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Friends in Christ, today is the Feast of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel. Mt. Carmel is located on the western edge of Galilee, overlooking the blue Mediterranean Sea. It is on Mt. Carmel, that Elijah beat the pagan prophets at their own game, and it was on top Mt. Carmel, that during the 12th Century during the Crusades, a group of brave and pious Knights came together. Fighting off the Muslim onslaught, they organized themselves into a religious order, being called the Carmelites.
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As pressure from the enemy continued, the General of the Order at the time, Simon Stock, prayed fervently for assistance from the Blessed Virgin. Appearing to him on this day, in the year 1251, Mary designated the Brown Scapular as the special mark of her maternal love. That is why the present feast is also known as the feast of the Scapular. Mary made this promise: ‘Those who die wearing the scapular shall not suffer eternal fire.’
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On another occasion, Our Lady appeared to Pope John XXII saying, ‘for those who wear the Scapular, I the Mother of Grace, will descend on the Saturday after their death, and whomsoever I shall find in Purgatory, I shall free, and lead them to the holy mountain of life everlasting.’ This additional promise, Mary’s bringing us to heaven the Saturday after our death, is called the Sabbatine Privilege.
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If one wants to participate in this devotion, here is how it is done: You must commit to a life of chastity, according to your state in life. Single people will live in a pure way, and married people will keep their marital love wholesome, according to the laws of the Church. One also promises to have devotion to Mary, entrusting oneself to her; Devotion to Mary can be by many ways, perhaps best is praying the Rosary. Finally, you must be invested with the scapular, which any priest can do. This investiture must be done with a cloth scapular, but it can then be later substituted with a scapular medal if you like.
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One should kiss the scapular each day and say, ‘Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, pray for us.’ You should never take it off except to shower. Pope John Paul II always wore the scapular. He once said that the Scapular is the sign of the protection of the Blessed Virgin in life’s journey, and also at death. Devotion to her, he said, cannot be limited to prayers on certain occasions, but must become a habit,’ a regular part of life.
