The Scapular (Ensignia of the Blessed Virgin)

If you wear Mary’s Brown Scapular, you should be introduced to St.Simon Stock. You may already know him from his picture (along with Our Lady’s) on your Scapular. Actually St.Simon is an old friend, for it was to him that Our Lady gave the Scapular Promise in 1215 saying, “Whosoever dies wearing this Scapular shall not suffer eternal fire”

One of the great mysteries of our time is that the majority of Catholics either ignore, or have entirely forgotten this Heavenly promise of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Our Lady further says: “Wear the Scapular devoutly and perseveringly. It is My garment. To be clothed, 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.”

Blessed Clause de la Colombiere, the renowned Jesuit and spiritual director of St.Margaret Mary, gives a point which is enlightening. He said, “Because all the forms of our love for the Blessed Virgin and all its various modes of expression cannot be equally pleasing to Her, and therefore do not assist us in the same degree to reach Heaven, I say, without a moment’s hesitation, that the BROWN SCAPULAR IS THE MOST FAVOURED OF ALL!” He also adds, “No devotion has been confirmed by more numerous authentic miracles than the Brown Scapular.

Old Testament History

Devotion to Our Lady of Mount Carmel ( the Madonna of the Scapular) goes back far before the time of St.Simon Stock — even before the time of Our Blessed Lord; it goes back all the way to 8th century BC. It was then that the great prophet Elias ascended the holy mountain of Carmel in Palestine, and began there a long tradition of contemplative life and prayer. It is amazing to realize that centuries before Christ was born, Holy Elias and his followers had mystically dedicated themselves to God’s Mother-to-come, Mary, Queen of Mt.Carmel. Nearly three thousand years later, that tradition of prayer, contemplation, and devotion to Mary continues to live and prevail in the Catholic Church.

In the fullness of time, God became the God-Man, Jesus. We know of Our Lords life, death, resurrection and ascension from the four Gospels of the New testament, and we know that Jesus bequeathed to the world the Holy Catholic Church to teach, to govern, and to sanctify in His Name.

On the Feast of Pentecost, the birthday of the Church, the spiritual descendants of Elias and his followers came down from Mount Carmel. Fittingly, they were the first to accept the message of Christianity and to be baptized by the Apostles. When, at last, they were presented to Our Lady, and heard the sweetest words from Her lips, they were overcome with a sense of majesty and sanctity which they never forgot. Returning to their holy mountain, they erected the first chapel ever built in honour of the Blessed Virgin Mary. From that time devotion to God’s Mother was handed down by the hermits on Mount Carmel as a treasured spiritual legacy.

Our Lady appears to St Simon Stock.

In the year 1241, the Baron de Grey of England was returning from the Crusades in Palestine: he brought back with him a group of religious from the holy mountain of Carmel. Upon arrival, the baron generously presented the monks with a manor house in the town of Aylesford. Ten years later, in the very place, there occurred the now famous apparition of Our Lady to St.Simon Stock. As the Holy Virgin handed St.Simon the Brown Woolen Scapular she spoke these words: “This shall be the privilege for you and all Carmelites, that anyone dying in this habit shall not suffer eternal fire.” In time, the Church extended this magnificent privilege to all the laity who are willing to be invested in the Brown Scapular of the Carmelites, and who perpetually wear it.

Many Catholic are invested in the Brown Scapular at the time of their First Holy Communion; in the case of converts the vesting concurs with their Profession of Faith. When a person is enrolled in the Confraternity of the Brown Scapular and vested in that tiny habit of brown wool, the priest says to him: “receive this blessed Scapular and ask the most Holy Virgin that, by Her merits, it may be worn with no stain of sin and may protect you from all harm and bring you into everlasting life.” The following true incidents will give a brief idea of how our Blessed Mother keeps her promise.

