Mary's immaculate conception and assumption

[Wolseley]

What's the typological connection between Mary's immaculate conception and the ark of the covenant?

The idea is that the tablets of the Ten Commandments were carried inside the Ark of the Covenant; God's covenant with the Jewish nation, inside the Ark.

Then we have Jesus, Who was conceived and carried inside the womb of Mary; God's New Covenant, with the entire world.

So:

The Ark carried the substance of the Old Covenant: the Jewish Law.

Mary carried the Substance of the New Covenant: Jesus Himself.

 

[VOW]

The Ark of the Covenant wasn't just any old container, either. It was decorated and covered with gold, if I remember correctly, and nobody was allowed to touch it! It was set apart from the ordinary and treated as much as a treasure as what was inside.

MANY parallels here!


Peace be with you,
~VOW

 

[pax]

I just skimmed the thread and don't have a whole lot of time (I have CCD), but I don't think anybody brought this up in regards to Mary's immaculate conception.

I think we are all familiar with the passage in Genesis where God tells the serpent

3 I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; He will strike at your head, while you strike at his heel." [/b]

In the footnote, you will see:

3 He will strike . . . at his heel: since the antecedent for he and his is the collective noun offspring, i.e., all the descendants of the woman, a more exact rendering of the sacred writer's words would be, "They will strike . . . at their heels." However, later theology saw in this passage more than unending hostility between snakes and men. The serpent was regarded as the devil (Wisdom 2:24; John 8:44; Rev 12:9; 20:2), whose eventual defeat seems implied in the contrast between head and heel. Because "the Son of God appeared that he might destroy the works of the devil" (1 John 3:8), the passage can be understood as the first promise of a Redeemer for fallen mankind. The woman's offspring then is primarily Jesus Christ.

The woman then would be Mary. God said I will put emnity between you and the woman which could be interpreted to mean Mary was, from the first moment of her conception, without sin. This is one reason she has been called "The New Eve." When she said "I am the handmaid of the Lord be it done unto me according to thy word," she said yes when Eve said no. Eve also had no original sin. Mary gave birth to Jesus who redeemed a race that had fallen because of sin which all started in the Garden of Eden.

 

[Hoonbaba]

Originally posted by Wolseley

The idea is that the tablets of the Ten Commandments were carried inside the Ark of the Covenant; God's covenant with the Jewish nation, inside the Ark.

Then we have Jesus, Who was conceived and carried inside the womb of Mary; God's New Covenant, with the entire world.

So:

The Ark carried the substance of the Old Covenant: the Jewish Law.

Mary carried the Substance of the New Covenant: Jesus Himself.

Hi Wolseley,

I was wondering if you could recommend a book or two on Marian doctrine. Would Scott Hahn's book , "Hail, Holy Queen : The Mother of God in the Word of God "?

Also, is Hahn's, "The Lamb's Supper : The Mass As Heaven on Earth" a good book too?

God bless!

-Jason

 

[Avila]

Um, HHQ is an excellent book!!! I think it would probably be very good. I've also hear that TLS is quite good (haven't been able to get MIL to turn her copy loose in the year she's had it! )

 

[Hoonbaba]

Originally posted by Avila
Um, HHQ is an excellent book!!! I think it would probably be very good. I've also hear that TLS is quite good (haven't been able to get MIL to turn her copy loose in the year she's had it! )

I have to admit, I've been wanting to read Hail, Holy Queen, but I knew my friends would think I'm crazy for reading such a book. Every time I go to a bookstore like B&N, I find myself always wanting to buy it!

Maybe I should pray about my 'fears'. Sooner or later all my friends will know about me.

-Jason

 

[isshinwhat]

The Lamb's Supper is a good book. I loaned mine out and haven't seen it since. I hope its making its rounds

Neal

 

[Hoonbaba]

Originally posted by Wolseley

The idea is that the tablets of the Ten Commandments were carried inside the Ark of the Covenant; God's covenant with the Jewish nation, inside the Ark.

Then we have Jesus, Who was conceived and carried inside the womb of Mary; God's New Covenant, with the entire world.

So:

The Ark carried the substance of the Old Covenant: the Jewish Law.

Mary carried the Substance of the New Covenant: Jesus Himself.

Is there any book that discusses this in more depth? I'd like to read about this.

God bless!

-Jason

 

[jukesk9]

What you're saying makes a lot of sense, but what do you mean by 'crown of eternal life'? Are you saying we haven't been saved yet? Or are you referring to our heavenly dwelling in eternity?

