Mar Elias al Hayy

Santuário San Rafael Ascension Catholic church

An independent ministry in the Catholic Tradition

The Chaplet of Mar Elias al Hayy

Text Box: The Prophetic Chaplet of Mar Elias Al-Hayy

St. Elias the Living One

Ora pro nobis

مار الياس‎

אליהו הנביא

NOVENA TO MAR ELIAS

To be prayed on nine consecutive days

O Holy Elijah, you appeared, a prophet of fire with words like a flaming torch; you shut up the sky and three times called down fire. O Glorious Elijah, the wonder-worker who has done such marvelous deeds, the word of God carried you to the desert where you shared bread with all God’s creatures, you raised a child from death, you fed the poor and hungry in time of famine, and spoke the word of the most high. You sought the presence of God in the silence of a cave and listened more deeply than either whirlwind or earthquake to find the Living One in the murmur of the heart. You were raised up to heaven in a chariot of fire, and let your mantle fall upon Elisha and all the children of the prophets we humbly beseech you to share your spirit with us, and intercede with God for our well-being and peace, especially in the following matter: [here mention your request] O Holy Father Elijah, strengthen us to hear the murmuring voice of God in the still caves of our hearts. Amen.

How to Pray the Chaplet of St. Elias

on a Rosary of Seven Decades

(or Franciscan Crown)

1. Using beads for the Franciscan Crown (a rosary of seven decades), hold the cross and make a Sign of the Cross: +In the Name of God, the Living One, Word, and Spirit. Amen

May substitute a traditional formula like “.”+In the Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost. Amen.

2. Then form a specific intention, and take a moment to focus on it: I offer this Rosary for the following intention (name your intention) and ask God’s blessing on it.

3. Pray the Our Father on the First Bead, to invoke the prayer path of Jesus to the Heavens. Our Father who art in heaven...Many people prefer to use an alternative prayer to affirm that God is beyond all gender. One such prayer might be:

Our Mother, with us on earth, holy is your name, your true reign come, your will be done, within us, as it is within you. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our sins, as we forgive those whose sins have oppressed us, and lead us not into confusion, but enlighten us with your wisdom. Amen.

4. Pray one Hail Mary on each of the next three beads in honor of Mary, Queen of Angels. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us* now , and at the hour of death. Amen.

*Traditional language adds “sinners.”

5. On the chain , pray the Gloria Patri: Glory be to Thee, O God, Living One, Word, and Spirit, now and for all ages and aeons. Amen. Or pray the traditional formula: Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost, as it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

6. On the single bead before the decades, announce the first Mystery and then pray the following prayer:

I watch in prayer

And stand before Thy face, O God,

Meditating day and night

On Thy Holy Word.

Thy spirit awakens

In my innermost depths

To free me from all

Earthly concern.

I am immersed in Thee, O God!

(Prayer based on the Meditation on Holy Father Elijah by St. Edith Stein)

7. On each of the next ten beads, meditate on the mystery and pray the following prayer:

I burn with love

For the Lord of Power

As the Lord Liveth

In whose sight I stand

I shall come and

Restore all things.

8. On the chain following the decade, pray the Gloria Patri: Glory be to Thee, O God, Living One, Word, and Spirit; now and for all ages and aeons. Amen.

9. Continue in the same manner for each mystery. While praying each decade, focus on the divine light which comes through each mystery.

Seven Prophetic Mysteries of Mar Elias

1. In the Wilderness of Kerith, the Ravens and the Arabs (East). “And the word of the Lord came to Elijah, saying: Get thee hence, and go towards the east and hide thyself by the stream of Karith, which is over against the Jordan, And there thou shalt drink of the torrent: and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there. So he went, and did according to the word of the Lord: and going, he dwelt by the stream Karith, which is over against the Jordan. And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening, and he drank of the torrent. But after some time the stream was dried up, for it had not rained upon the earth. 1 Kg 17:2-7 O God, through the intercession of Thy Holy Prophet Elijah, may we learn to face the East in the quiet of our hearts and greet the Divine Light which rises in our souls and provides us with grace and sustenance. Amen.

2. The Widow of Zarephath. (North) Then the word of the Lord came to Elias, saying, “Arise, and go to Zarephath of the Sidonians, and dwell there: for I have commanded a widow

woman there to feed thee. And Elias said to her: Thy pot of meal shall not waste, nor thy jar of oil be diminished, until the day wherein the Lord will give rain upon the face of the earth. She went and did according to the word of Elias: and he ate, and she, and her house: and from that day. The pot of meal wasted not, and the jar of oil was not diminished, according to the word of the Lord. 1 Kg 17:8-10; 13-16 O God, through the intercession of Thy Holy Prophet Elijah, may we receive Thy creative Word which comes upon us like a cool wind to sustain us in times of need. Amen.

3. The Death and Rising of the Widow’s Child (Heart of Earth). And it came to pass after this that the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, fell sick, and the sickness was very grievous, so that there was no breath left in him. And Elias said to her: Give me thy son. And he took him out of her bosom, and carried him into the upper chamber where he abode, and laid him upon his own bed. And he stretched, and measured himself upon the child three times, and cried to the Lord, and said: O Lord my God, let the soul of this child, I beseech thee, return into his body. And the Lord heard the voice of Elias: and the soul of the child returned into him, and he revived. 1 Kg 17:17-23 O God, through the intercession of Thy Holy Prophet Elijah, may we be filled with gratitude for the blessings of the Earth, and for the gift of Holy Life at the center of our being. Amen.