A priest relates how one day in a town near Chicago he was called to the bedside of a man who had been away form the Sacrament for many years. “The man did not want to see me: he would not talk. Then I asked him to look at the little Scapular I was holding. ‘Will you wear this if I put this on you? I ask nothing more.’ He agreed to wear it and within the hour he wanted to go to confession and make his peace with God. This did not surprise me, because for 700 years Our Lady has been working in this way through Her Scapular.”

On the very day Our Lady gave the Scapular to St.Simon, he was hurriedly called by Lord Peter of Linton: “Come quickly, Father, my brother is dying in despair!” St.Simon left at once for the bedside of the dying man. Upon arrival he placed his large Scapular over the dying man, asking Our Blessed Mother to keep Her promise. Immediately the man repented, and died in the grace and friendship of God. That night the dead man appeared to his brother and said, ‘I have been saved through the most powerful Queen and the Habit of that man as a shield.”

St.Alphonsus tell us: Modern heretics make a mockery of wearing the Scapular. they decry it as so much trifling nonsense.” Yet many of the popes have approved and recommended it. It is remarkable that only 25 years after the Scapular vision, Blessed Pope Gregory X was buried wearing the Scapular. when his tomb was opened 600 years after his death, his Scapular was found intact.

Two great founders of the Religious Orders, St. Alphonsus, of the Redemptorists and St.John Bosco of the Salecians had a very special devotion to Our Lady of Mount Carmel and both wore Her Brown Scapular. When they died each was buried in priestly vestments and Scapular. Many years later their graves were opened, the bodies and sacred vestments in which they were buried were decayed-dust! BUT THE BROWN SCAPULAR WHICH EACH WAS WEARING WAS INTACT. The Scapular of St.Alphonsus is on exhibit in his Monastery in Rome.

Protection against the Devil

You will understand why the Devil works against those who promote the Scapular when you hear the story of Ven.Francis Ypes. One day his Scapular fell off. As he replaced it, the Devil howled, “Take off the habit which snatches so many souls from us!”. Then and there Francis made the Devil admit that there are three things which the demons are most afraid of: the Holy Name of Jesus; the Holy Name of Mary and the Holy Scapular of Carmel. To that list we could add the Holy Rosary.

The Great St.Peter Claver was another of God’s heroes who used the Scapular to good advantage. Every month a shipment of 1000 slaves would arrive at Cartegena, Colombia, South America. St.Peter used to insure the salvation of his converts. First, he organised catechists to give them instructions. Then, he saw to it that they were Baptised and clothed with the Scapular. Some ecclesiastics accused the Saint of indiscreet zeal, but St.Peter was confident that Mary would watch over each of his more than 300,000 converts!

Our Lady Protects a Missionary

On day in 1944, a Carmelite missionary in the Holy Land was called to an internment camp in order to give the Last Rites. The Arab driver made the priest get off the bus four miles from the camp because the road was dangerously muddy. After two miles, the missionary found his feet sinking deeper and deeper into the mire. Trying to get solid footing he slipped into a muddy pool. Sinking to his death this desolate place, he thought of Our Lady and Her Scapular. He kissed his great Scapular–for he was wearing the full habit — and looked toward the holy mountain of Carmel, the birthplace of devotion to God’s Mother . He cried out, “Holy Mother of Carmel! Help me! save me!” A moment later, he found himself on solid ground. Later he said, “I know I was saved by the Blessed Virgin through Her Brown Scapular. My shoes were lost in the mud, and I was covered with it, but I walked the remaining two miles praising Mary.

Saved from the sea

Another Scapular story that bears repeating took place in 1845. In the late summer of that year, the English ship, “king of the Ocean” found itself in the middle of a wild hurricane. As wind and sea mercilessly lashed the ship, a Protestant minister, together with his wife and children and other passengers, struggled to the deck to pray for forgiveness and mercy, 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 boy’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, they were told about the Holy Virgin and Her Scapular. Mr.fisher and his family were so impressed that they were determined to enter the Catholic Church as soon as possible, and thereby enjoy the same protection of Our Lady’s Scapular.

