Elijah in Jerusalem Quotes

“To presume that we have received in advance a precise decryption of the symbolic prophecies in the book of Revelation—a route map or survivalist manual, as it were—is to weaken our faculty of discernment and our openness to the guidance of the Holy Spirit and the angels. This weakness can lead us to the tyranny of unholy fears on one hand or to self-reliance on the other, and both reactions will bring about increased vulnerability to the adversary’s deceptions.”
― Michael O'Brien, Elijah in Jerusalem

“If I am deluded, I beg you to keep me from harming souls. Please speak to me, my Savior, for I am small and weak and do not know what I am doing.”
― Michael D. O'Brien, Elijah in Jerusalem

“―El arte es como una declaración de amor, la conciencia de que dependemos unos de otros. Una confesión. Un acto inconsciente que, sin embargo, refleja el verdadero significado de la vida: amor y sacrificio.”
― Michael D. O'Brien, El Padre Elías en Jerusalén

“Now he saw demons blinding millions of souls who were rewarded with pleasures and reassurance, for the way home was the long, hard path, and the gate to the path was narrow. The gate was not locked, but few would choose it, for the truth had been degraded wherever it was not denied altogether. Darkness was called light, and light called darkness. Good was called evil, and evil good.”
― Michael D. O'Brien, Elijah in Jerusalem

“He grieved for the loss of his friend, and he grieved over the follies of mankind, the repeated choice for falsehood, generation after generation, as men preferred darkness to light, the mystery of iniquity to the long, hard labors of love.”
― Michael D. O'Brien, Elijah in Jerusalem

“He knew that God very often did his deepest work in the soul without any sensible manifestations. He was always at work—always—and often most powerfully in those times when his children felt abandoned, alone with impossible responsibilities or afflictions. Speak, Lord, your servant is listening.”
― Michael D. O'Brien, Elijah in Jerusalem

“Whenever the Lord speaks through her, it’s very simple. He says do not fear but put on the whole armor of God. Repentance, sacraments, prayer, obedience. Love the Church with a great love and offer your sufferings for her purification”
― Michael D. O'Brien, Elijah in Jerusalem

“For a time, the enemy is masked and appears to the world as light, though he is darkness. When he reveals himself, his malice will be unleashed as never before. Take heart, beloveds, that great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel, our Savior Jesus. Like the prophets before you, like the apostles and saints, you will have fear, yet you will overcome this fear by his presence, by the power of the Blood of the Lamb. When you see the things that are about to happen, do not let yourself fall into despair. Look up! Look up, for your redemption is near at hand.”
― Michael D. O'Brien, Elijah in Jerusalem

“Oh, how beautiful is the heart of Jesus! How beautiful that he loves us in our foolishness, he who suffered so much for us. Now our poor world grows indifferent to what he gave, though not all. We still find many who are not blind.”
― Michael D. O'Brien, Elijah in Jerusalem

“He knew that extraordinary graces were given when they were needed, and not a moment before. The Holy Spirit never moved within believers as if they were puppet instruments, but rather in cocreative choices—Person and person working together in faith and freedom.”
― Michael D. O'Brien, Elijah in Jerusalem

“The symbolism—if symbolism it was—indicated that the witnesses were types of the Church herself. Would all those who truly followed the Lord enact with their lives what was described by these passages? Would the prayers of believers be the very instruments for bringing chastisements upon unbelieving mankind? Would the Church be apparently destroyed for three and a half years? Would she rise again as the breath of God entered her? And would she then be taken up into heaven?”
― Michael D. O'Brien, Elijah in Jerusalem

“My belief is that our willingness to undertake the struggle within our damaged natures is the very thing that broadens and deepens our capacity to love. If all conflict is removed, if all suffering is removed, are we not left with sentiment and sensuality?”
― Michael D. O'Brien, Elijah in Jerusalem

“Accustomed to being listened to, he did not courteously intersperse his comments with questions about Elijah’s life and work. He simply held forth.”
― Michael D. O'Brien, Elijah in Jerusalem

“Moreover, had he begun to presume invulnerability to the eyes of the serpent? To believe that he knew the facts of a situation—quantity over essence—could precipitate reasoning and strategies that might not be within the plans of God for his own mission. Always— always—weakness had been his strength. Unknowingness. Simplicity. Trust.”
― Michael D. O'Brien, Elijah in Jerusalem

“He recognized another factor that should not be underestimated: The serpent mesmerizes. Whenever it cannot seduce, it attempts to overwhelm. It is like a cobra projecting an image of its power in order to paralyze its victim with fear, disabling its defenses without a struggle, before devouring it. In the victim’s eyes the threat grows so large that it becomes everything and appears to be irresistible. So too Satan desires that we think him omnipotent and omniscient.”
― Michael D. O'Brien, Elijah in Jerusalem

“He knew that in a sense he was a word, as Ruth had been a word to this woman by simply being herself. A word of presence—I am with you. I feel your suffering. I hear your cries beneath your smiling face and your statements so calculated to shock. I grieve with you, and I grieve in your place, as you will not allow yourself to grieve, because you think there is nothing beyond grief.”
― Michael D. O'Brien, Elijah in Jerusalem

“Not so, Tarek. The highest love is given without thought of cost or reward—anything less is not love.”
― Michael D. O'Brien, Elijah in Jerusalem

“It was the kind of smile that seemed to exclude no one, without becoming abstract philanthropy.”
― Michael D. O'Brien, Elijah in Jerusalem

“From this point onward, all that mattered was the faithful completion of his task... the words might not even be heard. Yet he also knew that the mission was not so much about success but about whether he stood firm in obedience. It was the cross, rooted in the dust of the earth, watered by the blood of God's servants, the sign pointing to heaven, soaring upward into pure light.”
― Michael D. O'Brien, Elijah in Jerusalem