Church, Spirit and Mary in the Eucharist

IntroductionThe sacrificial oblation of Christ is present in the Eucharist. It is his body, offered as a sacrifice” (cf. Lk 22:19-20), and his blood, shed as a sacrifice” (cf. same passage). In this sacrificial renewal, Christ’s interiority is present, from his Incarnation (cf. Heb 10:5-7) to the giving of his life (cf. Jn 10:15ss, 15:13) into the hands of the Father (cf. Lk 23:46).(Note: The image reference is not translated as per the given instructions.)The first moment of this oblation was in Mary’s womb (cf. Heb 10, 5-7). The climactic moment occurred on the Cross, where Mary stood at the foot of the Cross (cf. Jn 19, 25). Each faithful, participating in Christ’s sacrifice, is invited to tune into Christ’s love (cf. Jn 15, 9: “remain in my love”) so as to be able to “complete” his sufferings (Col 1, 24), associating with him as Mary did.The Eucharistic sacrifice of Christ is for the good of all humanity, in whose purpose Mary collaborates. Christ the Priest was consecrated in Mary’s womb. Therefore, it can be affirmed: “In the sacrament of the Eucharist, the Savior, incarnate in Mary’s womb for twenty centuries, continues to offer himself to humanity as a source of divine life” (Tertio Millennio Adveniente 55). Jesus is “the Savior prepared in advance for all peoples, a light to enlighten the nations” (Lk 2, 30-32; Is 42, 6; 49, 6). Mary is part of the epiphany of this salvific mystery, sharing the same “destiny” as Christ (cf. Lk 2, 35).The “sword” prophesied by Simeon defines Mary’s attitude toward God’s salvific plans. Mary, through her Incarnation, generated the Son of God made man and was associated with the sacrifice of the Cross and the birth of the Church. The Body of Christ, offered as a sacrifice, was given to us through Mary, and it is to be offered and received through her hands. Just as Mary gave us this most holy Body, so her hands should offer it and her hands should receive it in the sacrament.The Second Vatican Council, describing Mary’s participation in the sacrifice on the Cross, states: “She faithfully preserved her union with the Son until the Cross, where, not without a divine design, she was present (cf. Jn 19, 25), suffering deeply with her Only-Begotten and associating herself with maternal affection to his sacrifice, consenting willingly to the offering of the victim she herself had generated” (Lumen Gentium 57).In the “Marialis Cultus” (cf. Paul VI, 1974), the Council further emphasizes: “Mary, in her unique way, is associated with the work of salvation through her participation in the Body and Blood of Christ, offered without ceasing on the altar of the world.”After citing the conciliar doctrine of Lumen Gentium 57, Paul VI adds: «To perpetuate throughout the centuries the sacrifice of the cross, the divine Savior instituted the Eucharistic sacrifice, a memorial of his death and resurrection, and entrusted it to the Church, his Bride. Especially on Sunday, he convokes the faithful to celebrate the Pasch of the Lord, until he returns: which the Church carries out in communion with the saints in heaven and, above all, with the Blessed Virgin, from whom she imitates the ardent charity and the unshakeable faith» (Marialis Cultus 20).The saints have left us testimony of their experience, more than theological concepts that are also valid. The phenomenology of this experience becomes an inspiration for theological reflection. St. Bernard affirms: «Offer your Son, holy Virgin, and present to the Lord the blessed fruit of your womb. Offer for the reconciliation of all of us the holy victim, pleasing to God». Marian spirituality in relation to the sacrifice of the Eucharist points the way to a life associated with the Redeemer Christ, to be able to «complete» his sufferings in one’s own existence.The Eucharist as a sacrament and banquet is a source of new life participated in by Christ, «the bread of life» (cf. Jn 6:35ff). By receiving communion, the faithful participate in the same life of Christ (cf. Jn 6:56ff. 15:5. 1Jn 4:9). The Eucharist is a sacrament of unity and love: «unity in heart and unity in the community» (cf. Acts 2:42, 4:32).This union becomes espousal with Christ, sharing in the Alliance as a declaration of love. Through the Eucharist, Mary becomes the mother of the living (the New Eve). Mary, «suffering with the dying Son on the cross, cooperated in a special way in the work of the Savior, with obedience, faith, hope, and ardent charity, to restore the supernatural life of souls. Therefore she became for us a mother in the order of grace» (Lumen Gentium).