A home saved from fire

nearer our own times, in May of 1957, a Carmelite priest in Germany published the unusual story of how the Scapular saved a home from fire. An entire row of homes had caught fire in Westboden, Germany. The pious inhabitants of a 2-family home, seeing the fire, immediately fastened a Scapular to the main door of the house. Sparks flew over it and around it, but the house remained unharmed. Within 5 hours, 22 homes had been reduced to ashes. The one structure which had the Scapular attached to its door. The hundreds of people who came to see the place Our lady had saved are eye-witnesses to the power of the Scapular and the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

A train accident

One of the most extraordinary of all Scapular incidents took place right here in the United States. It happened around the turn of the century in the town of Ashtabula, Ohio, that a man was cut in two but a train; he was wearing the Scapular. Instead of dying instantly, as would be expected he remained alive and conscious for 45 minutes — just enough time until a priest could arrive to administer the Last Sacraments. These, and other such incidents, tell us that Our Blessed Mother will take personal care of us in the hour of our death. So great and powerful a Mother is Mary that She will never fail to keep the Scapular contract, i.e. to see that we die in God’s grace.

A priest’s life is saved

Still another Scapular miracle concerns a French priest who had gone on pilgrimage. On the way to say Mass, he remembered that he had forgotten his Scapular. He knew he would be late if he went back to retrieve it, but he could not envision offering Mass at Our Lady’s altar without Her Scapular. Later, as he was offering the Holy Sacrifice, a young man approached the altar, pulled out a gun, and shot the priest in the priest in the back. to the amazement of all, the priest continued to say the prayers of the Mass as though nothing had occurred, It was at first presumed that the bullet had miraculously missed its target. However, upon examination, the bullet was found ADHERING TO THE LITTLE BROWN SCAPULAR which the priest had so obstinately refused to be without.

Conversions

We should even give the Scapular to non-Catholics for Our Lady will bring conversions to those who will wear it and say one Hail Mary each day, as the following true story will show. An old man was rushed to the St.Simon Stock Hospital in New York city, unconscious and dying. the nurse, seeing the Brown Scapular on the patient, called a priest. As the prayers were being said for the dying man, he became conscious and spoke up: “father, I am not a Catholic.” Then why are you wearing the Brown Scapular?” asked the priest. “I promised my friends to wear it,” the patient explained, ” and also to say one Hail Mary a day.” “You are dying” the priest told him. “Do you want to become a Catholic?” “All my life I wanted to be one.” the dying man replied. He was baptised, received the Last Rites, and died in peace. Our Lady took another soul under her Mantle through the Scapular.

A Call Of Fervour

In October of 1952, an Air Force officer in Texas wrote the following: “Six months ago, shortly after I started wearing the Scapular, I experienced a remarkable change in my life. Almost at once, I started going to mass every day. After a short time, I started receiving Holy Communion daily. I kept lent with a fervour I had never experience before. I was introduced to the practice of meditation, and found myself making feeble attempts on the way to perfection. I have been trying to live with God. I credit Mary’s Scapular.

Necessity of wearing the Scapular

During the Spanish Civil War in the 1930s, Seven Communists were sentenced to death because of their crimes. A Carmelite priest tries to prepare the men for death; they refused. As a last resort, he brought the men cigarettes food and wine, assuring them that he would not talk religion, in a short while they were all friendly, so he asked them for one small favour: “Will you permit me to place a Scapular on each of you?”, six agreed, one refused. Soon all Scapular wearers went to confession. The seventh continues to refuse> only to please them he put on the Scapular, he would do nothing more. Morning came, and as the time of the execution came near, the seventh man made it clear that he was not going to ask for a priest. Although wearing the Scapular he was determined to go to his death an enemy of God. Finally, the command was given, the firing squad did its deadly work, and seven lifeless bodies lay sprawled in the dust. Mysteriously a Scapular was found approximately 50 paces from the bodies. Six men died WITH Mary’s Scapular; the seventh died Without the Scapular. Blessed Claude gives us the solution to Mystery of the Missing Scapular: “You ask; what if I desire to die in my sins?” I answer “Then you will die in your sins but YOU WILL NOT DIE IN YOU SCAPULAR.” Blessed Clause tells the story of a man who tried to drown himself three times. He was rescued against his will. At last he realised that he was wearing his Scapular. Determined to take his life, he tore the Scapular from his neck and leaped into the water. Without Mary’s protective garment he accomplished his wish and died in his sins.

