Jesus gave Peter
“the keys of the kingdom of heaven,”
not the keys to heaven. A key was a badge of authority
( Luke 11:52 ),
and then as now was used to open doors.
Peter used the keys Christ gave him to open the door to the Jews on the Day of Pentecost ( Acts 2 ), to the Samaritans after the preaching of Philip ( Acts 8:14-17 ), and to the Gentiles after the Lord had sent him a vision
and an appeal from Cornelius ( Acts 10 ).
Jesus gave Peter and the apostles authority over both the doctrine and practices of the first-century church.
Through the leading of the Holy Spirit,
they would be given wisdom to know what to forbid and what to permit.
This authority, not on exactly the same level as during the apostolic era,
still resides in the leaders of the local church. They may not receive the same kind of supernatural guidance as the apostles did,
but they possess the entire New Testament along
with the direction of the
Holy Spirit.
Therefore, when church leaders discipline a church member
who
promotes incorrect doctrine
or is involved in evil behavior, they act with divine approval.
They are carrying out God’s will,
and what they do is ratified in heaven.
Since their authority is not ultimately derived from their
personal qualities or their office but from Scripture and the
instruction of the Holy Spirit,
they should exercise it humbly and prayerfully.
The light of the Son of God
is so brilliant that it reaches throughout history, even into the
far corners of the Old Testament.
Just as the sun’s light is reflected by the moon, so too,
where the light of the Son of God shines,
that light will be reflected by Mary.
In keeping with Catholic tradition, Saint Pius X taught that where Christ is prefigured in the Old Testament,
Mary was usually prefigured as well:
"In a word, after Christ,
we find in Mary the
end of the law
and the fulfillment
of the
figures and prophecies.”
One example of this
is the ark of the covenant,
which bore the presence of God
and thus foreshadowed Mary’s bearing of Christ
as the Theotokos, or
Mother of God.
In the Old Covenant,
God’s presence or glory had dwelt in the tabernacle
according to the instructions
given to Moses.
But access to God’s tabernacle was prohibited,
with the
exception of the high priest,
who could approach
it only on
the
day of atonement,
after
many sin offerings.
Because of Israel’s sin, the tabernacle was lost and God’s concrete dwelling among His people was taken away in the exile,
which continued up to
Jesus’ day.
But with Mary’s fiat
at the
Annunciation,
God reestablished,
in a greater and more intimate way,
His
dwelling among Israel.
Rather than dwelling in a tabernacle made of gold and lined with precious gems, God made His dwelling within the flesh and blood of a human person, Mary. She is the ultimate tabernacle, gilded not by gold
but by the
grace of God.
She is adorned not with gems but with the
virtues,
particularly
humility and love.
The Catechism notes that,
in Mary,
God the Father finally finds a proper
dwelling place among men for His presence:
For the first time in
the plan of salvation
and
because his Spirit had prepared her,
the
Father found the dwelling place
where
his Son and his Spirit could dwell
among men.
Since Eden,
God has desired to dwell among His people,
and now “[i]n Mary, the
Holy Spirit fulfills the plan
of the
Father’s loving goodness”
In the Old Testament, the ark of the covenant held three things:
(1) the stone tablets upon which the finger of God had written the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai,
(2) a jar containing some of the
manna which God had miraculously
provided as food for the Israelites
during their forty years in the desert, and
(3) the staff of Aaron, the first high priest of the
old law.
The ark of the covenant was holy because of what
was held inside of it,
and its presence became synonymous with
the presence of
God among the Israelites.
Where the ark of the covenant was,
there also was the presence of Yahweh.
Thus this holy vessel
of
God’s presence was made
and
handled with special care.
The latter chapters of Exodus tell us that the ark was hand-carved of acacia wood and overlaid with pure gold, both within and without.
Only the Levites, the tribe which had been
set aside for service of the tabernacle,
were supposed to carry the ark, and then
only with poles,
themselves being overlaid with gold, that were
fed through rings of gold attached to the sides of the ark.
If in the Old Testament, the ark, which was simply made of precious gold and wood,
held such a place of honor because it mediated
the presence of God,
it is not surprising that
Mary holds a place of surpassing honor in
the
New Testament.
The ark bore the presence of God,
and
after the
Annunciation
Mary bears God in her womb.
Just as the ark contained the tablets of the old law,
the
manna, and the staff of Aaron,
Mary holds in her womb Jesus Christ the Messiah,
who is the new law,
the living bread from heaven, and
the true high priest
who offers
His own life for us.
That the early Christians understood Mary
as the
new ark of the covenant
is evident in Saint Luke’s crafting of his account
of the Visitation
(Luke 1:39-56).
