The trinitarian aspect of Marian dogmas. Mary icon of the Holy Spirit

Abstract

Marian dogmas tell us of Mary’s special role in the history of salvation. At the same time they speak to us of the origin and destiny of every human being. Moreover, in Marian truths the Triune God is revealed. After all, the history of salvation is an encounter of God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit with human beings, in a meeting of two freedoms: absolute freedom and created freedom. Mary is not merely an instrument in God’s hands, but a person who enters into a relationship with the three divine persons. This relationship is the essence of her divine motherhood, virginity, immaculate conception and assumption. The mystery of Mary unfolds in the Trinitarian perspective, while at the same time the Holy Trinity reveals its mysteries in the person of Mary. It seems that the Trinitarian dimension of Mariology, although treated already by various authors, still hides many aspects to be discovered. Reflection on the mystery of Mary begins with her divine motherhood, that is, with the truth that she is the Mother of Jesus, true God and true man. Further, the Trinitarian analysis of Marian dogmas shows her special relationship with the Holy Spirit. The evangelists Luke and Matthew point to the active role of the Spirit in the conception of Jesus. It is by the power of the Spirit, although because of the merits of Jesus, Mary was preserved from sin. Finally, it is the Spirit, in the event of the Assumption, who introduces Mary into the eternal life of the Holy Trinity. Hence, some theologians want to see in Mary an icon of the Spirit who in the history of salvation does not show us his face, while, in a certain sense, we can see it in the face of Mary. Jacek Bolewski, taking up the intuitions of Maksymilian Kolbe, calls the Holy Spirit the uncreated Immaculate Conception. The Polish Jesuit believes that the active role of the third divine person in the life of Mary allows us to reflect on the active role of the Spirit in the eternal life of the Holy Trinity complementing the traditional theology of the Immanent Trinity, in which the Spirit seems to be rather passive.