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The motherhood of Mary, as an instrument of grace, is related to the Eucharist as a sacrament (sign of grace), for “from the virgin womb of the Daughter of Zion, he who feeds us with the bread of angels has burst forth for the whole human race, bringing salvation and peace” (Preface of Advent II/A). The Marian spirituality related to the Eucharist as a sacrament and communion requires harmony with Christ’s life and feelings, in order to embark on a journey of assimilation of his feelings (cf. Phil 2:5) and to deepen a passionate love for Christ.

Marian spirituality and ecclesiality, and the action of the Holy Spirit in the Eucharist

The action of the Holy Spirit in the Eucharist is related to Mary. Throughout the Church’s tradition, the relationship between the Incarnation in Mary’s womb and the communication of the same Spirit by Christ, dying and risen, has been emphasized, also in relation to Mary.

As Saint John Paul II says: «in the economy of grace, achieved under the action of the Holy Spirit, there is a singular correspondence between the moment of the Word’s Incarnation and that of the Church’s birth. The person who unites these two moments is Mary: Mary in Nazareth and Mary in the Jerusalem of the Cenacle. In both cases, her discreet but essential presence indicates the path of the ‘birth of the Spirit’. Thus, the one who is present in the mystery of Christ as Mother becomes, by the Son’s will and the work of the Holy Spirit, present in the mystery of the Church” (Redemptoris Mater 24).

Saint John Paul II, in his radio message on Sunday, June 7, 1981, after the Vespers of Pentecost at St. Mary Major, said: «we thank the Holy Spirit… for the birth of the Church! We thank the Mother always present at the Pentecost Cenacle! We thank her because we can also call her the Mother of the Church!». In the Eucharist, the Holy Spirit is communicated through Christ’s sacrifice (cf. Hebrews 9:11-14). The life Christ communicates is life according to the Spirit, living water, that flows from him as a new temple and from his side opened on the cross (cf. John 4:10; 3:5; 7:37-39; 19:34).

Since we all receive the same Spirit and eat from the same bread, we form one body of Christ (cf. 1 Corinthians 10:17; Ephesians 4:4). In each Eucharistic celebration, a new Pentecost occurs, which is the communication of the Spirit as a fruit of Christ’s death and resurrection. «They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer» (Acts 2:42).

