In the Bible we read that God’s words of love were proclaimed zealously by the prophets of the Old Testament, and foremost among God’s messengers was Elijah. Elijah, the prophet of Carmel, was a man of prayer and action who experienced God’s word in the sound of silence. In his own son, Jesus Christ, God spoke in a new way. Many people who encountered Jesus were struck by how he reminded them of Elijah.
In this beautiful set of reflections the prophet Elijah is presented to us in the light of Christian faith by Father Joseph Chalmers. As Prior General of the Carmelites (1995-2007), a religious order which draws particular inspiration from Elijah, Father Joseph has shared with people across the world his experience of how God speaks words of love today. Drawing on the ancient traditions underlying the practices of Lectio Divina (holy reading) and Centering Prayer (prayer in secret), Father Joseph shares with us how to listen contemplatively to God's word in the Bible and in the silence of our hearts.