THE ACTION OF THE HOLY SPIRIT IN MARY

The Holy Spirit was the carrier of the creative force of the Almighty which forms a corporeal substance in Mary’s womb. His action was not limited just to the beginning of the formation of the embryo. Thus, once the embryo could live on its own and be transformed into a human organism, the Holy Spirit did not retreat like one whose mission was completed. He was there all along with His influence throughout the whole period of gestation.

And so here again we find ourselves delving into a mystery into which the human imagination is overwhelmed. It follows that Mary received, let’s put it that way, the personal substance of the Eternal Word, the second person of the Blessed Trinity she received also, substantially, at the same time, the Holy Spirit, not just His effects as on the day of Pentecost.

“In” Mary, in these nine months, the Father was Paternity, that is, He continues the eternal process of engendering the Son. The Latter, properly called Filiation, continues in His own right, in the eternal process of being engendered. And from the action of the two on themselves, the Holy Spirit proceeds. Since the beginning and always continuing, the same thing has been happening: within this closed circuit of the Trinitarian orbit there is a fertile and vital sharing of knowledge and love which constantly participates in an efficacious communication among these three persons. And now, all that enormous mystery was unfolding within the limited framework of this fragile pregnant woman. The Total and Trinitarian Mystery enveloped, penetrated, possessed and occupied everything in Mary.

Extracted from the book "The Silence of Mary " by fr. Ignacio Larrañaga.