'Arise my love, my bride, and come.' Christ, the Bridegroom of our souls, draws attention to the greatness of His love by calling each of us His little dove. He whispers in our ears, 'My dove in the clefts of the rock, in the crannies of the wall, show me your face, let your voice sound in my ears.'
What are the clefts of the rock except the wounds of Christ. And quite correctly, for Christ is the rock. St. Thomas the Apostle put his hands in the cleft of Christ the rock and cried out: 'My Lord and my God'. In these clefts 'the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest where she may lay her young'; in them the dove finds safety and fearlessly watches the circling hawk. This is why the dove hides in the clefts of the rock. And if we rest secure on Christ in the storm of temptation we cry out with the psalmist, 'He set my feet upon a rock.'
Scripture tells us that the wise man builds his house upon a rock, because there he will fear the violence neither of storms nor of floods. Our homeland is in heaven, and we are not afraid of falling or being thrown down. The rock, with its durability and security, is fixed securely in heaven. That is why when we give our hearts to Christ our hearts dwell in heaven.
The rock is our refuge and strength. In the clefts of Christ the rock we find sure rest in the Savior's glorious wounds. Even if a Christian sins gravely, he should remember the precious wounds of the Lord. For 'he was wounded for our transgressions'. What sin is so deadly that cannot be crushed by Christ our rock?
The clefts of the Sacred Heart overflow with loving mercies of God. And there is no lack of clefts by which they are poured out. They pierced his hands and his feet, they gored his side with a lance, and through these fissures I can suck honey from the rock and oil from the flinty stone —I can taste and see that the Lord is good.
But the nail that pierced him has become for me a key unlocking the sight of the Lord's will. Why should I not gaze through the cleft? The nail cries out, the wound cries out that Christ has reconciled the world to himself.
The secret of His heart is laid open through the clefts of his body; that mighty mystery of love is laid open. Laid open too are the tender mercies of our God which shine through his glorious wounds! Thus we know the Lord is 'good and forgiving, abounding in steadfast love.'
As the beloved of the Lord let all our affections be preoccupied with the wounds of our Divine Savior. By constant meditation we gain endurance for any spiritual trial, as we hide in the cleft of Christ the Rock.
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