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Mary - Ark Of The New Covenant

StColette

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StColette

StColette

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[b]Mary - Ark of the New Covenant[/b]

Exodus 25:11-21

[i]11 Plate it inside and outside with pure gold, and put a molding of gold around the top of it.
12 Cast four gold rings and fasten them on the four supports of the ark, two rings on one side and two on the opposite side.
13 Then make poles of acacia wood and plate them with gold.
14 These poles you are to put through the rings on the sides of the ark, for carrying it;
15 they must remain in the rings of the ark and never be withdrawn.
16 In the ark you are to put the commandments which I will give you.
17 "You shall then make a propitiatory of pure gold, two cubits and a half long, and one and a half cubits wide.
18 Make two cherubim of beaten gold for the two ends of the propitiatory,
19 fastening them so that one cherub springs direct from each end.
20 The cherubim shall have their wings spread out above, covering the propitiatory with them; they shall be turned toward each other, but with their faces looking toward the propitiatory.
21 This propitiatory you shall then place on top of the ark. In the ark itself you are to put the commandments which I will give you.[/i]

The Ark of the Covenant was made of the purest gold just as Mary was made of everything that is pure. She is the Immaculate Conception free from all stain of sin, by the graces in which God poured into her.

We also read in this verse that the commandments, which are the Word of God were placed within the Ark. Christ was placed into the womb of Mary, He is the Word of God made flesh.

John 1:14 [i]And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us, and we saw his glory, the glory as of the Father's only Son, full of grace and truth. [/i]

Just as the ten commandments, the Word of God, were placed within the Old Ark, Christ, the Word made flesh was placed within the New Ark, Mary.

2 Sam. 6:7

[i]6 When they came to the threshing floor of Nodan, Uzzah reached out his hand to the ark of God and steadied it, for the oxen were making it tip.
7 But the LORD was angry with Uzzah; God struck him on that spot, and he died there before God[/i].

1 Chron. 13:9-10

[i]9 As they reached the threshing floor of Chidon, Uzzah stretched out his hand to steady the ark, for the oxen were upsetting it.
10 Then the LORD became angry with Uzzah and struck him; he died there in
God's presence, because he had laid his hand on the ark. [/i]

The Old Ark was so pure that no man could touch it. Mary who was spared by God from original sin and sin her entire life is even more undefiled than the Old Ark. Just as the Old Ark was made pure and holy so that it could carry the Word of God on stone tablets, so Mary was made most pure so that she would carry God's eternal Word in her womb.

1 Chron. 15 and 16 - these verses show the awesome reverence the Jews had for the Ark - veneration, vestments, songs, harps, lyres, cymbals, trumpets.

Because of the length of these chapters I will not type them out but I will explain about why these chapters are significant. If you read these chapters you will see that the Old Ark was given great veneration because it carried the Word of God within it. The same applies for the veneration of the Virgin Mary; she is the New Ark, who carried within her womb the Word of God.

[b]Parallels of the Old Testament and New Testament concerning the New Ark[/b]

Luke 1:31-32,35 / Ex. 40:34,35

Ex. 40 34,35

[i]34 Then the cloud covered the meeting tent, and the glory of the LORD filled the
Dwelling.
35 Moses could not enter the meeting tent, because the cloud settled down upon it and the glory of the LORD filled the Dwelling[/i].

Luke 1:3132,35

[i]32 He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father,
35 And the angel said to her in reply, "The holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God. [/i]

This parallel is quite evident. Just as the Ark of the Covenant was overshadowed the tent in which it rested. The Ark was filled with the glory of the Lord. For the Ark is the dwelling place of the Lord. Mary was also overshadowed and filled with the glory of God and her womb became the dwelling place of Christ, God in human form.

Luke 1:41 / 2 Sam. 6:16

2 Sam. 6:16

[i]16 As the ark of the LORD was entering the City of David, Saul's daughter Michal looked down through the window and saw King David leaping and dancing before the LORD, and she despised him in her heart. [/i]

Luke 1:41

[i]41 When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth, filled with the holy Spirit, [/i]

The parallel that is present between these two Biblical verses is unmistakable. King David leaped for join at seeing the Ark. John even though still in his mother's womb leaped for joy at the sound of Mary, the New Ark, greeting.

