I’ve been enrolled in the Brown Scapular for many years now. During this time I’ve heard not a little confusion on the promises attached to the Scapular, along with what is necessary to obtain them. This prompted me to recount a short history and detail of the Brown Scapular devotion with the merits and graces attached to it.
Saint Simon Stock
St. Simon Stock is the man known to have received the Brown Scapular from Our Lady. At the age of 12, St. Simon retired to a forest where he lived in the trunk of a tree for 20 years as a hermit. As a tree-trunk was another word for “Stock”, he became known as Simon Stock. Not long after his period of isolation, he joined the Carmelites, eventually to become Superior-General of the order.
In 1251 St. Simon Stock received an apparition from the Mother of God in which she was holding the full scapular of the Carmelite order. Her words to him were “Receive, my beloved son, this habit of thy Order: This shall be to thee and to all Carmelites a privilege that whosoever dies clothed in this shall never suffer eternal fire.” The Carmelites, as part of their orders habit, wear a long (sometimes nearly floor length) brown cloth around their shoulders. This was the Scapular given Our Lady to the Saint. St. Simon’s confessor (Father Peter Swanington) writes of having accompanied the Saint on the same day of the apparition to the house of a man possessed, where the Saint healed him using his own Scapular.
Over the years, for laymen to practically wear the Scapular, it was significantly reduced in size. It is a common practice in the Catholic Church for those laymen who wish to be associated with different orders to join Confraternities. The Carmelites established the Confraternity of Our Lady of Mount Carmel to allow individuals to wear and receive the benefits of the Brown Scapular. Pope Urban IV proclaimed indulgences and favors for this Confraternity. To receive the full graces and indulgences of the Brown Scapular, one must be enrolled in the Scapular by a priest. After one has been enrolled, it is for life, and there is no need to have any new Scapulars blessed if your original gets lost or damaged and must be replaced.
The Sabbatine Privilege
Pope John XXII, issued a Papal Bull on March 3, 1322 attaching to the Brown Scapular the promise of early liberation from Purgatory if three conditions were fulfilled:
- The Brown Scapular of Carmel must be worn with constancy.
- One must observe chastity according to one’s state in life.
- The Little Office of Our Blessed Mother must be recited daily.
Since the last requirement is difficult for laymen to fulfill, the Church has allowed the observance of the ordinary fasts of the Liturgical Year along with abstaining from meat on Wednesday and Saturdays in place of the office. More recently the daily Rosary has also become an alternative, when approved by one’s confessor.
Our Lady has revealed to Venerable Dominic of Jesus and Mary:
Although many wear my Scapular, only a few fulfill conditions for the Sabbatine Privilege.
Let us make sure we are one of the few!
Proper Wearing of the Scapular
The Scapular must be warn over the shoulders in such a manner that one part hangs in front of the body and the other part hangs in back. Wearing it in any other way does not carry any indulgence or promise. In addition, the Pope has declared that the Scapular Medal should not be worn in place of the Cloth Scapular without sufficient reason. Originally the Scapular Medal was allowed to overseas missionaries who were in such a damp, humid climate that they could not keep their Scapulars from falling apart.
Wearing the Brown Scapular constantly and with an awareness that it is the garment of Our Lady is, by itself, most often neglected by those who would assume they are to receive the Sabbatine privilege. In short, wearing the Brown Scapular properly must be a very intimate part of our spiritual life. Not only must we wear it with constancy, but we must remain chaste according to our station in life. How many, in our society today, struggle with that?
However, those good Catholics who wear the Scapular and observe chastity according to their station in life still must have a daily devotion to Our Lady to fulfill the requirements for this promise. It seems very appropriate that such a great promise is attached to a constant, daily devotion to Our Lady, and not just a one-time enrollment.
The Power of the Scapular
St. Claude de la Colombiere was the spiritual directory of St. Margaret Mary he said of the Brown Scapular:
Because all the forms of our love for the Blessed Virgin, all its various modes of expression cannot be equally pleasing to Her, and therefore do not assist us in the same degree to Heaven. I say without a moments hesitation that the Brown Scapular is the most favored of all.
Saints Don Bosco and Alphonsus Ligouri were both very dedicated to Our Lady of Mount Carmel and wore the Brown Scapular. When their graves were opened years after death their Scapulars found to be completely intact. The Scapular of St. Alphonsus Ligouri is still on exhibit in his monastery in Rome.
Our Lady of Fatima, during her last apparition, appeared Our Lady of Mount Carmel holding the Brown Scapular out to the world. In times of trial and temptation, what better way to call to heaven for help than to wear the garment of Our Lady?
God Bless.
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