The Blessings Of The Scapular

[blacksheep]

The last time i got a scapular blessed I was blessed with the prayer that comes with the scapular. I understood that this mean I shared a special union with the carmelite order..but what does this really entail? What does this union mean? maybe I should've done more research before I got that blessing....

[cappie]

The Brown Scapular is a sign which has been approved by the Church for over seven centuries. The Church today approves the Carmelites’ understanding of the meaning of the Brown Scapular as a commitment to follow Jesus as did Mary, the perfect model of all disciples of Christ. Mary shows us: how to be open to God and his will; how to be guided by faith, hope, and love; how to be close to the needs of others; how to pray at all times; and how to discover God as present in all that happens around us.

A person who wears the Brown Scapular and practices the spirituality of the Carmelite Order shares a greater or lesser degree of affiliation to the family of Carmel. As Pope John Paul II has said, “Those who receive [the scapular] are associated more or less closely with the Order of Carmel and dedicate themselves to the service of Our Lady for the good of the whole Church.” This association to the Order can be found in the following expressions:

-the religious men and women of the Order and their aggregated institutes;
-members of one of the Carmelite Secular (or “Third”) Orders;

-members of public associations and confraternities of Our Lady of Mount Carmel;

-those who have been invested in the scapular, practice the Order’s spirituality, and have been granted some association with the Order;

-those who wear the scapular out of devotion, practice the Order’s spirituality, but have no formal association to the Order.

Persons in any of these categories of affiliation to one of the Carmelite Orders share to some degree in the favors traditionally associated with the Brown Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel.

[font=Palatino][size=2]It is difficult to reduce the Orders’ spirituality to a few sentences. One would be advised to look at the witness of the Carmelite saints, especially St. Teresa of Jesus, [/size][/font][font=Palatino][size=2]St. John[/size][/font][font=Palatino][size=2] of the Cross, St. Therese of Lisieux.[/size][/font]

[font=Palatino][size=2] A few introductory principles of Carmelite spirituality, however, would be:[/size][/font]
[font=Palatino][size=2]-frequent participation in the Mass and reception of Holy Communion;[/size][/font]
[font=Palatino][size=2]-frequent reading of and meditation on the Word of God in Sacred Scripture;[/size][/font]
[font=Palatino][size=2]-the regular praying of at least a part of the Liturgy of the Hours;[/size][/font]
[font=Palatino][size=2]-imitation of and devotion to Mary, the woman of faith who hears the Word of God and puts it into practice;[/size][/font]
[font=Palatino][size=2]-the practice of the virtues, notably: charity, chastity (according to one’s state in life), and obedience to the will of God.[/size][/font]