Yesterday, 20th July, less than a week after celebrating the Solemn Patronal Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, the Carmelite family were in celebration mode again to commemorate the Solemnity of Elijah, the Prophet of Carmel. There is no coincidence that these two great figures that all Carmelites try to aspire to, are celebrated so closely together. Mary and Elijah offer us a model for living the Carmelite way of life with hope and fidelity.
Growing up, I attended a church that was dedicated to Our Lady, Star of the Sea, and I am sure one of the first formal prayers that I learnt was the Hail Mary. Our Lady had been a major part of my life and spirituality up to and joining the Carmelites twenty years ago. My relationship with Elijah took a different course. I can vaguely remember studying Elijah in Religious Education, with regards to the concept of injustice and the story of Naboth’s Vineyard (1 Kings 21:1-18), but I can honestly say Elijah was not a big part of my spirituality.
This all changed when I entered the Carmelite Novitiate, I was taught that, ‘From Elijah, Carmelites learn to be people of the desert, with heart undivided, standing before God and entirely dedicated to his service… Like Elijah, they believe in God and allow themselves to be led by the Spirit and by the Word that has taken root in their hearts, in order to bear witness to the divine presence in the world, allowing God to be truly God in their lives… In Elijah, Carmelites learn to be channels God’s tender love for the poor and the humble.’ Whilst discerning my vocation, these words from our Constitutions 1995 (§26) offered me great hope and inspiration and enabled me to relate to this Old Testament Prophet that I had begun to try and model my life upon.
I would say that as well as being a Marian Order, the Carmelites is an Elijah Order, our motto “Zelo zelatus sum pro Domino Deo exercituum” comes from the lips of Elijah “With zeal have I been zealous for the Lord God of hosts.” Zeal and zealous are not words that we use very much but they convey a great enthusiasm, energy and hope for the God being the focus of one’s life and Elijah can teach us how to make God and particularly the person of Jesus Christ the centre of our lives.
What I love about Elijah is his raw humanness, in the first and second book of Kings we see an array of human emotions from Elijah which tell us that God calls each one of us no matter what our faults and failings might be and he gives us the strength to do his work and carry it out to the best of our ability. In the passages of Elijah, we see him being brave in the face of the tyrannical Queen Jezebel and the Prophets of Baal, the bravery turns to cowardice and despair and ultimately depression where Elijah wishes himself dead, there are elements of impatience, confusion but equally there is the brave, faithful and just one. Reflecting on this, any person can relate to Elijah in all the many different aspects of one’s life.
Perhaps what gives me the most hope is the New Testament event of the Transfiguration, where we witness Elijah enjoying his final reward with another Old Testament great figure, the lawgiver, Moses.We see this in the gospel of St Luke and his account of the Transfiguration of the Lord. During the transfiguration Jesus was joined by Moses who represents the Law, and by Elijah who represents the Prophets. In this way, we are shown that the authority of Jesus Christ is greater than these two pillars of the Jewish faith, and we are also reminded that their teachings pointed to his arrival. Elijah is a shining example of one who answered God’s call and gave his life to the service of God. Even his name bears witness – the Hebrew ‘Elia’ means ‘The Lord is my God.’ In this Jubilee Year of Hope may Elijah be our example and guide on this Pilgrimage of life.
Fr Gerard Walsh, O.Carm
