Each year, the Catholic Church celebrates the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary on Aug. 15, the day I write this reflection.

The Assumption of Mary is a dogma in the church, declared in 1950 by Pope Pius XII. But the popular belief that Mary was assumed body and soul into heaven upon her death stretches back to the early centuries of Christianity.

Whatever your personal thoughts are about whether the Assumption took place the way the Church teaches, it is a beautiful concept to consider: that due to her unique and honored role in mothering Jesus, God would save her the experience of earthly death, and raise her immediately, body and soul, into heaven.

One of my favorite writers is Sue Monk Kidd, best known for her book “The Secret Life of Bees”, which was turned into a

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