Mary relates to God in three ways. She is:
The daughter of God the Father
The mother of God the Son
The spouse of God the Holy Spirit
God the Father
Mary is the daughter of God the Father, because she is His creation and all of humanity are His children.
God the Son
Mary is the mother of God the Son, because she gave birth to the person Jesus who is both God and man. This is significant because, before Mary, the Son of God had one nature: divine. But after Mary declared herself the handmaid of the Lord, the Son of God was incarnated (took on a human nature) in her womb. Christ received His second nature, His human nature, from Mary.
God the Holy Spirit
Mary is the spouse of the Holy Spirit (St. Francis of Assisi and St. Maximilian Kolbe1), because by her, the Holy Spirit incarnated Christ and gave Him a human body. As a result, the name of spouse is appropriate for two reasons.
- The word “spouse”, at its root, refers to someone who binds themselves completely to another, who makes an offering of herself to another.1 Mary fulfilled this by completely submitting herself to God and being overshadowed by the power of God (Luke 1:35).
- The word “spouse”, at its root, also refers to a woman who is married.1 In the right way, when a woman gives birth, she does so with the help of her husband (Genesis 2:25, Genesis 1:28). She is the spouse of her husband. So, when Mary gave birth to Christ, she did so with the help of the Holy Spirit. She is then the spouse of the Holy Spirit.
It is not unbelievable to see that Mary is the spouse of the Holy Spirit. As Jesus Christ takes the Church as His bride, so the Holy Spirit has Mary as His spouse. This union between the Holy Spirit and Mary is a unique one that transcends marriage on earth and is the only instance of its kind.
Their spousal relationship is significant because God ordained that a husband and wife operate as one unit (Genesis 2:24). Where he goes, she goes with him. Because Mary is the spouse of the Holy Spirit, where the Holy Spirit operates, Mary operates with Him.
Mary and St. Joseph
Note that this does not infringe on Mary’s marriage to St. Joseph.
Just as our marriages today do not infringe on Christ’s marriage to the Church (who we are a part of) at the end of time, so Mary’s marriage to St. Joseph in time does not infringe on her espousal to the Holy Spirit in eternity. This is for two reasons:
Different Orders
The first reason is that the two covenants operate on different orders: one spiritual the other earthly. Therefore, they do not compete with each other.
Marriage between Christ and the Church is on another order compared to the marriage between a man and a woman.
In the same way, the spousal relationship between Mary and the Holy Spirit is another order compared to her marriage to St. Joseph.
Different Boundaries
The second reason is that the two covenants operate in different time boundaries: one in time, the other outside time. Therefore, they do not intersect each other.
In any finite marriage between a man and woman, when one member dies, the marriage ends (Romans 7:2, Mark 12:25).1 But the marriage between Christ and the Church happens at the end of time and is eternal because it occurs between eternally living parties.
In the same way, the marriage between St. Joseph and Mary ended when St. Joseph passed away on earth (however, their bond as the parents of Christ is unforgettable, irreplaceable and eternal). But, the spousal relationship between Mary and the Holy Spirit is eternal because it occurs with eternally living parties.
As such, as mentioned above, just as our marriage today does not infringe on Christ’s marriage to the Church, Mary’s marriage to St. Joseph in time does not infringe on her espousal to the Holy Spirit in eternity; because they operate on different orders and different boundaries.