Here in lies an explanation about the clothing Our Lady made for us, it is the Brown Scapular. Yes, she made us clothing for us to wear. It is ages old, but Our Lady first presented it to St Simon Stock on July 16th, 1251.
Was there ever a time when you bought or made a piece of clothing for
your child to wear, or even for someone you loved very much? Perhaps you bought a piece
of jewelry? Well, Our Lady made clothing for us. She wants us to remember that
she is always there for us, to protect us. She also wants to know, through our
actions, that we always think of Her. The clothing she made for us is the Brown
Scapular. All the people of the World are her children, but those with her
clothing on, get extra special attention because we accept that clothing and ask for her protection and in return constantly do things for Her. In wearing the Brown Scapular, we Consecrate (definition: to dedicate (one's life, time, to a specific purpose.) ourselves to Our Lady.
The Brown Scapular
Old Testament
History
Mount Carmel is on the northwestern
coast of Palestine. The Hebrew word for Carmel means 'Beautiful Garden Land'. Truly that
is what Our Lady is, the beautiful garden that brought forth Jesus Christ, Our
Savior.
The Origin of
Carmel goes back to about 860 B.C. to the time of the
prophet Elijah and his victory over the pagan prophets and
their god, Baal. The account of this event is given
in 1 Kings 18:19-40.
The Jewish people had
taken to worshipping false gods,
especially the god Baal. Their evil King Ahab had
married the gentile, Jezebel, who worshipped Baal. The
king built a temple to this pagan deity.
When the prophets denounced him for this, he had
them killed. Elijah stood firm
and challenged the prophets of Baal to gather on Mount
Carmel to determine which God, Baal or the Lord
was the true God. Each built a stone altar with
firewood and a sacrificial bull upon it. The
"God" who would send fire from Heaven upon the
altar would be accepted as the true
God.
The prophets
of Baal prayed and danced and chanted all day to no avail.
Elijah, though
before beginning his prayer poured gallons
of water over his sacrifice, making it humanly impossible to light the fire.
Elijah called upon
the Lord and immediately a bolt of lightning came down from heaven consuming the sacrifice and
the stones of the altar.
The pagan
prophets were killed and Elijah went into
hiding on Mount Carmel. Later a community of
prophets joined him. They dwelt in caves, praying to God, living in
peace.
Brothers of Our Lady of Mount
Carmel
Before coming into Europe, the
Carmelites were hermits living on Mount Carmel in Palestine. They believed themselves to be the
spiritual sons of Elijah. They led a
life of contemplation, modeled after the
prophet.
The early Carmelites were Hebrew and they wore a dark brown cloth which covered their whole body. As time progressed, the cloth shrank in size to what it is today.
Saint Simon Stock
Please refer to this website for the rest of the story since it is long for this blog entry.
Our Lady of Fatima and the Brown Scapular
The Brown Scapular is part of the spiritual practice of the Apostlate members of Fatima.
On October 13th 1917, when the last apparition of Our Lady occured along with the great miracle of the sun, Our Lady of Mount Carmel appeared holding out the Brown Scapular. This vision was not only seen by the three visionaries, but by all who were present for the miracle, 70,000+ witnesses and people in the neighboring areas. For this reason, members of the World Apostolate of Fatima wear the Brown Scapular as part of their devotion.
"OUR LADY WANTS EVERYONE TO WEAR IT (THE BROWN SCAPULAR);
IT IS THE SIGN OF CONSECRATION TO HER IMMACULATE HEART.”
– Lucia dos Santos (Child seer of Fatima)
Many Promises are attached to wearing the Brown Scapular given by Our Mother, under the title Our Lady of Mount Carmel.
“Wear the Scapular devoutly and
perseveringly. It is my garment. To be clothed in it means you are continually thinking of me, and I
in turn, am always thinking of you and helping you to secure eternal
life.”
“Take this Scapular, it shall be a
sign of salvation, a protection in danger and a pledge
of peace. Whosoever dies wearing this
Scapular shall not suffer eternal fire.”
This is
Mary’s promise made
July 16, 1251 to Saint Simon Stock.
