16 July: Feast of Our Lady of Mt Carmel
The Feast of Our Lady of Mt Carmel is a very good time to learn about the Brown Scapular, and for those who are not yet enrolled in it to resolve to do so. Click here for a comprehensive history of the Brown Scapular, with details of miracles and the facts about the (often misunderstood) Sabbatine Privilege.
Comment:
Those who are not yet enrolled in the Brown Scapular but would like to be, might be interested to learn that enrolments will take place on the Feast, 16th July, in both the Glasgow and Edinburgh SSPX chapels after Mass. In Glasgow, Mass begins at 9.45.am here, and in Edinburgh Mass begins at 1pm here.
Note: in Glasgow, on Sundays, there is free parking on Sauchiehall Street, and a small all-day charge at the National Car Park in Cambridge Street, both a short walk from the chapel. In Edinburgh, there is usually parking on the street outside the church, but the pavement is currently being restored, so this is not possible at the present time. There is, however, a car park a few hundred yards north of the chapel, first opening on the right. It is signposted St Leonard’s Parking. Usually free on Sundays.
Comments (16)
There is a stack of information in that article that I have never heard before, this bit about the scapular medal and miracles included:
There have been hundreds of miracles in favor of the cloth Scapular but not one in favor of the Scapular medal. The Scapular medal was started as an indult by Saint Pius X for people living in places like the Amazon, where the humidity and heat makes the cloth Scapular deteriorate quickly, and also for those unable to wear the Scapular for health reasons. But there has not been one miracle in favor of the Scapular medal. It is better to wear a Scapular medal than not wear one at all, but Our Lady wants us to wear the cloth Brown Scapular if we possibly can.
I don’t know anyone who wears the medial but I just found that very interesting indeed.
The miracles in that article are also astounding. I tend to wear it but not think too much about its power as a sacramental, oddly enough. I must use this year’s feast to change that.
Laura,
I, too, was very interested in the section on the miracles. But I have a question.
I’ve copied one miracle to paste here and then I will ask my question:
Another Scapular miracle took place in 1845. In the late summer of that year, the English ship, “King of the Ocean”, on its way to Australia, not far from Cape Hope, found itself in the middle of a hurricane. As wind and sea mercilessly lashed the ship, a Protestant minister, with his wife and children and other passengers, struggled to the deck to pray for mercy and forgiveness, as the end seemed at hand. Among the crew was a young Irishman, John McAuliffe. On seeing the urgency of the situation, the youth opened his shirt, took off his Scapular, and, making the Sign of the Cross with it over the raging waves, tossed it into the ocean. At that very moment, the wind calmed. Only one more wave washed the deck, bringing with it the Scapular which came to rest at the young man’s feet. All the while the minister (a Mr. Fisher) had been carefully observing McAuliffe’s actions and the miraculous effect of those actions. Upon questioning the young man, he was told about the Holy Virgin and Her Scapular. Mr. Fisher and his family became determined to enter the Catholic Church as soon as possible, and thereby enjoy the same protection of Our Lady’s Scapular. This they did shortly after landing in Australia.
John McAuliffe removed his scapular in the face of possible, even likely, death. He tossed it into the ocean. So, how can that be right if we are supposed to wear it all the time, in case of sudden death? I’m confused on that one!
When I was little, I had to get a CAT scan. My cousin Toni gave me a Brown Scapular and I wore it to the hospital. That was my first encounter with the Scapular.
I took the Scapular with me to university. In my freshman year, one day the thought came to me that I should wear the Brown Scapular. “After all, Toni gave it to me. I really ought to wear it.” So I started wearing the Scapular again.
About a month later, my housemate and her boyfriend (now her husband) were about to go on a date. I was sitting on the couch, and Monique said to me: “Margaret, are you all right?” I replied: “Oh sure; I’m fine.” The next thing I knew I was waking up inside an ambulance. I credit God, Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, my guardian angel, Monique and Dennis for saving my life. (I didn’t really practice devotion to St. Joseph then; otherwise, I’d list him after Our Lady.) That’s why I’m typing this today instead of being in my grave for over 20 years.
I always wear the Scapular, even in the bath. St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori wore his Scapular during his bath, so if it’s good enough for him, it’s good enough for me.
Also, one of my cousins slipped in the shower, cracked his skull and died all alone and outside the Church. That’s another reason why I wear the Scapular.
