A beautiful, proud, and emblematic mountain chain arises from the sacred ground of the Holy Land, evoking great feats of the past and pointing to a future of glory. Its name? Mount Carmel.
There are innumerable grottos in the region surrounding this imposing set of rocky peaks, one of which, according to the tradition gleaned from Church Fathers, sheltered the great Prophet Elijah, whose “word burned like a torch” (Sir 48:1).
He was “a prince among prophets, a true guide of the people of God. He fought the errors of his age, at a time when the chosen nation was in dire decadence, and saved it from ruin. Chosen to guide God’s people during a hecatomb, he embodied the spirit which the Creator wished to give to the Jewish nation, for its resurgence. From this spirit, flowing from Divine Providence, a chain of chosen ones was formed, the most famous of these being Elisha, who asked for double portion of Elijah’s spirit, and obtained it.”1
Dominating the plain of Esdrelon with an imposing and symbolic presence is El-Muhraqa, one of the highest points to the south of Mount Carmel. Over 500m in height, it provides a splendid panoramic view that spreads out to the sea. It is here that Sacred Scripture locates the celebrated episode narrated in the First Book of Kings (cf. 1 Kgs 18:19-39), in which Elijah defeats the false prophets of Baal “with a simple prayer, filled with beauty.”2
Tradition also tells us that this is where Elijah and Elisha gathered with their disciples. And, centuries later, in the same area, a group of monks was formed who constituted the first members of the Order of Carmel, which takes Elijah as its father and founder, and which gave rise to a line of devotion to Our Lady, centuries before the birth of the Virgin.
Very symbolically, after the drought imposed upon Israel as a punishment for its prevarication, Elijah spied “a little cloud like a man’s hand” (1 Kgs 18:44) arising from the sea, which foretold the torrential rain which was arriving to end the chastisement and which was, according to numerous exegetes, a prefigure of her who would bring the regenerating waters of Redemption to humanity: Mary Most Holy.
To the Mother of God—Virgin and Flower of Carmel—can well be applied the words of Isaiah, the prophet of the Incarnation par excellence: “The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad, the desert shall rejoice and blossom; like the crocus it shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice with joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it, the majesty of Carmel and Sharon. They shall see the glory of the Lord, the majesty of our God” (Is 35:1-2).
Having been taken up in “a chariot of fire” (2 Kgs 2:11), Elijah “indeed shall come, and restore all things” (Mt 17:11). Therefore, today, as in days of yore, from the height of Mount Carmel his voice seems to echo the foretelling of a Marian age which will come like a generous rain, to fructify the arid soil of our days, which are so distanced from Christ and His Most Holy Mother. ◊
Notes
1 CORRÊA DE OLIVEIRA, Plinio. Santo Elias. In: Dr. Plinio. São Paulo. Ano XII. N.136 (Jul., 2009); p.2.
2 CORRÊA DE OLIVEIRA, Plinio. Santo Elias, Profeta. In: Dr. Plinio. São Paulo. Ano XIII. N.148 (Jul., 2010); p.14.