Luke subtly parallels Mary’s carrying Jesus (in her womb)
to visit Elizabeth with the ark’s bearing
the presence of God to Jerusalem.
In 2 Samuel 6 we hear how David, aware of both his unworthiness that the ark should come to him (v. 9) and of the immeasurable
blessing that the presence of the ark brings (v. 12),
goes to bring the ark of the covenant up to Jerusalem. David offers sacrifices (v. 13) and leaps and dances (v. 16)
before the ark as the procession progresses to Jerusalem
amid shouting and the sound of the horn
(v. 15).
Saint Luke parallels his account of the Visitation
with this scene in 2 Samuel 6 to demonstrate that
Mary is the new ark of the covenant.
Mary, like David,
heads to the hill country of Judah.
As Mary, bearing Christ in her womb, approaches the home of Elizabeth,
Saint John the Baptist “leaps” in Elizabeth’s womb and she exclaims
with a “loud cry,”
reminding us of
David’s leaping before the
ark of the covenant
and the shouts of the people of
Israel.
Elizabeth greets Mary with words similar to those of David,
"And why is this granted me, that the mother of my Lord
[who is the new ark of the covenant]
should come to me?”
(Luke 1:43).
By the overshadowing of
the Holy Spirit,
Mary becomes the new and paramount ark.
Just as the ark of the covenant was made holy by its
precious contents,
so
Mary is made holy
by the Son of God made flesh within her womb
and the
indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
If the ark of the covenant
was rightfully revered in Israel’s liturgy,
it should be no surprise that
the ark of the New Covenant,
Mary, has a place of great honor in the liturgy and
life of the new Israel, the Church.
After all,
God has placed her in the midst of
His heavenly temple
and has
crowned her with a crown of twelve stars.
In
John’s vision,
a third of the angels, along with their leader,
the great dragon, are
thrown down from the heaven,
whereas the woman is raised up on
the wings of eagles.
Clearly
God has thrown down
“the mighty from their thrones,
and
exalted those of low degree”
(Luke 1:52).
Therefore the Catechism declares that:
“Mary, the all-holy ever-virgin Mother of God,
is the masterwork
of the
mission of the Son and the Spirit
in the
fullness of time”
(CCC 721).
As God’s “masterwork,”
it is no wonder why all generations call her blessed.
“the keys of the kingdom of heaven,”
not the keys to heaven. A key was a badge of authority
( Luke 11:52 ),
and then as now was used to open doors.
Peter used the keys Christ gave him to open the door to the Jews on the Day of Pentecost ( Acts 2 ), to the Samaritans after the preaching of Philip ( Acts 8:14-17 ), and to the Gentiles after the Lord had sent him a vision
and an appeal from Cornelius ( Acts 10 ).
Jesus gave Peter and the apostles authority over both the doctrine and practices of the first-century church.
Through the leading of the Holy Spirit,
they would be given wisdom to know what to forbid and what to permit.
This authority, not on exactly the same level as during the apostolic era,
still resides in the leaders of the local church. They may not receive the same kind of supernatural guidance as the apostles did,
but they possess the entire New Testament along
with the direction of the
Holy Spirit.
Therefore, when church leaders discipline a church member
who
promotes incorrect doctrine
or is involved in evil behavior, they act with divine approval.
They are carrying out God’s will,
and what they do is ratified in heaven.
Since their authority is not ultimately derived from their
personal qualities or their office but from Scripture and the
instruction of the Holy Spirit,
they should exercise it humbly and prayerfully.
The light of the Son of God
is so brilliant that it reaches throughout history, even into the
far corners of the Old Testament.
Just as the sun’s light is reflected by the moon, so too,
where the light of the Son of God shines,
that light will be reflected by Mary.
In keeping with Catholic tradition, Saint Pius X taught that where Christ is prefigured in the Old Testament,
Mary was usually prefigured as well:
"In a word, after Christ,
we find in Mary the
end of the law
and the fulfillment
of the
figures and prophecies.”
One example of this
is the ark of the covenant,
which bore the presence of God
and thus foreshadowed Mary’s bearing of Christ
as the Theotokos, or
Mother of God.
In the Old Covenant,
God’s presence or glory had dwelt in the tabernacle
according to the instructions
given to Moses.
But access to God’s tabernacle was prohibited,
with the
exception of the high priest,
who could approach
it only on
the
day of atonement,
after
many sin offerings.
Because of Israel’s sin, the tabernacle was lost and God’s concrete dwelling among His people was taken away in the exile,
which continued up to
Jesus’ day.
