Are there biblical passages supporting a "quasi-incarnation" attributed to the mystical union of the Holy Spirit and Mary?

Question

The Logos or the Incarnate Word became flesh in what known to be "hypostatic union". Jesus Christ the Second Person of the Most Holy Trinity became flesh and dwelt among us having two nature both fully God and fully Man or God-Man.

In the case of the Holy Spirit the Third Person of the Most Holy Trinity, scriptures tells us that our bodies is the Temple of the Holy Spirit, but the dwelling place is in the heart of our soul.So, specifically it's not the physical heart but it pertains to the heart of our soul as the Holy Spirit is a spirit.

I've encountered a comment comparing the full and mystical union of Mary and the Holy Spirit as "hypostasis" or "quasi-incarnate" meaning the Holy Spirit mysteriously takes over "full & perfect union in the soul of Mary in fullness mystically" or the simple word "possession" is a good description.

My slight understanding on this phenomenon is "the Holy Spirit fully dwells in the Heart of the soul of Mary perfectly". While in most Christians the Holy Spirit can dwell only imperfectly because of our fallen nature that is subject concupiscence.

Is this the right understanding of the word "quasi incarnation"

My question is, is there a Catholic teaching on "quasi incarnation"? And is the termed "quasi incarnation" been officially used by the Catholic Church to described the mystical union of the Holy Spirit and Mary as His Spouse or Advocate?

Or if there is none Catholic teaching yet, are there biblical passages that speaks of "quasi-incarnation" teaching?

Answer 1

St. Maximillian Kolbe termed the Blessed Mother the "quasi-incarnation of the Holy Ghost".

Fr. Karl Stehlin's Who Are You, O Immaculata? p. 50:

The nature of the union [of the Holy Ghost and Mary] consists in the union of wills. Mary identifies so thoroughly with the will of God that one can speak about a quasi-incarnation² of the Holy Ghost in Mary.

The Third Person of the Most Blessed Trinity was not made flesh. Yet our human word "spouse" cannot express the reality of the relation between the Immaculata and the Holy Ghost. We can therefore say that the Immaculata is in a certain sense an "incarnation of the Holy Ghost". The Holy Ghost, whom we love, is in her, and through her we love the Son. The Holy Ghost is very little appreciated.³

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<sup>2. Maximilian Kolbe always insisted that of course there can be no question here of a real incarnation of the Holy Ghost, which would be heretical. Instead he is searching for words and concepts that portray more profoundly the intimate relation between Mary and the Holy Ghost. Therefore the qualifier “quasi” is very important here, so as to make clear that there is only a certain analogy with the mystery of the Incarnation.
3. Conference dated February 5, 1941, in KMK p. 428</sup>

She and the Holy Ghost can both be properly called the Immaculate Conception (ibid. pp. 50-51):

We can say likewise that she is the greatest, most excellent, purest Temple of the Holy Ghost. Mary herself corroborates this truth when she defines herself at Lourdes: “I am the Immaculate Conception” and thus assigns to herself the title that in the strict sense is an attribute of God (“I am...”) and is applied in particular to the Holy Ghost, who within the Trinity is the eternally perfect, “immaculate” conception of the Father and the Son.

If among creatures a bride takes the name of her husband by the fact that she belongs to him, unites herself with him, makes herself like unto him and together with him becomes the source of new life, how much more should the name of the Holy Spirit, "Immaculate Conception", be the name of her in whom He lives with a love which is fruitful in the entire supernatural economy?⁴

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^{4. Final article of February 17, 1941, KR 212-213}

Answer 2

It's somewhat difficult (for me) to understand your question, but it seems you might be asking whether the union between Mary and the Holy Spirit is of the same sort as the hypostatic union between the human and divine natures of Jesus Christ. If that's your question, the answer is no. Mary and the Holy Spirit are two persons, each having only one nature --- Mary's human nature and the Holy Spirit's divine nature --- whereas Jesus is one Person with two natures.

You are quite right that Mary, being sinless, was more perfectly united to the Holy Ghost than any of us, but this unity does not make them a single person.

Notice, for example, that the ancient creeds say that the second Person of the Trinity "was incarnate" or "was conceived ... and born ...", but they say nothing of the sort about the third Person. Likewise, the Gospel of St. John says that the Word became flesh, but says nothing of the sort about the Spirit. The Gosspel of St. Luke also describes Mary and the Holy Ghost as separate persons: Gabriel tells Mary at the annunciation that "the Holy Ghost shall come upon thee" (not that Mary shall come upon herself), and the account of the visitation says that when Mary arrived at Elizabeth's house, Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost and started talking to Mary.

Finally, note that, in the decree defining the dogma of the immaculate conception, Mary's preservation from original sin was attributed to the merits of Christ's sacrifice on Calvary. If she had been hypostatically united to the Holy Spirit, no such preservation and no such merit would have been needed; sin would have been as impossible for her as it was for Christ.

I should explicitly say that I've answered here from the Catholic point of view. I think the Orthodox and most Protestant groups would agree with this, but there will surely be some denominations that disagree.

Answer 3

Quasi-Incarnation, this is a hard phrase to digest even the Theologians to whom the 5th Dogma of Advocate,Mediatrix and Co-Redemptrix had already suffered difficulty of providing a clear and harmonized defnition for the benefits of all the faithful.