Further Miracles

A Jesuit missionary in Guatemala tells an incident of Our Lady’s Scapular protection. In November of 1955 a plane carrying 27 passengers crashed. All died except one young lady. When this girl saw that the plane was going down, she took hold of her Scapular, and called on Mary for help. She suffered burns, her clothing was reduced to ashes, but her Scapular was not touched by the flames.

In the same year of 1955, a similar miracle occurred in the Midwest. a 3rd-grader stopped in a gasoline station to put air in his bicycle tyres, and at that moment an explosion occurred. The boy’s clothing was burned off, but his Brown Scapular remained unaffected: a symbol of Mary’s protection. Today, although he still bears a few scars from the explosion, this young man has special reason to remember the Blessed Mother’s protection in time of danger.

The Scapular that saved two lives

My Battalion was a member of the Irene Brigade. We were just about to advance. After we passed Eindhofen, our trucks and tanks went through Uden. In the evening we encamped on an old farm near Nijmegen. Behind the house there was an old wooden pump to wash away the sweat and dust of hours of fighting. You can well imagine that we made good use of this opportunity. I was one of the group and so I tossed my jacket on the ground and hung my Scapular on the pump while I washed.

An hour later we received orders to proceed about a mile and a half further and to occupy a trench there. we were looking forward to being able to get a peaceful night’s sleep in that trench.

I was about to lie down and was unbuttoning my collar when to my horror I realised that I no longer had my Scapular. It had been a gift from my mother. I had had it with me all during the war and now that we were approaching the lion’s den was I to be deprived of it?

To go fetch it was unthinkable, so I tried not to think about it any more and to go to sleep. I pitched mad tossed from side to side, but I couldn’t get to sleep.

All round me, my buddies were sleeping like logs even though from time to time shells fell dangerously close. Finally I was overcome by the desire to get my Scapular back and I crept out among my sleeping companions. It wasn’t so easy to get past the sentry but I managed to do it and ran back the way we had come. It was pitch dark, but nevertheless I had good luck and in a short time I was back on the farm and at the pump. My hands glided searchingly all over the pump but the Scapular was gone. I was just about to strike a match when there was the sound of a dreadful explosion. What was I to do? Was that the sign of an enemy attack? As fast as I could I ran back to our trench. Maybe I could do something for my buddies there.

Near the trench I saw the engineers busily removing piles of dirt and barbed wire. At the very spot where my companions had been sleeping there yawned a gigantic shell-hole. Before the enemy had vacated this trench the enemy had placed a time-bomb in it and it had exploded during my absence. Nobody survived the explosion. If I had not set out to fetch my Scapular, I would have been buried under that rubble too.

On the following morning I went to the field kitchen and met a buddy there. He looked at me with astonishment. “I thought you were in that trench!”. “And I thought you were buried there!”

My friend continued, “I was lying in the trench, but before I went to sleep I went looking for you. But I couldn’t find you. The corporal saw me hunting around and asked me what I wanted. When I told him what I was doing there he said, “Be sensible! Instead go to that inn nearby and get me a bottle of water.” And while I was on the errand the explosion occurred.

“Well, I escaped it but a hair’s breadth too, “I replied. ‘But why on earth were you looking for me so late at night?”

“To give you this, “he replied, and handed me my Scapular which had taken from the old pump.”

