Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel

“Our Lady of Mount Carmel″ is a title of the Blessed Virgin Mary in her role as patroness of the Carmelite Order, and the Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel (also known as the Brown Scapular), is the habit

Religious habit

A religious habit is a distinctive set of garments worn by members of a religious order. Traditionally some plain garb recognisable as a religious habit has also been worn by those leading the religious eremitic and anachoritic life, although in their case without conformity to a particular uniform...

of that Order. In its small form, it is widely popular within the Catholic Church as a sacramental

Sacramentals

Sacramentals are material objects, things or actions set apart or blessed by the Roman Catholic Church, the Orthodox Churches, the Anglican Churches, and Old Catholic Churches to manifest the respect due to the Sacraments, and so to excite good thoughts and to increase devotion, and through these...

and has probably served as the prototype of all the other devotional scapulars. The liturgical feast day of Our Lady of Mount Carmel

Our Lady of Mount Carmel

Our Lady of Mount Carmel is the title given to the Blessed Virgin Mary in her role as patroness of the Carmelite Order. The first Carmelites were Christian hermits living on Mount Carmel in the Holy Land during the late 12th and early to mid 13th centuries...

, July 16, is popularly associated with devotion to the Scapular.

According to the Vatican

Holy See

The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...

's Congregation for Divine Worship, the Brown Scapular is "an external sign of the filial relationship established between the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother and Queen of Mount Carmel, and the faithful who entrust themselves totally to her protection, who have recourse to her maternal intercession, who are mindful of the primacy of the spiritual life and the need for prayer."

Origin and History of the Devotion

In its origin as a practical garment, a scapular

Scapular

The term scapular as used today refers to two specific, yet related, Christian Sacramentals, namely the monastic and devotional scapulars, although both forms may simply be referred to as "scapular"....

was a type of work apron, frequently used by monks, consisting of large pieces of cloth front and back joined over the shoulders with strips of cloth. It forms part of the habit of some religious orders including the Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel, the Carmelites

Carmelites

The Order of the Brothers of Our Lady of Mount Carmel or Carmelites is a Catholic religious order perhaps founded in the 12th century on Mount Carmel, hence its name. However, historical records about its origin remain uncertain...

. The first Carmelite hermits who lived on Mount Carmel

Mount Carmel

Mount Carmel ; , Kármēlos; , Kurmul or جبل مار إلياس Jabal Mar Elyas 'Mount Saint Elias') is a coastal mountain range in northern Israel stretching from the Mediterranean Sea towards the southeast. Archaeologists have discovered ancient wine and oil presses at various locations on Mt. Carmel...

in the Holy Land

Holy Land

The Holy Land is a term which in Judaism refers to the Kingdom of Israel as defined in the Tanakh. For Jews, the Land's identifiction of being Holy is defined in Judaism by its differentiation from other lands by virtue of the practice of Judaism often possible only in the Land of Israel...

in the 12th century are thought to have worn a belted tunic and striped mantle typical of pilgrims; when the Carmelites moved to Europe in the mid 13th century and became a mendicant order of friars they adopted a new habit that included a brown belted tunic, brown scapular, a hood called a capuche, and white mantle.

According to traditional accounts, the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared at Cambridge to St. Simon Stock

Simon Stock

Saint Simon Stock, an Englishman who lived in the 13th century, was an early prior general of the Carmelite religious order. Little is known about his life with any historical certainty. The Blessed Virgin Mary is traditionally said to have appeared to him and given him the Carmelite habit, the...

, who was Prior General of the Carmelite Order in the middle of the 13th century. The earliest reference to this tradition, dating from the late 14th century, states that "St. Simon was an Englishman, a man of great holiness and devotion, who always in his prayers asked the Virgin to favor his Order with some singular privilege. The Virgin appeared to him holding the Scapular in her hand saying, 'This is for you and yours a privilege; the one who dies in it will be saved.'"

In the Middle Ages, a habit was a very essential part of the identity of members of religious orders. To remove one's habit was tantamount to leaving the Order. The Carmelite Constitution of 1369 stipulates automatic excommunication for Carmelites who say Mass without a scapular, while the Constitutions of 1324 and 1294 consider it a serious fault to sleep without the scapular.

According to Hugh Clarke, O.Carm, "The origins of the Scapular devotion are to be found in the desires of lay people during the Middle ages to be closely associated with the Carmelite Order and its spirituality." It was customary for laypeople who belonged to confraternities, sodalities, or third orders affiliated with the religious orders to wear some sign of membership, frequently some part derived from the religious habit such as a cord, cloak or scapular. During part of their history, the lay affiliates of the Carmelites wore the white mantle which the friars wore, or even the full habit. The small brown scapular and Mary's promise of salvation for the wearer, began to be promoted to the laity in the form we are familiar with today by Giovanni Battista Rossi, prior general of the Carmelites from 1564-1578.

