HISTORY
July 16 Roma n Catholicism celebrate the feast day of the Carmelite Order. In the year of 1150, with the efforts of the crusader Berthold, a group of hermits living on Mount Carmel were organized into an Order. The Blessed Mother appeared to Simon Stock. Simon was very holy and lived in the County of Kent, England. The Virgin Mary told Simon that he would soon join a religious order that isn't in England yet.
Oppressed by the Saracens, the monks in the Order slowly emigrated to Europe. They were frequently teased. Like Mary said the religious order of the Carmelites crossed the Channel. Simon joined the Order of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. The Carmelites in England chose Simon Stock as their prior general in 1245.
During the night on July 15, 1225, the Blessed Virgin is said to have commanded Pope Honorius III to approve the foundation. Since the Carmelites were still under constant harassment, the sixth General of the Order, Saint Simon Stock, pleaded with the Blessed Virgin for some special sign of her protection.
On July 16, 1251, Mary designated the scapular as the special mark of her maternal love. Mary appeared to Simon on July 16, 1251. She also gave him a scapular with the following words, which are preserved in a fourteenth century narrative: "This will be for you and for all Carmelites the privilege, that he who dies in this will not suffer eternal fire."
This feast day is also known as the feast of the Scapular. The scapular, as part of the habit, is common to many religious Orders, but it is a special feature of the Carmelites. A smaller form of the scapular is given to lay persons in order that they may share in the great graces associated with it.
Such a grace is the "Sabbatine privilege." In the so-called Bulla Sabbatina John XXII affirmed that wearers of the scapular are soon freed from the flames of purgatory, at least by the Saturday after death. The latest confirmation of the Bulla Sabbatina was promulgated by the Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, July 4, 1908.
The feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel was instituted for the Carmelites in 1332, and extended to the whole Church by Benedict XIII in 1726.
THE SCAPULAR
Our Lady appeared in Garabandal under the title of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel. Mount Carmel is a mountain near Nazareth. In the early years of Christianity, it was in the caves of this mountain that the first monastic communities began. Today these monks are called the Carmelites. After the destruction of Jerusalem, the monks dispersed throughout the world. In the thirteenth century, their superior general was St. Simon Stock, an Englishman. In the year 1251 Our Lady appeared to him just the way she appeared in Garabandal: she wore a white dress covered with a blue mantle but, in addition to that, she wore a full-length brown apron that hangs off the shoulders. She took this "scapular" off Her shoulders and presented it to St. Simon Stock and said, "This is the clothing of protection for your order. Wear this, My Scapular. Anyone who dies wearing this Mantle will not suffer eternal fire."
Now, if we remember the traditional habits of many monks and nuns,
they very often included a long strip of cloth that hung from the shoulders to the ankles, front and back. This is the scapular. However, lay people like you and me can hardly be expected to wear such a thing, so the Church adapted the full-length scapular for ordinary people to be simply two small squares of brown wool joined together with two ribbons or strings. This scapular is worn around one's neck, one woollen square on one's chest and one on the back. When blessed, it also carries with it Our Lady's promise, that whoever dies wearing it shall not suffer eternal fire.
In the Eastern Church, the history of Our Lady's mantle dates back to several hundred years earlier, to the year 921. Our ancestors, Michael's and mine, who lived just north of the Black Sea, used to love to sail down the Dnieper River, across the Black Sea to attack the Greek capital of Constantinople. Our ancestors, the Slavs, were pagans at the time. On one of these occasions in the year 921, when the armies of the Emperor of Constantinople were occupied elsewhere, the Slavs surrounded the city and held it under siege. The inhabitants were very frightened. They were defenceless. The Archbishop of Constantinople gathered everybody in the Cathedral at Blachernae, which housed the robe of Our Blessed Mother, and led the faithful in prayer. In the midst of these prayers, Mary appeared standing on the dome of the church and She spread her mantle over the whole city. This was such a frightening sight to the attackers, that they took off and fled. Since then the Eastern Church celebrates the feast of the Presentation of Our Lady’s Mantle on July 2nd.
July 2, 1961
The significance of this date is the fact that Our Lady’s first appearance at Garabandal was July 2, 1961.
When Our Lady appeared in Garabandal as Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, it was as though to reinforce the importance of hanging on to Her apron strings. It was also meant to stress that, east or west, Our Blessed Mother is there as our protectress.
The Blessed Virgin appeared to the four little girls daily, many times a day, during those four years in Garabandal: night and day, winter and summer. She led them through the whole village in ecstasy, praying the rosary with them. She especially liked to have them pray before the Blessed Sacrament. She also stressed the importance of praying for priests, going to frequent confession, receiving Holy Communion daily, visiting the Blessed Sacrament often, but above all to lead good Christian lives.
The wearing of the brown scapular and daily recitation of the rosary were the constant underlying theme of these visitations. Our Lady taught the youngsters how to pray slowly, concentrating on what they were saying instead of just mouthing the words.
Whenever Our Lady appeared with baby Jesus, the girls played with Him and on one such occasion they tossed little pebbles to Him, hid them in their hair and wanted Jesus to look for them. Our Lady picked up these pebbles, kissed them and gave them back to the girls but said She would rather kiss blessed objects. The people responded by bringing their crucifixes, rosaries, missals, holy pictures, whatever they had and Our Lady kissed them and returned them to their owners. She also promised that, through Her kiss, Her Son would perform miracles and prodigies.
One of these kissed items was a medal, which one of the visionaries, Conchita, subsequently gave to Joey Lomangino, a blind man from New York, who later began a powerful Garabandal apostolate. Wherever he spoke, he would offer for veneration this medal that Our Lady kissed. And Our Lady was true to Her promise: there were many, many miraculous healings through this medal.
Investment
When you have a scapular, it indicates a special devotion and consecration to Mary. You should never have it if you're not spiritual prepared to live in accordance with it.
The short form of investing or conferral consists of a priest or deacon taking a blessed scapular and while placing it over their head reciting with the person any Marian prayer (e.g. Hail Mary, Memorare, Salve Regina). The person is now invested. That means they are obligated to live a Christian life. They don't have any lists to join, though they are henceforth members of the Scapular Confraternity and share in its spiritual benefits (the prayers of the members).
No special daily practices are obliged, though someone consecrated to Mary, of which the scapular is THE sign, should live chastity unless married and recite the Rosary daily.
There is also a long form in the Book of Blessings, which is good for group investments. Every parish should have this ritual book.
Permission
For some years the Carmelite Order had permission from Rome to grant laity the Indult to enroll people. This permission is no longer given, but those who received the Indult in the past still have it. So, while laity may not bless a scapular, there are some lay people who can invest others, with a scapular previously blessed by a priest or deacon.
Investing must be done with the cloth scapular. Those who wish to wear the medal can do so after investment. The scapular blessing attaches to each subsequent scapular. A new blessing isn't required. This is not true of the medal, each of which must be blessed by a priest or deacon.
(Of course I know i have repeated twice the history but Ilike both and it was difficult to choose one (sorry))
SOURCE:
http://catholicism.about.com/od/feastdays/a/oladymtcarm04.htm
http://www.ourlady.ca/stories/HelenRozeluk.htm