The Vertex of Love OCTOBER 8, 2012 BY JONATHAN FLEISCHMANN

Can a mere infant Christian comprehend this quasi-incarnation representation?

This phrase/termed can be likened to St. Peter words:

"Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual, but as worldly—as infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for solid food. In fact, you are still not ready, 3for you are still worldly."(1Corinthians3:1-2)

If quasi-incarnation had been introduced to Lumen Gentium and especially to the Catechism of the Catholic Church it's landscape can be significantly altered. For example CCC691 & CCC692

The proper name of the Holy Spirit

691 "Holy Spirit" is the proper name of the one whom we adore and glorify with the Father and the Son. The Church has received this name from the Lord and professes it in the Baptism of her new children.16

The term "Spirit" translates the Hebrew word ruah, which, in its primary sense, means breath, air, wind. Jesus indeed uses the sensory image of the wind to suggest to Nicodemus the transcendent newness of him who is personally God's breath, the divine Spirit.17 On the other hand, "Spirit" and "Holy" are divine attributes common to the three divine persons. By joining the two terms, Scripture, liturgy, and theological language designate the inexpressible person of the Holy Spirit, without any possible equivocation with other uses of the terms "spirit" and "holy."

Titles of the Holy Spirit

692 When he proclaims and promises the coming of the Holy Spirit, Jesus calls him the "Paraclete," literally, "he who is called to one's side," ad-vocatus.18 "Paraclete" is commonly translated by "consoler," and Jesus is the first consoler.19 The Lord also called the Holy Spirit "the Spirit of truth."20

If the Catholic Church embraces the teaching and reflections of St. Maximillian Kolbe regarding the mystical union of the Holy Spirit and Mary, and by the Church acknowledging and already teaches that Mary is the Spouse of the Holy Spirit as proclaimed by Pope Pius XII.(Mary is the Spouse of the Holy Spirit)

Holy Spirit and Mary by virtue of their "union of wills" not by flesh as we human accustomed to in marriage that we become "one flesh" but in the case of Mary and the Holy Spirit had only "one will". This can be further explain that Mary by her fiat had surrendered her will to the will of the Father, which also co-substantial with the Holy Spirit.

And Mary said: Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it done to me according to thy word. - Luke1:38 DRA

But look closely, Mary had surrendered Her will according to Thy WORD/Logos only. God the Father had respected Mary's "freewill", the FIAT of Mary only refers to the Redemptive Mission of Christ for Her role as Theotokos.

Pope St. John Paul II mentioned and contemplated Mary's second fiat "at the foot of the Cross”. As the Agonizing Jesus before expiring uttered the famous Word in John Gospel.

Woman, behold your son... behold your mother. - John19:26-27

Jesus like the Abba Father "entrusting" His only begotten son to the Woman, now At the Foot of the Cross looking at all the redeemed and by grace won by Christ will become adopted children of the Abba Father "entrusted" also to the love and care of the Woman.(Mother of all the Redeemed)

This is the second fiat according Pope St. John Paul II the Great.

The Redemptive Act or Mission belong to Jesus Christ.

The Salvific Act or Mission belong to the Holy Spirit.

And by, St. Kolbe contemplating that the action of Mary is also the action of the Holy Spirit, Mary's cooperation in the mission of His beloved son Jesus Christ, now fully cooperates too in the mission of the Holy Spirit her Spouse.

In closing, I will share my reflections on Abba Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit.

Jesus walks the earth and "dwelt among us" by Mary's first fiat to the Will of the Abba Father providing Jesus her "immaculate body" as the "immaculate human soul" of Jesus comes from the Abba Father.

The Holy Spirit walk the earth too, this time Mary gave her "immaculate soul" fully and perfectly where her freewill resides. Mary again this time silently pronounced Her second fiat "At the foot of the Cross" to the will of the Father, as Jesus words is the willof the Father.

Mary accepted her new role in the Salvific Mission of the Holy Spirit, this time Mary will be the Mother of not just a single child like Jesus in His humanity, but a "Spiritual Mother of all the Redeemed" to form another image of Christ.

This is the great mystery of Man's Salvation.

St. Louis De Montfort in teaching that wisdom is divided into uncreated wisdom and created wisdom, and St. Alphosus Liguori's teaching of "another advocate"a Doctor of the Church that pertains to the Greatness of Mary's Role as "full of grace" is greatly illumined by St. Maximillian Kolbe teaching and reflections on "quasi-incarnation".

St. Kolbe now teaches there are two immaculate conception.

The Holy spirit Uncreated Immaculate Conception and Mary is the Created Immaculate Conception.

This is a reflection of St. Bernadette revelation when Mary said "I am the Immaculate Conception" and not "i am immaculately conceived".

PS: If the title of the Holy Spirit as the "quasi-incarnation" is clearly defined by St. Kolbe it follows then that the "Paraclete, Advocate and the Spirit of Truth" belonging to the title of the Holy Spirit, is acted by the Holy Spirit in Mary. (All my previous answers were vindicated; Mary is truly the "another advocate",created Wisdom and the Spirit of Truth who testifies.)

"Sweet Heart of Mary be my salvation." (Pieta Prayer Booklet)