The two Marys watch the Tomb

Saint Mark - Chapter 15

The two Marys watch the Tomb. J-J Tissot

[47] Maria autem Magdalene et Maria Joseph aspiciebant ubi poneretur.
And Mary Magdalen, and Mary the mother of Joseph, beheld where he was laid.

From The Life of Our Lord Jesus Christ, by J-J Tissot (1897)

The precious body has been laid in the Tomb; the last farewell has been silently taken.  The mourners have filed past the corpse resting in the cubiculum, or little chamber, referred to above, and then slowly retired backwards as we all regretfully leave a place we love.  The stone, the wedges removed, has rolled into its groove, it has been firmly fixed once more and the Sepulchre is closed.  It is still, however, possible to enter the first chamber, for the outer aperture remains open.  Everyone is gone now except two women who remain to watch the sacred spot from a distance.  They intend to go back to it at the earliest possible moment to render yet more last services to the divine Master.

At present, they must not dream of doing anything, for the Sabbath has begun; they must content themselves with reviewing every detail of the interment, so that they may know what to do the next morning.  This is what Saint Mark implies when he says: " Mary Magdalen and Mary the mother of Joseph beheld where he was laid." Then they take up their post on a rock opposite the entrance and wait.  Time passes, but they are still there, they have too much food for meditation to be impatient.  The night is closing in on them, still they do not move from their place, but with eager gaze they seem to strive to pierce through the stone closing the Tomb, to the form of Him they love.

Totus tuus ego sum 

Et omnia mea tua sunt;

Tecum semper tutus sum:
Ad Jesum per Mariam