But with Mary’s fiat
at the
Annunciation,
God reestablished,
in a greater and more intimate way,
His
dwelling among Israel.
Rather than dwelling in a tabernacle made of gold and lined with precious gems, God made His dwelling within the flesh and blood of a human person, Mary. She is the ultimate tabernacle, gilded not by gold
but by the
grace of God.
She is adorned not with gems but with the
virtues,
particularly
humility and love.
The Catechism notes that,
in Mary,
God the Father finally finds a proper
dwelling place among men for His presence:
For the first time in
the plan of salvation
and
because his Spirit had prepared her,
the
Father found the dwelling place
where
his Son and his Spirit could dwell
among men.
Since Eden,
God has desired to dwell among His people,
and now “[i]n Mary, the
Holy Spirit fulfills the plan
of the
Father’s loving goodness”
In the Old Testament, the ark of the covenant held three things:
(1) the stone tablets upon which the finger of God had written the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai,
(2) a jar containing some of the
manna which God had miraculously
provided as food for the Israelites
during their forty years in the desert, and
(3) the staff of Aaron, the first high priest of the
old law.
The ark of the covenant was holy because of what
was held inside of it,
and its presence became synonymous with
the presence of
God among the Israelites.
Where the ark of the covenant was,
there also was the presence of Yahweh.
Thus this holy vessel
of
God’s presence was made
and
handled with special care.
The latter chapters of Exodus tell us that the ark was hand-carved of acacia wood and overlaid with pure gold, both within and without.
Only the Levites, the tribe which had been
set aside for service of the tabernacle,
were supposed to carry the ark, and then
only with poles,
themselves being overlaid with gold, that were
fed through rings of gold attached to the sides of the ark.
If in the Old Testament, the ark, which was simply made of precious gold and wood,
held such a place of honor because it mediated
the presence of God,
it is not surprising that
Mary holds a place of surpassing honor in
the
New Testament.
The ark bore the presence of God,
and
after the
Annunciation
Mary bears God in her womb.
Just as the ark contained the tablets of the old law,
the
manna, and the staff of Aaron,
Mary holds in her womb Jesus Christ the Messiah,
who is the new law,
the living bread from heaven, and
the true high priest
who offers
His own life for us.
That the early Christians understood Mary
as the
new ark of the covenant
is evident in Saint Luke’s crafting of his account
of the Visitation
(Luke 1:39-56).
Luke subtly parallels Mary’s carrying Jesus (in her womb)
to visit Elizabeth with the ark’s bearing
the presence of God to Jerusalem.
In 2 Samuel 6 we hear how David, aware of both his unworthiness that the ark should come to him (v. 9) and of the immeasurable
blessing that the presence of the ark brings (v. 12),
goes to bring the ark of the covenant up to Jerusalem. David offers sacrifices (v. 13) and leaps and dances (v. 16)
before the ark as the procession progresses to Jerusalem
amid shouting and the sound of the horn
(v. 15).
Saint Luke parallels his account of the Visitation
with this scene in 2 Samuel 6 to demonstrate that
Mary is the new ark of the covenant.
Mary, like David,
heads to the hill country of Judah.
As Mary, bearing Christ in her womb, approaches the home of Elizabeth,
Saint John the Baptist “leaps” in Elizabeth’s womb and she exclaims
with a “loud cry,”
reminding us of
David’s leaping before the
ark of the covenant
and the shouts of the people of
Israel.
Elizabeth greets Mary with words similar to those of David,
"And why is this granted me, that the mother of my Lord
[who is the new ark of the covenant]
should come to me?”
(Luke 1:43).
By the overshadowing of
the Holy Spirit,
Mary becomes the new and paramount ark.
Just as the ark of the covenant was made holy by its
precious contents,
so
Mary is made holy
by the Son of God made flesh within her womb
and the
indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
If the ark of the covenant
was rightfully revered in Israel’s liturgy,
it should be no surprise that
the ark of the New Covenant,
Mary, has a place of great honor in the liturgy and
life of the new Israel, the Church.
After all,
God has placed her in the midst of
His heavenly temple
and has
crowned her with a crown of twelve stars.
In
John’s vision,
a third of the angels, along with their leader,
the great dragon, are
thrown down from the heaven,
whereas the woman is raised up on
the wings of eagles.
Clearly
God has thrown down
“the mighty from their thrones,
and
exalted those of low degree”
(Luke 1:52).
Therefore the Catechism declares that:
“Mary, the all-holy ever-virgin Mother of God,
is the masterwork
of the
mission of the Son and the Spirit
in the
fullness of time”
(CCC 721).
As God’s “masterwork,”
it is no wonder why all generations call her blessed.
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