The Prophet Elijah

The Prophet Elijah lived at a time in the history of Israel when the Chosen People, once established in the land of Canaan, began to forget God who had brought them out of Egypt. They turned to idols, to the Baals. After God took hold of Elijah and led him to the desert, he returned to his people. On the mountain of Carmel Elijah revealed to the Israelites who the true God is.

To find out more about Elijah, read: 1Kings 17-22; 2Kings 1-2; Sirach 48.

Does this rough man, clad in strange garments, have anything to say to us today?

The society of Elijah’s time seems very different from ours. For so many people thirsting for the spirit, a life of solitude can only be an impossible dream.  Some are married and have a family to care for; the duties of their situation absorb them too much in the frenzy of daily life. Others are so actively engaged in an apostolate with multiple projects that their spiritual lives have to take a back seat.
 

What practical lesson then can we draw from Elijah’s example for the witnessing demanded of us today?

The prophet is someone whom God has taken in His grasp, leaving in him a longing for God, a thirst to be with Him. He is surrendered to God's will by a gift of self in order to respond to God's call (à link to 1.5.1.2.) wherever he sends him as his witness.