Salutations! How are you? Hope you are well. When we make an assumption about something in life there are times when we’re right and times when we’re wrong. When our Lord chose to assume Our Blessed Mother with her body and soul into Heaven that was always a right thing to do and never wrong. Based on that statement you might be surprised then to read that there is a church in Jerusalem dedicated to the final resting place of Mary.
That is not to say that it is
currently
the place of rest for Our Blessed Mother. No, the Basilica of the Dormition (or the Basilica of the Assumption) is actually built on top of the land where Mary was just before her assumption into eternal life. This is affirmed in the Apostolic Constitution - that is to say the Dogmatic Declaration - of
Munificentissimus Deus
made by Pope Pius XII on November 1, 1950 which states that Mary, “having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory” (44).
It was an intentionally ambiguous way of speaking about the concluding moments of Our Blessed Mother on Earth prior to her assumption because of two possibilities: [1] That she died a natural death and then was assumed into Heaven; or [2] That she fell into a deep sleep - or dormition - at the end of her natural journey and then was assumed into Heaven. The end result is the same for both possibilities but the significance is slightly nuanced for each one.
Since death is theologically understood to be a consequence of Original Sin, and Mary was immaculately conceived without that stain upon her soul, and furthermore she did not commit personal sins throughout her life, it seems that she would not have died at the end of her natural life. However, the same logic could be applied to her Son, Jesus, and yet he willingly endured His Passion and Death for the sake of our salvation. It seems reasonable and not out of the question, therefore, that Mary simply fell into a deep sleep and was then assumed into Heaven.
Regardless of what exactly happened to Our Blessed Mother at the end of her earthly life the truth remains that her bones have never and will never be found in a grave anywhere in the world. Out of love for His Mother the Lord took her body and soul into the life of Heaven. Out of love for you and me and all of humanity the Lord has allowed Mary to return to Earth to help spread the Good News of salvation far and wide. Her apparitions throughout the centuries in countries all over the world are part of God’s Providential Plan to lead all peoples into a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ. May we heed her words to the servants at the Wedding Feast at Cana and “do whatever he tells you” (John 2:5).
