Let us now consider how her blessed transition took place. After the Ascension of Christ, Mary remained on earth to attend to the propagation of the faith. Because of this, the Apostles and disciples of Jesus Christ turned to her; she resolved their doubts, comforted them during persecutions, and encouraged them to work for the glory of God and the salvation of redeemed souls. She remained on earth with great pleasure, understanding that this was the will of God for the good of the Church; yet, she felt a longing to be with her Son who had ascended into heaven.
“Where your treasure is,” said the Redeemer, “there your heart will be also” (Lk 12:34). Wherever a person believes their treasure and contentment to be, there their heart's love and desire are always fixed. Thus, if Mary loved no other good more than Jesus, since He was in heaven, there resided all her longings and desires.
**Tablero** writes of Mary that “she had her dwelling in heaven,” because having all her love there, she found there her constant rest; “she had eternity as her school,” being always detached from material goods; “she had the truth of God as her teacher,” acting in everything according to His divine light; “she had the divinity as her mirror,” for she contemplated herself only in God to conform herself in all things to His divine will; “she had devotion as her adornment,” being always most ready to follow the divine pleasure; “she had God as her only rest,” since in uniting herself entirely with Him, she found all her peace; “the place where the treasure of her heart resided was God alone,” and this even in her dreams.
This author writes that the Blessed Virgin went about consoling her enamored heart in that painful distance, visiting—as it is said—the holy places where her Son had been: the cave of Bethlehem where He was born, the little house of Nazareth where He lived for so many years, the Garden of Gethsemane where His Passion began, and Pilate’s praetorium where He was scourged, as well as the place where He was crowned with thorns; but most frequently she visited Calvary, where her Son gave up His spirit, and the Holy Sepulcher where she had laid Him. And so, the most loving Mother consoled herself amidst the sorrow of her harsh exile.
But this was not enough to satisfy her heart, which could find no perfect rest on earth; therefore, she did nothing but constantly sigh for her Lord, exclaiming with David but with a more ardent love: “O that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest! O that I had wings to fly toward my God and find my repose in Him! As the deer longs for flowing streams, so my soul longs for you, O God” (Ps 42:1). As the wounded deer desires the spring, so my soul, wounded by your love, my God, seeks You and sighs for You. The moans of this little dove pierced the heart of her God who loved her so much: “The voice of the dove is heard in our land” (Song 2:12). Therefore, not wishing to defer the consolation of His beloved any longer, He finally fulfills her desire and calls her to His kingdom.
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The Glories if Mary, San Alfonso M Ligorio