From a discourse of St. Andrew of Crete (d. 740 A.D.) on the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which we celebrate today:

“Today the Virgin is born, tended and formed, and prepared for her role as Mother of God, who is the universal King of the ages. Justly then do we celebrate this mystery… Darkness yields before the coming of light, and grace exchanges legalism for freedom. But midway between the two stands today’s mystery, at the frontier where types and symbols give way to reality, and the old is replaced by the new.

… Today this created world is raised to the dignity of a holy place for Him who made all things. The creature is newly prepared to be a divine dwelling place for the Creator.”