Continuing his discourse on Old Testament prefigurements of Mary, Fra Joseph shows the many ways Mary is like the Ark of the Old Covenant, and how this gives biblical evidence for the Catholic Marian doctrines of the Immaculate Conception, Divine Maternity, Perpetual Virginity. Come watch this interesting video and see how Mary is the fulfillment of this most important of Old Testament symbols.

Ave Maria!
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12 COMMENTS

  1. Most people would not want their Mother to be disrespected, so why would anyone disrespect the Mother of Jesus. How do they think Jesus will feel that His Mother has been so disrespected by so many.

  2. Once again, as was pointed out in the number 2 of this series, I have to point out that the Ark of the Covenant is really better prefigured by the church and not Mary. The Church contains 1) the laws(word of God), even THE eternal word of God, Jesus, not as in times past with Mary, but NOW, presently, the carrier of the Word of God. 2) The bread (presently, not at one time 2000 years ago) in the Eucharist. And, 3) the Authority of Christ.

    I must agree with the first commenter on the #2 of this series; this is a bad intrepretation and perhaps even scandelous to the purposes of winning protestants.

    • Once a year, on the Day of Atonement, the high priest would enter into the Holy of Holies with the blood of a ram to cover up the sins of God’s people. At the death of Christ, this heavy veil was rent into two, thus indicating that we now have access to God through Christ. (Hb. 10:19,20)
      The Ark was made of wood covered with gold and thus spoke of Christ. Here, we can now encounter Christ as the Way, the Truth and the Life. Christ is the Way to God. Aaron’s rod, which budded, was within the Ark (Ex 25) and Aaron was a high priest, one whose function was to lead men to God. Christ is our Higth Priest. He is the bridge-builder between God and man.
      Christ is the Truth. Within the Ark were the Ten Commandments (Ex 25). God alone is the Truth, the standard of what is right and wrong. Christ is the Truth of God. He is our example and source of God’s Truth. Christ is the Life. In the Ark was the golden pot of manna (Hb 9:4). This is the miraculous food from Heaven which sustained God’s people in their desert travels. Christ is the life (Jn 6:58) and He sustains us. Christ is Holy Communion.
      On top of the Ark, and as part of it, was the Mercy Seat of pure gold (Ex. 25:17). Here, mercy was obtained through the sprinkling of blood once a year. The fulfillment of this is in Christ’s Sacrifice, the Holy Sacrifice of Mass (Divine Liturgy). The Novus Ordo English Liturgy is not Divine Liturgy. It is’t canonize and it is invalid.

      • From:God’s Word Modernists Refuted Bible Verified
        by Fr. Paul Trinchard, S.T.L.
        Second and Revised Edition
        Original Foreword by Rev. Vincent Miceli, Ph.D.

        • CATHOLIC- often misunderstood in religious circles to mean universal; the root word refers to “the seat” upon which the “Head” sits (as in ex cathedra). Christ is the Head of His Church.

          Divine Liturgy is Christ on His Mercy Seat. Therefore, “Catholic” is defined as “having Divine Liturgy” from which Christ-given Divine Mercy comes to us, sinners.

          Catechism of Divine Liturgy by Fr. Paul Trinchard, S.T.L.

        • Chapter Nine
          TEMPLE AND TEMPLE FEASTS IN PROPHECY AND FULFILLMENT

          The Prophecy of Sacrifice
          The Primary purpose of the temple was to be a place of sacrifice. After Adam and Eve sinned, they felt ashamed to come to God. God removed their shame by clothing them with the skins of an animal. The first animal was sacrificed by God for man and was prophetic of God’s future Blessing through the shedding of blood.

          Animal sacrifice prophesied the shedding of blood by Christ in order to remove our sins and thus make us acceptable to God. Christ’s Sacrifice has a double purpose: ro remove our sins and to unite us to God.

  3. For further contrast, consider:
    1) The Ark did not give birth or produce the items therein. Rather, the items were placed in it after the contract (covenant) was established. Mary, on the other hand, bore the Son of God out of her body, whenceforth, He then existed outside of her person. The church however, the New Covenant, was to be the permanant RECEPTACLE of the items.

    2) The budded rod of Aaron, budded first, was publicly displayed, as being life from dead wood, and was later placed in the Ark.
    – Christ was budded inside Mary and delivered to the outside to be publicly displayed on the Cross.
    – The reverse is true of the church, wherein the Crucified Christ is publicly portrayed, and placed into the Ark of the Church, that He may be with her unto the end of the Ages.

  4. James, you speak as if the Church is a building or something concrete.

    The Church is the sum of it’s members. The Church is its members. *We* are the Church (assuming you are Catholic). Therefore, even by your reasoning Mary is the Ark.

    As Mary is a member of the Church, she therefore is the Church and if you want to say the Church is the Ark, then Mary is the Ark.

    However, Father Joseph’s explanation is much more clear and exactly as I’ve read before.

  5. Nicola, I was not at all speakling that way (as if the church is a building). A building cannot evengelize, etc… You have put something onto my statements that is not there. Further, the church is not just the assembly (or “sum of”, as you put it) of believers, but the teachings and ministries as well (pilliar and support of the truth). That said:

    Mary’s inclusion in the church, even in a place of blessed status, does not mean: Mary = Church.. If that is the logic you are using, then every Saint of God in the Church is”prefigured” in the Ark! But this is quite obviously not so…

    • I’m learning through my scripture studies that there are many “layers” in scripture.
      Only proving that it is inspired by God.

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