Most Holy Mother of Carmel, pray for us!
“Also, one of my cousins slipped in the shower, cracked his skull and died all alone and outside the Church. That’s another reason why I wear the Scapular.”
That is so terrifying – never do we think that going in for a shower will be the last thing we do on this earth. It’s a sobering thought to see the words of Scripture proven like this, I’m thinking of “keep watch, for you do not know the day nor the hour”.
For me, anyone who truly wants to go to heaven will wear the Brown Scapular as a mark of devotion to Our Lady and to receive her promise that their soul will not be lost. It goes hand in hand with the Rosary, the two most powerful weapons of the Mother of God against evil.
I agree, the Rosary and the Brown Scapular are the two most powerful weapons of the spiritual life, given to us by God for these times. We should be truly grateful.
I wear my scapular all the time. I wouldn’t take it off, except to change over after a shower, for anything.
However, I think we need to guard against giving the impression that it is a substitute for working hard to live a faithful Catholic life, faithful to God’s commandments and the commands of the Church. I’ve known people who are cohabiting to ask about sacramentals like scapulars, so I think care needs to be taken in that way. It can be difficult if people ask about them but it is wrong, IMHO, to hand out medals and scapulars as if they were nothing more than a lucky charm.
Happy feast day everyone!
Margaret Mary,
I agree with your comment about “lucky charms” because I think there is a very real danger that some people will treat medals and scapulars like lucky charms.
For example, I’ve often wondered about the rightness or wrongness of hooking a rosary or medal over the mirror in a car. I’ve seen that quite a lot. Isn’t that treating these objects like lucky charms?
Allan,
That’s not treating rosaries and medals like lucky charms. You are forgetting that sacramentals have power and people hang them over car rearview mirrors for protection from evil. I used to think they might attract vandals until a friend pointed that out to me, that it should have the opposite effect, or at least may have the opposite effect.
An interesting snippet about Rosaries being hung on car rear mirrors: In Ireland it is well known that tinkers (gypsies) do this to alert their brethren that they are indeed tinkers. As a result, any car with a Rosary beads will not be touched, vandalised or robbed.
Crofterlady,
Your comment is very much an “interesting snippet” and, sorry to say, it takes Irish people even further down in my estimation than they already were. I used to hold the Irish in quite high esteem but not now. I’d better not say what I think of them now, because most of it would be against the law these days LOL!
I did think that there would be some people who would think of these objects as lucky charms, but not maliciously, just through ignorance. It had to be Irish people who maliciously abuses them. That is very sad, given that Ireland used to be a Catholic country.
Allan,
Now, now. That’s not fair. Crofterlady pointed out that it’s the gypsies who do that for dubious motivation, and who knows whether or not they are being malicious – it’s impossible to know that. There is a certain innocence about a lot of people when it comes to sacramentals; it doesn’t mean they’re either stupid or malicious.
So, lay off the Irish; and I don’t just mean the people 😀
Allan
“Given that Ireland used to be a Catholic country.”
I never, especially when I was visiting it in my younger days, thought I’d ever live to see the day when a statement like that would be made.
The sad part is that you are 100% correct.
As for the travellers who hang their rosary beads on their rear view mirror: I genuinely believe that it is more of a devotional act than a superstitious one.
I often see them attending Mass when they are passing through town and they normally show their faith by visiting the side altars and lighting candles, etc.
To my mind, they are the only Irish left with a bit of the old faith in them. I don’t think many of them would be too thrilled with a Great Big Gypsy gay Wedding.
Fidelis,
That’s very interesting – I kind of hoped that would be the explanation but you can’t help wondering if that’s how people really think of it when they hang the objects.
Allan
These are very powerful sacramentals so even if used by people in the way you describe means that they must have some faith in their supernatural power. That has to be a good thing.
What troubles me more is to see the many cars, houses and gardens in which the image of some Eastern false deity or other is installed. I went to a large garden centre recently and was astounded to see numerous garden statues of such deities but nothing Christian. That is truly worrying.
Anyway, it’s always best that people use the rosary and scapular in the way heaven inended, that is, reciting the rosary and wearing the scapular following enrolment. But if all they do is hang them over a mirror in the car, well, it’s a start.
There is an excellent 50 minute sermon on the Brown Scapular here:- https://rorate-caeli.blogspot.com/2016/06/explanation-of-brown-scapular-and.html
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