Mary, The First Charismatic (Soaking input 5/19/2014)

Mary Model and Mirror of the Church

Since Vatican II and in the wake of the the post conciliar rediscovery of the Holy Spirit in our Charismatic era,
there has been a change of direction in Mariology (branch of theology specializing in Mary): it is no longer
Mary to the Church but the Church to Mary. The Church discovering or re-discovering the Spiritual life of Mary
in her relationship with the Holy Spirit seeing her stirred and animated by the Holy Spirit ; finding in Mary a
Living Mirror giving us the ultimate example, revealing, teaching and guiding the Church and all it’s member
towards a personal relationship with the Holy Spirit. Mary interceding for her most wretched children and her
children responding to her call, receiving and allowing the Holy Spirit to move in them in order to renew the
whole Church. Mary, through the same fruitful intercessions that she offered as a virgin of the Temple for the
coming of the Messiah and Who eventually Conceived Jesus of the Holy Spirit, is now bringing the Church, the
Body of Christ, to it’s own re-birth through the same Holy Spirit.

Mary: Forever Bride of The Holy Spirit

Our Credo (Nicene-Constantinople) states that Jesus was Incarnate by the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary ; this
is a basic tenet of our faith that all mainstream Christians share and agree upon (Catholics, Protestants and
Orthodox). Thus Mary, bride of the Holy Spirit, appears to be bound to Him in a way that is indestructible. This
personal bound is indestructible because the God-man (Jesus) was the fruit of their union and God is
indestructible ; indeed even through His Passion and Death on the Cross, Jesus was neither destroyed not
fragmented but went through it all with both His Divinity and His humanity. And as all parents can experience
when a marriage is consumed, the children, by their very existence, proclaim the earthly union of their parents
in a way that permanently seals the marriage ; so much more in the case of the Heavenly union of Mary and
the Holy Spirit whose respective role in the life of the Church were forever fulfilled in the Incarnation of Jesus.
This is also why a fruitful wedding should not be broken by man as it will always result in damage and
fragmentation of the fruits of that wedding (children). So as Jesus, the First-Fruit, cannot be fragmented or
separated, neither can Mary be separated from the Holy Spirit. This is also why the Fiat of Mama Mary is such
a big deal for our Salvation. By this Fiat she became the Mother of God and remains the Mother of God even
after the Passion, the Resurrection and the, Ascension. During the Passion, She became our Mother and the
Mother of the Church (Body of Christ) Whom She brings forth through Her Intercessions and to Whom she
teaches by being It’s Mirror. But She does not cease to be the Mother of God (Problem of the prayer of our
Lady of All Nation) as Jesus remains the unfragmented God-man, First fruit of Her union with the Holy Spirit,
continuing to bear our (Glorified) nature both in Heaven and on earth (in the Eucharist).

The Holy Spirit: The Eternal Bridegroom of the People of God

In the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit is made manifest by the Power that He gives privileged human beings to
say or do things that are beyond their (fallen) natural power to do like with the Judges, Kings and Prophets of
old ; ministering unto the people of God through that one privileged soul as a Vessel without necessarily
sanctifying it or renewing it (as was the case of Saul who yet was anointed) but just passing through them. In
the New Testament (particularly in John and Paul) the emphasis is on the sanctifying regenerating power of the
Holy Spirit ; changing our heart an making us new creatures in Jesus ; renewing the face of the earth. Here the
Holy Spirit is Ministering unto the people of God by directly taking possession of His Vessels (all baptized
Christians) and dwelling within , Sanctifying them, Renewing them, giving them a new state, a new life ; and it
is through the fruits of that union or in-dwelling of the Holy Spirit that Grace then flows to the rest of creation.
These two different manifestation of the Holy Spirit reflect the question of Father Soriano when he was asking:
So now you are charismatic but are you still a Christian ? Meaning to say through the power of the Holy Spirit
you are doing great and impressive things ; people look up to you ; you now have tremendous influence, the
Gifts of the Holy Spirit are active in you but are they renewing you ? Are you still growing in Hope, Faith and
Love or is the Power manifested through the Gifts just passing through you like in the Old Testament,
potentially becoming a source of pride and an occasion of fall such as was the case for Saul ?

