Christ the firstfruits;
then, at his coming, those who belong to Christ;
then comes the end,
when he hands over the Kingdom to his God and Father,
when he has destroyed every sovereignty
and every authority and power.
It is fitting that Christ rose first. He is the resurrection and the life. He himself is the way, the truth, and the life. He shows us the way which we ourselves will tread. Since he is the new Adam it is similarly fitting that the new Eve, Mary the mother of God, should precede us into the life of the blessed in heaven. We ourselves cannot immediately follow. We are still tainted by impurity and sin. But Mary is always held out to be an example of the best possible response of a creature to God.
Blessed are you among women,
and blessed is the fruit of your womb.
She does not exult herself. Rather she is herself humble and ever singing God's praise.
My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord;
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior
for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.
Mary shows us the way in her own life. As creatures ourselves we look to Mary our mother, also a creature, to see all that we can hope to be and how. She reveals the great hope in store for all of us.
God's temple in heaven was opened,
and the ark of his covenant could be seen in the temple.
Because Mary is the ark of the New Convenant it is not fitting that anything impure touch her, just as with the old ark (see Second Samuel 6:1-7). If Uzzah is struck down for accidentally touching the old ark how can we imagine that God would allow corruption to touch Mary?
A great sign appeared in the sky, a woman clothed with the sun,
with the moon under her feet,
and on her head a crown of twelve stars.
Jesus chooses his mother in advance to be a blessing for all humanity. Mary is in heaven now, body and soul. She intercedes for us that where she is we also might be just as where her Son first goes she new is as well.
The queen stands at your right hand, arrayed in gold.
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