In the Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit , one God , Amen.

His Holiness Pope Shenouda III, may God grant him long life, explained that Mary Magdalene visited the tomb of Christ the Lord five times on the dawn of Sunday of the resurrection.

The first four of these five visits occurred at the time between the appearance of the first beams of light at dawn “…when the sun had risen…” (Mk 16:2) and the fading of the remains of the night’s darkness “…while it was still dark…” (Jn 20:1).  This period of time is usually no less than an hour each day.

Mary Magdalene frequently visited the tomb and would return to the city of Jerusalem in haste, then she quickly went back to the tomb for her next visit.  The tomb was near Jerusalem (see Jn 19: 20, 41) so the journey did not take her a long time.  Despite the fact that Mary Magdalene covered the distance ten times in all five visits, in the first four visits, she only covered the distance six times because she had already visited the tomb on Sunday’s dawn.  This means that the journey from the tomb to Jerusalem  and back, took her about ten minutes each time.

Since the sequence of these incidents of the resurrection are of great importance, we shall list the syn-optical account mentioned by the four evangelists in the sequenced order of Mary Magdalene’s five visits to the tomb.

The First Visit:

Saint Mark mentions the first visit in his gospel as follows: “¹Now when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, that they might come and anoint Him.  ²Very early in the morning, on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen.  ³And they said among themselves, “Who will roll away the stone from the door of the tomb for us?” ⁴But when they looked up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away—for it was very large.  ⁵And entering the tomb, they saw a young man clothed in a long white robe sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed.  ⁶But he said to them, “Do not be alarmed.  You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified.  He is risen! He is not here.  See the place where they laid Him.  ⁷“But go, tell His disciples—and Peter—that He is going before  you  into  Galilee;  there  you will see Him, as He said to you.”  ⁸So they went out quickly and fled from the tomb, for they trembled and were amazed.  And they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.” (Mk 16:1-8).

The proof that this was Mary Magdalene’s first visit, are the words of Mary and Mary the mother of James when they said amongst themselves, “Who will roll away the stone from the door of the tomb for us?”  This indicates that Mary hadn’t yet seen the stone rolled away.

The Second Visit:

After Mary Magdalene’s return from the first visit, she did not notify anyone of what the angel told her because she was afraid.  Thus, she went to see the tomb again, but this time accompanied by Saint Mary the Virgin.  Saint Matthew mentioned this incident in his gospel without referring to the Virgin specifically, but he called her “…the other Mary…”

He wrote, “¹Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb.  ²And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it.  ³His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow.  ⁴And the guards shook for fear of him, and became like dead men.  ⁵But the angel answered and said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified.  ⁶“He is not here; for He is risen, as He said.  Come, see the place where the Lord lay.  ⁷“And go quickly and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead, and indeed He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him.  Behold, I have told you.” ⁸So they went out quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to bring His disciples word.  ⁹And as they went to tell His disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, “Rejoice!” So they came and held Him by the feet and worshiped Him.  ¹⁰Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid.  Go and tell My brethren to go to Galilee, and there they will see Me.” (Mt 1:1-10).

By stating, “…behold, there was a great earthquake…”, Matthew did not mean that the earthquake occurred during this visit, but rather that it had taken place prior to both the first and second visits.  Saint Mark also mentioned the second visit briefly in his gospel.  It is the visit in which Mary Magdalene saw Christ the Lord, when she accompanied Saint Mary the Virgin.  Saint Mark mentions this visit after mentioning the first one.  His gospel states, “⁹Now when He rose early on the first day of the week, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom He had cast seven demons.  ¹⁰She went and told those who had been with Him, as they mourned and wept.  ¹¹And when they heard that He was alive and had been seen by her, they did not believe.” (Mk 16: 9-11).

From these verses, we can observe how Christ the Lord honored His mother, the Virgin Mother of God.  He did not appear to Mary Magdalene in her first visit when she went in the company of Mary the mother of  James and Salome; however, He appeared when His mother arrived.  After the second visit, the will of Christ the Lord in informing His disciples about His resurrection was carried out.  As Saint Matthew mentioned, they went out of the tomb “…and ran to bring His disciples word…” (Mat 28:8).

It is desirable to have the companionship of Saint Mary the Virgin in our spiritual lives, in order to see Christ the Lord through the eyes of our hearts and evangelize the good news of His resurrection without hesitation.  Amongst all of the saints, the Virgin is the example of complete obedience and surrender.

The Third Visit:

After Mary Magdalene informed the disciples of the Lord’s resurrection, both she and Mary the mother of James returned to the tomb accompanied by a group of women.  Saint Luke mentions this visit in his gospel after outlining the incidents relating to the burial on Friday and the rest on Saturday:

“⁵⁵And the women who had come with Him from Galilee followed after, and they observed the tomb and how His body was laid.  ⁵⁶Then they returned and prepared spices and fragrant oils.  And they rested on the Sabbath according to the commandment.  ¹Now on the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they, and certain other women with them, came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared.  ²But they found the stone rolled away from the tomb.  ³Then they went in and did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.  ⁴And it happened, as they were greatly perplexed about this, that behold, two men stood by them in shining garments.  ⁵Then, as they were afraid and bowed their faces to the earth, they said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? ⁶“He is not here, but is risen! Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee, ⁷“saying, ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.’ ” ⁸And they remembered His words.  ⁹Then they returned from the tomb and told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest.  ¹⁰It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them, who told these things to the apostles.  ¹¹And their words seemed to them like idle tales.” (Lk 23:55-24:11).

Since our fathers the apostles did not believe the women, Mary Magdalene started to doubt, and so she decided to go alone to the tomb.  This was the following visit.

to be continued

Glory be to God

his Eminence Metropolitan Bishoy