At [[Vespers]] before the [[Nativity of the Theotokos]], the reading is from [http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis%201;&version=9;|Genesis 28:10-17], the story of Jacob's vision of a ladder which unites heaven and earth. This passage indicates the union of God with men which is realized most fully and perfectly, both spiritually and physically, in Mary the Theotokos, Bearer of God.

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