The Spouse of the Holy Spirit

We often overlook the person of the Holy Spirit and his role in the Christmas story. The Father and the Son seem a bit more tangible to us in general. The Holy Spirit can be rather enigmatic. On this last Sunday of Advent, perhaps one way to make the third person of the Trinity a little more real is to remember that Mary is often referred to as the spouse of the Holy Spirit.

I often speak at weddings of how the love expressed in marriage has certain important qualities that make it unique. Married love is marked by four key characteristics; it is free, total, faithful, and fruitful. The relationship between Mary and the Holy Spirit ought to then exhibit these same characteristics. Mary gave a free assent to God’s plan. She held nothing back and gave a total gift of herself to serve God. She was faithful to the Spirit’s leading, even when she didn’t understand. The result was that, although she remained a virgin her entire life, the Spirit made her fruitful. Jesus, the Son of Mary, is the love of God incarnate, the fruit of the spousal union of Mary and the Spirit.

Mother Theresa reminded us that the surest sign of the presence of the Spirit is joy. This is what we see in Mary. After being told that she is to be the mother of God, she goes with haste to visit Elizabeth and take care of her needs. The joy of the Spirit makes even difficult tasks easy. Elizabeth is filled with the Spirit and John the Baptist leaps for joy in her womb. If we find that we are lacking in joy this Christmas, maybe we need to pay more attention to the Holy Spirit and our union with God. We too are called to give ourselves freely, totally, faithfully, and fruitfully to God. If we do, the end result is clear; we will have joy.