Apostoli_Viae

St Elijah – July 20 – Carmelite Saints

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Summary:

The prophet Elijah appears in Scripture as a man of God who lived always in His presence and fought zealously for the worship of the one God. He defended God’s law in a solemn contest on Mt. Carmel, and afterwards was given on Mt. Horeb an intimate experience of the living God. The hermits, who instituted a form of monastic life in honor of Our Lady on Mt. Carmel in the twelfth century, followed monastic tradition in turning to Elijah as their Father and model.

History:

“We who live in Carmel and who daily call on our Holy Father Elijah in prayer know that for us he is not a shadowy figure out of the dim past. His spirit is active among us in a vital tradition and determines how we live.” – St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross

The prophet Elijah stands as the enduring foundation of Carmelite spirituality as the Father of the Carmelite Order. St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross’s beautiful work, On the History and Spirit of Carmel, shows how the spirit of Elijah has lived on in Carmelite spirituality. Throughout this account, excerpts from her work will highlight how Elijah’s spirit remains at the heart of Carmelite spirituality.

Elijah lived around 900 BC and was a Thesbite. His name means “My God is the Lord” in Hebrew. He became a prophet when Israel struggled with its faith, and his life protested the era’s immorality.

During Elijah’s time, Israel was divided between the northern and southern kingdoms. Omri, King of Israel, promoted practices contrary to religious law, including establishing local altars and priests, and encouraging the worship of Baal. His son Ahab's marriage to Jezebel, a worshipper of Baal, heightened these tensions as Jezebel actively promoted the worship of Baal in Israel.

Against this backdrop, 1 Kings 17 begins as Elijah suddenly appears before King Ahab. Elijah warns Ahab that unless he and the people repent of their evils, God will scourge the land with a drought for their apostasy (1 Kings 17:1).

“Our Holy Father Elijah succinctly says what is most important in the first words of his that the Scriptures give us. He says to King Ahab, “As the Lord the God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word.” To stand before the face of the living God, that is our vocation. The holy prophet set us an example.” – St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross

The prophet’s sudden appearance suggests divine intervention. God reached out to correct and chastise, but also to heal and strengthen his people. He sent Elijah to remind the king and the Israelites that the Lord is their God. The prophet’s mission is to bring about a conversion of mind and heart. By marrying a foreign queen from a pagan nation, Ahab led the people astray by his example. In Israel's history, the king's spirituality shapes the lives of his people. If the king is faithful, the nation tends to remain faithful; if unfaithful, then the whole nation is likely to break the covenant with the Lord.

After this confrontation, God told Elijah to flee to the brook Cherith, where ravens would feed him (1 Kings 17:2-6). When the brook dried up, God sent Elijah to a widow in Zarephath. The widow, with only her last meal left because of the famine, nonetheless received him. He told her, “The Lord, the God of Israel, says: The jar of flour shall not go empty, nor the jug of oil run dry, until the day when the Lord sends rain.” Later, when the widow's son died, Elijah prayed to God to restore her child to life. The Lord heard Elijah's prayer, and life returned to her son’s body (1 Kings 17:7-24). This is the first recorded instance of raising the dead in Scripture.

Despite the suffering caused by the drought, Ahab ignored Elijah’s warning and continued to worship Baal with Jezebel. For three years, no rain fell, during which Ahab scoured the land for Elijah but could not find him. Then, after three years, at the Lord’s command, Elijah returned to confront the king.

“The prophet, who serves the Lord in complete purity of heart and completely stripped of everything earthly, is also a model of obedience. He stands before God’s face like the angels before the eternal throne, awaiting his sign, always ready to serve. He has no other will than the will of his Lord. When God bids, he goes before the king and fearlessly risks giving him bad news that must arouse his hatred. When God wills it, he leaves the country at the threat of violence; but he also returns at God’s command, though the danger has not disappeared.” – St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross

On his return journey, Elijah encountered Obadiah, head of Ahab's household, who had hidden a hundred Jewish prophets from Jezebel's violent purge. Obadiah feared that if he reported Elijah’s presence to Ahab and Elijah disappeared, Ahab would execute him. However, Elijah reassured Obadiah and sent him to summon Ahab. When Ahab arrived, he fiercely accused Elijah of bringing the curse upon the land. Elijah, however, replied that Ahab himself was to blame, having allowed the worship of false gods (1 Kings 18:1-18).

