“The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre.”
Early on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb while it was still dark — the opening echoes Genesis 1:2 (darkness over the abyss) and prepares for the resurrection as the beginning of new creation. Mary's solitary vigil at dawn anticipates the role of first witness, though John's narrative privileges her action over her status. The temporal marker (early, still dark) emphasizes the liminal space between death and resurrection where she encounters the transcendent.
Church Fathers on John 20:1
The Sabbath being now over, during which it was unlawful to be there, Mary Magdalene could rest no longer, but came very early in the morning, to seek consolation at the grave: The first day of the week comes Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, to the sepulcher.
Mary Magdalene, undoubtedly the most fervent in love, of all the women that ministered to our Lord; so that John deservedly mentions her only, and says nothing of the others who were with her, as we know from the other Evangelists.
Una sabbati, i.e. one day after the sabbath.
Read all 21 entries in the readerCatena Aurea · St. Thomas Aquinas, tr. J. H. Newman · public domain
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