Fr. Sam Koonamplackil V.C. –
When we go through the New Testament we understand that Mother Mary is the first person to have received the Holy Spirit in the entire New Testament history – “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you;” (Lk 1:35) Heaven is promising the Holy Spirit to Mother Mary and heaven filled her with that Spirit. She then conceived Jesus and gave birth to Him.
Mother Mary is the chosen one of God to be the Mother of God. She had a very special mission to fulfil – giving birth to our Saviour (Mt 1:21). Even after the birth of Jesus she had certain missions to accomplish by treasuring the words and deeds of Jesus in her heart (Lk2:51). She had the authority and the experience to strengthen the apostles and the other disciples once Jesus died, resurrected and ascended to heaven. “All there with one accord devoted themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the Mother of Jesus, and with his brethren.” (Acts 1:14) She prayed with the Apostles and prepared them for their future ministry. To do the ministry of evangelization to the ends of the earth they needed the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:4, 8). Mother Mary took the initiative to prepare them. Mother Mary was given to them by Jesus and the Apostles prayed with her like very obedient children. Jesus knew that the Apostles and the future Church needed her help and intercession. So Jesus, from the Cross, told St. John the apostle to take her with him (Jn 19:26, 27). He represented all the other apostles and in fact all the believers of Jesus. Jesus asked his mother to go with St. John because they needed her help and guidance for their future ministry.
Mother Mary had 34 years of deep experience with the Holy Spirit. She knew how to prepare oneself to receive the Holy Spirit. She knew how one could grow in anointing and she also knew to share the same Spirit. She was the most experienced person in this regard in the whole of the New Testament and a one who had long experience of living with the Holy Spirit. So her experience really helped the apostles to receive the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:1-4) and accomplish their ministries very faithfully and courageously.
According to the Bible, wherever and whenever people wanted the Holy Spirit they spent time with or prayed with spirit- filled people with enough preparation, and then they too received the Holy Spirit. When we read 1 Samuel 10:1-16 we observe this. Here Prophet Samuel prophesies to Saul and says that he would meet a band of prophets. (The Prophets are the people operating in the charisms of prophecy, faith, etc and these come from the Holy Spirit) These Prophets were controlled by the Holy Spirit. When Saul met them, he too was filled with the Holy Spirit. “… and the Spirit of God came mightily upon him, and he prophesied among them,” (1 Sam 10:10)
The same things happened when people received Mother Mary and prayed with her.
“And she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the child leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit,” (Lk 1:40 – 41) When Mother Mary stepped into Elizabeth’s house the anointing of the Holy Spirit too stepped into her house because Mother Mary was full of the Holy Spirit. And the Holy Spirit was flowing from her body and heart, as she believed in God. “He who believes in me, as the scripture has said, ‘out of his heart shall flow rivers of living waters,” (Jn 7:37)
The Apostles and others prayed with Mother Mary (Acts 1:14). They were all filled with the Holy Spirit (Acts 2). They had the faith and obedience to be with Mother Mary and to pray with Mother Mary. So they were filled with the Holy Spirit.