During this confrontation, Elijah directed Ahab to summon the people of Israel, the 450 prophets of Baal, and the 400 prophets of Asherah to Mount Carmel for a decisive contest between the God of Israel and Baal. There, Elijah rebuked the people: "How long will you straddle the issue? If the Lord is God, follow him; if Baal, follow him." He then instructed the prophets of Baal to call upon their deity, while he would "call upon the name of the Lord," with the agreement that “The God who answers with fire is God,” to which all the people agreed.

First, the priests of Baal attempted to invoke their god. For hours, they chanted, danced, and cut themselves, but to no avail. Elijah then took his turn. He repaired the altar of God with twelve stones to represent the twelve tribes of Israel, dug a trench around it, and then prepared his sacrifice. To further demonstrate God’s power, he ordered that both the sacrifice and the altar be drenched with water from "four large jars" three times, until even the trench was filled. Elijah then prayed to God. As he was praying, “The Lord’s fire came down and devoured the burnt offering, wood, stones, and dust, and lapped up the water in the trench.”

This miracle prompted the people to declare, "The Lord is God! The Lord is God!" Elijah ordered them to seize the prophets of Baal. They did so, and Elijah brought them to the River Kishon and slaughtered them. Afterward, Elijah went to the top of Mount Carmel and instructed his servant to look toward the sea for a sign of coming rain. The servant found nothing at first but looked seven times at Elijah’s insistence. On the seventh time, he observed “a cloud as small as a man’s hand rising from the sea.” Soon after, torrential rains fell upon the land, ending the three-year drought (1 Kings 18:19-46).

“It was she [the Blessed Virgin] who manifested herself to the Prophet Elijah in the form of a little rain cloud and for whom the sons of the prophets built the first shrine on Mount Carmel. The legend of the Order tells us that the Mother of God would have liked to remain with the hermit brothers on Mount Carmel. We can certainly understand that she felt drawn to the place where she had been venerated through the ages and where the holy prophet had lived in the same spirit that also filled her from the time her earthly sojourn began. Released from everything earthly, to stand in worship in the presence of God, to love him with her whole heart, to beseech his grace for sinful people, and in atonement to substitute herself for these people, as the maidservant of the Lord to await his beckoning, this was her life.” – St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross

Following the victory on Mount Carmel, Jezebel, infuriated, threatened to kill Elijah, forcing him to flee for his life. Elijah escaped to Beer-sheba in Judah and then went alone into the desert wilderness. There, he sat under a shrub, prayed for death, and fell asleep. An angel of the Lord gently roused him, instructing him to eat and drink. Elijah found bread and water, ate, and fell back asleep. The angel came a second time, urging him to eat and drink further, telling him he had a long journey ahead.

Elijah “stood before God’s face because this was the eternal treasure for whose sake he gave up all earthly goods. He had no house; he lived wherever the Lord directed him from moment to moment: in loneliness beside the brook of Cherith, in the little house of the poor widow of Zarephath of Sidon, or in the caves of Mount Carmel… Elijah is not concerned about his daily bread. He lives trusting in the solicitude of the heavenly Father and is marvelously sustained. A raven brings him his daily food while he is in solitude. The miraculously increased provisions of the pious widow nourish him in Zarephath. Prior to the long trek… an angel with heavenly bread strengthens him. So he is for us an example of the gospel poverty that we have vowed, an authentic prototype of the Savior.” – St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross

After recovering in the wilderness and journeying to Mount Horeb, Elijah hid in a cave where God spoke to him through a “light, silent sound.” God commanded him to anoint Hazael as King of Syria, Jehu as King of Israel, and Elisha as his own successor. Setting out to fulfill these tasks, Elijah met Elisha, who was plowing a field. Casting his mantle on Elisha, Elijah made him his faithful disciple and eventual successor (1 Kings 19:1-21).

