The Orthodox faithful of the East kept the ancient devotion to Mary as virgin and mother and, therefore, the archetype of the feminine contemplative spirit that lies as the integrating, healing force between our human consciousness and our unconscious. In the symbol of Mary as virgin we see ourselves as individuals and as Church, the community of individuals brought into unity by the Spirit of the risen Jesus.
Virginity on this primeval level is each human being opening to God's initial love in total surrendering obedience. It is the letting go of our lives in faith and childlike trust in God to let him have full centrality in our lives.
— George A. Maloney, Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh