The Brown Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel:It is a gift to
you from your Heavenly
MotherWHOSOEVERDIESINTHISGARMENTSHALLNOTSUFFERETERNAL FIRE.-
promise of Our L!" #o S#. Simo$ S#o%& o$ 'u(" )*+ ),-) History
Intheyear1251, inthetownofAylesfordinEngland, OurLady appeared to
St. Simon Stoc, a !armelite. She handedhima"rownwoolenscapular
andsaid, #$his shall "eapri%ilege for you and all !armelites, that
anyone dying in thisha"it shall not su&er eternal 're.( In
time, the !hurche)tendedthismagni'centpri%ilege
toallthelaitywhoarewilling to "e in%ested in the *rown Scapular of
the !armelitesand who perpetually wear it.+e%otion
$ruede%otiontothe*lessed,irgin-aryconsistsinthreethings.
,E/E0A$IO/, !O/1I+E/!E A/+LO,E. *y simplywearing the Scapular, we
can tell her e%ery moment of theday that we %enerate her, lo%e her
and trust in herprotection. $he Scapular Is a Silent 2rayer
AsOurLordtaughtustosaytheOur1ather, Our*lessed-other taught us the
%alue of the scapular. 3hen we use itas a prayer, Our Lady draws us
to the Sacred 4eart of 4er+i%ine Son. It is good, therefore, to
hold the scapular in thehand. Aprayer o&ered while holding the
Scapular is asperfect as a prayer can "e. It is especially in time
oftemptation that we need the powerful intercession of 5od6s-other.
$he e%il spirit is utterly powerless when the wearer ofa scapular
faces temptation, calling upon the 4oly ,irgin inthissilent
de%otion. #If youhadrecommendedyourself tome, youwouldnot
ha%erunintosuchdanger,(wasOurLady6s gentle reproach to *lessed Alan
de la 0oche, one ofher de%oted ser%ants. nrollment in the
Confraternity $o "e eligi"le for the scapular promise, one must "e
enrolledin the *rown Scapular !onfraternity. $his is a
simpleceremony which can "e performed "y any priest 7see "elow8.$he
mem"ers of the !onfraternity ha%e the added "ene't ofsharing in all
the spiritual "ene'ts of the !armelite Order.According to a
statement made "y the !armelite 1athers atthe /ational Scapular
!enter, e%ery priest now has the rightto in%est the faithful in the
*rown Scapular and to su"stitutethe rosary in lieu of the Little
O9ce 7see "elow8.$he scapular must "e 1::; wool without plastic
casing andshould not "e pinned or a9)ed to clothing. It is worn
o%er thehead, under one6s clothes, with one sesus, sa%e usC
Immaculate 4eart of-ary, pray for usC Sacred 4eart of >esus,
ha%e mercy on usC The "opes% the Saints and the Brown Scapular 2ope
Leo 3III. #$he !armelite Scapular6s no"ility of origin,
itse)traordinary spread among !hristian peoples for manycenturies,
thespiritualiDinge&ectsproduced"yit andtheoutstanding miracles
wored in %irtue of it render theScapular of !armel commenda"le to a
wondrous degree.(2ope 2ius 3I. #In consideration of the muni'cent
goodness ofthe hea%enly -other towards her children, it surely
ought to"e su9cient merely to e)hort those who "elong to
theScapular !onfraternity toperse%ereintheholy e)erciseswhich ha%e
"een prescri"ed for the gaining of theindulgences to which they are
entitled.( 2ope 2ius 3II. #All !armelites, whether they li%e in
thecloisters of the 1irst or Second Orders or are mem"ers of
the$hirdOrder or of the!onfraternities, "elongtothesamefamily of
our -ost *lessed -other and are attached to it "y aspecial "ond of
lo%e. -ay they all see in this eepsae of the,irgin herself a mirror
of humility and purity= may they readinthe%erysimplicityof
the5arment aconciselessoninmodestyandsimplicity=a"o%eall,
maythey"eholdinthissame 5arment, which they wear day and night, the
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