THE SCAPULAR AND THE DAY OF OUR LADY OF CARMEN (JULY 16)

THE SCAPULAR OF CARMEN

A. HISTORY AND PRIVILEGES

1. Promise of Salvation:

Whoever dies with the scapular will be saved.

Saint Simon Stock was the sixth Superior General of the Carmelite Order during the years 1245-1265. Faced with serious difficulties in the Order, Saint Simon daily implored Mary's protection. His prayer was answered, and "the Blessed Virgin appeared to him, accompanied by a multitude of Angels, holding in her blessed hands the scapular of the Order and saying these words: This will be a privilege for you and all Carmelites; whoever dies with it will not suffer eternal fire, that is, whoever dies with it will be saved."  (Catalog of Saints of the Order

Another very old version reads as follows: "Saint Simon, an Englishman, a man of great holiness and devotion, in his prayer continually begged the Virgin to favor his Order with some singular privilege. The Virgin appeared to him holding the Scapular, saying: This is the privilege for you and yours; whoever dies wearing it will be saved" (Brussels Saints' Calendar). That is, he will avoid hell. He will go to heaven after a stay in purgatory.

The date and place of the apparition are not known with certainty. London is mentioned, on July 16, 1251. This was still within the generalate of Saint Simon and before 1252, since on January 13 of that year, Pope Innocent IV issued the Bull "Ex parte dilectorum" in which he defended the Carmelites on this issue.

2. Sabbath Privilege: And the first one will be freed from purgatory.  Saturday.

Sixty-two years later (1314), Our Lady appeared to Pope John XXII, who recorded her words in the Bull "Sacratissimo uti culmine," also called the Saturday Bull (3.3.1322): "If among the religious or confraternities of this order there are any who, upon dying, must purge their sins in the prison of purgatory, I, who am the Mother of mercy, will descend into purgatory on the first Saturday after their death, and I will free them to lead them to the Holy Mountain of Eternal Life."

3. Plenary Indulgences. - Those who wear the Scapular of Carmel join the Carmelite family and can gain a plenary indulgence on the day the scapular is imposed and on the following days (fulfilling the usual conditions, that is, receiving Communion—naturally without mortal sin—on that date and praying for papal intentions, usually a Creed, Our Father, Hail Mary, and Gloria).  as well as confessing eight days before or after the date):

May 16 (Saint Simon Stock).

July 16 (Our Lady of Mount Carmel).

July 20 (Saint Elijah the Prophet).

October 1 (Saint Therese of Lisieux).

October 15 (Saint Teresa of Jesus).

November 14 (All Saints' Day of the Carmelites).

December 14 (Saint John of the Cross).

B. CONDITIONS

1. For the promise of salvation, the following are required:

Having the scapular imposed. (It is enough to do so once.)

Wearing it. It can be replaced with a medal. (We will discuss this.) Both the medal and the scapular must be blessed upon imposition.

Devotion to Mary; seeking to imitate her; desiring to be good children of hers. The scapular is two small pieces of cloth that symbolize a garment. And whoever wears Mary's habit must live like her, practicing the virtues.  Christians. So that the habit-dress is united to the habit-virtue.

2. For the Sabbath privilege. In addition to the above, the following are required:

Maintain the chastity proper to one's state. (Confession restores the lost status.)

Pray the Little Office of Our Lady. This prayer can be substituted for abstinence from meat on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Other possible substitutions are also mentioned, provided they are authorized by a priest: the recitation of the Divine Office or the Rosary. For indulgences. The requirements proper to indulgences are required, plus the conditions of the scapular in the promise of salvation.

4. The medal. - Saint Pius X (Holy Office, 16.12.1910) decreed that the scapular, after its imposition, can be replaced by a metal medal bearing on one side an image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and on the other an image of the Blessed Virgin (usually Our Lady of Mount Carmel).

C.  BLESSING AND IMPOSITION

There are several formulas for the blessing and imposition of the scapular. Some are approved for the different branches of Carmel, others are more general.