Carmelite Quotes<p class="">To stand before the face of the living God—that is our vocation. The holy prophet set us an example. He stood before God’s face because this was the eternal treasure for whose sake he gave up all earthly goods. </p><p class="">He had no house; he lived wherever the Lord directed him from moment to moment: in loneliness beside the brook of Carith, in the little house of the poor widow of Zarephath of Sidon, or in the caves of Mount Carmel. </p><p class="">His clothing was an animal hide like that of that other great penitent and prophet, the Baptist. The hide of a dead animal reminds us that the human body is also subject to death. </p><p class="">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. </p><p class="">Prior to the long trek to the holy mountain where the Lord was to appear to him, 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.</p><p><strong>Saint Edith Stein</strong></p><p><em>On the History and Spirit of Carmel</em></p> <p class="">Stein, E. 2014, <em>The Hidden Life: hagiographic essays, meditations, spiritual texts</em>, translated from the German by Stein, W, <a rel="nofollow noopener" href="https://www.icspublications.org/collections/edith-stein" target="_blank">ICS Publications</a>, Washington DC.</p><p><strong>Featured image: </strong><em><a href="https://www.khm.at/objektdb/detail/1857/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">The Prophet Elijah and the Widow of Sarepta</a></em> is an oil on canvas painting by the Italian artist and erstwhile Capuchin friar from Genoa, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernardo_Strozzi" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Bernardo Strozzi</a> (1581–1644). Strozzi completed this work near the end of his life in Venice, circa 1640/1644. The painting has been in the collections of the <a href="https://www.khm.at/en/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna</a> since at least 1733. Image credit: Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)</p> <p><a href="https://carmelitequotes.blog/2024/11/09/edith-elijahwidow/" class="" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://carmelitequotes.blog/2024/11/09/edith-elijahwidow/</a></p><p><a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://carmelitequotes.blog/tag/elijah/" target="_blank">#Elijah</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://carmelitequotes.blog/tag/food/" target="_blank">#food</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://carmelitequotes.blog/tag/penitence/" target="_blank">#penitence</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://carmelitequotes.blog/tag/poverty/" target="_blank">#poverty</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://carmelitequotes.blog/tag/prayer/" target="_blank">#prayer</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://carmelitequotes.blog/tag/st-edith-stein/" target="_blank">#StEdithStein</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://carmelitequotes.blog/tag/treasure/" target="_blank">#treasure</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://carmelitequotes.blog/tag/trust/" target="_blank">#trust</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://carmelitequotes.blog/tag/widow-of-zarephath/" target="_blank">#WidowOfZarephath</a></p>