Mary and the Holy Spirit: Fullness of Grace©

The charts below are direct quotes from Post-Vatican II Magisterial Documents concerning the theme, Fullness of Grace. These teachings of the Catholic Church may prove useful to include in talks, homilies or for research. For the full title and document data, click on the abbreviation code (for example, BYM leads you to the document, Behold Your Mother). This will also lead you to the complete document on this website, or assist you in locating it elsewhere.

For an index of the documents used in the study see: List of Magisterial Documents
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Documents	III. Mary and the Holy Spirit / 3. Fullness of Grace
Lumen Gentium, 1964	temple of the Holy Spirit 53 because of this gift of sublime grace she far surpasses all creatures, both in heaven and on earth 53 unique holiness...hailed...by divine command, as "full of grace: (cf. Lk 1:28) 56 [Note: items under "holiness" and "exalted" refer to grace.]
Signum Magnum, 1967	It was this perfect harmony between divine grace and her own human activity that gave honor to the Blessed Trinity and made her the crowning glory of the Church. 16 in God's kind dispensation, her freely proffered assent and her generous efforts under God's inspiration have greatly contributed - and still do - to man's attainment of salvation 21 bequeathed his own Mother to him [St. Paul] as a spiritual inheritance, along with the rich store of grace and virtue that she had accumulated. [See also "development"] 32 [St. Bernard] "Coming to her, the Holy Spirit filled her with grace for herself; when the same Spirit pervaded her again, she became superabundant and overflowing with grace for us also." 32
Creed, Paul VI, 1968	filled with the gift of grace more than all other creatures [17: cf. LG 53] 14
General Catechetical Directory, 1971	Mary is "full of grace" (Lk 1, 28) 68
Behold Your Mother (USA), 1973	"Temple of the Holy Spirit," (LG 53) she continues to exercise a special influence... 127
Marialis Cultus, 1974	[liturgy, doctrinal theme] Temple of the Holy Spirit 11 [the Fathers] saw in the mysterious relationship between the Spirit and Mary an aspect redolent of marriage, poetically portrayed by Prudentius: "The unwed Virgin espoused the Spirit," and they called her the "Temple of the Holy Spirit," (Isidore) an expression that emphasizes the sacred character of the Virgin, now the permanent dwelling of the Spirit of God. 26 Mother of the Son of God, and therefore beloved daughter of the Father and Temple of the Holy Spirit - "Mary, who, because of this extraordinary grace, is far greater than any other creature on earth or in heaven." (LG 53) 56 Delving deeply into the doctrine of the Paraclete, they saw that from Him as from a spring there flowed forth the fullness of grace (cf. Lk. 1:28) and the abundance of gifts that adorned her. 26 exhort everyone ... to meditate more deeply on the working of the Holy Spirit in the history of salvation, and to ensure that Christian spiritual writings give due prominence to His life-giving action. Such a study will bring out in particular the hidden relationship between the Spirit of God and the Virgin of Nazareth, and show the influence they exert on the Church. 27
Gaudete in Domino, 1975	[context: ability to accept the gifts of the Spirit of God this spiritual experience "according to the diversity of charisms and particular vocations, it illustrates the mystery of Christian joy."] In the first rank is the Virgin Mary, full of grace, the Mother of the Savior #
Redemptoris Mater, 1987	["fullness of time"] marks the moment when the Holy Spirit, who had already infused the fullness of grace into Mary of Nazareth, formed in her virgin womb the human nature of Christ. 1 [Mary is "full of grace," ... Incarnation ... as a result] the temple of the Holy Spirit 9 through the power of the Holy Spirit, in the order of grace, which is a participation in the divine nature, Mary receives life from him to whom she herself, in the order of earthly generation, gave life as a mother. 10
The VM in Intellectual and Spiritual Formation, 1988	in a special way, is his temple (cf. LG 53) 8
Mulieris Dignitatem, 1988	[the Annunciation] is clearly interpersonal in character: it is a dialogue. We can only understand it fully if we place the whole conversation between the angel and Mary in the context of the words: "full of grace." (Cf.. RM 7-11) ... [supernatural event] Grace never casts nature aside or cancels it out, but rather perfects and ennobles it. Therefore the "fullness of grace" that was granted to the Virgin of Nazareth, with a view to the fact that she would become "Theotokos," also signifies the fullness of the perfection of "what is characteristic of woman," of "what is feminine." ... culminating point, the archetype, of the personal dignity of women. 5
Veritatis Splendor, 1993	"full of grace" 106
Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1994 Fidei Depositum, 1992	721 Mary, the all-holy ever-virgin Mother of God, is the masterwork of the mission of the Son and the Spirit in the fullness of time. For the first time in the plan of salvation and because his Spirit had prepared her, the Father found the dwelling place where his Son and his Spirit could dwell among men. In this sense the Church's Tradition has often read the most beautiful texts on wisdom in relation to Mary. (Cf.. Prov 8:1-9; Sir 24) Mary is acclaimed and represented in the liturgy as the "Seat of Wisdom." In her, the "wonders of God" that the Spirit was to fulfill in Christ and the Church began to be manifested... [see continuation above in "fashioned by HS," 722]
Orientale Lumen, 1995 Ut Unum Sint, 1995	In this mystery [faith in Jesus Christ] the faithful, united with their bishops, have access to God the Father through the Son, the Word made flesh who suffered and was glorified in the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. And so, made "shares of the divine nature" (2 Pt 1:4) they enter into communion with the most holy Trinity. (UR 15) These features describe the Eastern outlook of the Christian. His or her goal is participation in the divine nature through communion with the mystery of the Holy Trinity ... OL 6 On this path of divinization, those who have been made "most Christlike: by grace and by commitment to the way of goodness go before us: the martyrs and the saints." And the Virgin Mary occupies an altogether special place among them. From her the shoot of Jesse sprang (cf. Is 11:1) OL 6
Vita Consecrata, 1996	Mary is the model of the acceptance of grace by human creatures. 28 In Mary, "the temple of the Holy Spirit," (LG 59) all the splendor of the new creation shines forth. 28
Rosarium Virginis Mariae, 2002	When in the Rosary we plead with Mary, the sanctuary of the Holy Spirit (cf. Lk 1:35), she intercedes for us before the Father who filled her with grace and before the Son born of her womb, praying with us and for us. 16

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