The Brown Scapular
Of the many gifts our Lady has given to us, the Brown Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel must be one of the greatest. Dating back to the thirteenth century, it has nurtured Christians during persecution, war, famine, and every thinkable hardship in history since the Middle Ages. Traditionally, it is believed that Our Lady appeared to St. Simon Stock on the Sunday of July 16 in the year of 1251, giving him a scapular with the following words: “Take, beloved son this scapular of thy order as a badge of my confraternity and for thee and all Carmelites a special sign of grace; whoever dies in this garment, will not suffer everlasting fire. It is the sign of salvation, a safeguard in dangers, a pledge of peace and of the covenant.” Even though this can’t be proved historically to have happened, it’s still a pious tradition in the Church, and the promise given by the Blessed Virgin has been approved by the Church.
It is however important to understand this promise; to believe that simply wearing a piece of cloth will guarantee one’s salvation is both superstitious and against the teachings of the Magisterium. It is not an amulet, but a sign of piety and devotion to Our Lady. Wearing the Scapular means dedicating oneself to Her, and there are three conditions to be fulfilled; To wear the Brown Scapular (or a Scapular Medal) continuously, to observe chastity according to one’s state in life, and to daily recite the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin. The last condition can be substituted with some other good work with the permission of a priest. For those wearing the Scapular with the intention of observing these conditions, our Lady has promised to intercede for one’s true conversion and perseverance in good works and against sin, and she will intercede especially at the hour of death. In this way the pious wearing of the Scapular will help one’s salvation - not as some magical amulet, but as a means to pursue good, and a way to ask for Our Lady’s special intercession.
There is also another promise connected to the Scapular - the Sabbatine Privilege, found in a bull of Pope John XXII. The Blessed Virgin appeared to him with the following words: “I, the Mother of Grace, shall descend on the Saturday after their death and whomsoever I shall find in Purgatory, I shall free, so that I may lead them to the holy mountain of life everlasting.” Through this, the Church tells us that through piously wearing the Scapular, if one still is owing some temporal debt of punishment at the time of death (which most of us probably are), Our Lady will, through her intercession, shorten one’s stay in Purgatory. Again, this promise is dependent on the three conditions mentioned above.
Some practical information: The Scapular must be fully made of wool, most of them have images on them, but such images are not a necessity. If one wants to wear the Scapular, one should be enrolled in the Scapular Confraternity of Carmel. This can be done by any priest using this ritual. After enrollment, it is not necessary to have new scapulars blessed by a priest, the blessing is connected to you as a person, and not to the specific scapular. Instead of wearing the wool Scapular, one is allowed to wear a Scapular Medal, showing the Sacred Heart on one side and an image of Mary on the other. However wearing the wool Scapular is encouraged, I myself wear the wool Scapular but wear the Medal when wearing the Scapular is impractical, i.e. while showering.
Coming up next: The Little Office of The Blessed Virgin Mary
Brown Scapular with St. Benedict Medal
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