Mary, Ark of the Covenant

“Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive and bear a son, and you shall call him Jesus.” (Luke 1:30-31)

When Gabriel came to Mary, she said yes to God that she would bear the Son of God in her womb, and while bearing the Bread of Life, she became the new Ark of the Covenant, one of her titles. In the Book of Exodus God commanded the Israelites to make a seat for Him when He came down to talk to Moses. This seat was on the Ark of the Covenant. During their desert wandering, the Israelites put the Ark of Covenant in the middle of their camp in the tabernacle where God came onto the mercy seat. Before the Israelites entered the Promised Land, the priests carried the Ark of the Covenant across the Jordan River first, and the river receded back leaving the land dry. Mary is the new Ark of the Covenant because she was pure and because she bore what was in the Ark of the Covenant in the living form of Jesus Christ.

Mary’s purity mirrors the Ark of the Covenant’s purity. The Ark of the Covenant was made out of acacia wood which is incorruptible. Mary is like acacia because of her Immaculate Conception. As she would have Jesus later in life, God made her pure by preserving her from all sin through grace. Having been gilded over, the Ark of the Covenant was made even better, like Mary in her saying yes to God. In the end Mary kept on saying yes all through her life, especially on Calvary, making her purer than ever, which made her superior to the Ark of the Covenant. 

Bearing the same contents as the Ark of the Covenant in a different, living form, Mary is superior to the Ark. Inside the Ark of the Covenant were a vase of manna, the Ten Commandments, and the staff of Aaron. In Mary’s womb Jesus was like the vase of manna in the Ark because he is the Bread of Life. He is also the Word of God, which makes him like the Ten Commandments. As the priest on Calvary, he saved the human race like Aaron’s staff saved the Israelites during the ten plagues in Egypt. By carrying Jesus who is the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, Mary is superior to the Ark which held only symbols of Jesus. 

In conclusion, Mary is the new Ark of the Covenant because she is pure and because she conceived what was carried inside it in the living form of Jesus Christ. Mary, being the new Ark of the Covenant benefits the entire Church because she also asks for God’s mercy for her children, she lives in the hearts of the people of the Church, and she leads anyone who would follow her to her Son, while making the way easier.