A Shield in Time of Battle

Mr. Sisto Mosco of North providence, Rhode Island, is a veteran of world war II, who survived, unscathed, the invasion of Normandy, and later, the 7th fleet war with the Japanese fleet, the taking of Iwo Jima and okinawa, and other bloody battles in the south Pacific. Sisto affirms that his miraculous escape in another perfect example of the powerful protection of Our Blessed Mother of Mount Carmel, through Her Brown Scapular.

“I was on the battleship the U.S.S. Nevada as chaplain’s yeoman during W W II in the Pacific. ( I always wore my Scapular because I was brought up close to the Church, and I kept it on me all through the war.) The ship was loaded with dynamite. A suicide plane hit the deck real close to where I was positioned. The blast blew open the bolted steel doors of the compartment. I alone was left uninjured after the explosion. The rest were all dead or seriously mangled. I was the only one untouched and I attribute it to the wearing of my Scapular”

Mr. Mosco later received a commendation from the Admiral of the fleet for bravery, but in his heart he firmly believes that the credit goes to Our Lady, the Virgin most powerful, who works such wonders through Her Habit of Salvation.

Vatican approval

In wearing the Scapular at all times we make silent petition for the Blessed Mother’s continual assistance. We share in all the prayers and good works of the Carmelite Scapular Confraternity throughout the world. Pope Pius XII often spoke of the Scapular. On the 700th anniversary of the appearance of Our Lady to St.Simon Stock, Pope Pius XII referred to the Scapular as “the sign of Consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary”. The scapular also represents the sweet yoke of Jesus Christ which Mary helps us to bear. And finally, the pope continued, the Scapular marks us as one of Mary’s chosen children, and becomes for us (as the Germans call it) a “Garment of Grace”. Blessed Clause tells us, “Of all the pious practices which have inspired the faithful to honour the Mother of God, there is none so sure as that of the Scapular. No other devotion has been confirmed by so many and such extraordinary miracles.”

As we mentioned above, during the Scapular Anniversary celebration in Rome in 1951, Pope Pius XII told a very large audience to wear the Brown Scapular as a sign of consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Our lady asked for this consecration in the last apparition at Fatima, when She appeared as Our Lady of Mount Carmel, holding the Brown Scapular out to the whole world. It was Her last moving appeal to souls to wear Her Scapular as a sign of consecration to Her Immaculate Heart.

A brief summary

The Scapular is a habit — Our Lady’s habit. The Scapular must be worn over the shoulders in such a manner that one part hangs in front of the body and the other at the back. Worn in any other way, it carries no indulgence or promise. It is not necessary to wear the Scapular next to the skin. Many Catholics may not know it is the wish of the Holy Father the Pope , that the Scapular Medal should not be worn without sufficient reason. Mary cannot be pleased with anyone who substitutes the medal out of vanity, or out of fear of making open profession of faith. Such persons run the risk of not receiving the Promise. The medal has never been noted for any of the miraculous preservations attributed to the Brown Cloth Scapular.

May a NON-CATHOLIC wear the Scapular? — Yes, and in doing so a non-catholic will receive many graces and blessings with this special sign of devotion to the Blessed Mother of God. Although Baptised Catholics are the only ones who can be officially enrolled in the Confraternity and enjoy the special Scapular privileges, Non-Catholics are warmly encouraged to avail themselves of this special way of honouring Jesus’ Mother. By wearing the Scapular we are dedicated to Our Blessed Mother in a special way and have a strong claim upon Her protection and intercession.

In the States, we have an old fashioned game called “baseball.” It is a very simple game, with its own bit of charm, and, as such is often dubbed “America’s pastime”. Essentially, the game is played with two opposing teams. One team positions itself throughout the field, with it’s pitcher not far from home plate. There are, beyond home plate, 3 additional bases.

The team “at bat” then has the task, player by player, of stepping up “to the plate”, in this case, home plate, and endeavoring to hit the ball, being thrown at them at extremely high rates of speed from the opposing team’s pitcher. Sometimes, the person “at bat” swings and misses the ball. If he does that three times, he is declared “out.” Sometimes, the pitcher simply makes bad throws, which the umpire can then declare as a “ball.” If this happens 4 times, the man at bat gets to walk, “free of charge” to first base.

