I cringe every time I read something like this. God can and does make use of the imperfect all the time. The Immaculate Conception wasn't strictly speaking necessary, as I understand it. Rather it shows the superfluous goodness of God. It bothers me when someone suggests it HAD to be a certain way. God, being God, can accomplish his purposes by an infinite number of means. This is the one he chose :) He chose to fashion a pure creature to overshadow with his Spirit but he wasn't obliged to because "nothing else would do."
Luke 1:35 shows Mary as the Ark of the New Covenant.
Understanding Mary as the Ark of the New Covenant was the key that unlocked all Marian dogma for me. IMHO the author missed an opportunity to reference other passages in Luke 1 and 2 Sam 6 to flesh out the concept.
Happy patronal feast day to my fellow American Catholics :)
And a blessed solemnity of the Immaculate Conception to you also!
That’s a great article. Thanks for adding to the thread.