A Lakeville, Minnesota priest recently described his chance encounter with a parishioner that reminded him of his background in opera, the Old Testament story of Elijah and lessons both teach about love, miracles and other topics of faith.

Miracles abound in the story of Elijah, the Rev. Joseph Gifford, an associate pastor at All Saints Catholic Church in Lakeland, said during a recent Facebook video post.

"That's what we can learn about Elijah, to have faith in God that he will provide miracles, to have faith in him that he will  bring us to conversion and to love," Gifford said in his June 16 Facebook post. "And all of these I first experienced when I sang the part of Elijah."

Wilhelm Hensel's portrait of 19th Century composer Felix Mendelssohn, author of the oratorio "Elijah" | wikipedia.org/wiki/Felix_Mendelssohn#/media

Gifford was ordained a priest in May of last year for the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis. All Saints is his first assignment. Since the COVID-19 pandemic descended onto the world, Gifford has been periodically taking to Facebook to share "some thoughts during these very different days."

Gifford, who has a strong background in music and opera, recalled in his most recent Facebook post a conversation with a parishioner about music and his favorite pieces.

"It was providential because, at the time, we were going through the readings in the Old Testament for daily Mass," Gifford said in the video. "We were going through the story of Elijah."

That brought to mind his "first big role as a singer," which was as Elijah in the oratorio of the same name by 19th Century composer Felix Mendelssohn, Gifford said.

"If you know what Handel's Messiah is, you know what an oratorio is," he said in the video. "It's a sacred, stand-still opera."

As the reading for the upcoming Mass progressed, Gifford said Mendelssohn's work came back to him and he found himself almost carried away by the oratorio.

"Really, I was just trying to keep my hands together and my feet on the floor, flat, so I wasn't tapping along as the person  was reading," he said in the video.

The reading and oratorio have much to teach, particularly in these troubled times.

Gifford pointed out that Elijah's story is filled with miracles.

In part of the story, Elijah appeals to God to stop the rain "because Israel has turned away from God," Gifford said in the video. At one point, Elijah calls upon heaven to consume his offering "to prove that that the God of Israel is the one, true, only God."

"These are kind of epic scenes," Gifford said in the video. "Epic scenes of conflict and epic scenes of miracles that come out so well in music."

The reading and oratorio also speaks to Elijah's faith and his preaching.

"Because that's how he brought the people to conversion, the people of Israel to know God more fully, to love God more fully," Gifford said in the video. God had given Elijah the gift of faith, "instilled it in his heart."

"And from there, he preached out of love, he preached with fire and energy," he said. "The fire that had consumed his heart, he wanted to consume other people's hearts."

Gifford said he recalled experiencing all of those things when he sang the part of Elijah in Mendelssohn's oratorio and that these lessons are available to all.

"So, I would suggest – if you have time – to simply take an hour or two and look up Mendelsohn's Elijah," he said in the video. "Listen to it, sit in awe of the beauty,  feel the energy behind it, feel the energy behind Elijah and his faith, and let that affect your heart."