Our Lady's Mantle of Protection - The Brown Scapular

"Take this Scapular; it shall be a sign of salvation, a protection in danger and a pledge of peace. Whosoever dies wearing this Scapular shall not suffer eternal fire ..." (Our Lady to St. Simon Stock, 16 July 1251).

The origin of the Brown Scapular of Carmel is both ancient and extraordinary. After the Prophet Elias turned Israel's heart back to God by a public miracle upon Mt. Carmel, he retired to a place on the mountain overlooking the ocean. Elias told his servant to look out to the sea seven times. Six times the servant saw nothing and then on the seventh a cloud in the shape of a human foot rose out from the ocean. This cloud grew and finally broke the long drought God had sent as punishment. It has long been maintained in the Church that Elias took this as a sign of the Virgin's Foot mentioned in the Book of Genesis and that his followers who lived as holy hermits upon this mountain were the first to await the coming of the Immaculate (3 Kings 18).

The Scapular devotion along with the Rosary are like the two hands Our Lady holds out to us on Calvary in this modern age. Her two hands that will bring us back and keep us close to her Son. Our Lady has worked countless miracles of conversion through the Scapular and it is believed that it counts as a relic of the Blessed Virgin herself. Our Lady's love and care extends to her faithful children even in Purgatory under the Sabbatine Privilege.

This promise states that whoever wears the Scapular devoutly and faithfully fulfils its two further obligations will be freed from Purgatory the Saturday following their death (Sign of Her Heart by John M. Haffert 1940). The origin and requirements for obtaining this privilege were made known to Pope John XXII by Our Lady in the 14th Century, while the Church made an official statement regarding this promise under Pope Paul V (1613) affirming its authenticity. The requirements include:

1.	Enrolment and devout wearing of the Brown Scapular. (N.B. Must be worn over the shoulders and the scapular medal does not usually suffice.)
2.	Chastity according to one's state in life.
3.	Daily recitation of the Little Office of Our Lady. However, with permission from a Priest the most common alternative to the Little Office is the daily recitation of the five decades of the Rosary.

We must not just be passive wearers of Our Mother's precious gift to us but active wearers of it in such a way that it becomes a sign of our consecration to her. Praying our Morning Offering or the Rosary while holding it are effective ways to better our prayer life, while kissing it during temptations makes one nearly invincible to those attacks. This is because it is an outward sign showing our trust, love and dependence on her.