Some at least seem to think that we have put Mary practically in the place of the Spirit. When faced with such a formula our Protestant brethren object that it is precisely the Holy Spirit who is to bring us to Jesus, to form Christ in us, to unite us to him and to co-operate in a unique way in the work of redemption. This uneasiness of theirs ought to help us to be conscious of the necessary hierarchy of truths in revelation and to reserve for the Holy Spirit his special primary role. We can then apply these expressions to Mary in a correct but secondary derived sense, always in dependence on the Holy Spirit.

The reproach that we have substituted Mary for the Holy Spirit should not leave us indifferent. We also should set in relief the absolute priority of the Holy Spirit, the Sanctifying Spirit. Having done this we should reflect on Mary as the one who beyond all others has been sanctified, the daughter of Sion, visited by the Spirit, who in her response to the angel showed herself to be moved by the Spirit at a depth unique for herself.

 The faith with which Mary received the offer of God is itself a special act of the Spirit in her. He is the source of all faith. Mary’s free active collaboration was permeated and sustained by the Spirit who worked in her ‘both the will and the action’ (Phil 2:13). She remained totally receptive to his action in the very moment of her free response. Mary does not take the initiative: it is the Spirit who invites her and gives her the grace of surrendering totally to him. God’s sovereign freedom shines forth in Mary.

The consideration of what the Spirit has performed in the mystery of Mary’s life seems to be a way of lessening or even removing many misunderstandings. Mary’s role in our ecumenical efforts has been appreciated in a particular way by a man who was an Anglican and became a Catholic while retaining and widening his friendships among both groups: Martin Gillett. His was the daring idea of transforming what seemed an ‘obstacle’ into a means of approach to unity. This he did by forming an ecumenical movement that took Mary as its starting point. There was no question then of theological conflicts, but peaceful meetings and discussions, with the aim of getting to know and revere Mary more.

           The life of Mary and her role are contained in the words which determine her vocation as the Mother of God:"The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you" (Lk.1.25). We have need of no other text to see Mary’s place in the history of salvation.

    At the moment of the Annunciation, the prelude to the Incarnation of Christ’s unique role of mediator, Mary was the point of intersection between heaven and earth. We can say that the Holy Spirit is God’s love reaching out to us without limit; he is the envoy of the Father and the Son. On our side, Mary is the love in its purest form of a creature who is only a creature, but lifted up by this same Spirit to encounter him. At the converging point of their mutual tenderness, at the very heart of this covenant, we find the Christ our Saviour. We are indeed touching upon the very heart of the mystery that is the Incarnation.

          Mary’s relation to her Son is founded on her motherhood, which extends far beyond the bearing of a child in the natural, biological sense. Even on the purely natural plane, does not a mother imply an interpersonal relationship? Does not this relationship imply an unconditional consent to the child’s existence as gift to the world? Motherhood cannot be reduced simply to the biological fact of giving birth. The mother consents at first as a whole, and then more and more in detail, to the personal existence and thus to the vocation of her child.

          What is unique in Mary is the fact that her child is the Saviour of the World. In freely consenting to enable Christ to be present in the world and in history, Mary is also consenting to cooperate in the salvation of the world.

          Mary’s openness to the Spirit was not limited to the moment of the Annunciation: she remained open and submissive to his action – to his mysterious and hidden power. The Son born of her is and remains the Son of the Father and the Son of Mary. The Spirit is given to her in a covenant that does not belong merely to a moment in time. It is contemporaneous with each stage of Christ’s Incarnation.

          Because the Christ of faith and the Jesus of history are one, we can say that Mary remains the mother of the Saviour, the mother of the Incarnate Word, affirmed at the Council of Ephesus (431). The graces that we receive today, since they derive from the humanity of her Son, still remain implied in that ‘fiat’ which she uttered to God under the impulse of the Holy Spirit.

          Mary’s faith did not remain on the level of her initial response. It grew through the darkness of the Cross into the light of the resurrection.