Actually, Mary is only one of many spiritual Arks of the Covenant. Under the New Covenant, the bodies of ALL believers in Jesus Christ are temples of the Holy Spirit. All of us and not just Mary. God is showing us that he is not limited to any physical object as is believed of the false pagan gods, but that he exists everywhere. Again, no Mary necessary as her chosen mission on earth is complete.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20
You do know the difference between saying that “your body is a temple” and saying that “your body is The Temple.” God isn’t limited to physical objects, but there are places where God’s presence physically dwells. Of course this doesn’t mean God is limited because he can choose multiple objects or places to dwell or withdraw from any time he desires. A very good example would be The Temple or more specifically The Holy of Holies. There is only one Ark of the New Covenant:
St. Proclus (died 446 or 447)
“Let the woman haste hither, for the woman shows not the tree of death, but brings forth the tree of life: the virgins...the mothers also, for the Virgin Mother has amended the tree of disobedience by the tree of life. The female sex is no longer in execration, for it has obtained whereby it shall surpass even the angels in glory. Eve has been healed...and Mary is venerated (adored), because she has become mother and handmaid, cloud and chamber,
and ark of the Lord....For this cause let us say to her
: Blessed art thou amongst women, who alone hast healed the grief of Eve; who alone hast borne the world’s price” (Orat.iv.and v
. In Natal. Dom. P.G. Tom. 65, p.710) (
Blessed Virgin, p. 58).
St. Ephrem (c. 306-373)
“With the rib that was drawn out of Adam, the wicked one drew out the heart of Adam. There arose from the
rib [
i.e., Mary], a hidden power which cut off Satan as Dagon.
For in that ark [Mary again], a book was hidden that cried and proclaimed the Conqueror. There was then a mystery revealed, in that Dagon was brought low in his own place of refuge. The accomplishment came after the type, in that the wicked one was brought low wherein he trusted....Fulfilled was the mystery. Blessed is He who by the true Lamb redeemed us, and destroyed our destroyer as He did Dagon” (S. Ephrem
, Rhythm iii,
On the Nativity, Morris, p.20) ((
Blessed Virgin, p. 66).
Chrysippus
“
An ark truly royal, an ark most precious is the ever-Virgin Mother of God, an ark which received the treasure of entire sanctification. Not that ark wherein were all kinds of animals, as in the ark of Noe, which escaped the shipwreck of the whole drowning world. Not that ark in which were the tables of stone, as in the ark that journeyed in company with Israel throughout the desert; but an ark whose architect and inhabitant, pilot and merchant, companion of the way, and leader, was the Creator of all creatures, all which He bears in Himself, but by all is not contained” (Chrysippus,
Orat. de laudib. Deip. (
Blessed Virgin, p. 74).
St. Hippolytus (c. 170-c. 236)
“At that time, the Savior coming from
the Virgin, the Ark, brought forth His own Body into the world from that Ark, which was gilded with pure gold within by the Word, and without by the Holy Ghost; so that the truth was shown forth, and the Ark was manifested....And the Savior came into the world bearing the incorruptible Ark, that is to say His own body” (S. Hippolytus,
In Dan.vi., Patr. Gr., Tom. 10, p. 648) (
Blessed Virgin, p. 77).
St. Ambrose (c. 339-397)
“The prophet David danced before the Ark. Now
what else should we say the Ark was but holy Mary? The Ark bore within it the tables of the Testament, but Mary bore the Heir of the same Testament itself. The former contained in it the Law, the latter the Gospel. The one had the voice of God, the other His Word. The Ark, indeed, was radiant within and without with the glitter of gold, but holy Mary shone within and without with the splendor of virginity. The one was adorned with earthly gold, the other with heavenly” (
Serm. xlii. 6, Int. Opp., S. Ambrosii) (
Blessed Virgin, p. 77).
St. Cyril (315-387?)
“The Ark would be the type and image of Christ : for if we look back to the way of the Incarnation of the Only-begotten, we shall see that
it is in the temple of the Virgin, as in an ark that the Word of God took up His abode.
For in Him dwelt all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, as the Scripture saith. But the testimonies in the ark were the word of God, and the wood of it was imperishable, and with pure and choicest gold was it beautified within and without” (St. Cyril,
De ador. In Spir. Et Verit, p. 293, St. Maximus of Turin and other Fathers apply the Ark of the Covenant to the Blessed Virgin Mary) (
Blessed Virgin, p. 76).
Breviarium in Psalterium
“Christ in Mary as though the Bridegroom in the bride chamber, and
the body of Mary as though the tabernacle” (
Breviarium in Psalterium) (
Blessed Virgin, p. 78).
St. Athanasius (c. 296-373)
“Be mindful of us, most holy virgin, who after childbirth didst remain virgin; and grant to us for these small words great gifts from the riches of they graces, O thou full of grace. Accept them as though they were true and adequate praises in they honor; and if there is in them any virtue and any praise, we offer them as a hymn from ourselves and from all creatures to thee, full of grace, Lady, Queen, Mistress, Mother of God, and
Ark of sanctification” (
Orat. In Deip. Annuntiat, nn. 13, 14. Int. Opp. S. Athanasii) (
Blessed Virgin, p. 80).
St. Athanasius of Alexandria (
c. 296-373; the main defender of the Trinity and the deity of Christ against the 2nd century Arian heretics.)
“O noble Virgin, truly you are greater than any other greatness. For who is your equal in greatness,
O dwelling place of God the Word? To whom among all creatures shall I compare you, O Virgin? You are greater than them all
O (Ark of the) Covenant, clothed with purity instead of gold! You are the Ark in which is found the golden vessel containing the true manna, that is, the flesh in which Divinity resides.”
Homily of the Papyrus of Turin.
St. Dionysius (died 264)
“As Christ our priest was not chosen by hand of man, so
neither was His tabernacle framed by men, but was established by the Holy Ghost; and by the power of God is that tabernacle protected, to be had in everlasting remembrance, Mary, God’s Virgin Mother” (S. Dionysius of Alexandria,
Respons. ad Quoest. v. Pauli Samos) (
Blessed Virgin, p. 81).
[1]
St. Gregory Thaumaturgus
“The tenor of his message was as follows. I am moved by My compassion to descend to earth in order to recover the lost Adam. Sin made him to decay who was made to My image, and hath corrupted the work of My hands, and obscured the beauty which I formed....Go therefore to the Virgin Mary. Pass thou on to the animate city whereof the prophet spake these words:
Glorious things are said of thee, O city of God. Go, then, to My rational paradise, to the Gate of the East, to the place of sojourn that is worthy of My Word, that hath appeared as a heaven upon earth ; go to the light cloud, and announce to it the shower of My coming ;
go to the sanctuary prepared for Me, to the hall of the Incarnation, to the pure chamber of My generation according to the flesh.
Speak in the ears of My rational ark, so as to prepare for Me the accesses of hearing. But disturb not nor vex the soul of Mary. Manifest thyself in such wise as becomes that sanctuary, and salute her first with the voice of gladness” (
Homilies, il, ii., iii.
On the Annunciation, Int. Opp. S. Greg. Thaum., 5th century) (
Blessed Virgin, p. 123).
Read more:
https://www.catholicfidelity.com/apologetics-topics/mary/church-fathers-on-mary-as-ark-of-the-new-covenant/
