Love Prevails!: The Scapular of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel.

A gift from our Heavenly Mother is the Brown Scapular. And as we wear it around the neck, we come to remember that Mary is always present with us.

History

The Order of Our Lady of Mount Carmel has its origins in the Holy Land, on Mount Carmel. This mountain in Palestine is marked by the biblical account of the Prophet Elijah, and his courageous faith filled victory over false gods.
St. Simon Stock, prayed with humility and earnestness and begged Our Lady, Patroness of the (Carmelite) Order, that she would grant privilege to this Order, which was distinguished by its name and save it from extinction and to show that she was the Mother of the Order.

FACTS:

July 16, 1251. The Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel.
July 16, 1858. Our Lady’s 18th & last apparition at Lourdes.

Meaning: 16 & 16 =Fr. Abel Fernandez *2 | (AF=16|BdayDT=16)

AF=Abba Father | AF=Fr. Abel Fernandez.

1+6=7 | 1+6=7 ==77 Fr. Reuben Tellis.

Simon’s "Devotion of Our Lady of Mount Carmel":

Every day, in his prayers, He said to her, with a devout heart: "Flower of Carmel, Flowering Vine, Splendour of Heaven, fruitful Virgin, unique, sweet Mother, but who knew no man, grant your favors to the Carmelites, Star of the Sea."

His prayer was granted. And on the night of July 16, 1251, Our Lady appeared to St. Simon Stock surrounded by a multitude of angels, in Aylesford, England, holding a brown woollen scapular of the Order in her hand as a Promise-a Sign of her special protection. And she gave Him the scapular saying: "Here is a sign for you and a privilege for all Carmelites: “Whosoever dies wearing this Scapular shall not suffer eternal fire.”

The order of Carmel, it grew, it spread. A Promised Scapular from the Blessed Virgin Mary. To all her children around the world now wearing this scapular as an outward sign of her love for them.

The Message of the Scapular and Its Meaning

St. Simon Stock understood this message well. It was about saving souls from hell by uniting them to His Order, of which the Virgin is the Queen. He knew-She will help them reach Heaven.

True devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary consists in: VENERATION, TRUST AND LOVE.

Wearing the Scapular means we show devotion to Our Lady and choose to live following Jesus through Mary. To imitate the virtues of our Blessed Mother is to put on Christ. When we wear the Scapular, we’re putting on Christ.

A prayer offered while holding the Scapular is a perfect prayer. When we hold-touch the scapular as we pray, our Lady draws us close to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

In May 1981 Pope John Paul II was shot, He insisted doctors not remove His Scapular. Carmelite Fr. Mariano Cera told the Vatican magazine: “Just before the Holy Father was operated on, He told the doctors, ‘Don’t take off the Scapular.’ And the surgeons left it on.”

The POPES and The Brown Scapular:

Pope Pius XII, in his letter Neminem profecto of February 11, 1950, wrote on this subject: "It is not a matter of minor importance, but rather the acquisition of eternal life by virtue of this promise of the Blessed Virgin, which tradition records; it is therefore a matter of the most importance, and the way to bring it to fruition in complete confidence. The scapular, as the garment from the Virgin, is the sign and pledge of the protection of the Mother of God."
Pope Paul VI, speaking of Marian devotions, especially of the Scapular, says “Let the faithful hold in high esteem the practices and devotions to the Blessed Virgin approved by the teaching authority of the Church. It is Our conviction that the Rosary of Mary and the Scapular of Carmel are among these recommended practices. The Scapular is a practice of piety, which by its very simplicity is suited to everyone.”
John Paul II in a Letter to the Carmelites on the 750th Anniversary of the Scapular. He cited two truths the Scapular brings out: “The continuous protection of the Blessed Virgin, not only along the pathways of this life, but also at the moment of passing into the fullness of eternal glory” and “the awareness that devotion towards Our Lady cannot be limited to the occasional prayer in her honour, but must become a ‘habit’, that is a permanent way of Christian living, made up of prayer and the interior life, frequent recourse to the Sacraments and the concrete exercise of the corporal and spiritual works of mercy.”
Pope Benedict XV granted 500 days indulgence for devoutly kissing the Brown Scapular.

