Dormition, Resurrection, Assumption 

women went to Our Lord's tomb, bringing spices and ointments, with the intention of reverencing His body 

(Lk 23:55    24:1). The three days then would be counted from the end of the time for visiting the body of 

Mary, when the coffin was covered and the sepulcher closed, to the time when she was assumed into Heaven. 

Thus the wake for the body of the Virgin Mary lasted about 12 days. 

    The Virgin Mary's body  lay buried in the earth  for 15 days, meaning that her body was in the tomb for 

that length of time. The tomb is said to be  in the earth  because, according to Blessed Anne Catherine, it was 

a cave like burial chamber hollowed out of a rock, perhaps on a hillside.

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 And the Virgin Mary's body  lay in 

the sepulcher three days,  meaning that her body was in the closed up tomb (or sepulcher) for 3 days, the last 3 

days of the entire 15 day period from her death to her Resurrection and Assumption into Heaven. 

    The Virgin Mary must have been Resurrected from  the dead sometime between her death and her 

Assumption to Heaven. At her death, the soul of the Virgin Mary went directly to Heaven, but her dead body 

remained on earth in the tomb. Death is the separation of body and soul. At her Assumption, the Virgin Mary 

was brought up to Heaven with her body and soul united. Therefore, her Resurrection, when her soul came 

down from Heaven to be reunited with her body, must have occurred sometime after her death, but before her 

Assumption.

585

    Blessed Anne Catherine describes the Resurrection of the Virgin Mary as occurring immediately before her 

Assumption to Heaven.  Then I saw the soul of the Blessed Virgin . . . float down into the tomb. Soon 

afterwards I saw her soul, united to her transfigured body, rising out of the tomb far brighter and clearer, and 

ascending into the heavenly Jerusalem with Our Lord and with the whole glory. 

586

 Thus the day and time of 

the Virgin Mary's Resurrection was also the day and time of her Assumption to Heaven. 

    The Virgin Mary died about 3 p.m. on July 31. She was resurrected from the dead and assumed into Heaven 

about 15 days later. But the Resurrection and Assumption of the Virgin Mary occurred at night, most likely 

just before dawn. So the length of time from Mary's death to her Resurrection and Assumption could not be 

exactly 15 days (as in 15 x 24 hours). The exact length of time must have been either 14 days plus some 

number of hours or 15 days plus some number of hours.  

    On August 15 of 

A.D.

 34, the sun rose at about 04:59 hours Jerusalem Standard Time (JST).

587

 The sky 

begins to brighten about an hour or more before sunrise. So, if the Virgin Mary's Resurrection occurred 

sometime during the hour before sunrise (about the same time that Jesus Christ's Resurrection occurred), then 

there were about 13 to 14 hours, plus some number of days, from her death at about 3 p.m. to her Resurrection 

at about 04:00 to 05:00 hours JST. 

    The Virgin Mary died on July 31. If the length of time from Mary's death to her Resurrection was 14 days 

and about 14 hours, then her Resurrection and Assumption occurred on August 15, just before dawn.

588

 If the 

length of time were 15 days and about 14 hours, then her Resurrection and Assumption would have occurred 

on August 16, just before dawn. The Virgin Mary's Resurrection and Assumption must have occurred on 

August 15, shortly before dawn, for the following reasons. 

    First, the count of various events in the lives of Jesus and Mary, and the length of time between the events is 

usually counted inclusively, so that a partial day counts for a full day. Thus 14 days and about 14 hours would 

count as 15 days, in agreement with Saint Bridget. Second, the length of time of 14 days and about 14 hours is 

closer to 15 days than to 14 days. Third, August 15 of 

A.D.

 34 was a Sunday, the same day of the week that 

Jesus rose from the dead.  Fourth, the Church celebrates the Assumption of the Virgin Mary on August 15. 

For all of these reasons, it is clear that the Virgin Mary was resurrected from the dead and assumed into 

Heaven on August 15, just before dawn. 

    The Virgin Mary died on Saturday, July 31. (On Saturdays, Holy Mass is often celebrated in honor of the 

Virgin Mary. Perhaps this is because the Virgin Mary died on a Saturday.) She was buried in a tomb the 

evening of July 31, and her body lay in the tomb for 15 days. The sepulchre and the tomb were closed up after 

12 days. The sepulchre and tomb were closed for about 3 days, Friday, Saturday, and (part of) Sunday the 

same three days of the week as the Crucifixion, death, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Virgin Mary was 

resurrected from the dead and assumed into Heaven, by the power of Jesus Christ, before dawn on August 15, 

a Sunday. 

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