The Carmelite scapular is said to have been very widespread in European countries at the end of the 16th century. In 1600, the Carmelite Egidio Leoindelicato da Sciacca published a book called "Giardino Carmelitano" which includes the formulas of blessing for the Fratelli and Sorelle della Compagnia della Madonna del Carmine (laypeople who received the complete habit of the order) and the formula for the blessing of the scapular for the Devoti della Compagnia Carmelitana. This is the earliest apparent form of blessing for the small scapular. It is also noteworthy that the formula for the sisters contains no reference to the scapular, while in that for the brothers there is a special blessing for the scapular.

Historical difficulties

With modern scholarship shedding light on the first centuries of the Carmelite Order, very great difficulty has arisen for the historicity of Our Lady's scapular vision to St. Simon Stock

Simon Stock

. The first mention of the vision appears in the late 14th century, almost 150 years after the date in 1251 when it is sometimes stated to have occurred, and is not noted in the earliest accounts of St. Simon Stock's life and miracles. The history of the Carmelite habit

Religious habit

and legislation and discussion relating to it within the Order during that time span, do not mention nor seem to imply a tradition about the Blessed Virgin giving the Scapular to the Carmelites, nor do the notable Carmelite writers of the 14th century, such as John Baconthorpe

John Baconthorpe

John Baconthorpe was a learned English Carmelite monk and scholastic philosopher....

, mention the scapular. History even records an instance in 1375 when an English Carmelite named Nicholas Hornby engaged in a public debate with a Dominican

Dominican Order

The Order of Preachers , after the 15th century more commonly known as the Dominican Order or Dominicans, is a Catholic religious order founded by Saint Dominic and approved by Pope Honorius III on 22 December 1216 in France...

friar in which Hornby ridiculed Dominican claims to have received their habit from the Blessed Virgin—this was a claim common to several different orders in the Middle Ages. Hornby showed no sign of being aware of any similar claim that had been made by a fellow English Carmelite in the preceding century.

Amidst confusing evidence, it has been suggested that some other Carmelite than Saint Simon Stock

Simon Stock

had a mystical vision, the story of which was later associated with him. A Dominican

Dominican Order

history compiled by Gerard of Frachet in 1259-1260 tells of the 1237 drowning death of a holy Dominican, Blessed Jordan of Saxony, off the coast of Acre, Israel

Israel

The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

(near Mount Carmel

Mount Carmel

), and mentions "a certain brother of the Order of Carmel" who was tempted to abandon his vocation because God had permitted this to happen to so holy a man; Bl. Jordan was said to have appeared then to the brother in a vision, reassuring him that "all who serve the Lord Jesus Christ to the end will be saved." Gerard concludes: "the brother himself, and the prior of the same Order, brother Simon, a religious and truthful man, have related these things to our friars." This story which bears a notable similarity to the traditional story of the scapular vision and promise of salvation, with obvious differences, is one of very few known references to Saint Simon Stock

Simon Stock

written during his lifetime.

It has also been pointed out that in the Middle Ages, careful history of the kind we expect today was an exception to the rule, and it was very common to clothe spiritual and theological beliefs in the form of a story.

Fr. Kieran Kavanaugh, OCD, writes that "from a scholar's historical point of view, we must admit that there is a lack of documentary evidence that would demonstrate irrefutably the truth or historicity of the apparition. At the same time, there exists no cogent reason for denouncing the apparition as false and definitively denying its truth." The Carmelite Order (O.Carm) states on their website that even if the apparition is not historical, "the scapular itself has remained for all Carmelites a sign of Mary's motherly protection and as a personal commitment to follow Jesus in the footsteps of his Mother, the perfect model of all his disciples."

Promises of the Scapular

The earliest form of the Scapular promise states simply that wearers of the brown scapular, the Carmelite habit, will be saved. In the first place this meant Carmelite religious who remained faithful to their vocation. Later the small Brown Scapular became popular with the laity as a sacramental

Sacramentals

.

The nature of the spiritual help associated with the Brown Scapular came to be described in greater detail and specificity. A traditional formulation of the Scapular Promise is "Take this Scapular. Whosoever dies wearing it shall not suffer eternal fire. It shall be a sign of salvation, a protection in danger and pledge of peace."