Following these developments, Ahab desired Naboth’s vineyard in Jezreel. He offered a better vineyard or a fair price for the land, but Naboth refused, citing God’s command not to part with the land. While Ahab reluctantly accepted, Jezebel took action by murdering Naboth to obtain the vineyard. In response, God instructed Elijah to confront Ahab with a question and a prophecy: "After murdering, do you also take possession?” and "In the place where the dogs licked up the blood of Naboth, the dogs shall lick up your blood, too.” Ahab blamed Elijah as his enemy, but Elijah told him that his own actions made him God’s enemy. Elijah prophesied disaster for Ahab, his family, and Jezebel. Ahab's sincere repentance delayed the full punishment, which God postponed for Jezebel and their son, Ahaziah (1 Kings 21:1-29).

The next significant episode involving Elijah concerned Ahab’s successor, Ahaziah. After a serious fall, Ahaziah sent messengers to consult the shrine of Baalzebub, the god of Ekron, about his recovery. Elijah intercepted the messengers, sending them back with a message: “Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going to inquire of Baalzebub, the god of Ekron?” When Ahaziah questioned the messengers about the identity of the man who intercepted them, they stated he wore a hairy garment and a leather belt around his waist, and Ahaziah recognized him as Elijah.

In reaction, Ahaziah sent three groups of soldiers to capture Elijah. The first two were destroyed by fire, which Elijah called down from heaven. The captain of the third group begged for mercy for himself and his men. Elijah agreed to go with them to Ahaziah. He delivered his message in person and told Ahaziah he would not recover. As Elijah foretold, Ahaziah died from his injuries (2 Kings 1:2-17).

“Anyone who is so unconditionally faithful to God can also be certain of God’s faithfulness. He is permitted to speak “as someone who has power,” may open and close heaven, may command the waters to let him walk through and remain dry, may call down fire from heaven to consume his sacrifice, to execute punishment on God’s enemies, and may breathe new life into a dead person. We see the Savior’s predecessor provided with all the graces that he has promised to his own.” – St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross

Later, as Elijah spoke with his successor, Elisha, he miraculously split the Jordan River with his mantle. Once they crossed, Elijah invited Elisha to request a parting gift. Elisha asked to receive a double portion of Elijah’s spirit. Elijah agreed on the condition that Elisha witness his departure. As they walked together, "a fiery chariot and fiery horses came between the two of them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind." As Elijah ascended, his mantle fell to the ground, and Elisha picked it up, thus assuming Elijah’s prophetic role (2 Kings 2:1-14).

After Elijah was taken up to heaven, he later appeared alongside Moses at the Transfiguration of Jesus on Mount Tabor. St. John Chrysostom, in a homily on the Transfiguration, explained the significance of the appearances of Elijah and Moses. He stated that since “the Jews repeatedly accused Christ of being a transgressor of the Law, and they held him as a blasphemer, and as one who claimed the glory of the Father,” Jesus brought forth Moses and Elijah to prove he was guilty of neither of those crimes. Since God gave the Law to Moses, “Moses would not have suffered the Law to be trampled underfoot, as the Jews supposed, nor would he, the lawgiver, ever have honored the transgressor of the Law… Elijah, on the other hand, was zealous for the glory of God; wherefore he would not have been in attendance upon one who decided himself equal to the Father, had he not been so, nor would the Prophet have obeyed him who claimed that which he possessed not.” During the Transfiguration, Elijah and Moses conversed with Jesus.

Even after his earthly departure, Elijah’s story continues in sacred tradition. According to tradition, Elijah will be one of the two witnesses described in the book of Revelation. It is believed that he would come as the forerunner of Christ, at the end of the world, to announce His last coming. Accordingly, the Antichrist would wage war with him and would slay him. His body will lie in the streets, unburied, for three and a half days. At the end of that time, he would be raised by the Lord and would smite the kingdom of Antichrist with a dire blow. After this, the Lord shall come, and He shall slay the Antichrist and those who adored him, and the Lord will reign with all His Saints forever (Revelation 11:1-14).

Elijah is the spiritual father and leader of the Carmelites, as the Carmelite way of life embodies the spirit of Elijah. During his ministry, Elijah went up to Mount Carmel to live and to pray. It was there that he taught and trained his followers, who are considered by some to be the first monks. From that time onward, Mount Carmel has been inhabited by men seeking union with God. For centuries, his story has inspired all who number themselves among the sons of the prophets, that is, every Carmelite.

