Feast of the Immaculate Conception
“Then God’s temple in Heaven was opened, and the ark of His covenant was seen within His temple; and there were flashes of lightning, an earthquake, and heavy hail. And a great sign appeared in Heaven, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars.” (Revelation 11:19 -12:1)
Today is the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception; today the Church celebrates the day that the Blessed Virgin Mary was conceived without the stain of original sin. Of course, God did not have to bestow this honor on her; He could have been born of a sinful woman, or have come to earth without the help of a mother at all. It was fitting, however, that the woman who would bear the Son of God in her womb for nine months should be a Pure Vessel for Him.
In the Book of Revelation, Saint John describes seeing the Ark of God’s covenant in the temple in Heaven; yet, it says in Revelation 21:22 that “… I saw no temple in the city [the new Jerusalem], for its temple is The Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb.” The wooden box that contained the Ten Commandments, Aaron’s staff, and some manna, was the Ark of the Old Covenant, just as the physical building in Jerusalem was the Temple of the Old Covenant. Thus, the Ark of the Covenant in Heaven is no more the Ark of the Old Covenant than the temple in Heaven is a building. The New Ark of the Covenant is “a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars”.
The Old Ark bore the written Word of God; Mary bore the Word Incarnate in her body. The Old Ark bore Aaron’s priestly staff; Mary bore the ultimate High Priest Himself. The Old Ark bore manna; Mary bore the true Bread of Heaven. Recall in 2 Samuel chapter 6 when God killed Uzzah for merely touching the Ark of the Old Covenant. If it was death for a sinful man to touch the Ark of the Old Covenant, is it not fitting that God should keeps the Ark that bore Himself free from sin?
Another honor that Mary has is being the first disciple of Jesus. Her discipleship, however, differs from that of any other disciple. All other disciples must follow where Christ has gone, and this is a great honor. Mary, however, not only followed Christ; God actually asked her consent before even beginning Christ’s mission on earth. Throughout His entire childhood, Jesus followed Mary as she brought Him up in His Jewish Faith. This is an even greater honor! As the first disciple, she is the model that we, as disciples, must try to imitate. God did not only give us a role model in Mary, though. He also gave us an example of the goal we are trying to reach. Thus, just as Mary suffered greatly because of her love for Christ (Luke 2:35), so will we. Just as Mary was bodily assumed into Heaven, so we too will someday receive our bodies back. Just as Mary was kept free from all stain of sin, so will we too someday be completely free from all impurity as we stand before God.
O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee!