This Day in Religious History

January 18, 1155 -- St. Berthold settled with 10 ex-Crusaders on Mt. Carmel, the reputed site of a deep, personal visit by God to the Old Testament prophet Elijah c. 900 B.C. Like the small group that gathered around the ancient prophet in the Holy Land, Berthold and his comrades lived in the mountain’s cave as hermits. The small movement planted the seeds of the Carmelite Order, a group that would spread throughout the world – including St. Cecilia Church, in my hometown of Englewood, N.J.

My favorite priest, who served in one capacity or another in my parish, off and on, for two generations, once said that he hoped to bring to his work “the Carmelite flavor” of preaching. If his style is an example, it is one I associate with combined tolerance and concern for the well-being of others, and a belief that, despite our sinfulness, human beings are saved by a gentle, forgiving God (one that I personally believe speaks in a very noticeable brogue -- but that’s a story for another day).