“Come, let us all co-migrate in spirit with the one who has departed. Come, let us all descend with our hearts into the grave, along with the one who had descended there. Let us encircle the most sacred bed. Let us sing divine hymns, such as 'Rejoice, o grace-filled one; the Lord is with you. You rejoice, as the mother of God. You rejoice, as the one whom God pre-selected before all time: you, the most holy fruit of the earth, the residence of divine fire, the sacred statue of the Spirit, the spring of living water, the garden of the tree of life, the vine bearing the divine grapes that bring forth nectar and ambrosia, the river that is filled with the fragrances of the Spirit, the field that brought forth the divine grain, the rose that blossoms in virginity and breathes the fragrance of divine grace, the lily that adorns a regal gown, the ewe that bore the lamb of God, who took away the sins of the world, the workshop of our salvation, the power that is superior to the angelic hosts, the maidservant and the mother of God ."
-Saint John Damascus
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