Antiphon Rem diffícilem postulásti, Off. S. Elisei Prophetæ, Breviarium Carmelitarum

Today, the venerable Order of the Carmelites commemorates the Prophet Eliseus, whom they venerate as the Father of their Order together with the Prophet Elias. It is a singular thing that these Prophets are thus venerated as, aside from the Holy Machabees, no other figure of the Old Testament is paid liturgical honors in the Roman Rite.

The Carmelites adopted the reformed Psalter that Pope Saint Pius X promulgated for the Roman Rite, so that our favorite verse likewise occurs in the Festal Office of Sext in the Carmelite Breviary. For the Office of Saint Eliseus, the Antiphon for Sext is the following:

Rem diffícilem postulásti attámen si víderis me, quando tollar a te, erit tibi quod petísti.

Thou hast asked a hard thing; nevertheless, if thou see me when I am taken from thee, thou shalt have what thou hast asked (IV Kings ii. 10)

In order to understand this Antiphon, one must contextualize it properly according to the accound narrated in Holy Writ. When it came to pass that the Lord would take up Elias into heaven by a whirlwind (IV Kings ii. 1), Elias told Eliseus to stay, but Eliseus said unto him As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee (ii. 2). At Bethel the sons of the Prophets knew the wonder the Lord was to work with Elias, and said unto Eliseus Dost thou know that this day the Lord will take away thy master from thee? to which Eliseus replied I also know it: hold your peace (ii. 3). Three times Elias told his disciple to stay and three times did Eliseus tell his master that he will never depart from him. When it came time to cross the Jordan, Elias wrought a miracle, 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 (ii. 8). Then Elias says unto his disciple, Ask what thou wilt have me to do for thee, before I be taken away from thee. And Eliseus said: I beseech thee that in me may be thy double spirit (ii. 9). Behold what difficult thing Eliseus asked of his master, duplex spíritus tuus! A singular marvel indeed! Elias responds the words that consitute the Antiphon: Thou hast asked a hard thing; nevertheless, if thou see me when I am taken from thee, thou shalt have what thou hast asked ( ii. 10).

What shall we say of the merits of Eliseus, writes Saint Ambrose (Sermo lxxxvii; iv. Lesson, ii Nocturns, Matins), What shall we say of him whose first glory it was that he sought to surpass his father in grace, for he asked of him a gift which he knew to be greater than the giver possessed? Covetous was he in his demands, but distinguished, too, in his merit. When he claimed from his father more than the latter had, Eliseus, by his own merits, forced him to grant more than he could. Oh what great power there is in prayer! We would do well to follow the example of the holy Prophet and Pray without ceasing (I Thess. v. 17). Eliseus' perseverence was thrice tested and thrice he swore to never leave his master, much like Saint Peter was thrice asked by Our Lord if he loved Him (St. John xxi.).

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 (IV Kings ii. 11-12). The sorrow Elisesus must have experienced when he saw his master taken away unto Heaven must have been like to the sorrow the Apostles experienced when they had seen Our Blessed Lord ascend unto the Father. Like the Apostles, however, the melancholy of Eliseus was tempered by hope in the promise if the Master, for the former it was the promise of the Holy Paraclete and for the latter it was the promise of the double spirit of Elias.

When the sons of the Prophets had seen the miracle Eliseus performed upon the waters of the Jordan they declared The spirit of Elias hath rested upon Eliseus. And coming to meet him, they worshipped him, falling to the ground (IV Kings ii. 15). Thus, we have in this sublime and tender scene of Elias departing from Eliseus a type of the mystery of the Ascension and in the double spirit of Elias we find a prefiguration of the descent of the Holy Ghost, the sacred Mystery we have just celebrated less than a fortnight ago. With this considerations in mind, let us pray to the Lord with the Collect found in the Carmelite Breviary for today's feast.

Omnípotens sempitérne Deus, qui in eléctis Prophétis tuis mirábilis prædicáris: præsta, quæsumus; ut, sicut Elíæ spíritum in Prophéta tuo Eliséo complevísti, ita in nobis Spíritus Sancti grátiam ad virtútum ópera exercénda multiplicáre dignéris. Per Dóminum... in unitáte ejusdem Spíritus Sancti Deus, &c.

Almighty and Everlasting God, who art proclaimed wonderful in Thy chosen prophets, grant, we beseech Thee, that, as Thou hast made perfect the spirit of Elias in Thy prophet, Eliseus, so Thou wilt deign to multiply within us the grace of the Holy Spirit, that we may perform works of virtue. Through our Lord... in the unity of the same Holy Ghost &c.

Let us then contemplate the mysteries that the holy Prophet Eliseus presents for our consideration and let us pray to him that we may have a portion of that spirit that enlightened his mind and infamed his heart. Let us also note the fact that the scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel is essentially the garment of the Carmelites, who have Saint Eliseus as their glorious Father, so those who wear the Holy Scapular are in really the children of Saints Eliseus and Elias. With the intercession of the holy Prophet Eliseus we are sure to have the spirit wherewith to love the commandments of the Lord above gold and the topazius (Ps. cxviii. 127)