Important Dates in the Lives of Jesus and Mary 

The Fast of the Dormition 

    The Churches of the East have long celebrated the Dormition of the Virgin Mary, as well as her 

Assumption. The 15 day length of time, from the death of the Blessed Virgin Mary to her Assumption to 

Heaven, is in harmony with the liturgical calendars of the Eastern Churches. Many Christians in the Eastern 

Churches commemorate the death of the Virgin Mary with the Fast of the Dormition, which lasts from August 

1 to 14. This length of time reflects the length of time from the death of the Virgin Mary to her Resurrection 

and Assumption. The fasting begins on the first full day after the Virgin Mary's death and continues through 

August 14, the last full day before the Virgin Mary was resurrected from the dead and assumed into Heaven. 

The Church in the East fasts to mark the period of time between Virgin Mary's death and her Resurrection and 

Assumption. This fast commemorates her death and also looks forward to her Resurrection and Assumption. 

(I think that most Christians, even in the East, do not know that this is the reason for the timing of the fast.) 

    Another reason for celebrating the Assumption of the Virgin Mary on the day of August 15 is because the 

Apostles discovered her Resurrection and Assumption on that day. According to Blessed Anne Catherine, the 

Apostle Thomas arrived too late to attend at the death and burial of the Virgin Mary. He was upset that he had 

missed the event, and he wanted to see the body of the Virgin Mary in the tomb. But when the Apostles 

opened the tomb and went inside, they found the coffin empty, and the body of the Virgin Mary gone.

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According to Blessed Anne Catherine, the discovery of the empty tomb occurred during the daytime following 

the night of the Virgin Mary's Assumption to Heaven.

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 The Virgin Mary was assumed into Heaven on 

Sunday, August 15 of 

A.D.

 34, before dawn, and her empty tomb was discovered later that day. Therefore, it is 

fitting that the celebration of the Virgin Mary's Assumption take place on the day that her Resurrection and 

Assumption were discovered and made known to the Apostles. 

    But why does the Virgin Mary find it important to also tell Saint Bridget that she was in the sepulcher for 

three days, (the length of time that the sepulcher was closed)? The Virgin Mary was resurrected from the dead 

on the same day of the week, and perhaps about the same hour, that Jesus Christ rose from the dead. The 

count of the three days, when the sepulcher was closed, is a reflection of the three days from the Crucifixion to 

the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Therefore, the count of the three days, when the Virgin Mary's tomb was 

closed, should begin with the Friday before the Assumption. In this way, the tomb was closed up for the same 

three days of the week, Friday to Sunday, which mark the death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. And the 

discovery of Mary's  empty tomb by Saint Thomas and the Apostles is like the discovery of Christ's empty 

tomb by the holy women and the Apostles.  That is why the Virgin Mary made a point of telling Saint Bridget 

about the three day length of time, because it mirrors the three days from Christ's death to His Divine 

Resurrection. In this way, the Apostles more easily understood the meaning of the empty tomb that the 

Blessed Virgin Mary had been raised from the dead because these events were similar to those surrounding 

the Resurrection of Christ. 

The Beginning and the End 

    There is an interesting parallel found in comparing the beginning and the end of the Virgin's life on earth. 

The Virgin Mary's life began, at the Immaculate Conception, just over 15 years before Christ came into the 

world at the Incarnation, and she lived in the world for just over 15 years after the Ascension of Jesus to 

Heaven. The Virgin Mary spent 15 years of her life waiting for the Divine Son of God to arrive (at the 

Incarnation) and she spent 15 years of her life waiting to rejoin her Divine Son after His Ascension to Heaven. 

The beginning and the end of the Blessed Virgin Mary's life were in this way similar. 

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