All were filled with the Holy Spirit and boldly proclaimed the word of God. The community of believers had one heart and one soul, and no one claimed any property for himself, but everything was common to them. With great power the apostles bore witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and all enjoyed great favor (Acts 4:32-33).This permanent outpouring of the Spirit in relation to the celebration of the Eucharist is also connected to the reality of Mary. “In fact, it was from Pentecost that the ‘Acts of the Apostles’ began, just as Christ was conceived by the work of the Holy Spirit and, through prayer, was impelled to begin his ministry” (Ad Gentes 4).Mary’s Marian spirituality in relation to the communication of the Spirit through the Eucharist is realized in imitating Mary “who conceived the incarnate Word by the work of the Holy Spirit and who, throughout her entire existence, was guided by his inner action… a woman submissive to the voice of the Spirit, a woman of silence and listening, a woman of hope” (Tertio Millenium Adveniente 48).The Spirit’s action that made Mary the Mother of the Virgin also makes the Church the Mother of the Virgin, on the journey to holiness and mission. “The bread of life is for the life of the world” (John 6:51). Christ is present in the Eucharist “for all” (Matthew 26:28). Christ’s commission to the apostles to continue this eucharistic mystery continually (“do this in memory of me”: Luke 22:19) reveals the sacramental and maternal reality of the Church, whose mission is to prolong in time the same mission of the Lord (John 17:18, 20, 21).The Church’s mission to make Christ present in the Eucharist is part of its motherhood: to receive Christ to communicate him to all peoples. Mary is the model of this eclesial motherhood: to receive the Word under the action of the Spirit, to associate with Christ at the Cross, to communicate Christ to all humanity. The “Amen” of the Church in the celebration of the Eucharist, as a response to the minister’s invitation (before the “Our Father”), is like Mary’s “yes” at the Annunciation: “yes to the Word, yes to the action of the Holy Spirit.” In the celebration of the Eucharist, the Church fully reveals its maternal reality as the universal sacrament of salvation, as “the woman,” “the great sign” (Revelation 12:1).In reality, the apostolic action of the Church has a Marian and maternal character. The Church imitates Mary “who generated Christ, conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin, to be born and grow also in the hearts of the faithful through the Church” (as quoted in the text).According to the teachings of the Catholic Church, as expressed in the documents *Lumen Gentium* (Light of the Peoples) and *Redemptoris Mater* (Mother of the Redeemer), Mary continues to assist the Church in its mission to bring all families of the nations together in peace and harmony as one People of God, to the glory of the most holy and indivisible Trinity (Lumen Gentium 69). Mary and the Church are one mother, each maintaining its own distinctiveness: “Mary and the Church, one mother and many” (*Maria et Ecclesia, una mater et plures*).If the apex of ecclesial motherhood is realized in the Eucharist, after hearing the Word of God, the relationship between Mary and the Church is primarily developed in the Eucharistic celebration. In fact, the Church becomes a mother by imitating Mary, her type and model of motherhood: “The motherhood of the Church is realized not only according to the model and figure of the Mother of God, but also with her collaboration” (Redemptoris Mater 44. Cf. Lumen Gentium 64-65). “Mary, with her new motherhood in the Spirit, embraces all and each in the Church and… through the Church” (Redemptoris Mater).

47. The Marian missionary spirituality is related to the Eucharist. Each apostle lives “with Mary and as Mary” (Redemptoris Missio, 92), in “communion of life” with her (Redemptoris Mater, 45), collaborating with her active and maternal presence of intercession and affection, imitating her attitudes of generous and fertile fidelity. The Eucharist wishes to find in the Church the attitude of Mary: unconditional openness, fidelity, generosity, association, virgin motherhood… Therefore, Mary is “the model of that maternal love, by which all those who, in the apostolic mission of the Church, cooperate in the regeneration of men, should be animated” (Lumen Gentium, 65; Redemptoris Missio, 92).

Mary, the Church, the Spirit, and the Eucharist in hope of the coming

The Eucharistic celebration always expresses the deep desire for the definitive coming of the Lord: “Whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes” (1 Cor 11:26). It is an active and demanding expectation (“Come, Lord Jesus”: Rev 22:20), as it is urgent to “gather all things in Christ” (Eph 1:10). The tone is one of hope, as a confidence in the coming of the Lord and also as a tension for the final encounter of all the Church and all humanity with Christ.

In the homily given at St. Mary Major on Saturday, December 8, 1979, the feast of the Immaculate Conception, Pope John Paul II invited us to prepare for this definitive coming of Christ, the “third and final Advent”: “Mary is the beginning of the third Advent, because from her comes into the world He who will make that eternal choice… and remains continually in it, always present… thus the third Advent does not distance us from her, but continually allows us to remain in her presence, close to her.”

In the Eucharistic celebration, we manifest that our journey is directed towards the definitive Pasch. “The woman clothed with the sun” (Rev 12:1), figure and personification of the Church, has already reached glorification. Looking at this goal, the Church lives in a state of confident and “eschatological” tension for “the new heaven and the new earth” (Rev 21:1). The figure of Mary, Assumed into heaven, glorified in body and soul, points to the final transformation due to the Eucharist. The bread and wine become the body and blood of Jesus, and at the same time, they are an effective sign of the eschatological transformation of all creation and of all humanity.

