Mary, Ark of the New Covenant

Exodus 40:34: "Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle."

Luke 1:35: "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"

__________________________________________

John 1:13: "Born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh or of the will of man..."

Luke 1:34: "I do not know man."

John 1:13: "...but of God."

John 1:14 "And the Word was made flesh and dwelt (pitched his tent) among us."

Exodus 25:8 "And let them make me a sanctuary that I may dwell in their midst"

_____________________________________________

Exodus 25: 10-11 "They shall make an ark...and you shall overlay it with pure gold within and without..."

Luke 1: 28 “Hail, full of grace!”

Exodus 25: 21 "And you shall put the mercy seat on top of the ark; and in the ark you shall put the testimony that I shall give you."

Exodus 25: 22 "There I shall meet with you, and from above the mercy seat..."

John 19:25 "…But standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother..."

____________________________________________________

2 Samuel 6:9 "How can the ark of the Lord come to me?"

Luke 1:43 "And why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?"

2 Samuel 6:11 "The ark of the Lord remained for three months in the house."

Luke 1:56 "And Mary remained with her about three months."

2 Samuel 6:16 "David leaping and dancing before the Lord."

Luke 1:41 "The babe leapt in her womb."

_________________________________________

Hebrews 9:4 "... the Ark of the Covenant...which contained a golden urn holding the manna and Aaron’s rod that budded, ...and the tables of the covenant." Exodus 16:32-34

Mary is the ark of the new covenant that carried the Word of God and the manna come down from heaven, the bread of life, Jesus, our great high priest.

John 6:31-35 “Our fathers ate manna in the wilderness.... The bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world...

I am the bread of life."

_____________________________________________

The Glory Of the Lord had departed from Israel and the temple

when the Ark of the Covenant was lost, and was not seen there

again until Mary came with Jesus to the temple.

Ezekiel 10:18 "The Glory of the Lord went forth..."

Luke 2:25-32 "Now master let your servant go in peace... for my eyes have seen...a light for revelation to the Gentiles and the Glory of your people Israel."

Revelation 21:2-3 "And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice from the throne saying, ‘Behold the dwelling of God is with men, He will dwell with them…’"

Revelation 11:19 "Then God’s temple in heaven was opened in heaven, and the ark of his covenant was seen within his temple...

12:1 And a great portent appeared in heaven, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars...."

Genesis 3:15 "I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; he shall bruise thy head and thou shalt bruise his heel."

Mary is an example of obedient faith in God and an image and symbol of the Church, which carries Christ into the world. For this reason she was called by the early Greek Christians, Theotokos, or God Bearer. She is also called the Mother of the Church, which is the mystical body of Christ as Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 12:12-30.