Blessed is he who, in order that I might be able to build a nest in the clefts of the rock, allowed his hands, feet and side to be pierced and opened himself to me wholly that I might enter the place of his wonderful tent and be protected in its recesses. The rock is a convenient refuge for the badgers, but it is also a welcome dwelling-place for the doves. These clefts–so many open wounds all over his body–offer pardon to the guilty and bestow grace on the just. Indeed it is a safe dwelling-place, my brothers, and a tower of strength in the face of the enemy, to linger in the wounds of Christ the Lord, by devout and constant meditation. By faith in the Crucified and love of him, a man keeps his soul safe from the heat of the flesh, from the turmoil of the world, from the attacks of the devil. The protection of this tent surpasses all the world’s glory. It is a shade from the heat of the day, a refuge and a shelter from the storm and the rain, so that by day the sun shall not scorch you with prosperity, nor the storm move you with adversity.
Guerric of Igny, The Fourth Sermon for Palm Sunday, Liturgical Sermons II, CF32, p. 77
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