From Graces to Grace: The Relationship between Mary and the Holy Spirit: Part I

Mary and the Holy Spirit: from graces to grace

Introduction

This article seeks to answer recent questions about the relationship between Mary and the Holy Spirit and about the theological meaning of graces in relation to the Virgin. We will go through this theme from Scripture, from Tradition, and from the Magisterium, with the rigor of Mariological science, without ideologies or preconceptions. Given the extent of the theme, the article will be divided into several parts, allowing for a serious and formative journey.

In Scholastic theological understanding, heir of Saint Augustine (d. 430), we saw the rise of great figures such as Saint Anselm (d. 1109) and Saint Thomas Aquinas (d. 1274), who dealt with the questions concerning grace. From this same theology we find great debates such as the Baianism of Michaël Baius (d. 1589), or the De Auxiliis (on help) which had as its protagonists Luis de Molina (d. 1600) and Leonardo Lessius (d. 1623). In the Protestant milieu, where we find the echo of sola gratia, we have the doctrine of Cornelius Otto Jansen (d. 1638), preacher of the ultra-rigid morality known as Jansenism. Returning to Jesuit spirituality in the modern period, we come to the Frenchman Denis Petau (d. 1652), to whom we owe the term created grace, with the emphasis that is characteristic of him. In the nineteenth century we encounter another enthusiast of the doctrine of the Holy Spirit inherited from Cyril of Alexandria (d. 444): J.M. Scheeben (d. 1888). We will have to enter the twentieth century, at the dawn of the third millennium, to find, with the great theological renewal brought by the study of biblical and patristic theology, a systematic treatment of the theology of grace that accepted terms once unthinkable, such as justification through faith, justification and sin existing simultaneously in the person, among others. With the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) it was rediscovered how every dimension of reality finds its foundation in the love of God without an a priori need for sacred channels, since it was necessary to rethink the difference between the natural and the supernatural.

With this brief historical introduction we understand how theology is evolving and how a centuries-old expression, even when pronounced by the Holy Father, can have different meanings, since it is placed within the great pilgrimage of the Church, which is assisted by the Holy Spirit. As Jesus said: “when He comes, the Spirit of Truth, He will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on His own, but will say all that He has heard and will announce to you what is to come” (Jn 16:13). 

Common perceptions of grace

In everyday Christian language we call grace any gift not requested or help granted by God freely and out of love. Perhaps what remains in our memory is that the greatest grace is that of having been saved by Christ through faith: “now, without depending on the Law, the justice of God has been manifested, attested by the Law and by the Prophets, the justice of God that is realized through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no difference: all have sinned and are deprived of the glory of God. And they can be justified only freely, by the grace of God, in virtue of the redemption in Christ Jesus. It is He whom God destined to be, by His own blood, an instrument of expiation through faith. Thus God demonstrated His justice, leaving without punishment the sins committed in times past, in the time of His forbearance. Thus also He demonstrates His justice, in the present time, in order to be just, and to make just everyone who stands firm in faith in Jesus” (Rom 3:21-26). And also “it was not because of the Law, but because of the justice that comes through faith, that God promised Abraham or his descendants that he would be heir in the world. Therefore, if the heirs are those who content themselves with the Law, faith is emptied and the promise is left without effect. For the Law produces wrath: where there is no law, there is no transgression either. Consequently, it is in virtue of faith that the inheritance is given as a free gift. Thus the promise remains firm for all the descendants: not only for those who stand firm on the Law, but for all those who, above all, stand firm on faith, like Abraham, who is the father of us all. […] handed over because of our sins and raised for our justification” (Rom 4:13-16, 25). And further “when we were still dead because of our sins, He gave us life with Christ. (It is by grace that you have been saved!). And He raised us up with Christ and with Him seated us in the heavens, in virtue of our union with Christ Jesus! Thus, by His goodness toward us in Christ Jesus, God willed to show, in the ages to come, the incomparable richness of His grace. It is by grace that you have been saved, through faith. And this does not come from you: it is the gift of God”! (Eph 2:5-8). We can then say that salvation is a grace that God desires to offer to all men: “He wills that all be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one mediator between God and humanity: the man Christ Jesus” (1 Tim 2:4-6). In reality, the fullness of the grace of Christ: “of His fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ” (Jn 1:16-17) lies in the new birth: “these were begotten not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. […] Jesus answered: ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, if someone is not born from above, he cannot see the Kingdom of God’”! (Jn 1:13; 3:3). And further “blessed be God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. In His great mercy, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, He has made us be born again to a living hope, to an inheritance that does not perish, is not spoiled and does not wither, and that is reserved for you in the heavens. Thanks to faith, and by the power of God, you are guarded for the salvation that is to be revealed in the last times” (1 Pet 1:3-5), for the gift of the Holy Spirit: “and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who has been given to us” (Rom 5:5) makes us adoptive children of God: “all those who let themselves be led by the Spirit of God are children of God. In fact, you did not receive a spirit of slaves, so as to fall back into fear, but you received the Spirit who, by adoption, makes you children, and in whom we cry out: ‘Abba, Father’! The Spirit Himself unites Himself to our spirit, attesting that we are children of God” (Rom 8:14-16) and members of the body of Christ: “you are all the body of Christ and, individually, you are members of that body” (1 Cor 12:27). 

In a very superficial way this is the theology of grace, but theological necessity has not ceased to reread the Word and to interpret it. Thus the self-communication of God was called uncreated grace, with all that the deification of human life entails, created grace, raising it to an unmerited relationship between creature and Creator so that it may anticipate the future life of Paradise. In this context is also found the concept of habitual grace, which means the new life in Christ, or sanctifying grace, which would be the state of one who is sanctified by the Holy Spirit. When the Holy Spirit acts in a particular need with a specific action, the effect of this dynamic is called actual grace. And we may also note that when God offers grace and it is freely accepted we are before efficacious grace. However, if it is rejected by men, it becomes sufficient grace. In reality, we are before a system of grace that seeks to explain how the absolute freedom of God confers grace without compromising human collaboration and responsibility, even though the final decisions are already anticipated by the foreknowledge of God, which amounts to knowledge of future events. It is the domain of the Christian paradox which has, as we shall see later, enormous repercussions on the life of Mary as the Immaculate One, Mother of God and Mother of the Church.

To deepen the relationship of Mary with the Holy Spirit and the mystery of grace, read the encyclical Redemptoris Mater by Saint John Paul II, on Mary in the mystery of Christ and of the Church.

Deepen your studies: explore Mariology, Marian Theology, Marian apparitions, and the Postgraduate Program in Mariology.