Luke tells us in his Gospel that Mary was present at Pentecost. Being a Mary lover, I always loved this little tidbit of info, but until recently I had no idea how her presence is central to the purpose of Pentecost. Obviously Catholic artists have known this for centuries because when I googled "Pentecost" images, almost every single one had Mary front and center. And I thought it was going to be hard to find such an image!!
Stephen Ray explained this concept beautifully in one of those Light House Media CD's you get from the back of Church. He said it something like this: What happened at Pentecost? A new church was born. What is the Church? The mystical body of Christ. Who gave birth to the first body of Christ? Mary did when the Holy Spirit over shadowed her. So, it's only fitting that when the Holy Spirit comes again to overshadow, Mary is there front and center to labor in prayer and give birth to Christ again in a sense. "Isn't that beautiful?" he asks. Yes, it is, Stephen Ray. Yes it is.
Mary is needed at Pentecost. As the only living vessel worthy of being filled with the Holy Spirit to give birth to the God Man, she is the only person worthy of giving birth to the Mystical Body of Christ. Can you believe I just came up with that?! I think it's neat that the more you learn about Mary, the more you realize how necessary and amazing her role is in salvation history and in our salvation. Her presence is so subtle in the Gospels, but in Catholic culture and tradition, she really stands out. It's like she took her place as Queen of Heaven and Earth and now she means business. Literally. Rosary business! Get our lasso, girl, and let's round us up some sinners!
God Bless Your Sunday and I pray you have a Holy Spirit filled Pentecost Sunday!
1 comment:
I feel sure Our Blessed Mother is smiling down on you. Beautiful post.
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