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Mary & Pentecost
Pat Collins C.M., a well known author and retreat leader, currently on sabbatical in the United States, reflects on Mary as the archetypal disciple and model for the Church
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St, Luke, the author of a Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles, emphasized the role of the Spirit both in the birth of Jesus and the Church. Catholics believe that, not only was Mary conceived without original sin, she remained sinless throughout her life. When the angel Gabriel announced that she was to be the mother of Jesus he said: “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you” Lk 1:34-35. There was a clear intimation of Pentecost in that incident and the visitation. When Mary went to help her pregnant cousin, we are told that as soon as Elizabeth heard her greeting she “was filled with the Holy Spirit” Lk 1:41, and spoke in an anointed way about the Mother of God. Then Mary, the spouse of the Spirit, responded in a prophetic manner when she proclaimed her Magnificat. What was Mary doing in the Upper Room? Once the infancy narrative was complete, Luke did not mention Mary again in his gospel. The next time he referred to her was in chapter one of Acts. We are told that, before his ascension, Jesus urged the apostles to go back to Jerusalem to await their baptism in the Holy Spirit. Luke informs us that the apostles together with Mary, and the disciples, “all joined together constantly in prayer” Acts 1:14. This raises the question, what was Mary’s role during those days of waiting? We know that the Apostles had a profound sense of failure as a result of deserting Jesus during his passion. He had predicted that this would happen. On one occasion he had said: “Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail” Lk 22:14. In the upper room the disciples were still filled with the same fear that had led to their unfaithfulness. No doubt, Mary moved among them encouraging each one not to loose heart. She would have reminded them of her Son’s promise, “blessed are those who mourn (on account of their failures) for they will be comforted” Mt 5:4. She would have assured them that the promised Holy Spirit, the comforter, would be God’s answer to the cry of their broken, grieving, longing hearts. Besides encouraging the apostles and doing thoughtful acts of service such as helping to prepare meals, Mary united herself to her Son’s prayer by interceding for the disciples. As the Constitution on the Church says in par 59, “we also see Mary by her prayers imploring the gift of the Spirit, who had already overshadowed her in the Annunciation.” Understood in this sense, Mary was the midwife of the Spirit. She, who had given birth to Jesus, prayed constantly for the outpouring of the One who would give birth to the Church whose image, model and mother she was destined to be. If Mary was full of grace, why did she need to be filled with the Holy Spirit? Those prayers were answered in a dramatic way on Pentecost Sunday. Like the many disciples, Mary was inundated with the power and gifts of the Spirit. Just as the believers praised God and spoke in tongues, so did she. In view of the fact that she was full of grace, why did Mary need to be filled with the Spirit? The same question could be asked about her divine Son’s baptism. What new grace could He have received on that occasion? Pope Paul VI said that when Jesus was baptized, God’s love, which was present from the first moment of His Incarnation, “was manifested to him in a new way.” Something similar probably happened to Mary. Not only was the length and breadth, the height and depth of God’s incomprehensible love manifested to her in a more profound manner than ever before, the Spirit also led her into a deeper understanding of her Son’s words, deeds and mission. Although the scriptures do not tell us what she did after Pentecost, surely, Pope John Paul II was correct when he said in one of his Wednesday teachings: “In the nascent Church she passed on to the disciples her memories of the Incarnation, the infancy, the hidden life and the mission of her divine Son as a priceless treasure, thus helping to make him known and to strengthen the faith of believers.” In other words, like the apostles, she evangelized in the power of the Spirit In Mary the Church sees its own potential for holiness What the Church says about the action of the Holy Spirit in the Church is what it has already said about Mary. In her, the Church sees its own potential for holiness. However, that has not yet been fully realized. Speaking about the Church’s greatest requirement, Pope Paul VI said on Nov 29th 1972: “The Church needs her perennial Pentecost, she needs fire in her heart, words on her lips, prophecy in her outlook. She needs to be the temple of the Holy Spirit…..She needs to feel rising from the depths of her inmost personality, almost a weeping, a poem, a prayer, a hymn – the praying voice of the Spirit.” Be assured that, as Mother of the Church, Mary is vividly aware of this urgent need. When we say the third glorious mystery of the Rosary we can remember that. From her place in heaven, our Lady continues to pray that the wounded Body of her Son might be renewed by a fresh outpouring of ‘the Lord and giver of life,” and thereby empowered to engage, ever more effectively, in the New Evangelization.
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It
is a pity that when many of us joined the Charismatic Renewal our devotion
to Our Lady was often weakened by a new found devotion to Jesus and
the Holy Spirit. Over the years however, equally many of us have found
that our love of Mary has re-asserted itself and matured. Now it expresses
itself in new ways as we have come to better understand her role in
our lives. This has helped to counter balance some of the exaggerated
devotions and teaching about her that has been an obstacle to Christian
unity. As Paul VI said in par. 32 of Marialis Cultus, “every care
should be taken to avoid any exaggeration which could mislead other
Christian brethren about the true doctrine of the Catholic Church.”
Catholic Charismatics have helped to highlight Mary’s role as the
archetypal disciple and model for the Church because she was so docile
to the power and guidance of the Holy Spirit. In this article I will
focus on how she demonstrated that docility and openness throughout
her life but particularly at the time of Pentecost.