My dear parishioners,
Peace! On the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, 7 October, 2019, Pope Francis established the feast of Our Lady of Loreto, to be observed each year on the 10th of December. At the same time Pope Francis proclaimed a Lauretan Jubilee Holy Year to run from 8 December, 2019 through 10 December, 2020. There are fifty-one invocations in the Litany of Loreto. The following is a reflection on the thirty-third invocation: Ark of the Covenant, pray for us.
What does it mean to say that Saint Mary, the Blessed Virgin Mother of God is the “Ark of the Covenant”? There are nearly two hundred verses which mention “ark” in Sacred Scripture. The Hebrew word tebah is translated as “ark” as in Noah’s boat (cf. Genesis 6:14). Noah and his family and every beast and creeping thing and fowl were saved from the waters in the ark (cf. Genesis 7:7; 8:19). The Hebrew word aron is also translated as “ark” as in the Ark of the Covenant (cf. Exodus 25:10). Moses was directed by God to construct the Ark of the Covenant (cf. Exodus 25:10). Within the Ark of the Covenant were kept the Ten Commandments (cf. Exodus 16:34; Hebrews 9:4). The Mercy Seat of God was placed upon the Ark of the Covenant, everything hidden behind a veil (cf. Exodus 26:33-34). The tribe of Levi was chosen to bear the Ark of the Covenant (cf. Deuteronomy 10:8). The Ark of the Covenant accompanied Israel through the desert, even stopping the waters of the Jordan river under Joshua’s leadership (cf. Joshua 3:8). The presence of the Ark of the Covenant roused the people of God (cf. 1 Samuel 4:3-6). There are nearly three hundred verses in Sacred Scripture which mention “covenant.” The Hebrew word beriyth is often translated as “covenant” but literally means “to cut” as in, may I be cut in half if I do not fulfill my promise. The Greek word diatheke often translated as “covenant” means a solemn disposition, compact or contract. There are several covenants found in Sacred Scripture, with Noah (Genesis 6:18; 9:9), Abraham (Genesis 15:18; 17:7-9), Moses and ultimately the new and everlasting covenant in the Blood of Jesus (1 Corinthians 11:25).
For the first nine months of His human existence the Lord Jesus Christ, the new and definitive Moses, who came not to abolish the Law and the Prophets (Matthew 5:17; 17:1-8; Mark 9:2-8; Luke 9:28-36) but to fulfill them and give us the grace we need to keep them (cf. John 1:17), was treasured and safeguarded in Our Lady’s Immaculate womb. The ark of Noah and the old Ark of the Covenant were but a foreshadowing of the Mother of God who rouses the fervor and devotion of her Son’s followers, adopted brothers and sisters (cf. Matthew 12:50). If our faith is more precious than fire tried gold (cf. 1 Peter 1:7), how much more precious is Christ Himself, Son of God and Mary.
Father John Arthur Orr