We have been saved (Romans 8:24-for in hope we were saved), we're being saved (Phil 2:12-work out your salvation with fear and trembling), and we will be saved (Mt 10:22-he who endures to the end will be saved). After we endure to the end, Christ will reward us with eternal life. I like to call it the crown of eternal life because it is such a precious gift. Heeding an Alter Call isn't an assurance of salvation. Salvation isn't a one time event. It's a process. We must cooperate with God's graces throughout our lives. For example, Matthew 24:13 says those who persevere to the end will be saved. Romans 11:22 warns us to remain in God's kindness or we will be cut off. Hebrews 6:4-6 describes sharers in the Holy Spirit who then fall away.

 

[Avila]

To Hoonbaba:

Take the plunge & get Hail Holy Queen. Dr. Hahn's specialty is the covenant, & IIRC, HHQ does touch on the the parallels between Mary & the Ark.

I know you probably don't want to hear this, but it is just a matter of time before you will be joining us in the Catholic Church - your story is parallelling that of many converts, including my own.

 

[Hoonbaba]

Originally posted by Avila
To Hoonbaba:

Take the plunge & get Hail Holy Queen. Dr. Hahn's specialty is the covenant, & IIRC, HHQ does touch on the the parallels between Mary & the Ark.

I'm looking forward to reading his book on Mary =)

By the way, what's IIRC?

I know you probably don't want to hear this, but it is just a matter of time before you will be joining us in the Catholic Church - your story is parallelling that of many converts, including my own.

On the contrary!! I'm looking forwards to joining the Catholic Church! Though I must admit, I wasn't heavily considering it a while back. In fact I was afraid of becoming Catholic!! LOL!

So now I'm looking forward to join the Church, but the only major problem is my lack of understanding on Catholicism and my fear of the unknown. I seriously think many of my Christian friends will think I'm crazy. Plus, I've recently decided to commit myself to the church I'm going to right now, because it's a genuine charismatic church. I'm hoping I can find a charismatic parish around my area. But for now I think I'll stay there and learn more about the Holy spirit and such. My church is actually a rare find, because it's not like the crazy christian stuff you see on TV. LOL! =)

Please pray for me that I would come to understand the truth about the Catholic Church!! Thank you VERY much!

-Jason

 

[Avila]

IIRC= If I Remember Correctly

Since you are seriously considering converting, I'd definitely recommend reading some conversion stories. It helps to know you're not alone. Of course, I've mentioned "Rome Sweet Home"'s role in my conversion, but I also really enjoyed reading "Surprised by Truth" (my recommendation if you don't have a lot of extra time - there are 11 different stories & they aren't too horribly long) and "Born Fundamentalist, Born Again Catholic". "Crossing the Tiber" is more a theology/apologetics book, but it provides good scriptural basis for some of the sticking points many Protestants have with Catholicism.

Don't be surprised if you find your church starting to feel "empty" in the months to come. It is a natural (but sad) part of the conversion process. Several of the writers in the "Surprised by Truth" anthology felt the same exact way.

 

[Hoonbaba]

Originally posted by Avila
IIRC= If I Remember Correctly

Since you are seriously considering converting, I'd definitely recommend reading some conversion stories. It helps to know you're not alone. Of course, I've mentioned "Rome Sweet Home"'s role in my conversion, but I also really enjoyed reading "Surprised by Truth" (my recommendation if you don't have a lot of extra time - there are 11 different stories & they aren't too horribly long) and "Born Fundamentalist, Born Again Catholic". "Crossing the Tiber" is more a theology/apologetics book, but it provides good scriptural basis for some of the sticking points many Protestants have with Catholicism.

Don't be surprised if you find your church starting to feel "empty" in the months to come. It is a natural (but sad) part of the conversion process. Several of the writers in the "Surprised by Truth" anthology felt the same exact way.

Actually it's been like that for a while. In fact I left my church for about 5-6 months, and during that time, I happened to come across a protestant brother (who's currently considering becoming Catholic), and he shared quite abit about Catholic apologetics. That got me interested.

After a while, I came back to the church and it's been really good so far, because the Holy Spirit is really moving in the church. Throughout the 5-6 months where I left and went to other churches, I felt completely empty there, and unfortunately many of those churches were really 'dead'. But I no longer feel like I'm 'empty' but rather I'm just missing out on the full course meal!!! (I guess this can be said literally! LOL) I guess right now I'm just eating tons of 'appetizers' and such, but it look as if God wants to give me the 'best food'.

Maybe I should becareful about reading Scott Hahn's "Lamb's Supper". Cuz I'm sure I'll eagerly want to become Catholic. LOL!!

-Jason

 

[Avila]

LOL!! Go for it!!! I can guarantee you won't regret it!