ and raise Christ as a child and thereby provide the sacrifice to save men from their sins.

Conclusion - Because Mary is the mother of God and Christians are brothers of Christ, Mary is the mother of Christians. And consequently, the Holy Spirit's action within the Church will imitate the life of Mary, including the love Mary had for her Son and for humanity. The Holy Spirit and the gifts of the Holy Spirit tend to make Christians imitate Mary whereby Mary acts as a maternal cause to give birth and raise up Christian children unto spiritual adulthood. The Holy Spirit given at Pentecost is a manifestation of the love of Mary for Christ and humanity.


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