Description
Our Lady of Mount Carmel Scapular Greeting Card
Our Lady of Mount Carmel Scapular Greeting Card from A Blessed Call To Love, Ireland.
WHAT IS A SCAPULAR?
The word ‘scapular’ is derived from the Latin word ‘scapula’, or shoulder blade. The scapular originated hundreds of years ago as two large pieces of cloth, attached at the shoulders by narrow strips, which covered the front and back of a monk’s habit. It was originally worn for the practical purpose of preserving the habit from dirt and wear, eventually becoming part of the habit itself.
Lay people who wanted to associate themselves with a particular religious order, or a particular devotion belonging to one, would wear a miniature version of the scapular as a sacramental of the Church.
There are now more than a dozen types of scapulars approved by the Church: brown scapulars, white scapulars, green scapulars, and many others, each associated with a different devotion to Our Lady, Our Lord, a saint, a religious order, etc., and worn as a sign of special consecration to that devotion.
The original, and still the most popular scapular, is the Brown Scapular of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel.
HISTORY OF THE BROWN SCAPULAR
According to tradition, in the year 1251 a Carmelite superior general living in Cambridge, England, St. Simon Stock, was praying for heavenly intercession for his order, as the Carmelites were facing trials and oppression at the time.
On July 16th, 1251, he received a visit from Our Lady in answer to his prayers. She handed him a Brown Scapular, saying,
Receive, my beloved son, this Scapular of thy Order; it is the special sign of my favor, which I have obtained for thee and for thy children of Mount Carmel. He who dies clothed with this habit shall preserved from eternal fire. It is the badge of salvation, a shield in time of danger, and a pledge of special peace and protection.”
This apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary known as Our Lady of Mt. Carmel. Because of her great promises to those who wear the Brown Scapular, the scapular spread to the laity as a sign of Marian devotion and consecration, signified by two small square pieces of brown wool cloth connected by cords, with one square resting on the chest and one on the back.
Since then, the Brown Scapular has recognized as a source of great graces for those who, living holy lives. Wear the Brown Scapular with devotion during life and at the time of death.
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