There are a number of dynamics at play here, as you can imagine, but the goal is for each of the men at bat to make it around all three bases and back to home base without being declared “out”, which can happen easily, if, while they are running from base to base, they are tagged by the ball hit by one of their own team members, which has been caught by a member of the opposing team.

Now, believe it or not, this post is not about baseball, although I have a point in using it as illustration. Also, permit me to disclose that you won’t meet anyone, anywhere, who has less interest in sports of any kind, than me. I guarantee it. Now, back to baseball.

In the course of running to any particular base, the player must reach the base before being tagged by the ball, as I just mentioned. Sometimes, however, the runner reaches the base at approximately the same time as the man from the opposing team covering the base catches the ball from his team member. So the question then becomes, did the runner make it to the base first, or did the foot of the opposing team member touch the base, or runner, with the ball first?

In that case, the umpire makes the call. And it is either “safe!” or “out!.”

Now keep in mind that all of this is happening is a very short span of time, at times difficult to discern without “the videotape” as Warner Wolf used to say.” But it is the umpire’s call.

Now, the umpire doesn’t make the call he is safe until the runner has clearly arrived at the base. Why? Because the deciding event has not yet occurred. Now, I can’t speak for other parts of the country, but, as someone with the big apple logo imprinted on their DNA, I can safely tell you that if an umpire at a baseball game at Yankee Stadium ever declared the runner safe before he reached the base, he would not only never work as an umpire again, he would probably need to relocate far outside the tri-state area. Furthermore, the New York Post, and Daily News would undoubtedly follow him to his new home in Arizona where he had taken up basket weaving; gleefully reporting on each poor weave he made. Why? Because you’re not safe until you reach the base, although you can be declared out en route. To suggest otherwise is beyond ludicrous.

And so it is with our eternal salvation. By God’s mercy, we get many chances at bat. Sometimes we strike out, and have to start over, when the appointed time arrives. But, in that final inning of our final game, which we have no timeline for, it is essential to be declared “safe,” as it is for all eternity.

Now, there are some churches that teach a “once saved, always saved” concept, but it is clear through Holy Scripture, Sacred Tradition, and historical evidence, that this is not true. I encourage you to read about the Forty Martyrs of Sebaste for a plain example. There are many other examples, but this one is quite memorable.

Furthermore, Fr. Gabriele Amorth writes in his book, “An Exorcist Tells His Story,” that the will of a parent for their child has particular power over that child. As such, should a parent curse their child, such curses are essentially impossible to remove, even through repeated exorcisms. In his book, Fr. Amorth gives a very sorrowful example of such a curse inflicted upon a son and his progeny by his mother who thought he should have become a priest.

Similarly, the promises a parent makes on behalf of their child during the course of baptism can be deduced as being very powerful. The parent desires for their child to live their life in God, and return to Him, at the appointed time, for all eternity. It is during this rite of baptism, that the infant receives a special character on their soul, marking them as Christ’s own, forever.

In this case, however, as the child grows, worldly influences can draw the child away from Truth. It can be the new age movement, eastern philosophies, worldly desires, whatever, that result in the child coming to think they are better informed than their parents, and that they have found true enlightenment in some other way of thought. It is at this point that the child rejects the gift imparted to them through The Church and the love of their parents, and determines that Christ is not their salvation.

At this point, although one might argue that they had previously considered themselves “saved”, they have now rejected The Source of salvation, and when their soul meets eternity, if something doesn’t happen to change their course before that time, they will come to discover the sum total of their new found “wisdom” is comprised solely of the abyss of eternal torment.

Fr. Corapi did a wonderful teaching on this concept of salvation during last Friday’s Relevant Radio broadcast. He shared that often when he encounters ministers of protestant churches they will ask him if he is “saved.” He clearly replies “Not yet brother, not until I get there.”

And may we each, get there! Amen.