Vigils Reading – Our Lady of Mt Carmel

THE SCAPULAR OF

THE VIRGIN OF CARMEL

From the writings of Fr Lawrence Lovasik

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The feast of the scapular is that of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. The

Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel is the best known, most celebrated, and

most widespread of the small scapulars.…

[The word scapular is derived from the Latin, and means the shoulder

blade, or … the shoulders. As a garment, it is a broad piece of cloth, with an

opening in it for the head, and which hangs down in front and in back almost to

the ground, as may be seen in the habits of the Carmelites, the Benedictines, and

some other religious Orders. The scapular worn by the faithful is but a symbol of

that worn by the religious of the Order of Mount Carmel.]

According to tradition, a number of men who embraced the Christian

faith on Pentecost Day [as recounted in the book of Acts] erected a church to the

Blessed Virgin on Mount Carmel. They were called Brethren of Blessed Mary of

Mount Carmel. These religious came to Europe in the thirteenth century, when

Mary appeared to their General, Simon Stock, at Cambridge, England, on

Sunday, July 16, 1251. In answer to his appeal for help for his oppressed order,

she appeared to him with a scapular in her hand and said, “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.” Indirectly, the promise is extended to all

who from devotion to the Mother of God wear her habit until death and are

thus…affiliated with the Carmelite Order…

The Scapular Devotion is one of the oldest devotions to Our Lady. It has

been widespread in the Church for nearly seven centuries… [Pope] Leo XIII

wrote: “Its nobility of origin, its venerable antiquity, its extraordinary spread

in the Church, the spiritualizing effects produced by it and the outstanding

miracles worked in virtue of it, render the Scapular of Carmel commendable

to a wondrous degree.” And [Pope] Benedict XV wrote: “Let all of you have a

common language and a common armor; the language, the sayings of the

Gospel; the common armor, the Scapular of the Virgin of Carmel, which you

all ought to wear and which enjoys the singular privilege of protection even

after death.”

The scapular is the sign of being devoted to the Blessed Virgin, just as the

carrying of your mother’s picture would be a sign of your being devoted to her.

Do you wear a scapular…? It should remind you that you belong entirely to her

and that through her you can best give yourself to God.