The Holy Spirit upon Jesus

We are familiar with the fact that Jesus was full of the Holy Spirit ; since His Baptism at the Jordan, we see
Jesus constantly acting in the Holy Spirit starting with the confrontation with satan in the desert ; yet unlike the
Men of God in the Old Testament, the in-dwelling and co-operations of the Holy Spirit in Jesus is constant ; and
although being fully Mighty God Himself, for the sake of our humanity which he bears, He constantly used the
Power of the Holy Spirit, opening a path for us while bearing our human nature, showing us the ways of the
Holy Spirit in spiritual warfare, evangelization, teaching, healing and miracles.
Mary, the ultimate Prophetess
For the Prophets of the Old Testament the Word came and was a burden that weighted upon them and which
they had to release by delivering it to the intended audience ; and so from the moment the Word of God came
to the moment it was delivered the Word of God was an active but temporary reality. With Mary we see a new
development ; the Prophets of old ate the scroll of the Word of God and filled their stomach with it but with
Mary the Word came to dwell in Her and filled Her Womb in a way that was no longer metaphorical but very
tangible: The Word actually took flesh, making Mary a new kind of Prophetess endowed with the absolutely
greatest Charism ever given to a human being ; to deliver The Word of God silently by actually giving birth to It
and offering it to the world. A new and sublime form of Prophecy already announced and anticipated by the
prophetic gesture of Eli after defeating the priests of Baal, when he assumed a birth giving posture in order to
obtain from God the life giving rain on Mont Carmel. This new powerful form of Prophecy is greater than that
spoken of by Peter in 2 Peter 1:21 ”...no prophecy ever came by the impulse of man, but men moved by the
Holy Spirit spoke from God. ” and yet it is still definitely a Charisma as Saint Paul defines it in 1 Corinthian 12:7
“To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.” for there never was a “manifestation of
the Spirit” that was more ”for the common good.” than the Divine Maternity of the Virgin Mary ; making Mary
the most sublime example of a Spirit-filled person, the ultimate model of all charismatic Christians in bringing
Jesus to the World: The first Charismatic.

Mary, drunk in the Spirit

Charismatics are quite familiar with that sober intoxication that comes upon them when they are immersed in
the Holy Spirit ; a Joy and Peace that the world cannot give ; even our Lord exhibited such euphoria as reported
in Luke 10:21 ; this is in fact implied in the name of our community: .New Wineskins: Holy Vessels filled with
New Wine, the same New Wine that filled the apostles on Pentecost as reported in Acts 2:12-13:”And all were
amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, "What does this mean?" But others mocking said, "They are
filled with new wine.”. What of Mary ? She hastened to Elisabeth and overflowing with Joy, Praise and
Gratitude, the otherwise reserved and humble maid of the Lord could no longer contain herself and bursted
out with the Magnificat (a little bit like when Carla leads us in Worship), drunk in the Spirit, she forgot her
humble condition, she forgot her fears and worries of being convicted of pregnancy out of wedlock (a death
sentence at the time) and her heart exploded in Worship in a way that was so powerful that you can still hear
the echoes of it to this day (Charismatic g’yod). At the time, the Jews were stuck, destitute and disgraced both
in Heaven and on earth ; they had been waiting for the Messiah for so long that lamentations had become part
of their liturgical daily bread. And so only New Wine, New Ways and New Solutions could make a way ; as
explained in Isaiah 29:13-14: “And the Lord said: "Because this people draw near with their mouth and honor
me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me, and their fear of me is a commandment of men learned
by rote; therefore, behold, I will again do marvelous things with this people, wonderful and marvelous; and the
wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the discernment of their discerning men shall be hid.". But “no one
puts new wine into old wineskins” Jesus said (Luke 5:37) and so we know that our New Wine, Jesus, had
prepared for Himself a New Wineskin, a Holy Vessel suitable for Him, Mama Mary the First New Wineskin.

Mary gave in purity, humility and simplicity ; like a small child

Mary gave The Messiah to the world without counting, without second thought and not looking for any
recompense. Mary gave that which she had freely received in simplicity as it was Her Charism to give , She gave
Her Greatest Treasure without demanding or expecting anything in return ; She deprived herself of her
maternal rights in order to offer Her Son to the world knowing full well what the world would do to the Lamb
of God, as She was highly educated in Scriptures and knew from the Prophets the sorrow that would come to
Her from giving. Such simplicity was already visible in the words She choose in Her Magnificat ; she was not
exalted about herself for the gifts that had been showered upon Her, turning Her into the Very One that she
had hoped to serve ; the One that all Virgins of the Temple were hoping to become: The Mother of the long
awaited Messiah ; She did not look for personal honors and acknowledgments or gratifications but instead
remained focused on God Himself, on what God had done and was doing. For Mary, being the Mother of God
would have been meaningless if She did not carry Jesus in a more blessed way in Her Heart than in Her flesh.
Unlike Lucifer who had become self complacent and rested in his own magnificence as bearer of Light, Mary
did not deem her title as Mother of God as something to dwell on, but She remained focused on God in Her
Worship and thus repaired some of the damage caused by satan and Eve. We too were given gifts, ministry
and worship ; and like Our Beloved Mother, we are called to remain like little children: pure, simple and
generous of heart with what God has given us ; giving freely of what was freely given to us without any
calculations or measure, in the hope that little by little we might become more like our Beloved Mother Who
lived Her entire life in purity of heart in an uninterrupted act of worship, pleasing and acceptable to God.