In praying with Elijah, we hope to receive some portion of his spirit in our own service of the Lord God. Elijah's spirit of prayer, penance, contemplation, and zeal for the Lord is to this day the very spirit of the Carmelites. From Elijah, Carmelites learn to listen for the voice of God in the unexpected and in silence. We seek to allow the Word of God to shape our minds and our hearts so that the way we live and the things we do may be prophetic and therefore faithful to the memory of our father Elijah.

[The Carmelite rule] “condensed the entire meaning of our life in a short statement: “All are to remain in their own cells…, meditating on the Law of the Lord day and night and watching in prayer...” “To watch in prayer,” this is to say the same thing that Elijah said with the words, “to stand before the face of God.” Prayer is looking up into the face of the Eternal. We can do this only when the spirit is awake in its innermost depths, freed from all earthly occupations and pleasures that benumb it.” – St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross

Prayer:

Almighty, ever living God,
your prophet Elijah, our Father,
lived always in your presence
and was zealous for the honor due to your name.
May we, your servants,
always seek your face
and bear witness to your love.

We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever. Amen.

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7
St Elisha – June 14 – Carmelite Saints
Summary: “Elijah came upon Elisha and threw his cloak over him. Immediately Elisha left the oxen and ran after Elijah as his attendant” (cf. 1 Kgs 19:19–21). Elisha was filled with the spirit of Elijah; among the many signs he performed, he cured Naaman of Leprosy and raised a dead child to life. He lived among the sons of the prophets, and in God’s name, he frequently intervened in the affairs of the Israelites. Mindful of its origin on Mount Carmel, the Carmelite Order desired to perpetuate the memory of the great prophets’ presence and deeds through the liturgical celebration of St. Elijah and Elisha. Thus, the General Chapter of 1399 decreed the celebration of the feast of St. Elisha. In 2023, the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments extended the celebration to the Teresian Carmel at the rank of an optional memorial. Through his fidelity to the true God and by his service to God’s people, St. Elisha effectively illustrates the meaning of the prophetic office in our day. History: Elisha was a prophet in the northern kingdom of Israel in the 800s BC. The story of Elisha is told in the Old Testament in 1 Kings 19 and 2 Kings 2-9, ending in 2 Kings 13. After Elijah triumphed over and slaughtered the prophets of Baal, Jezebel threatened his life. Elijah fled to Mount Horeb, where the Lord revealed Elisha as his successor. Elisha, meaning "My God is Salvation" in Hebrew, was the son of Shaphat, a wealthy landowner from Abel-meholah near the Jordan. Elijah found Elisha plowing a field with twelve yokes of oxen. Elijah placed his mantle on Elisha, signifying his call to share in prophetic work. Elisha requested to say farewell to his parents, then sacrificed the oxen, shared the meat, and became Elijah’s disciple (1 Kings 19:1-3, 8-21). When Elijah was about to be taken to Heaven, he and Elisha went to the Jordan River. Elijah rolled up his mantle and struck the water, parting it so they could cross.  On the other side, Elijah said, “Request whatever I might do for you, before I am taken from you.” Elisha boldly asked for a double portion of Elijah’s spirit. As they spoke, a chariot of fire and fiery horses appeared, lifting Elijah in a whirlwind. As he was lifted, Elijah’s mantle fell, and Elisha retrieved it. Elisha replicated Elijah’s miracle by striking the water with the mantle, parting the river again (2 Kings 2:6-14). After crossing the river, Elisha was accepted as the new leader of the sons of the prophets (2 Kings 2:15). Elisha went on to perform twice as many miracles as Elijah (Sirach 48:12). Elisha returned to Jericho, where he purified the spring’s waters, earning the people's gratitude (2 Kings 2:19-22). Before settling in Samaria, Elisha spent time at Mount Carmel (2 Kings 2:25). Elisha served from 892 to 832 BC as advisor to Judah’s third through eighth kings. Throughout his life, he "feared no one, nor was anyone able to intimidate his will" (Sirach 48:12). When Judah, Israel, and Edom allied against Mesha, the king of Moab, they endured drought in the Idumea desert. Elisha interceded. His dual prophecy of relief from drought and victory over Moab was fulfilled the next morning (2 Kings 