(The Ark and Covenant of the Tabernacle of the Testimony contained the stone tablets of the covenant of the Law, a gold jar of Manna, and the budded staff of Aaron – all precursors to Mary, Christ and His Tabernacle within One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church.)
Deuteronomy 5:1-7. “And Moses called all Israel, and said to them: Hear, O Israel, the ceremonies and judgments, which I speak in your ears this day: learn them, and fulfill them in work. The Lord our God made a covenant with us in Horeb. He made not the covenant with our fathers, but with us, who are now present and living. He spoke to us face to face in the mount out of the midst of fire. I was the mediator and stood between the Lord and you at that time, to shew you his words, for you feared the fire, and went not up into the mountain, and he said: ‘I am the Lord thy God, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt not have strange gods in my sight.’”
“When someone asks him, ‘Which commandment in the Law is the greatest?’(Mt 22:36). Jesus replies: ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the Law and the prophets.’ (Mt 22:37-40; cf. Deut 6:5; Lev 19:18). The Decalogue must be interpreted in light of this twofold yet single commandment of love, the fullness of the Law:
The commandments: ‘You shall not commit adultery, You shall not kill, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,’ and any other commandment, are summed up in this sentence: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law” (Rom 13:9-10) (CCC, 2055).
Our Father, 10 Hail Marys (contemplating the mystery), Glory Be and Fatima Prayer.
Excerpt from The Holy Family Rosary:
Through Mary, Queen of Mercy, Virgin ever faithful, the Covenant and Tabernacle of the Testimony of Moses immediately brings us to demanding knowledge in remembrance of the Ten Commandments to avoid offense against God – especially now, today for ourselves. Under the same considerations of His Holy Family, these meditations find place for reflection of our sins against God through idolatry, or ill use of the Lord’s name in vain, or not keeping the Sabbath day holy, or not honoring our father or mother, or of murder, or sins of adultery or against chastity, or of stealing, or bearing false witness, or coveting our neighbor’s wife, or of coveting our neighbor’s goods.[1]
Within this meditation we are finally given a place to contemplate the immediate relationship between mercy and justice with the great Patriarch of the Law and Prophets, Moses, in preparation for our good reasons for the avoidance of sin by the giving and living of God’s promised Son’s Good Will come to fulfill. And the Virgin Mary lived these laws perfectly in preparation to receive her Lord.
To emphasize the significance of this “Testimony” brought to us in time through Mary, let us now consider the reasoning for so many titles of Mary, because she really is:
“Holy Mother of God, Holy Virgin of virgins, Mother of Christ, Mother of the Church, Mother of divine grace, Mother most pure, Mother most chaste, Mother inviolate, Mother undefiled, Mother most amiable, Mother most admirable, Mother of good counsel, Mother of our Creator, Mother of our Savior, Virgin most prudent, Virgin most venerable, Virgin most renowned, Virgin most powerful, Virgin most merciful, Virgin most faithful, Mirror of justice, Seat of wisdom, Cause of our joy, Spiritual vessel, Vessel of honor, Singular vessel of devotion, Mystical rose, Tower of David, Tower of ivory, House of gold, Ark of the covenant, Gate of heaven, Morning star, Health of the sick, Refuge of sinners, Comforter of the afflicted, Help of Christians, Queen of angels, Queen of patriarchs, Queen of prophets, Queen of apostles, Queen of martyrs, Queen of confessors, Queen of virgins, Queen of all saints, Queen conceived without original sin, Queen assumed into heaven, Queen of the most holy Rosary, Queen of families and Queen of peace.”
It should be no surprise that Our Lord provided us with this means for reminding us of the importance of the testimony of the Ten Commandments, especially since they are being forced in demanded removal from civic/public property as is the forbidding of school prayer. And this is not the only subject under assault. The remembrance of the One “WHO IS” is! Consequently, Christ’s Church stands against this task in last resort being foretold as goes the Church, so goes the world!
After Jesus called God His Father, Our Lord spoke to the Jewish men in the Temple who sought to kill Him, saying: “How can you believe, who receive glory one from another: and the glory which is from God alone, you do not seek? Think not that I will accuse you to the Father. There is one that accuseth you, Moses, in whom you trust. For if you did believe Moses, you would perhaps believe me also; for he wrote of me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?“[2]
St. Augustine asks: “Who is the hireling? He who sees the wolf coming and flees. The man who seeks his own glory, not the glory of Christ; the man who does not dare reprove sinners. You are the hireling; you have seen the wolf coming and have fled […] because you held your peace; and you held your peace, because you were afraid.”[3]
We have the testimony of St. Gregory the Great (c. 540-604) saying: “The hostility of the perverse sounds like praise for our life because it shows that we have at least some rectitude if we are an annoyance to those who do not love God; no one can be pleasing to God and to God’s enemies at the same time. He who seeks to please those who oppose God is no friend of God; and he who submits himself to the truth will fight against those who strive against truth.”[4]
Fellow Christians, we have our holy orders; religious and laity… in imitation of Mary we must all take heed!
Of this Testimony the Lord spoke to Moses saying: “… I have put wisdom in the heart of every skilful man, that they may make all things which I have commanded thee, the tabernacle of the covenant, and the ark of the testimony, and the propitiatory, that is over it, and all the vessels of the tabernacle, and the table and the vessels thereof, the most pure candlestick with the vessels thereof, and the altars of incense, and of holocaust, and all their vessels, the laver with its foot, the holy vestments in the ministry for Aaron the priest, and for his sons, that they may execute their office, about the sacred things: the oil of unction, and the incense of spices in the sanctuary, all things which I have commanded thee, shall they make. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: `Speak to the children of Israel, and thou shalt say to them: See that thou keep my sabbath; because it is a sign between me and you in your generations that you may know that I am the Lord, who sanctify you.’”[5] Thus provided with knowledge of the foundation, instruments, vessels, vestments and sacraments that are still used in our celebration of the Sacrifice of the Mass, our means for personal sanctity unfolds.
From this meditation we learn what preceded all ordained movements for the House of Israel guided under Moses’ hand as precursor of the Savior who was to come to deliver all who believe in Him unto the Promised Land. We learn that this Tabernacle was the foretelling of the House and Temple of David as Mary and Christ – and fulfilled with Mary’s Assumption after remaining faithful and true in fruition of the living human perfection of God’s Holy Word. The Tabernacle of the Lord through Mary in perfection is the Son of God fully Himself in complete Union with God the Father and God the Holy Ghost, eternally present for our salvation to come as Son of God and Son of man.
[1] Cf. Deut. 5:6-21.
[2] Jn. 5:44-47.
[3] In Ioann Evang., 46, 8.
[4] In Ezechielem Homiliae, 9.
[5] Ex. 3:6-13.
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