The Body of our Lord placed in the Sepulchre.
The men placed the sacred body on a species of leathern hand-barrow,
which they covered wit a brown-coloured cloth, and to which they
fastened two long stakes. This forcibly reminded me of the Ark of the
Covenant. Nicodemus and Joseph bore on their shoulders the front
shafts, while Abenadar and John supported those behind. After them came
the Blessed Virgin, Mary of Heli, her eldest sister, Magdalen and Mary
of Cleophas, and then the group of women who had been sitting at some
distance--Veronica, Johanna Chusa, Mary Salome, Salome of Jerusalem,
Susanna, and Anne the niece of St. Joseph. Cassius and the soldiers
closed the procession. The other women, such as Marone of Naim, Dina the
Samaritaness, and Mara the Suphanitess, were at Bethania, with Martha
and Lazarus. Two soldiers, bearing torches in their hands, walked on
first, that there might be some light in the grotto of the sepulchre;
and the procession continued to advance in this order for about seven
minutes, the holy men and women singing psalms in sweet but melancholy
tones. I saw James the Greater, the brother of John, standing upon a
hill the other side of the valley, to look at them as they passed, and
he returned immediately afterwards, to tell the other disciples what he
had seen.
The procession stopped at the entrance of Joseph's garden, which was
opened by the removal of some stakes, afterwards used as levers to roll
the stone to the door of the sepulchre. When opposite the rock, they
placed the Sacred Body on a long board covered with a sheet. The
grotto, which had been newly excavated, had been latterly cleaned by
the servants of Nicodemus, so that the interior was neat and pleasing
to the eye. The holy women sat down in front of the grotto, while the
four men carried in the body of our Lord, partially filled the hollow
couch destined for its reception with aromatic spices, and spread over
them a cloth, upon which they reverently deposited the sacred body.
After having once more given expression to their love by tears and fond
embraces, they left the grotto. Then the Blessed Virgin entered, seated
herself close to the head of her dear Son, and bent over his body with
many tears. When she left the grotto, Magdalen hastily and eagerly came
forward, and flung on the body some flowers and branches which she had
gathered in the garden. Then she clasped her hands together, and with
sobs kissed the feet of Jesus; but the men having informed her that
they must close the sepulchre, she returned to the other women. They
covered the sacred body with the extremities of the sheet on which it
was lying, placed on the top of all the brown coverlet, and closed the
folding-doors, which were made of a bronze-coloured metal, and had on
their front two sticks, one straight down and the other across, so as
to form a perfect cross.
The large stone with which they intended to close the sepulchre, and
which was still lying in front of the grotto, was in shape very like a
chest or tomb;19 its length was such that a man might have laid himself
down upon it, and it was so heavy that it was only by means of levers
that the men could roll it before the door of the sepulchre. The
entrance of the grotto was closed by a gate made of branches twined
together. Everything that was done within the grotto had to be
accomplished by torchlight, for daylight never penetrated there.