![]() Mary is in Heaven, in the sanctuary of God. The ark and the woman are dual references of Mary, the mother of the Messiah (Rev 11:19 12:1). The original manuscript did not have chapters or verses. From the earliest times, the Church interpreted this woman as Mary giving birth to Jesus.Īlthough the image changes, from the ark to the woman, it refers to the same reality. She was pregnant, and in labour, crying aloud in the pangs of childbirth” (Rev 12:1–2). Just after speaking of the ark in Heaven, the Revelation text speaks about: “a woman, adorned with the sun, standing on the moon, and with the twelve stars on her head for a crown. Mary is the one overshadowed she is the one on whom the cloud rests. So, the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God” (Lk 1:35 see Ex 40:3). It also means that the glory of the Lord was seen, and the cloud has rested on the Ark.Īt the Annunciation when Mary asks: “How this will be?” The answer is: “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. That would be a reference to the Life, Death and Resurrection of Christ-the mercy of God made manifest. This means God has “gathered his people together again and shown mercy”. Now, in the Book of Revelation, we hear the ark is in the sanctuary of God in Heaven. But just as a first century Jew knew that Moses would come again before the Messiah, he also believed that the ark of the covenant would be found again. Then the Lord will bring these things once more to light, and the glory of the Lord will be seen, and so will the cloud, as it was revealed in the time of Moses” (2 Mac 2:7, 8).įrom that time onwards, the ark was lost and never heard of again. Some of his companions went to find the cave but Jeremiah said: “The place is to remain unknown, until God gathers his people together again and shows his mercy. Jeremiah was told to take the ark, the altar of incense and the tent to Mount Nebo (from where Moses viewed the promised land). The last text we have about the ark was 2 Maccabees 2:1–7. The First Reading, Revelations 11:19,12:1–6,10, begins: “The sanctuary of God in heaven opened and the ark of the covenant could be seen inside it.” The ark of the covenant is in the sanctuary in Heaven! How did it get there? A first century Jew hearing this text would be asking many questions. I am indebted to Brant Pitre’s book Jesus and the Jewish Roots of Mary: Unveiling the Mother of the Messiah that gives the biblical interpretation of these texts. It fills out the interpretation and places it deeper into the tradition. But the Old Testament reference gives the structure of grace to begin seeing the New Testament reality from new perspectives. The Old Testament type is always inferior to the New Testament reality, which is the full revelation. ![]() Just as the manna in the desert was a type of the Eucharist, so too the ark of the covenant is a type of Mary. To understand the connection between the readings and the special feast, we need to understand biblical typology. When we look deeper, however, they do so eloquently. Q: Archbishop J, kindly provide the text of your homily on the Assumption?Īt first look, the readings for the Solemnity of the Assumption do not seem to speak about the feast.
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