Mary is the Ark of the Covenant
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Today is the Feast of the Visitation – the 2nd Joyful Mystery
Luke 1, Gabriel the Archangel said to Mary, The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will cover you.”…Then Mary set out and went as quickly as she could to a town in the hill country of Judah. She went into Zechariah’s house and greeted Elizabeth. Now as soon as Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leapt in her womb and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. She gave a loud cry and said, ‘Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb. Why should I be honored with a visit from the mother of my Lord? For the moment your greeting reached my ears, the child in my womb leapt for joy. Yes, blessed is she who believed that the promise made her by the Lord would be fulfilled.’
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Luke describes the Visitation in such a way to teach us that Mary is the New Ark of the Covenant. He draws a parallel between:
· Mary coming to Elizabeth in Luke 1:39-56
· With the Ark of the Covenant coming to David in 2 Sam 6:2-16
David arose and went to the hill country of Judah
2 Sam 6:2
Mary arose and went to the hill country of Judah
Lk 1:39
David says “How can the ark of the covenant of the Lord come to me?
2 Sam 6:9
Elizabeth says, Who am I that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
Lk 1:43
Ark goes to the house of Obed-edom
2 Sam 6:10
Mary goes to the house of Zechariah
Lk 1:40
The Ark was there for three months
2 Sam 6:11
Mary stayed there three months
Lk 1:56
David and all Israel were rejoicing.
2 Sam 6:12
Mary rejoices in the Magnificat
Lk 1:47
David shouting
2 Sam 6:15
Elizabeth loud cry
Lk 1:42
David leaping and dancing
2 Sam 6:17
John the Baptist leaps in womb of Elizabeth
Lk 1:41
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In the Old Testament, the Ark of the Covenant did four things:
1. The Ark was the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit
2. The Ark was the visible physical sign that brought God to the people
3. The Ark led them through the wilderness to the promised land
4. The Ark gave them victory in battle, as in the victory at Jericho (Joshua 6)
But what happened to the Ark? Before Jerusalem was destroyed by the Babylonians in 587 BC, Jeremiah the Prophet hid the Ark and lost it. Where is it now? In a warehouse in Washington D.C. No. The Ark is in heaven.
Revelation 11-12
Then God's temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant was seen within his temple... And a great sign appeared in heaven, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars… she brought forth a male child, one who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron, but her child was caught up to God and to his throne,
Mary is the New and Everlasting Ark of the Covenant
The 1st Ark was never found because it was only a temporary sign that prepared for the Everlasting Ark of the Covenant, Mary, the Mother of God. That is why, in the book of Revelation, when John is given a vision of God’s temple in heaven he sees the Ark of the Covenant as a woman clothed with the Sun who is the mother of the male child who will rule all the nations, Jesus, and her children are those who keep the commandments of Christ, all the Christians.
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Mary is the New Ark of the Covenant who does the same four things for us that the Ark did for the Israelites
1. Mary is the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit since she was perfectly filled by the Holy Spirit from the first moment of her existence – that is the meaning of the Immaculate Conception
2. At the Annunciation, the Visitation, the birth, the Presentation in the Temple, in fact at every moment the Holy Spirit and Mary bring Jesus to the world and to us
3. Mary leads us to Heaven by leading us to Jesus
· Jesus is the Way
· She shows the Way - Hodigitria CCC 2674
· Cana “Do whatever he tells you”
4. Mary will give us victory in battle with the Devil
a. In the end My Immaculate Heart will Triumph
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There are only three women of whom the bible says “Blessed are you among women.”
These three women crush the head of their enemy: Mary, Judith and Jael
In the book of Judges chapter 4, the Canannites were attacking Israel at Mt Tabor. Their General went into the tent of looking for food and drink. When he fell asleep, Jael drove a tent spike through his head – saving her people.
This is the woman my daughter Grace chose as her confirmation saint – that should give you some insight to my daughter.
Then there is Judith. When the Assyrians were attacking Israel, Judith seduced their general Holofernes, he became drunk and passed out and Judith took his sword and loped off his head with his own sword saving Israel. And the Scriptures proclaim: The Lord has struck him down by the hand of a woman Judith 13
In Genesis 3:15 – Speaking to Satan God said:
I will make you enemies of each other
You and the Woman
Your offspring and her offspring
She will crush your head
While you strike at her heel.
Revelation chapter 12 describes the cosmic battle between the Woman, Mary, and the great Red Dragon, Satan. The Catechism then connects this prophecy with the Antichrist who will usher in a final trial that will shake the faith of many believers, causing them to turn away from Christ and the Catholic Church.
There is a universal spiritual battle raging right now
· Not between the US and Russia, Christians and Islam, but between the Woman (Mary) and Satan
· Mary stands on the battlefield, inviting her children to fight with her to save souls from hell and to bring about the Triumph of her Immaculate Heart
The purpose of the Movement we aim to spread, the Movement of the Holy Family is to answer the call of Mary to belong unconditionally to her and to become in her hands effective instruments to help her crush the head of Satan and bring about the Triumph of her Immaculate Heart.
And do we do this – by living a simple way of life of genuine and authentic friendship inside our families and beyond, through fostering good conversation to help people think about the most important things in life, and by inviting all people to pray the Rosary where they can encounter the Mercy of Jesus through the hands of Mary.
