Ark of the Covenant . . .

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As the Ark of the Covenant carried by the Hebrews on their desert travels preserved the covenant, the Word of God given through the Commandments, so does Mary represent the vessel which carried the New Covenant, God's Word, and makes Him present to man.  She is the perfected and completed Ark which brought Christ, the God-man to the world.

Always stay close to this heavenly Mother, because she is the sea to be crossed to reach the shores of Eternal Splendor. (1)  St. Padre Pio

The honor of Mary is so intimately connected with the honor and glory of Jesus that to deny the one is at the same time a denial of the other.  (2)  Blessed William Joseph Chaminade

See, O man, the designs of God, - designs by which he is able to dispense his mercy more abundantly to us; for, desiring to redeem the whole human race, he has placed the whole price of redemption in the hands of Mary, that she may dispense it at will. (3)  St. Bernard

If Eve disobeyed God, yet Mary was persuaded to obey God, that the Virgin Mary might become the advocate of the virgin Eve.  And as the human race was bound to death through a virgin, it is saved through a Virgin.
  (4)  St. Irenaeus

That every good, every help, every grace that men have received and will receive from God until the end of time, came and will come, to them by the intercession and through the hands of Mary. (5)  Blessed Raymond Jordano

O, sovereign Lady, you alone are the one whom God has appointed to be my solace here below; you are the guide of my pilgrimage, the strength of my weakness, the riches of my poverty, remedy for the healing of my wounds, the soother of my pains, the end of my captivity, the hope of my salvation!  Hear my prayers, have pity on my tears, I beg you, O you who are my queen, my refuge, my love, my help, my hope and my strength, (6)  St. Germanus

That we ought all to keep our eyes constantly fixed on Mary's hands, that through them we may receive the graces that we desire. (7)  St. Bonaventure

All generations call you blessed, because you have given life and glory to all nations, for in you sinners find pardon, and the just perseverance in the grace of God. (8)  St. Bernard

Whatever God foresees to be my lot, I know that he cannot refuse himself to anyone who loves him and seeks for him with his whole heart.  I will embrace him with my love; and if he does not bless me, I will still cling to him so closely that he will be unable to go without me.  If I can do nothing else, at least I will hide myself in his wounds, and taking up my dwelling there, it will be in himself alone that he will find me. (9)  St. Bonaventure

When in the beginning of the human race, the parents of mankind fell into sin, involving their descendants in the same ruin, Mary was set up as the pledge of the restoration of peace and salvation. (10)  Leo XIII, pope

In Mary, the mystical Ark of the Covenant, the secret mysteries of our reconciliation have been accomplished and the sight of her reminds God of his covenant and causes him to be mindful of his mercy.  Mary is that heavenly stream which brings to the hearts of wretched mortals all God's gifts and graces.  (11)  Benedict XIV, pope

In the sea of this world all will be lost who are not received into this ship; that is to say, all who are not protected by Mary.  As often as we see ourselves in danger of perishing in the midst of the temptations and contending passions of this life, let us turn to Mary, and cry out quickly, O Lady, help us, save us, if you wish us not to perish. (12)  Richard of St. Laurence

Mary is an ark more spacious than that of Noah; for in the ark of Noah only two animals of every kind were received, but under the mantle of Mary the just and sinners find place. (13)  Hesychius

I saw a multitude of wild beats, lions, leopards, and the like, that took refuge under the mantle of Mary; and she not only did not drive them away, but with her benign hands caressed them, that they might not flee away. (14)  St. Gertrude

The animals that entered the ark remained animals; but sinners who are received under the mantle of Mary do not remain sinners.  She is certain to change their hearts, and to render them agreeable to God. (15)  St. Alphonsus de Liguori

However much a man may have sinned, if he returns to Mary with a real purpose of amendment, She is ready at once to receive him; neither do I pay attention to the sins with which he is laden; but only to the good disposition in which he comes; and then I do not fail to anoint and heal his wounds, for I am called and truly am the Mother of Mercy. (16)  St. Bridget

Remember that it has never been heard of in any age, that any sinner who had recourse to you was rejected by you.
  (17)  St. Alphonsus de Liguori

Noah's ark is a type of Mary; for as, by its means, men were preserved from the deluge, so are we all saved by Mary from the shipwreck of sin: but with the difference, that in the ark few were saved, and by Mary the whole human race was rescued from death. (18)  St. Bernard

Who more than Mary could be a star of hope for us?  With her "yes" she opened the door of our world to God himself; she became the living Ark of the Covenant, in whom God took flesh, became one of us, and pitched his tent among us. (19)  Benedict XVI, pope

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