I think this makes a lot more sense than “because the church says so.” At least there is a search of the scriptures for symbols to explain the doctrines regarding Mary. As an ex-Catholic, I can at least understand this interpretation, even though I don’t think it supports the conclusion that Mary is sinless or that all graces go through her. A simple reading of the New Testament does not elevate Mary to the degree that the Catholic Church does. But, at least this interpretation is understandable based on a link between Mary and the Ark of the Covenant.
You are always a Catholic once you are baptized a Catholic. You can come back to the church. We welcome you.
Ecumenic[al] threads.
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David danced before the Ark and the High Priest prayed before it. If these things were appropriate in regard to the material "shadow of the thing to come" - i.e. Mary - then how much more fitting is it that we should celebrate Mary and pray to Christ through her?
These are the sort of questions the early Church asked itself and the answer was that Mary was worthy of praise and was, like the Ark before her, the most obvious vessel that contained Christ and through whom Christ could be most directly approached.
I grew up Catholic and I understand that some Marian devotions can get a bit extreme. But I think that Scripture supports - and indeed compels - that the veneration of Mary as the vessel of Christ is a normative part of Christian worship, just as the Ark of the Covenant was a central part of OT Temple worship.