3:4-27). To aid a prophet’s widow threatened by a harsh creditor, Elisha multiplied her small supply of oil, enabling her to pay her debt and provide for her family (2 Kings 4:1-7). Elisha prophesied the birth of a son for a wealthy Shunammite woman. When the child later died, she found Elisha on Mount Carmel and brought him back to her home, where Elisha revived the boy (2 Kings 4:8-37). He later warned her and her son to depart before a seven-year famine (2 Kings 8:1-6). To feed the sons of the prophets during famine, Elisha transformed poisonous gourds into safe food (2 Kings 4:38-41). He also fed 100 men with 20 barley loaves, leaving leftovers (2 Kings 4:41-44). One well-known miracle featured Naaman, a commander from Aram afflicted with leprosy. He sought Elisha’s help and was surprised to be told to wash seven times in the Jordan River. Naaman doubted the river's purity, but, urged by his servants, reluctantly complied and was completely healed (2 Kings 5:1-19). Jesus later referenced this miracle: “There were many lepers in Israel during the time of Elisha the prophet; yet not one of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian" (Luke 4:27). Elisha's other miracles include: causing an ax float to spare a prophet from embarrassment (2 Kings 6:1-7), repeatedly rescuing King Jehoram of Israel from Benhadad's ambushes (2 Kings 6:8-13), inflicting Aramean soldiers with blindness (2 Kings 6:13-23), directing elders to block the door against Israel's ungrateful king's messenger (2 Kings 6:25-32), and confidently predicting the enemy’s sudden withdrawal from the siege of Samaria and the end of the city's famine (2 Kings 7:1-20). In Damascus, Elisha prophesied Hazael’s rise to the throne of Syria (2 Kings 8:7-15). He instructed a son of the prophets to anoint Jehu as Israel’s king and direct him to end Ahab’s dynasty (2 Kings 9:1-13). The deaths of Jehoram, Jezebel, and Ahab’s seventy sons fulfilled this command (2 Kings 9:14-10:12). When Elisha’s time was coming to an end, Jehoash of Israel, Jehu’s grandson, came to mourn his imminent passing. Elisha guided Jehoash in shooting an arrow eastward from his window. Elisha prophesied as Jehoash released it: “An arrow of victory for the LORD! An arrow of victory over Aram! You will beat Aram at Aphek and finish him!” Elisha then told the king to strike the ground, and Jehoash did so three times. Elisha predicted three victories over the Arameans, but not a total victory. Elisha then died and was buried (2 Kings 13:14-20). Another miracle occurred soon after Elisha's death. When some people were burying a dead man, they spotted a raiding band. They quickly placed his body in Elisha’s grave, and the man revived immediately (2 Kings 13:21). Later on, Julian the Apostate (361–363) ordered the burning of the relics of Elisha, Obadiah, and John the Baptist, who were buried together in Sebastia. Christians rescued and transported some relics to Alexandria. Today, Elisha’s relics are claimed to be in the Coptic Orthodox Monastery of St. Macarius the Great in Scetes, Egypt. St. John of Damascus (675–749) composed a canon in honor of the Prophet Elisha. Later, a church in his honor was built in Constantinople. The liturgical celebration of St. Elisha is first noted in the Carmelite Order’s 1369 Constitutions, though it was likely not observed until a 1399 decree established the feast on June 14. The inclusion aimed to affirm the Order's "prophetic tradition." The prevailing thought prevented the celebration of Elijah, who is alive in heaven, so Elisha’s feast was held instead. To honor Elijah, his celebration was linked to Elisha’s feast, establishing the first link in the "uninterrupted succession of Elijah." Like Elisha, Carmelites inherit the Carmelite tradition, taking on the mantle and spirit of their predecessors. The decree of 1399 was reaffirmed in 1411, and celebration texts were added to the Breviary in 1462. St. Elisha’s feast was removed in 1972, but the missal retained the votive mass for Elijah and Elisha. The feast was restored as a memorial in 1991, and the Discalced Carmelites now observe it as an optional memorial. Prayer: O God, protector and redeemer of mankind, whose glories have been proclaimed through the wonders accomplished by your chosen prophets, you have bestowed the spirit of Elijah on your prophet Elisha; in your kindness grant us too an increase of the gifts of the Holy Spirit so that, living as prophets, we will bear constant witness to your abiding presence and providence. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Apostoli_Viae
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