THE FRUIT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT IS MARY, MOTHER OF THE CHURCH

 2023 MAY 29 MON: ORDINARY WEEKDAY (EIGHTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME), MARY, MOTHER OF THE CHURCH

Sir 17: 20-24/ Ps 32: 1-2. 5. 6. 7/ Mk 10: 17-27 

It was St. Maximillian Kolbe who gave a beautiful theological reflection on the relation of the Most Holy Trinity with Mary: “Who are you, O Immaculate Conception?  Who is the Father? What is his essence? Because He begets the Son from eternity…the Father’s essential attribute is begetting.   Who is the Son? He is the begotten One; the Son is eternally begotten of the Father.  And who is the Spirit? He is the fruit of the love between the Father and the Son. Now, the fruit of created love is a created conception. Therefore, the fruit of divine love, the prototype of all love, is the first conception. The Holy Spirit is, therefore, the Divine Uncreated Immaculate Conception” (Maximillian Kolbe). 

As we begin our reflections after Pentecost, we venerate Mary, the fruit of the Holy Spirit:

First, Mary and the Holy Spirit: “From the first moment of her existence, Mary was perfectly filled and transformed by the Holy Spirit. Kolbe says: It is the union of her being with the being of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit dwells in her from the first instance of her existence, and he will reside within her eternally” (cf. Holy Family School of Faith, https://schooloffaith.com/rosary-archive/sacrament-holy-spirit#:~:text=From%20the%20first%20moment%20of,will%20reside%20within%20her%20eternally.>).

Second, Mary as the sacrament of the Holy Spirit: “If the Holy Spirit is the Uncreated Immaculate Conception and Mary is the created Immaculate Conception, then Mary is the visible sign that makes the maternal mission of the Spirit present and effective to form Christ in Christians.  Mary is the Perfect Human Expression of the Spirit.  Mary is the Sacrament of the Holy Spirit.”

Third, Mary is the sacrament of the Church: “The Catechism 1131 defines the sacrament as having Three essential parts: Sacraments are efficacious signs instituted by Christ and entrusted to the Church by which divine life is dispensed to us.”  Mary is an efficacious sign of the Holy Spirit.  Mary is the perfect human expression of the maternal and educational mission of the Spirit to conceive and form Jesus in us.  Mary is also a sign that makes the maternal mission of the Spirit effective; the presence of Mary makes the mission of the Spirit happen to form Jesus in us.”

The whole Church is secured in Mary’s maternal care; she is the Mother of the Church.