Sr. Lucia Explains the Scapular.

In 1950, Carmelite Fr. Kilian Lynch, the prior of Aylesford, travelled to Coimbra to speak with Sr. Lucia about the brown Scapular its meaning at Fatima. In His book, Our Lady of Fatima and the Brown Scapular, He recounts two major conversations other Carmelite Priests had with her on the same question.

In 1949, Fr. Donald O’Callaghan asked Sr. Lucia for her interpretation on Our Lady of Mount Carmel and the scapular devotion. She answered that “the Scapular devotion was pleasing to Our Lady, and that she desired it to be propagated.”

The Other Priest asked if Mary wanted the Scapular as part of the Message. Sr. Lucia answered, ‘Most definitely, the Scapular and the Rosary are inseparable. The Scapular is a sign of consecration to Our Lady.’”

“Lucia said Our Lady wants all to wear the Scapular.’”

And she added: ‘Now the Holy Father has already told this to the whole world, saying that the Scapular is a sign of consecration to the Immaculate Heart. Nobody can disagree now.’”

Understanding the Importance:-

The connection between the Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, the Rosary and Our Lady of Fatima is crucial for our spiritual life and growth.

At Fatima, Our Lady requested the seers to spread devotion to the scapular. Among the many privileges and added to this devotion is the singular promise of the Blessed Virgin to free from eternal fire all who wear the scapular and fulfil its obligations.

Two Connected Promises

There is a connection in the promises our Blessed Mother made for wearing the scapular and praying the Rosary.

“Take this scapular, it shall be a sign of salvation, a protection in danger and a pledge of peace. Whosoever dies wearing this scapular shall not suffer eternal fire,” Our Lady told St. Simon Stock when she gave Him the scapular.
“Jesus wishes to establish devotion to my Immaculate Heart in the world. I promise salvation to those who embrace it,” Our Lady of the Rosary told the Fatima seers in her June 13 apparition.

The 15 Promises of Our Lady to Those Who Pray the Rosary.

1. To all those who shall recite my rosary devoutly, I promise my special protection and very great graces.

2. Those who shall persevere in the recitation of my rosary shall receive graces.

3. The rosary shall be a very powerful armor against hell; it will destroy vice, deliver from sin, and dispel heresy.

4. The rosary will make virtue and good works flourish, and will obtain for souls the most abundant divine mercies; it will draw the hearts of men from the love of the world to the love of God, and will lift them to the desire of eternal things. How many souls shall sanctify themselves by this means!

5. Those who trust themselves to me through the rosary shall not perish.

6. Those who shall recite my rosary devoutly, meditating on its mysteries, shall not be overwhelmed by misfortune. The sinner shall be converted; the just shall grow in grace and become worthy of eternal life.

7. Those truly devoted to my rosary shall not die without the Sacraments of the Church.

8. Those who faithfully recite my rosary shall find during their life and at the hour of their death the light of God, the fullness of his graces, and shall share in the merits of the blessed.

9. I shall deliver very promptly from purgatory the souls devoted to my rosary.

10. The true children of my rosary shall enjoy great glory in heaven.

11. What you ask through my rosary, you shall obtain.

12. Those who propagate my rosary will be aided by me in all their necessities.

13. I have obtained from my Son that all the members of the Rosary Confraternity shall have as their intercessors, in life and in death, the entire celestial court.

14. Those who recite my rosary faithfully are all my beloved children, the brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ.

15. Devotion to my rosary is a great sign of predestination.

Our Lady of Fatima, asked us to pray and know the Rosary as our weapon against vice, sin, and falsehood.”