I definitely have not been enrolled in the Brown Scapular, so I'll be sure to do that when I get the chance. Do Churches do regular Brown Scapular enrollments, or is it just something you have to ask for? Is it kind of like getting a rosary blessed, or more like a ceremony?

To observe exactly what has been prescribed regarding
material, color, and shape of the Scapular, that is it must
be 100% brown wool in a rectangular shape.

Would my Scapular still be compatible? It used to correspond to that^^, but it does not look exactly what has been prescribed after years of wear, mainly in the fact that the two squares have now become one square (both are still there, I just had to attach them.)

HISTORY / PROMISE

“Take this Scapular, it shall be a sign of salvation, a protection in danger and a pledge ofpeace. Whosoever dies wearing this Scapular shall not suffer eternal fire.”  This is Mary’spromise made July 16, 1251 to Saint Simon Stock.

One of the great mysteries of our time is that the majority of Catholics either ignores, or hasentirely forgotten this Heavenly promise of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Our Lady further says:“Wear the Scapular devoutly and perseveringly. It is my garment. To be clothed in it means youare continually thinking of me, and I in turn, am always thinking of you and helping you tosecure eternal life.”

Old Testament HistoryMount Carmel is on the northwestern coast of Palestine. The Hebrew word for Carmel means'Beautiful Garden Land'. Truly that is what Our Lady is, the beautiful garden that brought forthJesus Christ, Our Savior.The Origin of Carmel goes back to about 860 B.C. to the time of the prophet Elijah and hisvictory over the pagan prophets and their god, Baal. The account of this event is given in 1Kings 18:19-40. The Jєωιѕн people had taken to worshipping false gods, especially the godBaal. Their evil King Ahab had married the gentile, Jezebel, who worshipped Baal. The kingbuilt a temple to this pagan deity. When the prophets denounced him for this, he had themkilled. Elijah stood firm and challenged the prophets of Baal to gather on Mount Carmel todetermine which God, Baal or the Lord was the true God. Each built a stone altar with firewoodand a sacrificial bull upon it. The "God" who would send fire from Heaven upon the altar wouldbe accepted as the true God.The prophets of Baal prayed and danced and chanted all day to no avail. Elijah, though beforebeginning his prayer poured gallons of water over his sacrifice, making it humanly impossibleto light the fire. Elijah called upon the Lord and immediately a bolt of lightning came down fromheaven consuming the sacrifice and the stones of the altar.The pagan prophets were killed and Elijah went into hiding on Mount Carmel. Later acommunity of prophets joined him. They dwelt in caves, praying to God, living in peace.

Brothers of Our Lady of Mount CarmelBefore coming into Europe, the Carmelites were hermits living on Mount Carmel in Palestine.They believed themselves to be the spiritual sons of Elijah. They led a life of contemplation,modeled after the prophet.At the base of this holy mountain; in the little village of Nazareth, the Incarnation wasaccomplished. The Blessed Virgin Mary, there in the shadow of Mount Carmel, uttered hersublime “fiat” thus enabling the second Person of the Blessed Trinity to become Man for oursalvation. To the wondrous delight of the hermits, Our Lady with Saint Joseph and the ChildJesus visited Mount Carmel upon returning from their two years of exile in Egypt. As a result ofthis visit the contemplatives of Carmel professed their unqualified belief in Jesus as the longawaited Messiah, the Saviour of the World. Tradition assures us that, because of their childlikefaith, the Carmelites were among the first to be baptized by the Apostles after Pentecost.Likewise, their great love for the Mother of God induced them to erect on Mount Carmel the firstChurch honoring Our Lady. Moreover, as a reward for their devotion to Mary, the Carmeliteswere the first to be entrusted with the guardianship of the Holy House of Nazareth, followingOur Lady’s death and Assumption into Heaven. So great was their Love for Our BlessedMother that the Carmelites were known as the "Brothers of Our Lady of Mount Carmel".Many of the holy Carmelites were forced to leave Palestine because of the Saracen invasion.St. Louis IX of France conducted them to Europe. As they were leaving they sang the SalvaRegina. Our Lady appeared to them and promised to be their Star of the Sea. Along the waysome stayed in Cyprus, others in Naples. Still some went to France to live. A few went on toEngland. Lord Richard de Grey gave them Alyesford in Kent.

St. Simon Stock, Vicar General of the Carmelite OrderIt was in England that Simon Stock joined the group, later to be elected their first Vicar General.Many problems plagued the new order. The people made fun of the 'striped bedouin mantle'.Others felt there were enough religious orders already. To make matters worse there wasinternal strife and bickering between the older and younger monks.By 1251, St. Simon realized that Our Lady was his only hope. With tears in eyes, he saluted heras the Flower of Carmel and the Star of the Sea. He prayed fervently for her "privilegium". Thespecial protection a lord gave to his vassals. The lord would protect his life and property, inreturn for the loyalty of the one making the request.In the 13th century there was no commerce or industry. Land was the only means of alivelyhood. The vassals paid homage to the lord of the land. The lords owned the land and bythis act of homage the vassal was given the right to till the land. He was guaranteed theprotection of the lord.The scapular was not something new to medieval Europe. It had been around since around550, when the monastic orders came about. The two pieces of cloth joined at the shouldersand hanging down the back and breast had deep spiritual meaning. Our Lord said in thegospels, 'My yoke is sweet and my burden is light.' The monks by putting on this garmentrealized that the sweet burden of Divine service was upon him and the whole day wasdedicated to God.Faith and actual living were one in the middle ages. The monk presented himself to God, HisDivine Master, just as a vassal presented himself to his lord 'to pay homage.' So too, did thefriar make his vows to God.As we have seen the idea of the scapular and the giving of yourself to another for protectionwas not a novel idea. Our Lady chose that which was traditional and widely practiced.Our Lady appears to St Simon StockWhile praying, Our Lady appeared to St. Simon Stock, giving him the Brown Scapular andmaking this promise:"Take this Scapular, it shall be a sign of salvation, a protection in danger and a pledge ofpeace. Whosoever dies wearing this scapular shall not suffer eternal fire."There are those today who say this apparition doesn't have the docuмentation to prove itsvalidity. John Haffert in his book, "Mary in Her Scapular Promise," states that the docuмentswere originally stored in the Carmelite libraries at Bordeaux and at London. A hundred yearsafter the Vision, the library at Bordeaux was burned by the city officials to prevent the spread ofthe Black Plague. During the Anglican schism, Henry VIII ordered the London library burned tothe ground.But there is one docuмent that is authentic. In 1389, the General of the Carmelite Order, JohnGrossi, wrote the book known as "The Viridarium". It is a catalogue of the Carmelite Saints andgives an accurate account of the Vision. John Grossi consulted and talked to companions ofSt. Simon. He had access to all the libraries in the Order. He explicitly declared that he wrotenothing in his Viridarium that was not from the ancient docuмents.After Our Lady appeared to Saint Simon, almost immediately a miraculous change took placein the Order. The order was saved, its Marian character confirmed and Mary became more aMother than a Queen to it. In the beginning only the Carmelites wore the scapular. But by the14th century the privilege of wearing the scapular extended outside the order. Lay groups andthird orders were formed. Some of these groups were called confraternities.Still Our Lady continued to favor the Carmelite Order and her scapular with further blessingsand promises. In 1321, St. Peter Thomas was told by Our Heavenly Mother that 'the Order ofCarmel is destined to exist until the end of the world'.