Mary’s maternal action and her association with the redemptive mystery have a deep connection with the eschatological dynamism of the Eucharistic body and the mystical body of Christ. The Church, spurred by Marian spirituality as a Eucharistic-eschatological tension, continually walks on the path to holiness and mission, identifying itself with Mary, considering her her “type” (figure and personification), “intimately linked to the Church” (According to Lumen Gentium (63), the ecclesial attitude of harmony and imitation of Mary is manifested in her openness to God’s salvific plans (Lk 1,28-29.38), fidelity to the action of the Spirit (Lk 1,35.39-45), contemplation of the Word (Lk 1,46-55. 2,19.51), esponsal union with Christ (Lk 2,35. Jn 2,4), selfless offering to the Redeemer (Jn 19,25-27), culminating in the escatological fullness of the “new heaven and new earth” (Rev 21,1. 2 Pt 3,13).The Marian spirituality in relation to the Eucharist (Eucharistic-Marian spirituality) is always a meeting with Christ, concretized in union, imitation, and transformation. Marian theology highlights Mary’s active presence and her salvific influence throughout this Christological process. As Mary and the Church, in celebrating and adoring the Eucharist, listen, pray, and offer themselves (cf. Marialis Cultus 17-20).The Eucharist, in all its aspects (presence, sacrifice, communion, pneumatology, mission, and escatology), always recalls the Marian model and her maternal help. The Marian-Evangelical model is one of fidelity (fiat), gratitude (magnificat), contemplation, esponsality (Cana), association (stabat), prayer to the Spirit (Pentecost Cenacle), and mission.Thus, the Church, with Mary and as Mary, can offer Christ, present in the Eucharist, to all humanity. The Marian spirituality, which emanates from the celebration and adoration of the Eucharist, is realized in “communion of life” with her (Redemptoris Mater 45), collaborating with her active and maternal presence of intercession and affection, imitating her attitudes of openness to God’s plans, fidelity to the Holy Spirit, contemplation of the Word, esponsal union with Christ, self-sacrificing offering, hope, and eschatological tension.Since Mary is “a figure and excellent model of faith and charity” (Lumen Gentium 53), the Church encounters her, especially in the celebration of the Eucharist, as her teacher of spiritual life (i.e., life according to the Spirit): “Model of the whole Church in the exercise of divine worship, Mary is also clearly a teacher of spiritual life for individual Christians” (Marialis Cultus).

(21). Therefore, “Mary, without detracting from the centrality of Christ and his Spirit, is present in each Sunday of the Church. It is the same mystery of Christ that demands it” (Dies Domini 86).

The relationship between Mary, the Church, the Holy Spirit, and the Eucharist is explored in Pope John Paul II’s encyclical Redemptoris Mater, which presents Mary as a model for the eucharistic Church.

Conclusion: Today, as two thousand years ago, peoples arrive at the new Jerusalem, “full of light“, and say: “Where is the king of the Jews who was born? We have seen his star and have come to worship him” (Mt 2:2). The eucharistic-marian spirituality will make the Church the “universal sacrament of salvation” (Ad Gentes 1). The Holy Spirit, who made Mary the virgin mother and who transforms bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Jesus, is the same “who scatters the ‘seeds of the Word’, present in rites and cultures, and prepares them to ripen in Christ” (Redemptoris Missio 28).

This action of the Spirit (in the Eucharist) “must not be separated from his particular action in the body of Christ, which is the Church” (Redemptoris Missio 29). If the Church, in the celebration of the Eucharist and in daily life, imitates Mary’s attitude of virgin and maternal donation (Mother of the Bread of Life), peoples, who are already prepared by the Gospel, will find “the Child with Mary, his mother” (Mt 2:12) in the new Jerusalem, full of light, mother of the peoples (Is 60:1-6, in relation to Gal 4:26).

Further Study: Explore Mariology, Theology Mariana, Marian Apparitions, and Post-Graduate Studies in Mariology.