Today (May 31st) is the feast of the Visitation of the Virgin Mary to her cousin Elizabeth. We hear it recorded by St. Luke in this way:
39 And Mary rising up in those days, went into the hill country with haste into a city of Juda. 40 And she entered into the house of Zachary and saluted Elizabeth.
41 And it came to pass that when Elizabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the infant leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost. 42 And she cried out with a loud voice and said: Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb. 43 And whence is this to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 For behold as soon as the voice of your salutation sounded in my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy. 45 And blessed are you that have believed, because those things shall be accomplished that were spoken to you by the Lord. (Luke 1:39-45)
Compare this greeting and subsequent salutation with the arrival of the Ark of the Covenant in the hill-country of Obededom.
9 And David was afraid of the Lord that day, saying: How shall the ark of the Lord come to me? 10 And he would not have the ark of the Lord brought in to himself into the city of David: but he caused it to be carried into the house of Obededom the Gethite. 11 And the ark of the Lord abode in the house of Obededom the Gethite three months: and the Lord blessed Obededom, and all his household.
12 And it was told King David, that the Lord had blessed Obededom, and all that he had, because of the ark of God. So David went, and brought away the ark of God out of the house of Obededom into the city of David with joy. And there were with David seven choirs, and calves for victims. 13 And when they that carried the ark of the Lord had gone six paces, he sacrificed and ox and a ram: 14 And David danced with all his might before the Lord: and David was girded with a linen ephod. 15 And David and all the louse of Israel brought the ark of the covenant of the Lord with joyful shouting, and with sound of trumpet. (2 Samuel 6:9-15)
St. Luke, in his description of the Mother of God visiting her cousin Elizabeth, makes allusion to the Ark of the Covenant being brought to the city of David in the Old Testament. This connection reinforces the position of Mary as the Ark of the New Covenant - Jesus Christ himself. Consider the connections:
- The salutation: Elizabeth says, "And whence is this to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me?" David says, "How shall the ark of the Lord come to me?"
- The setting: Mary goes to visit Elizabeth "In the hill country of Judah." The house of Obededom was located in the hills of Judah
- The duration of the visit: Mary stayed with Elizabeth for three months (Luke 1:56). "And the ark of the Lord abode in the house of Obededom the Gethite three months."
- The reaction: "For behold, as soon as the voice of your salutation sounded in my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy." "And David danced with all his might before the Lord."
These connections reinforce the continuity and fulfillment exhibited by the New Testament in relation to the Old Testament. Mary bore Christ in a similar way that the Israelites bore the Ark of the Covenant. Both Christ and the contents of the Ark were manifestations of God's covenant with his people. The contents of the Ark prefigured Christ:
- The stone tablets of the Law, the written word of God - Jesus is the final Word of God made flesh (John 1)
- Manna from the wilderness - Jesus, the Eternal Bread from Heaven - the Eucharist (John 6)
- The Rod of Aaron, symbol of the priesthood - Jesus, the Eternal High Priest (Letter to the Hebrews)
The devotion and honor that the Israelites gave to the Ark of the Covenant is continued in the devotion and honor that Catholics give to Mary, the Mother of God. Both bore the means of God's relationship with humanity. Mary, of course, being the perfection and fulfillment of the ark, and Jesus being the perfection and fulfillment of the Law.
