Laud and honor to our Lady most pure

Today is the Feast of the Immaculate Conception (a Holy Day of Obligation) .

Gloriosa dicta sunt de te, Maria: quia fecit tibi magna qui potens est.
Of thee glorious things are said, Mary Immaculate, for whom the Mighty One has done great things.

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Behind the second curtain was a tent [or tabernacle] called the Holy of Holies. In it stood the golden altar of incense and the ark of the covenant overlaid on all sides with gold, in which there were a golden urn holding the manna, and Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tablets of the covenant
Hebrews 9:3-4

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The ark of the old covenant held the Word of GOD written on stone tablets.
Who carried the Word of GOD Incarnate?

The ark of the old covenant held the symbol of the High Priest, the Rod of Aaron.
Who carried the High Priest of GOD?

The ark of the old covenant held the Manna, the Bread come down from Heaven.
Who carried the Bread come down from Heaven?

(adapted from Bob Stanley's Arks of the Covenant page).

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And the temple of God was opened in heaven: and the ark of his testament was seen in his temple, and there were lightnings, and voices, and an earthquake, and great hail. And a great sign appeared in heaven: A woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars

Rev 11:19-12:1

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“Let us chant the melody that has been taught us by the inspired harp of David, and say, ‘Arise, O Lord, into thy rest; thou, and the ark of thy sanctuary.’ For the Holy Virgin is in truth an ark, wrought with gold both within and without, that has received the whole treasury of the sanctuary”
St. Gregory of Neocaesarea (c. 213–c. 270)

“Mary, a virgin not only undefiled but a virgin whom grace has made inviolate, free of every stain of sin.”
St. Ambrose (340 - 397)

“A Virgin, innocent, spotless, free of all defect, untouched, unsullied, holy in soul and body, like a lily sprouting among thorns.”
St. Theodotus of Ancyra (446)

“In the womb of the her mother now begins to blossom the earth which will be the dwelling place of the Creator of the earth, the holy scepter, the new ark, the vessel of manna, … the bush which was not consumed by fire, the golden candelabrum, the living bridal room of the Lord God.”
Hymn for the feast of the Conception of St. Anne (seventh century)

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Honor and praise to thee, ever-chaste, ever-faithful, ever-blessed mother of our Lord.