Mary: Spouse of Holy Spirit, Co-Redemptrix of Humanity, Immaculata

We continue our Marian month on Pentecost with a reflection on Mary, Spouse of the Holy Spirit, and Co-Redemptrix of mankind. Written by Saint Maximilian Kolbe (1894-1941), these thoughts prepare the way for the Marian doctrines of the Assumption and Coronation, the fourth and fifth of the Glorious Mysteries of the Holy Rosary.


Still, just as Jesus became the God-Man in order to reveal His immense love for us, so also the Third Divine Person, God-Love, willed to show His mediation with the Father and the Son in some external image. That this image is the Immaculate Heart of the Virgin is clear from the words of the saints, especially those who hold Mary is the Spouse of the Holy Spirit. Whence Blessed (now saint) Louis Grignion de Montfort draws the conclusion according to the mind of the Fathers: “The Holy Spirit lacks fruitfulness in God, that is, no divine Person proceeds from Him. But He becomes fruitful through Mary whom He has taken to Himself as Spouse. With her and in her and through her He produces His most illustrious work, the Incarnation of the Word.”

Even after the death of Christ, the Holy Spirit accomplishes everything in us through Mary. For the words of the Creator pronounced to the serpent concerning the Immaculata “She shall crush your head” (Gn 3:15) are, according to the teaching of the theologians, to be understood without limitation in regard to time.


We hear from many people today that the prefix "co" signifies on the equal level, as in co-manager. However, it is not in the same case with Our Blessed Mother and Our Savior, because although they worked together for our redemption, the dignity and person of the one is different from the other. Mary was a mere creature and so lower in dignity than her Son Jesus who is God. She is a human person while our Redeemer is a divine person.


Hence, we are speaking of the same work but with different value due to the difference of dignity and person. Actually the prefix "co" does not mean equal, but comes from the Latin word, "cum", which means "with".

The title of Coredemptrix applied to Mary never places her on a level of equality of with Jesus Christ, the divine Lord of all, in the saving process of humanity’s redemption. Rather, it denotes Mary’s regular and unique sharing (although subordinate and dependent) with her Son in the saving work of redemption for the human family.


The Mother of Jesus participates in the redemptive work of her Son, who alone could reconcile humanity with the Father in His glorious divinity and humanity. Because of her intimate and unparalleled sharing in the mysterious work with the divine Redeemer, both at the Incarnation and at the work of redemption at Calvary, Mary has merited the Church title, "Co-redemptrix" which literally means, "with the Redeemer."



Saint Maximilian Kolbe also wrote extensively on the Immaculate Conception, referring to Our Blessed Mother as the Immaculata:

Who is the Immaculate One? To this abrupt question it is not possible to give a satisfactory answer because this mystery transcends our human intelligence. She is the Mother of God, and Her name is the Immaculate One. When God showed Himself to Moses, He said of Himself: I am the One who is (Ex. 3,14)—in other words, I am Being itself. When St. Bernadette asked the most blessed Mother Her name, Mary replied: I am the Immaculate Conception. Such is the Immaculate One defined by Her own words.


But what does the expression Immaculate Conception mean? The word conception tells us that She is not eternal, that She had a beginning. Immaculate tells us that from the first instant of Her existence there never was in Her the least conflict with God's will. The Immaculate One is the most perfect of all creatures...She was immaculate because She was to become the Mother of God; She became the Mother of God because She was immaculate.


Mother of God! The human mind cannot grasp what God is. Neither can we comprehend the dignity of the Mother of God. It is easier to understand a title like servant of God; daughter of God is more difficult to grasp; but Mother of God transcends our minds completely.

God calls creatures into being when He creates them. Then, in their movement of return to God, these creatures draw near to Him and come to resemble their Creator more and more. God comes to this most perfect Creature, the Immaculate One; and the fruit of Their love is Jesus Christ, the Mediator between the Creator and all creatures...


True knowledge of the Immaculate One can only be acquired in prayer. The purer a soul is, the greater efforts it makes to avoid sin; and if it does happen to sin, it tries its best to rise from sin and to make up for its fault by love. The more humble it is, and the more spirit of penance it shows, the more and better it will get to know the Immaculate.