4. The Fire and Sacrifice on Mt. Carmel. (Center) Elias said to all the people gathered unto Mount Carmel: “Come ye unto me.” And the people coming near unto him, he repaired the altar of the Lord, that was broken down. And when it was now time to offer the holocaust, Elias the prophet came near and said: O Lord God of Abraham, and Isaac, and Israel, show this day that thou art the God of Israel, and I thy servant, and that according to thy commandment I have done all these things. Hear me, O Lord, hear me: that this people may learn, that thou art the Lord God, and that thou hast turned their heart againThen the fire of the Lord fell, and consumed the holocaust, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. And when all the people saw this, they fell on their faces, and they said: The Lord is God, the Lord is God. 1 Kg 18:30-39 O God, through the intercession of Thy Holy Prophet Elijah, may we ascend thy Holy Mount Carmel, and cherish the Living Flame of Love which you have planted in the garden of our hearts. Amen.

5. The Mystery of the Rain Cloud (West). Elias went up to the top of Carmel, and casting himself down upon the earth put his face between his knees, And he said to his servant: Go up, and look toward the sea. And he went up, and looked, and said: There is nothing. And again he said to him: Return seven times. And at the seventh time, behold, a little cloud arose out of the sea like a human foot. And he said: Go up and say to Ahab: Prepare thy chariot and go down, lest the rain prevent thee. And while he turned himself this way and that way, behold the heavens grew dark, with clouds, and wind, and there fell a great rain. 1 Kg 18:42-45 O God, through the intercession of Thy Holy Prophet Elijah, may we be filled with love for the Holy Mother of God whose tender presence comes upon us like a little cloud of rain. Amen.

6. The Theophany on Mt. Horeb in the Cave. (South) And he arose, and ate, and drank, and walked in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights, unto the mount of God, Horeb. And when he was come thither, he abode in a cave: and behold the word of the Lord came unto him, and he said to him: What dost thou here, Elias? And he answered: With ardent love have I been zealous for the Lord God of hosts: for I alone am left, and they seek my life to take it away. And he said to him: Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord: and behold the Lord passeth, and a great and strong wind before the Lord over throwing the mountains, and breaking the rocks in pieces: the Lord is not in the wind, and after the wind an earthquake: the Lord is not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake a fire: the Lord is not in the fire, and after the fire a whistling of a gentle air. And when Elias heard it, he covered his face with his mantle. 1 Kg 19:8-13. O God, through the intercession of Thy Holy Prophet Elijah, may we hear the gentle sound of Thy Holy Word whistling softly in the hidden caves of our hearts. Amen.

7. The Ascent in the Chariot of Fire (Heart of Sky) And Elias said to Eliseus: Stay here, because the Lord hath sent me as far as the Jordan. And he said: As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee; and they two went on together. And fifty of the sons of the prophets followed them, and stood in sight at a distance: but they two stood by the Jordan. And Elias took his mantle and folded it together, and struck the waters, and they were divided hither and thither, and they both passed over on dry ground. And as they went on, walking and talking together, behold a fiery chariot, and fiery horses parted them both asunder: and Elias went up by a whirlwind into heaven. And Eliseus saw him, and cried: My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the driver thereof. And he saw him no more: and he took hold of his own garments, and rent them in two pieces. And he took up the mantle of Elias, that fell from him. 2 Kg 2:6-12 O God, through the intercession of Thy Holy Prophet Elijah, may we be given strength to cling to Thee, and ascend in Thy chariot to the inner chambers of Thy Throne of Grace. Amen.

Troparion for the Prophet Elias

Closing Prayer July 20 (Byzantine Chant, Tone 4)

O angelic of body, pillar of the Prophets and their cornerstone, the forerunner of the celestial coming of Christ, the venerable and glorious Elijah, thou didst send grace from on high to Elisha to dispel sickness and to purify lepers. Wherefore he ever overfloweth with healing to those who honor him. Amen.

Closing Prayer

Grant to me, thy servant O God, to let me live, and living keep Thy Word in my heart. Take the veil from my eyes that I may see the marvels that spring from thy word, for I am but a stranger here on earth, my heart longs for thee, day and night. Amen.

Based on Psalm 119:17-20

Elijah the Prophet is one of the most enigmatic and compelling figures of the Hebrew scriptures. He is revered on Mount Carmel, the Holy Garden of God, by the faithful of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. His miracles and shamanic powers evoke the legacy of Moses, and for Christians serve as a model for understanding the ministry of Jesus and meaning of the Christ-event. The textual references in the Elijah cycle of the first book of Kings to the seven directions,* point to the powers of Elijah to induce a shamanic trance and embark on a spiritual journey seeking “the face of God.” In mystical and contemplative prayer, Holy Elijah is a Prophet and Teacher who invites us to mount the mystical chariot, enter the whirlwind, and ascend to the deep encounter with the hidden and holy things of God.

The feeding by the crows in the Wadi Kerith is one of the most compelling shamanic images in the Hebrew scriptures, and evokes the totems of the Northwest Coast, where Raven plays an important mythic role in the creation. Another translation of the Hebrew word for crow, ( ערבים ), might be “Arab” or the tribal dwellers in the desert. This is one possible reading of the word, since the original Hebrew text did not contain vowels; however, the word has been understood as “crow” for at least 2000 years. In the mythic imagination, a crow can symbolize a shadowy trickster figure. Connecting with such “crow” energy in the depths of our soul can provide an important level of consciousness and sustenance for our journey to God.

In Jewish mysticism, the holy Prophet Elijah can often show up at important times and places, such as the Passover celebration. Those who honor Elijah should be careful to leave a chair, plate, cup, door or some other space open for the mystical entrance of Elijah.

*The Seven Directions are the center point (axis mundi) and the Heart of Sky (up) and Heart of Earth (down), plus the four cardinal directions of North, South, East, and West. These are often mystically important in traditional cultures, and signal portals of ascent or connection to the spiritual world. .