At times the scapular has been preached as an easy way to heaven, which has led to criticism of the devotion. Devotees of the Brown Scapular have sometimes been accused of straying into superstition. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states that sacramentals

Sacramentals

such as the Brown Scapular "do not confer the grace of the Holy Spirit

Holy Spirit

Holy Spirit is a term introduced in English translations of the Hebrew Bible, but understood differently in the main Abrahamic religions.While the general concept of a "Spirit" that permeates the cosmos has been used in various religions Holy Spirit is a term introduced in English translations of...

in the way that the sacraments do, but by the Church's prayer, they prepare us to receive grace and dispose us to cooperate with it."

Believers in the traditional scapular promise sometimes argue that Mary's intercession either grants conversion, final perseverance, and/or last rites to the wearer, to secure the assurances of the Scapular Promise. Possibly another argument is that the scapular is despised by faithless and godless souls, rejecting the Virgin's promise, and so they come nowhere near to wearing it. Another argument is that in cases of stubborn unrepentant sinners the scapular will somehow, miraculously or not, be taken off the wearer, this was suggested by Saint Claude de la Colombière.

The 1912 Catholic Encyclopedia states that a list of indulgences, privileges, and indults of the Scapular Confraternity of Mount Carmel was approved on July 4, 1908, by the Congregation of Indulgence

Indulgence

In Catholic theology, an indulgence is the full or partial remission of temporal punishment due for sins which have already been forgiven. The indulgence is granted by the Catholic Church after the sinner has confessed and received absolution...

Beliefs associated with the Scapular

A central belief about the Brown Scapular is its signification of the wearer's consecration

Consecration

Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service, usually religious. The word "consecration" literally means "to associate with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different groups...

to Mary. In 1951 Pope Pius XII

Pope Pius XII

The Venerable Pope Pius XII , born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli , reigned as Pope, head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of Vatican City State, from 2 March 1939 until his death in 1958....

wrote in an Apostolic letter to the Carmelites on the 700th anniversary of the vision of St. Simon Stock

Simon Stock

, that he hoped the Scapular would "be to them a sign of their consecration to the most sacred heart of the Immaculate Virgin."

One of the beliefs most influential in popularizing the brown scapular devotion was a promise known as the Sabbatine privilege

Sabbatine Privilege

The Sabbatine Privilege derived its name from the apocryphal Papal Bull Sacratissimo uti culmine of Pope John XXII, dated 3 March, 1322, according to which had the pope declared that the Mother of God appeared to him, and most urgently recommended to him the Carmelite Order and its confratres and...

. It was associated with an apocryphal Papal Bull allegedly written in 1322 by Pope John XXII

Pope John XXII

Pope John XXII , born Jacques Duèze , was pope from 1316 to 1334. He was the second Pope of the Avignon Papacy , elected by a conclave in Lyon assembled by Philip V of France...

. It states that Pope John XXII had a vision of Our Lady granting that through her special intercession, Mary will come down to personally deliver the souls of Carmelites and Confraternity members out of Purgatory

Purgatory

Purgatory is the condition or process of purification or temporary punishment in which, it is believed, the souls of those who die in a state of grace are made ready for Heaven...

on the first Saturday after their death ("Sabbatine" means Saturday), as long as they fulfill certain conditions including wearing the brown scapular. The Vatican has denied the validity of this document since 1613, but didn't forbade the Carmelites "to preach that the Christian people may piously believe in the help which the souls of brothers and members, who have departed this life in charity

Charity (practice)

The practice of charity means the voluntary giving of help to those in need who are not related to the giver.- Etymology :The word "charity" entered the English language through the Old French word "charité" which was derived from the Latin "caritas".Originally in Latin the word caritas meant...

, have worn in life the scapular, have ever observed chastity

Chastity

Chastity refers to the sexual behavior of a man or woman acceptable to the moral standards and guidelines of a culture, civilization, or religion....

, have recited the Little Hours

Little Hours

The Little Hours are the fixed daytime hours of prayer in the Divine Office of Christians, in both Western Christianity and the Eastern Orthodox Church. These Hours are called 'little' due to their shorter and simpler structure compared to the Night Hours...

[of the Blessed Virgin], or, if they cannot read, have observed the fast days of the Church, and have abstained from flesh meat on Wednesdays and Saturdays (except when Christmas falls on such days), may derive after death — especially on Saturday

Saturday

Saturday is the day of the week following Friday and preceding Sunday.Saturday is the last day of the week on many calendars and in conventions that consider the week as beginning on Sunday, or the sixth day of the week according to international standard ISO 8601 which was first published in...

s, the day consecrated by the Church to the Blessed Virgin — through the unceasing intercession of Mary, her pious petitions, her merits, and her special protection." These elements are reflected in older versions of the requirements of enrollment in the Confraternity of the Brown Scapular.

