Why Mary when we have the Spirit?

This book explains the profound relationship between the Holy Spirit and Mary, showing that the Spirit does everything through her. If a picture is worth a thousand words, the Icon of Mary as the Unburned Bush visually expresses that Mary is the perfect human expression of the Spirit.

Ablaze with the fire of the Holy Spirit, Mary reflects the burning bush through which the Word was revealed to Moses. While the burning bush served merely as a sign of the Spirit, Mary is more than a symbol; her presence makes the mission of the Spirit present and active. As the Catechism (724) states: “In Mary, the Holy Spirit manifests the Son of the Father…She is the burning bush of the definitive theophany. Filled with the Holy Spirit she makes the Word visible…she makes Him known.”

This icon invites us to reflect on the Spirit’s maternal mission, made present through Mary, and to embrace Mary’s spiritual motherhood by welcoming her into our lives, just as the Beloved Disciple did (John 19:26-27). Through this icon, Mary is revealed as the sacrament of the Spirit, teaching us that the more we turn to her, the more powerful the Spirit’s action becomes in our lives.