Thus everything points us to the perfect Christian who saw herself as the recipient, the womb of the Word of God, and the one who brought the word to fulfillment: “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” Mary is the “image of the Church” for two reasons: she is the location of the Word’s indwelling, both bodily and in terms of being, in the most intimate union of mother and child sharing one flesh; but this indwelling arises from the spiritual servanthood of
