Mary our mother who guides us to Jesus

On Wednesday morning, 13 November, Pope Francis continued his series of catecheses on the Holy Spirit and the Bride, turning his attention to the Spirit’s unique relationship with the Blessed Virgin Mary. The Holy Father called on the faithful to turn to Mary, to entrust themselves to her who takes us by the hand to her Son. The following is a translation of the Holy Father’s catechesis which he delivered in Italian in Saint Peter’s Square.

Dear brothers and sisters,
Good morning!

Among the various means by which the Holy Spirit implements His work of sanctification in the Church — the Word of God, the Sacraments, prayer — there is one in particular, and it is Marian piety. In the Catholic tradition there is this motto, this saying: “Ad Iesum per Mariam”, that is, “to Jesus by means of Mary”. Our Lady lets us see Jesus. She opens the doors to us, always! Our Lady is the mother who leads us by the hand towards Jesus. Our Lady never points to herself; Our Lady points to Jesus. And this is Marian piety: to Jesus by the hands of Our Lady. The true and only mediator between us and Christ, indicated as such by Jesus Himself, is the Holy Spirit. Mary is one of the means the Holy Spirit uses to bring us to Jesus.1

Saint Paul defines the Christian community as “a letter from Christ delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts” (2 Cor 3:3). Mary, as the first disciple and figure of the Church, is also a letter written with the Spirit of the living God. Precisely for this reason, she can be “known and read by all men” (2 Cor 3:2), even those who do not know how to read theology books, those “little ones” to whom Jesus says the mysteries of the Kingdom, hidden to the wise, are revealed (cf. Mt 11:25).

By saying her “Yes” — when Mary accepts and says to the Angel, “Yes, the Lord’s will be done”, and accepts to be the mother of Jesus — it is as if Mary said to God: “Here I am, I am a tablet to be written on: let the Writer write what he wants, make of me what the Lord of all wishes”.2 At that time, people wrote on waxed tablets; today we would say that Mary offers herself to God like a blank page on which the Lord can write whatever he wants. Mary’s “yes” to the Angel — as a renowned exegete wrote — represents “the apex of all religious behaviour before God, since she expresses, in the highest manner, passive availability combined with active readiness, the deepest emptiness that accompanies the greatest fullness”.3

This, then, is how the Mother of God is an instrument of the Holy Spirit in his work of sanctification. In the midst of the endless profusion of words said and written about God, the Church and holiness (that very few, or no-one, is able to read and understand fully), she suggests just two words that everyone, even the simplest, can say on any occasion: “Eccomi” [Here I am] and “fiat” [Let it be done]. Mary is the one who said “yes” to the Lord, and with her example and by her intercession, she urges us to say our “yes” to him too, whenever we are faced with an act of obedience to perform or a trial to overcome.

In every age of her history, but in particular at this time, the Church finds herself in the same situation as the Christian community in the aftermath of Jesus’ Ascension into heaven. She has to preach the Gospel to all nations, but is awaiting the “power from on high” in order to be able to do it. And let us not forget that, at that time, as we read in the Acts of the Apostles, the disciples were gathered around “Mary the mother of Jesus” (Acts 1:14).

It is true that there were also other women together with her in the Upper Room, but her presence is different and unique among them all. Between her and the Holy Spirit there is a unique and eternally indestructible bond that is the person of Christ himself, “who was conceived by the Holy Spirit” and “born of the Virgin Mary”, as we recite in the Creed. The evangelist Luke deliberately highlights the correlation between the coming of the Holy Spirit upon Mary in the Annunciation and his coming to the disciples at Pentecost, using some identical expressions in both cases.

Saint Francis of Assisi, in one of his prayers, greets the Virgin as “Daughter and Handmaid of the Most High King and Father of Heaven; ... Mother of Our Most Holy Lord Jesus Christ; [and] Spouse of the Holy Spirit”4. Daughter of the Father, Mother of the Son, Spouse of the Holy Spirit! The unique relationship between Mary and the Trinity could not be illustrated in simpler words.

Like all images, this one of the “Spouse of the Holy Spirit” must not be rendered absolute, but taken for that amount of truth it contains, and it is a very beautiful truth. She is the bride, but before that, she is the disciple of the Holy Spirit. Bride and disciple. Let us learn from her to be docile to the inspirations of the Spirit, especially when he suggests to us to “arise in haste” and go to help someone who needs us, as she did straight after the angel left her (cf. Lk 1:39). Thank you!

Special Greetings

I greet all the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors taking part in today’s Audience, especially the groups from Korea, the Philippines, Japan, Indonesia, the United States, England, and the Netherlands. In a particular way, I greet the priests, consecrated persons and seminarians from Tanzania, who have come to Rome for their studies. Upon all of you, and upon your families, I invoke the joy and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ. God bless you!

Lastly, my thoughts turn to young people, to the sick, to the elderly and to newlyweds. I encourage everyone to find strength and courage in God every day to fully live the human and Christian vocation.

Let us not forget countries at war. Brothers and sisters, martyred Ukraine is suffering! Let us not forget Ukraine; let us not forget Palestine, Israel, Myanmar and many nations at war. Let us not forget that group of innocent Palestinians who were gunned down. Let us pray for peace. We are in great need, great need of peace!

I give my blessing to all!

1  Cf. H. Mühlen, Una mystica persona, Paderborn 1967: Italian translation Rome 1968, 575ss.

2  Comment on the Gospel of Luke, fragment. 18 (GCS 49, p. 227).

3  Cf. H. Schürmann, Das Lukasevangelium, Friburgo in Br. 1968: Italian translation Brescia 1983, 154.

4  Fonti Francescane, Assisi 1986, no. 281.