Signs and Symbols of Faith: Our Lady of Mt. Carmel and the Scapular

Today in the Catholic Church is the feast of the apparition of Jesus’s Mother known as Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, who gave the scapular as a visible sign of those dedicated to her and her Divine Son Jesus.

Just as Mary did at the Wedding Feast at Cana (John 2) in the Bible, where Jesus performed a miracle at His Mother’s request, still now in Heaven Mary intercedes with her Son for us.

While Christians in America do not suffer persecution the way Christians in Africa, China, the Middle East, and elsewhere do, it is becoming increasingly difficult for Christians to identify themselves publicly with their faith without facing backlash. It is uncomfortable and sometimes brings loss of jobs or friends to be a vocal Christian in America; occasionally even physical harm. The scapular, a sign of our dedication to Jesus and Mary, is a good way of reminding ourselves and other to whom our lives belong and how nothing must make us afraid to be Christians.

Our world desperately needs a Judeo-Christian revival. As Jesus was born into the world through Mary, we ask Him to come again to a darkened world through His Mother.

“[Catholicsaints.info] The scapular, which derives its name from the Latin word scapulae, meaning shoulders, is a dress which covers the shoulders. It is mentioned in the rule of Saint Benedict as worn by monks over their other dress when they were at work, and it now forms a regular part of the religious dress in the old Orders. But it is best known among Catholics as the name of two little pieces of cloth worn out of devotion to the Blessed Virgin over the shoulders, under the ordinary garb, and connected by strings. The devotion of the scapular, now almost universal in the Catholic Church, began with the Carmelites. The history of its origin is as follows: During the thirteenth century the Carmelite Order suffered great persecution, and on 16 July 1251, while Saint Simon Stock, then general of the Order, was at prayer, the Blessed Virgin appeared to him, holding in her hand a scapular. Giving it to the saint, she said,

"Receive, my dear son, this scapular of thy Order, as the distinctive sign of my confraternity, and the mark of the privilege which I have obtained for thee and the children of Carmel. It is a sign of salvation, a safeguard in danger, and a special pledge of peace and protection till the end of time. Whosoever dies wearing this shall be preserved from eternal flames."

It is much to be wished that people should everywhere join this confraternity, for the honor of Mary and for the salvation of souls, by a life fitted to that end.

In order to have a share in the merits of the sodality every member must:

• Shun sin, and, according to his state of life, live chastely.
• Say every day, if possible, seven times, Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory be to the Father.
• Strive to serve God by venerating Mary, and imitating her virtues.”

Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, pray for us!