Luke 1:43 / 2 Sam. 6:9

2 Sam. 6:9

[i]9 David feared the LORD that day and said, "How can the ark of the LORD come to me?" [/i]

Luke 1:43

[i]43 And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? [/i]

King David is astonished that the Ark of the Lord should come to him. Elizabeth's response to Mary is the same as David's to the Ark. Elizabeth says " And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?" which this statement completely parallels with David's response to the Ark. Mark is the New Ark in which Christ, the Word made Flesh, was carried.

Luke 1:56 / 2 Sam. 6:11 and 1 Chron. 13:14

2 Sam. 6:11

[i]11 The ark of the LORD remained in the house of Obed-edom the Gittite for three months, and the LORD blessed Obed-edom and his whole house. [/i]

1 Chron. 13:14

[i]14 The ark of God remained in the house of Obed-edom with his family for three months, and the LORD blessed Obed-edom's household and all that he possessed.[/i]

Luke 1:56

[i]56 Mary remained with her about three months and then returned to her home.
The Ark in the Old Testament stayed within the house of Obed-edom for three months and Mary in the New Testament stayed with Elizabeth for three months. [/i]

[b]Christ represented as that which lies within the Ark of the Covenant[/b]

Heb:9:4:

[i]4 in which were the gold altar of incense and the ark of the covenant entirely covered with gold. In it were the gold jar containing the manna, the staff of Aaron that had sprouted, and the tablets of the covenant. [/i]

Manna is the bread of life as is Christ

Jn:6:33:

[i]33 For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world." [/i]

Jn:6:35:

[i]35 Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst. [/i]

Jn:6:48:

[i]48 I am the bread of life. [/i]

Tablets of the testament, meaning the Ten Commandments. Just as the Ten
Commandments were the Word of God also was Christ.

Jn:1:14:

[i]14 And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us, and we saw his glory, the glory as of the Father's only Son, full of grace and truth. [/i]

The rod of Aaron, Christ is depicted in Revelation as ruling all nations with an iron rod. Christ is the King of kings and Ruler of all nations there is no mistaking that the child "who was to rule all nations with an iron rod" is Christ.

Rv:2:27:

[i]27 He will rule them with an iron rod. Like clay vessels will they be smashed, [/i]

Rv:12:5:

[i]5 She gave birth to a son, a male child, destined to rule all the nations with an iron rod. Her child was caught up to God and his throne[/i].

Rv:19:15:

[i]15 Out of his mouth came a sharp sword to strike the nations. He will rule them with an iron rod, and he himself will tread out in the wine press the wine of the fury and wrath of God the almighty. [/i]

And all these things, the manna, rod of Aaron, and the Ten Commandments were found within the Ark of the Covenant. Christ represents or is connected to each of those things in some way. He is the Bread of Life ( manna ), He is the Word of God ( Ten Commandments ), and He rules all nations with an iron rod ( rod of Aaron ). Just as the manna, Ten Commandments, and rod of Aaron were carried within the Ark of the Covenant so was Christ carried within the womb of Mary, who is the Ark of the New Covenant.

[b]The Ark in the Book of Revelation[/b]

Rev 11:19 -12:1

[i]11: 19 Then God's temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant could be seen in the temple. There were flashes of lightning, rumblings, and peals of thunder, an earthquake, and a violent hailstorm. [/i]

[i]12:1 A great sign appeared in the sky, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. [/i]

If you look carefully at Rev 11:9-12:1 St. John is telling us what he is seeing in Heaven. We must all remember that the verse divisions and chapter divisions did not exist until the Middle Ages. He first begins telling us that he sees the ark of the covenant, but keep in mind there is no break between discussing the Ark and the appearance of the woman ( Mary ).

[b]Quotes of the Church Fathers, Popes, and Saints:[/b]

Pope Pius XII in Munificentissimus Deus, speaking of the Fathers, wrote:

... some have employed the words of the Psalmist: "Arise, O Lord, and go into Thy resting place, Thou and the ark of Thy might" and have looked upon the Ark of the Covenant, built of incorruptible wood and places in the Lord's temple, as a type of the most pure body of the Virgin Mary, preserved and exempted from all corruption of the tomb and raised up to such glory in heaven.

