Rome, June 10, 2014 (zenit.org)

1 Kings 18:20-39
Psalm 16:1b-2ab, 4, 5ab and 8, 11
Matthew 5:17-19

After three years of drought and famine in Israel, God tells the prophet Elijah to confront King Ahab. Elijah commands King Ahab to gather all Israel and the 450 prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of Asherah at Mount Carmel. There, Elijah challenges the false prophets of Ba’al to a contest to prove that the Lord is God. This challenge recalls the Old Testament confrontations between Moses and the Egyptian magicians in the Book of Exodus and between the Lord and the Dagon in the Book of Samuel.

Elijah mocks the prophets of Ba’al throughout the day as they are unable to call down fire from heaven upon the sacrifice. In the afternoon, Elijah repairs the altar of the Lord with twelve stones, symbolizing the twelve tribes of Israel. To show the power of the Lord God, Elijah douses the sacrifice with water and fills the trench around the altar with water. Read more: http://www.zenit.org/en/articles/daily-homily-i-have-come-to-fulfill-the-law-and-the-prophets