On Mondays, I answer questions frequently asked by those considering a return to the Catholic Church. How do I know this stuff? I was away for more than 30 years myself, and am the co-author of When They Come Home: Ways to Welcome Returning Catholics, a book for pastors and parish leaders interested in this ministry.
What’s the deal with Catholics believing Mary’s body went to heaven?
Oh, the Solemnity of the Assumption, which we observe today, is one of my very favorite feast days, in part because it’s also the birthday of my brother and one of my sisters (they’re twins).
Yes, since 1950, it has been Church dogma that Mary, when the time came, was assumed into heaven body and soul. (The dogma does not extend to whether she was still alive at the time this happened.) For Your Marriage, an initiative of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, has a nice, digestible essay on the topic.
In purely human terms, I love this teaching. Consider Mary, born without original sin, and the difficult path the Lord put her on here on earth: conceiving Jesus through the Holy Spirit; giving birth in the humblest of settings; hearing she would suffer along with Him; losing track of Him for three days; nudging Him into His public ministry; and seeing Him tortured and crucifixed before His triumphant resurrection. She did it all with her faith intact, pondering in her heart but remaining on a path of obedience. What would be a more fitting transition for her than the Assumption? I picture Jesus waiting for her, arms wide open with the biggest smile ever.
