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Writer's pictureSarah Raad

Ark

No wonder Our Blessed Mother is Beloved of God and Queen of Heaven… For who could do the things She has done?

The Virgin - Ark of the Covenant

May is typically the month that we devote to Our Blessed Mother. Marian devotions have typically been a source of contention among many Christian, non-Catholic groups, who see the Catholic devotion to Our Blessed Mother as somehow diminishing our devotion to God – her Lord, Spouse and Son. Sadly, when people believe this it is a sign of their failure to understand the power of the intercessions of the Blessed Virgin…


Oh, what good she does for souls! Oh, what a comfort she is to us poor sinners!


The Blessed Virgin was the Masterpiece of God the Creator. She was in His mind and in His love – as were we all – since the beginning of time. And since, time never began for God that means that Our Blessed Mother was loved by God eternally…


I have been reading a little about the Blessed Virgin in recent weeks and what I have discovered is the evidence of God’s love for her for all time – for she was in His mind through so many of the pivotal moments of existence. The parallels between the Old Testament and the New in relation to the Queen of Heaven are astounding…


And how important she is to all of us – How important she is to God! God knew Her and loved her and spoke of her from the beginning of time…


In the Old Testament, God made several covenants with humanity. These covenants established the relationship between God and His creatures. The Covenant established with the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt was communicated in the stone tablets handed to Moses on the Mount Sinai and kept safe in the Ark of the Covenant. This was the agreement – the relationships between humanity and God… But this covenant was limited. It existed only between God and the Israelites. They were God’s chosen people. And so, when they rejected God the Son – the Messiah – Christ called instead, all of us to be His chosen people and formed a new Covenant with us through the sacrifice of God the Son on the Cross…

In this way, Our Blessed Mother is the NEW Ark of the NEW Covenant. Our Blessed Mother has replaced the Old Covenant of the Old Testament…

And the similarities are obvious once you know how to see them…


In the Old and the New Testament, the Ark of the Covenant was covered with a CLOUD… In the Old Testament, “When the priests withdrew from the Holy Place, the cloud filled the temple of the Lord.” (1 Kings, 8:10). That cloud that covered the Ark of the Covenant in the Old Testament, also covered Our Blessed Mother – the New Ark of the Covenant – through the overshadowing of the Holy Spirit. In the New Testament, “The angel answered, ‘The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So, the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God…’” (Luke 1:35).


In the Old Testament and the New Testament, the Ark of the Covenant entered Judea… In the Old Testament, “He and all his men went to Baalah in Judah to bring up from there the ark of God...” (2 Samuel 6:2). The New Ark of the Covenant also visited Judea when Our Blessed Mother followed the instructions of the angel and went to her cousin, Elizabeth there… “At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea…” (Luke 1:39).


In the Old Testament and the New Testament, the Ark of the Covenant was greeted with leaps of joy… In the Old Testament, “…saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord...” (2 Samuel 6:16). In the New Testament, the New Ark of the Covenant was also greeted with leaps of joy, “When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.” (Luke 1:41).


In the Old Testament and the New Testament, the Ark of the Covenant was greeted with a question… In the Old Testament, “David was afraid of the Lord that day and said, ‘How can the ark of the Lord ever come to me?’” (2 Samuel 6:9). The New Ark of the Covenant was greeted with questions too as Elizabeth asked, “But why am I so favoured, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” (Luke 1:43).


In the Old Testament and the New Testament, the Ark of the Covenant stayed where God had sent it for three months… In the Old Testament, “The ark of the Lord remained in the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite for three months...” (2 Samuel 6:9). In the New Testament, “Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months and then returned home.” (Luke 1:56).


In the Old Testament and the New Testament, the Ark of the Covenant contained bread, the word and the priest… In the Old Testament, “which had the golden altar of incense and the gold-covered ark of the covenant. This ark contained the gold jar of manna, Aaron’s staff that had budded, and the stone tablets of the covenant.” (Hebrews 9:4). In the New Testament, within her womb, as she carried God the Son, Our Blessed Mother carried the “living bread”, the “word made flesh” and the “Great High Priest”. Christ called Himself the bread, “I am the living bread that came down from Heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.” (John 6:51). Christ is called the Word, “The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14). Christ is called the priest, “Therefore, since we have a Great High Priest who has ascended into Heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess.” (Hebrews 4:14).

There are other similarities also...

We are told in the Old Testament that the Ark of the Covenant was “pure gold, both inside and out” (Exodus 25:11), and in the New Testament we are told that Our Blessed Mother was pure because she was conceived without sin.


In the Old Testament we are told that the Ark was kept immaculate as “The curtain will separate the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place.” (Exodus 26:33), and in the New Testament we are told that Our Blessed Mother was immaculate – conceived without sin.


The Old Testament Ark was not touched “The Lord’s anger burned against Uzzah, and He struck him down because he had put his hand on the ark” (1 Chronicles 13:10) and in the New Testament, we are told that Our Blessed Mother is a virgin – untouched.


We are told in the Old Testament that only the High Priest could go near the Ark, “high priest is to make atonement” (Leviticus 16:32) and in the New Testament, we are told that Our Blessed Mother had only one child – the High Priest, who was the only One allowed near the Ark.


Through this, the words in the Book of Revelations are made clear… “Then God’s temple in heaven was opened, and within his temple was seen the ark of his covenant….” (Revelations 11:19). “A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head.” (Revelations 12:22).


No wonder Our Blessed Mother is Beloved of God and Queen of Heaven… For who could do the things She has done?


For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.

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