Lincoln, Neb., Jul 16, 2018 / 16:11 pm
The Blessed Virgin Mary aids Catholics in spiritual warfare, the bishop of Lincoln, Neb., told a monastery of Carmelite nuns Monday, at a Mass celebrating the Memorial of Our Lady of Mount Carmel.
"Our Lady of Mt. Carmel reminds us of the importance of our interior lives- not only for our own salvation, but the salvation of souls through Christ's Church," said Bishop James Conley, while celebrating Mass July 16 at the Carmelite Monastery of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph in Valparaiso, Neb.
Mentioning the Biblical prophet Elijah, who is said to have resided in a cave on Israel's Mount Carmel, the bishop said that "Carmel was the place from which Elijah exercised the great prophetic charism to which the Lord had called him."
In particular, the bishop mentioned an encounter on Mount Carmel between Elijah and prophets of the idol Baal, recounted in 1 Kings, in which an altar at which prayed to God was lit aflame, a feat which the Idol's prophets were not able to replicate.