Today, the Carmelite Orders, while encouraging a belief in Mary's aid and prayerful assistance for their souls beyond death and commending devotion to Mary especially on Saturdays which are dedicated to her, explicitly state in their official catechetical materials that they do not promulgate the Sabbatine privilege, and are at one with official Church teaching on the matter. But the Church didn't condemn anyone who believe in the Sabatine privilege, which belongs in the field of private revelation

Private revelation

In the teaching of the Catholic Church, a private revelation refers to visions and revelations from God to a specific Christian which have taken place since the completion of the New Testament...

Appearance

The scapular must consist of two pieces of brown cloth with one segment hanging on the wearer's chest, and the other hanging on his/her back. These pieces are joined by two straps or strings which overlap each shoulder—hence the word "scapular" (shoulder blade). Images sewn onto the Brown Scapular are unnecessary. In the past the scapular was required to be 100% wool but this is no longer required; the habits of the Carmelite religious are also now typically made of other, less expensive and more durable materials. It is normally worn under the clothes but not pinned to undergarments.

Because wool deteriorates rapidly in tropical climates, since 1910 those properly invested into a confraternity may wear a properly blessed scapular medal with the depiction of Jesus with his Sacred Heart

Sacred Heart

The Sacred Heart is one of the most famous religious devotions to Jesus' physical heart as the representation of His divine love for Humanity....

on one side and Mary on the obverse. However, Pope Saint Pius X expressed his preference for the cloth scapular. Pope Benedict XV has also proclaimed the Church's strong preference for cloth to be worn rather than the medal. This preference is because cloth is important to the sign value of the scapular as a garment, a habit.

Enrollment in the Brown Scapular

Any Catholic priest may invest a baptised Catholic with the Brown Scapular. Lay people may not bless a Scapular. There is a form of the blessing and investiture in the Book of Blessings which will normally be found in any Catholic parish. The most recent Rite for the Blessing of and Enrollment in the Scapular, approved in 1996 by the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments

Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments

The Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments is the congregation of the Roman Curia that handles most affairs relating to liturgical practices of the Latin Catholic Church as distinct from the Eastern Catholic Churches and also some technical matters relating to the...

, is available in booklet form, the "Catechesis and Ritual for the Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel", published in 2000 and distributed by ICS Publications. The rite can also be found on the website of the Carmelite Order.

The short form of the investiture is as follows:

Receive this Scapular, a sign of your special relationship with Mary, the Mother of Jesus, whom you pledge to imitate. May it be a reminder to you of your dignity as a Christian, in serving others and imitating Mary.

Wear it as a sign of her protection and of belonging to the Family of Carmel, voluntarily doing the will of God and devoting yourself to building a world true to his plan of community, justice and peace.

According to a 1996 doctrinal statement approved by the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments

Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments

, "Devotion to Our Lady of Mount Carmel

Our Lady of Mount Carmel

is bound to the history and spiritual values of the Order of the Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel and is expressed through the scapular. Thus, whoever receives the scapular becomes a member of the order and pledges him/herself to live according to its spirituality in accordance with the characteristics of his/her state in life."

Third Order and Confraternity

Like the other mendicant orders

Mendicant Orders

The mendicant orders are religious orders which depend directly on the charity of the people for their livelihood. In principle, they do not own property, either individually or collectively , believing that this was the most pure way of life to copy followed by Jesus Christ, in order that all...

such as the Franciscans, the Carmelites formed a "Third Order

Third order

The term Third Order designates persons who live according to the Third Rule of a Roman Catholic religious order, an Anglican religious order, or a Lutheran religious order. Their members, known as Tertiaries, are generally lay members of religious orders, i.e...

" for lay people (the "First Order" being the friars, the "Second Order" the nuns), either married or single, who wished to participate deeply in the spirituality and charism of the order, but remain in their secular state of life. Those belonging to the Ancient Observance (O.Carm) branch of the Carmelites are today known as Lay Carmelites

Lay Carmelites

The Third Order of Our Lady of Mount Carmel is a branch of the religious Carmelite Order of the Ancient Observance and was established in 1476 by a bull of Pope Sixtus IV...

, those belonging to the Discalced

Discalced Carmelites

The Discalced Carmelites, or Barefoot Carmelites, is a Catholic mendicant order with roots in the eremitic tradition of the Desert Fathers and Mothers...