Just as the New Covenant surpasses the Old, so the new Ark of the Covenant (Our Lady) is superior to the old. The old Ark contained the word of God inscribed on stone tablets, but the new Ark contained the Incarnate Word of God. The old Ark held the Law that could not justify, but the new Ark held Jesus Christ Who Himself is the eternal New Covenant with God; He Who justifies and saves. Moses placed the manna from the desert before the Tablets in the old Ark of the Covenant, but the new Ark was the repository of the true Manna, the Bread come down from heaven, Jesus Christ the Son of God. The old Ark was made of inanimate materials, but the new Ark is the greatest human person whoever has or ever will live - she whose soul has been adorned by God with a superabundance of the choicest graces.

The Israelites had a great reverential fear for the Ark of the Covenant in the Old Testament. Only the priests were allowed to touch it. The Lord struck down Oza for touching the Ark when the Israelites were moving it to Jerusalem (2 Kings 6:6-7). And the Ark of the Covenant proved to be a blessing for Obededom and all his household when it stayed in his house for three months (2 Kings 6:10-11). How much more then is loving respect and honor due to the new Ark of the Covenant - the Magnificent Mother of God. For it is through Mary's fiat that we have received such a glorious Savior Who redeemed us by His Holy Cross and nourishes us with His Body and Blood.

In a Coptic sermon, attributed to St. Anthanasius {died: 373 A.D.; feast: May 2}, the Holy Virgin is thus addressed:

"O noble Virgin, truly you are greater than any other greatness. For who is your equal in greatness, O dwelling place of God the Word? To whom among all creatures shall I compare you, O Virgin? You are greater than them all O Covenant, clothed with purity instead of gold! You are the Ark in which is found the golden vessel containing the true manna, that is, the flesh in which divinity resides."

Gregory of Neo-Caesarea (3rd Century) quotes Psalm 132 as referring to Mary: "Arise O Lord to Thy resting place; Thou and the ark of Thy sanctification" (Psalm 132:8). In this regard, he said, "For the holy Virgin is in truth an ark, wrought with gold both within and without (Exodus 25:10-11, 37:1-2), that has received the whole treasury of the sanctuary" (Homily I on the Annunciation).

Romanos Melodes: ‘The the ark prefigured the Virgin who gave birth to God, the propitiation of the world, for in it lay the urn with the manna that fed Israel’

St. Germanus of Constantinople: ‘spiritual and divine ark of the New Covenant’

St. Andrew of Crete ‘See here the new ark of the glory of God in which lies the golden urn that contained the manna that fed Israel’

Richard of St Victor (1073) called Her Foederis Arca, the Ark of the Covenant, about 1,000 years after her birth.

Pseudo-Proclus. 'She is the ark, guilded inside and outside, sanctified in body and spirit, where were found the thurible of gold and the urn with manna’

The importance of getting the fact that Mary is the New Ark is important in other Marian doctrine especially the Immaculate Conception. If one is able to establish with someone that Mary is the New Ark you can also have them agree that she was immaculately conceived. Since the Ark of the Covenant was most pure and holy it was without any blemish. In saying that Mary, being the New Ark, would have to be completely pure and holy without blemish if she were to be consider the Ark of the Covenant. So if you can establish that Mary is the New Ark you can easily prove the dogma of the Immaculate Conception.

God Bless,
Jennie Catherine

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franciscanheart

franciscanheart

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[quote]The importance of getting the fact that Mary is the New Ark is important in other Marian doctrine especially the Immaculate Conception. If one is able to establish with someone that Mary is the New Ark you can also have them agree that she was immaculately conceived. Since the Ark of the Covenant was most pure and holy it was without any blemish. In saying that Mary, being the New Ark, would have to be completely pure and holy without blemish if she were to be consider the Ark of the Covenant. So if you can establish that Mary is the New Ark you can easily prove the dogma of the Immaculate Conception.

God Bless,
Jennie Catherine[/quote]

it works it works!! yay!!

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