“Mary bears the price of our redemption"

“MARY bears the price of our redemption. The water which gushed out of the rock to refresh the people of Israel is her symbol (Num. 20:8). Hers is the integrity of maidenhood, the fruitfulness of wedlock, the purity of chastity. Let us bless her often, and sing her praises: “for behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed” (Lk. 1:48).”

~St. Thomas Aquinas: Sermon for the Fourth Sunday of Lent, 47.

Birth of Mary, by Domenico Ghirlandaio. Fresco, 1486-90;
Cappella Tornabuoni, Santa Maria Novella, Florence.