(OCD) branch of the Carmelites are known as Secular Carmelites

Secular Order of Discalced Carmelites

The Secular Order of Discalced Carmelites , officially Ordo Carmelitarum Discalceatorum Saecularis, and formerly known as the Third Secular Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel and of the Holy Mother Saint Teresa of Jesus, is an association in the Roman Catholic Church, with lay persons...

, members of both branches belong to communities which meet together regularly for prayer and spiritual formation. The small Brown Scapular is the habit of these Carmelite laity, with a larger ceremonial Scapular normally worn outside the clothes at community meetings and official functions.

There is also a Confraternity of the Brown Scapular. According to the 1996 version of the rite of enrollment, "The scapular confraternity of Carmel is an association of the faithful who strive for the perfection of charity in the world in the spirit of the Carmelite Order, participate in the life of the Order and its spiritual benefits in an intimate communion of thought, ideals, and works together with Mary." In Europe in the past there was often a local Confraternity group which met for fellowship and spiritual formation. Today, at least in North America, those enrolled by a priest into the Confraternity of the Brown Scapular typically have no visible group to belong to, nor is any record kept anymore of people thus enrolled. Some Carmelites such as Fr. Redemptus Valabek, O.Carm, have lamented that there is no longer a central registry of names of people enrolled in the Confraternity, and called for a return to the practice and renewed awareness of the scapular's connection to the Carmelite community and its spirituality.

The current rite of enrolment in the Brown Scapular also permits for persons to be enroled in the scapular without joining a Confraternity or other group.

Teaching of the Catholic Church about the Brown Scapular

Carmelite scholar Fr. Kieran Kavanaugh, OCD summarizes the Catholic Church's official position about the Brown Scapular thus:

With regard to the scapular as a conventional and sacred sign, the Church has intervened at various times in history to clarify its meaning, defend it, and confirm the privileges.

From these Church documents there emerges with sufficient clarity the nature and meaning of the Carmelite scapular.

1. The scapular is a Marian habit or garment. It is both a sign and pledge. A sign of belonging to Mary; a pledge of her motherly protection, not only in this life but after death.

2. As a sign, it is a conventional sign signifying three elements strictly joined: first, belonging to a religious family particularly devoted to Mary, especially dear to Mary, the Carmelite Order; second, consecration to Mary, devotion to and trust in her Immaculate Heart; third an incitement to become like Mary by imitating her virtues, above all her humility, chastity, and spirit of prayer.

This is the Church's officially established connection between the sign and that which is signified by the sign.

No mention is made of the vision of St. Simon Stock or of that of Pope John XXII in relation to the Sabbatine privilege, which promises that one will be released from Purgatory on the first Saturday after death.

External links

Brown Scapular "A Silent Devotion" 2008 article via Zenit news service by Fr. Kieran Kavenaugh, OCD discusses devotion to the Brown Scapular, the existence of historical problems, and pastoral practice
Catechesis and Ritual for the Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel - Booklet of catechetical information and the current form of the ceremony of enrolment in the Brown Scapular, approved by the North American Provincials of the Carmelite Orders; the catechesis portion can be read online here the doctrinal portion is here and the Rite for the Blessing of and Enrolment in the Scapular is here
Doctrinal Statement of the Brown Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel "Rite of Blessing of and Enrollment in the Scapular of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel" as issued and confirmed by the Congregation for Divine Worship and for the Discipline of the Sacraments, November 29, 1996
Message of John Paul II to the Carmelite Family - At The 750th Anniversary of the Bestowal of the Scapular in 2001
750th anniversary of the bestowal of the Scapular, With Mary the Mother of Jesus Scapular Message issued jointly by the OCD and O.Carm Carmelite Priors General
The Brown Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel - includes a pre-Vatican II ceremony for blessing and investiture in the Confraternity of the Brown Scapular
The Brown Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel - A Sign of Christian Faith & Commitment
Lucia of Fatima's statements about the Brown Scapular - In the private revelations at Fatima, Portugal the Blessed Virgin Mary referred to herself as "Lady of Mount Carmel" and exhorted wearing the Brown Scapular
The Brown Scapular
Stories of Mount Carmel History and spirituality of the Brown Scapular devotion by Teresa Polk, including discussion of the historical problems with some of the claims
http://www.scribd.com/share/upload/14132985/186lepak5by0o5ztxslt A commentary on the traditional rule of the Discalced Carmelite Third Order.

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

Origin and History of the Devotion

Historical difficulties

Promises of the Scapular

Beliefs associated with the Scapular

Appearance

Enrollment in the Brown Scapular

Third Order and Confraternity

Teaching of the Catholic Church about the Brown Scapular

See also

External links