The feast of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel is July 16th. For our parish, it is a solemnity. Normally, we celebrate with a big Mass followed by a reception. This year, that is not possible. However, the following daily Masses will use the readings and prayers of the feast day: Wednesday, July 15th at 5:30pm, and Thursday, July 16th at 8am. Attendance within the church building is still limited to 100 people; those who arrive after capacity has been reached can sit outside and hear the Mass, pray along, and receive Communion.

Also, on Thursday, July 16th at 5:30pm, the priests of the parish will be enrolling people in the brown scapular. This is only for those who (1) have never received a brown scapular from a priest/deacon, (2) have read the background below, and (2) resolve to abide by the commitments described therein. The parish will provide the scapulars. No RSVP needed.

The Scapular is a sacramental. Our faith utilizes signs and symbols to draw us closer to God. Jesus is the great sign of the Father’s love.  We cannot see God, but in Jesus, God became visible and audible and touchable. He used signs such as water, bread, wine.  He instituted certain signs to give grace, we call them Sacraments.

Over the centuries, the Church has instituted signs we call sacramental.  They do not give grace in themselves, but they inspire in us faith, hope, and love, and so are beneficial that way. The Brown Scapular is one of the most cherished and promoted sacramental.

Pope Pius XII went so far as to say:

“The Scapular is a practice of piety which by its very simplicity is suited to everyone, and has spread widely among the faithful of Christ to their spiritual profit.”

In more recent times, Pope Paul VI said:

“Let the faithful hold in high esteem the practices and devotions to the Blessed Virgin … the Rosary and the Scapular of Carmel” and in another place referred to the Scapular as that which is “so highly recommended by our illustrious predecessors.”

There is a tradition that Mary appeared to St. Dominic and told him:  “One day, through the Rosary and the Scapular, I will save the world.” In her last apparition to St. Bernadette, Mary appeared as Our Lady of Mt. Carmel.  It was on July 16th, 1858.  On Oct. 13, 1917, she appeared to the children of Fatima in a Carmelite habit.

Carmelites

Hermits lived on Mt. Carmel in the Holy Land, near the well of Elijah.  They were organized into a religious order in the 13th century.  Their life was characterized by poverty and daily work, hearing Mass every morning, silence in the evening, and fasting.  By the end of the 13th century, the order had over 150 houses in Europe. They were known as the Brothers of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel.

St. Simon Stock was from England. He made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land and joined the Carmelites.  He later became Prior General of the Order. The tradition is that the Carmelites were being oppressed and Simon asked Mary for a sign of favor.  She appeared to him in a vision holding the Brown Scapular.

"Receive, my beloved son, this scapular of thy Order; it is the special sign of my favor, which I have obtained for thee and for thy children of Mount Carmel. He who dies clothed with this habit shall be preserved from eternal fire. It is the badge of salvation, a shield in time of danger, and a pledge of special peace and protection."

The scapular (from the Latin, scapula, meaning "shoulder blade") consists of two pieces of cloth, one worn on the chest, and the other on the back, which were connected by straps or strings passing over the shoulders. In certain Orders, monks and nuns wear scapulars that reach from the shoulders almost to the ground as outer garments.

The word scapular indicates a form of clothing, which monks wore when they were working. With the passage of time, people began to give symbolic meaning to it: the cross to be borne every day as disciples and followers of Christ.

In some religious orders, such as the Carmelites, the scapular turned into a sign of their way of life. The brown scapular came to symbolize the special dedication of Carmelites to Mary, the Mother of God, and to express trust in her motherly protection as well as the desire to be like her in her commitment to Christ and to others. Thus it became a sign of Mary.

In the Middle Ages many Christians wanted to be associated with religious orders: Franciscans, Dominicans, Augustinians, and Carmelites. Groups of lay people began to emerge in associations such as confraternities and sodalities.

All the religious orders wanted to give these lay people a sign of affiliation and of participation in their spirit and apostolate. That sign was often a part of their habit: a cloak, a cord, a scapular.

Among the Carmelites, the stage came when a smaller version of the Scapular was accepted as the sign of belonging to the Order and an expression of its spirituality.

Promises of the Scapular

Mary did promise that those who died wearing the scapular would not go to hell, but that should not be understood in a superstitious way.  For example, if I decided to rob a bank but chose to wear a scapular while doing so, that does not mean that if I get killed in the bank robbery I will not go to hell.  The scapular must be worn with faith. It is a sign which calls forth the special protection of Mary, being under her mantle. Like other sacramentals, it is feared by demons. It helps one receive the benefits of the Carmelite spiritual family.

Commitment of the Scapular

Those who chose to be enrolled with the scapular are public committing to live as faithful Catholic Christians, including participation in the Sacraments, daily prayer prayer, the practice of the virtues, and service.

The brown scapular indicates a special devotion to Mary.  If you decide to receive the scapular, you should resolve to pray the Rosary every day, or at least pray three Hail Mary’s each day. 

The Blessed Virgin teaches us:

• To be open to God, and to his will; (Annunciation)

• To Listen to the Word of God and to pray at all times;  “pondered all these things, keeping them in her heart”

• To be involved with people, being attentive to their needs.  (Visitation, Wedding at Cana)

Receiving the Scapular

The first time one receives the scapular, she should be invested with it by a priest or deacon.  When you need to replace a scapular (because it is old and worn), you can burn or bury it and get a new one.  You should have the new one blessed by a clergy member but you do not need to have a priest or deacon enroll you again.