Our Lady of Mount Carmel and the Brown Scapular

Bro John Malvino Alfonso, OCD

Today the Church celebrates the feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. This feast is of great significance to the Carmelites. It was instituted by the Carmelites between 1376 and 1386 to celebrate the victory of their order over its enemies. The feast is celebrated on July 16, because   according to Carmelite traditions, the scapular was given by the Blessed Virgin to St Simon Stock on this date in 1251.  Pope Sixtus V approved it in 1587. 

The title of Our Lady of Carmel can be traced back to the hermits who lived in the renowned and blessed mountain at the time of the Old Testament. Mount Carmel is on the Mediterranean coast of Israel, 1742 feet above sea level and towers above the Mediterranean coastline and its limestone rocks form a cliff-like landscape.

There, this pious and austere community of hermits prayed in expectation of the advent of a Virgin-Mother who would bring salvation to mankind much like the prophet Elias who ascended Mount Carmel to pray to God for the salvation of the Israel which was suffering a terrible drought at that time.

The story of Our Lady of Mount Carmel would not be complete if we do not mention the role that St Simon Stock played especially in relation to the brown scapular. In the 13th century, during the era of the Crusades, he joined a group of hermits on Mount Carmel who claimed to be the successors of Elias while on pilgrimage to the Holy Land. In 1247, 82 years old, Simon was elected the sixth superior-general of the Carmelites at the first chapter held there. He instituted reforms to best suit Western conditions and the cenobitical rather than the eremitical way of life. As such, the community came to be regarded eventually as a mendicant order.

However, the order had difficulty gaining general acceptance and suffered much persecution which prompted the monks to have recourse to the Blessed Virgin in the year 1251.

Tradition says that Our Lady responded to their call through an apparition to Simon Stock on Sunday July 16, 1251 as he knelt in prayer. She appeared holding the Child Jesus in one arm and the brown scapular in the other hand while uttering the following words: ‘This shall be the privilege for you and for all the Carmelites, that anyone dying in this habit shall be saved.’ The Church approves the scapular devotion, not because of the vision to St Simon Stock, but because it is so meaningful for Christian devotion. 

The scapular of Our Lady of Mt Carmel, also known as the Brown scapular, is one of the most popular and celebrated of Roman Catholic devotions. The scapular was the channel through which the Mother of  Carmel manifested Her protection for Her children. For the convenience of the faithful, the scapular was adapted and reduced in size. So we have the practice of giving the small scapular to lay people so that they might share the benefits of devotion to Mary. The devotion was very conducive to Christian living in as much as it reminded the faithful of Mary’s protection and spurred them on to imitate Her virtues. Popes and church documents have repeatedly recommended the use of the Carmelite scapular, as they have recommended the rosary.

Our Lady of Mount Carmel kept a constant watch over her children, ever considerate to intercede for them and lead them to Her Divine Son. Amidst the sea of chaos, confusion and impiety raging in the world today, may Our Lady of Mount Carmel grant us strength and fortitude so we may all remain faithful to Her Son and His Holy Church and thus give witness to Him in all walks of life. True devotion to Mary, and imitation of her faith and humility, is the armor (symbolized by the Scapular), in our battle against the powers of darkness.