Our Lady of Mount Carmel is most closely associated with the Brown Scapular sacramental. Many Popes and Saints have encouraged devotion to Our Lady of Mount Carmel and the wearing of the Brown Scapular.
St. Josemaria Escriva described the devotion:
Wear on your breast the holy scapular of Carmel. There are many excellent Marian devotions, but few are so deep- rooted among the faithful, and have received so many blessings from the Popes. Besides, how maternal this sabbatine privilege is! (The Way, 500)Blessed Pope John Paul II expressed the value of the devotion for all in his Message to the Carmelite Family (5):
Therefore two truths are evoked by the sign of the Scapular: on the one hand, the constant protection of the Blessed Virgin, not only on life's journey, but also at the moment of passing into the fullness of eternal glory; on the other, the awareness that devotion to her cannot be limited to prayers and tributes in her honour on certain occasions, but must become a "habit", that is, a permanent orientation of one's own Christian conduct, woven of prayer and interior life, through frequent reception of the sacraments and the concrete practice of the spiritual and corporal works of mercy. In this way the Scapular becomes a sign of the "covenant" and reciprocal communion between Mary and the faithful: indeed, it concretely translates the gift of his Mother, which Jesus gave on the Cross to John and, through him, to all of us, and the entrustment of the beloved Apostle and of us to her, who became our spiritual Mother.
To order & receive a FREE Scapular
To order & receive a FREE Scapular from the National Shrine of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel
To purchase a well made Brown Scapular
FURTHER READING:
The Scapular Devotion, Catholic Culture
Brown Scapular: A Silent Devotion, Zenit News
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