"Believers today as in the past can learn from the prophet of Carmel. Chosen by God to be his emissary, Elijah with a display of remarkable courage and zeal showed himself to be a true servant of the Lord. Time and again he proclaimed the lordship of the God of Israel by opposing idolatry and injustice of the formidable King Ahab. To the embarrassment of the royal family he exposed the prophets of Baal as frauds. Although his intervention did not succeed in exterminating the cult of Baal in his own time, nevertheless, he did help to sustain the cult of the one true God in Israel. Elijah, the man of God, the zealous servant, has left his mark on salvation history. He is venerated even today by Christians, Jews and Moslems.
If Elijah has left his mark on salvation history, he has also left it on the Carmelite Order. From its origin on Mount Carmel at the dawn of the thirteenth century the Order of Carmel has venerated Elijah as its leader and model. The prophet of Carmel belongs to the roots of the Order. So much so, that if in the future Carmel were to forget its relationship to Elijah, it would soon pass out of existence. For any society, and this is true of a religious society, once separated from its roots slowly fragments. A society without roots is like a flower pulled loose from its bed that blossoms for a while and then withers and dies. Carmel, then, must never be separated from its spiritual father."
-- Elijah, the spiritual father of Carmel by Fr Kilian Healy, OCarm
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3 comments:
What a proud day this must be for your order to celebrate the great prophet! Thanks for the story!
Happy Feast Day Sister! I found your site via another site and feel blessed to have come upon this "oasis in the desert." I left a comment on July 14 or 13th. I was so happy have found something about St. Terese de Los Andes. As I stated there, she is one of my favorite saints. As a matter of fact most of my favorites happen to be Carmelites! Thank you for today's posting and beautiful words. I assure you of my prayers and if I maybe so bold ask the same of you. A Blessed Day to you and all the sistes and visitor to this site. John K.
Dear John K / Anonymous--
I'm glad you like the blog. I love St Teresa of the Andes dearly. I think it's unfortunate she's not better known in the United States. Her letters, in case you haven't read them yet, are absolutely beautiful. In my opinion, the translation by Fr Michael D Griffin, ocd, couldn't be improved. Please pray for him. He is an irreplaceable asset in the Order.
Of course I will pray for you. Please do the same for me. If only people knew how religious themselves are in need of the prayers and sacrifices... God bless!
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