The apparition of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel actually begins with the story of the life of St. Simon Stock. And, the apparition unfolds within the story of the Carmelite Order, who has as its patroness, the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Simon Stock was born in the County of Kent, England about the year 1165. Records indicate that when Simon was about 12 years old he began to live as a hermit and chose to live in the hollow trunk of a huge oak tree. He studied the Word of God and shared it with others, as he developed into an itinerant preacher. Then, when the Carmelite Order came to England, he entered its community and became a friar.

Soon, he traveled to Rome, and from there, onto Mt. Carmel in the Holy Land. On the holy mountain of Elijah, in the western Galilee (very near the city of Haifa today), Simon Stock spent several formative years in the Carmelite monastery of Mt. Carmel.

It is historically certain that in 1247, when Simon was 82 years old, he was elected the sixth superior-general of the Carmelites, at the first chapter held in Aylesford, England. He continued to live in Aylesford (where the apparitions occurred). Throughout his life, he continued to show remarkable energy and did much to benefit the order then, as well as, far into the future. Unfortunately, at that particular time the order was experiencing much oppression – struggling everywhere to gain admission, either to obtain the consent of the secular clergy, or the toleration of other orders.

In the year 1251, the monks fervently asked their patroness, the Blessed Virgin Mary, for her special intercession, counsel and guidance as to what to do. Her answer was revealed to their prior, that they were “to apply fearlessly to Pope Innocent, for they will receive from him an effective remedy for these difficulties.” The prior followed the counsel of the Virgin, and the order received a letter of protection from Innocent IV against any such molestations. (Papal letter dated 13 Jan. 1252, Perugia.)

It was during the same year of 1251, that Our Lady of Mt. Carmel appeared to Simon Stock with a scapular in her hand. On Sunday, July 16th she appeared to him holding the child Jesus in one arm and the brown scapular in her other hand. She said to Simon, “Take, beloved son, this scapular of thy Order as a badge of my confraternity and for thee and all Carmelites a special sign of grace; whoever dies in this garment, will not suffer everlasting fire. It is the sign of salvation, a safeguard in dangers, a pledge of peace and of the covenant.”

After this apparition, Simon was instrumental in the formation of Carmelite houses in the university cities of that era: Cambridge, Oxford, Paris and Bologna. He, also, became distinguished for his special veneration and love for the Blessed Mother, as evidenced by the moving chants and canticles that he wrote in her honor.

St. Simon Stock lived a holy life for 100 years! He died in the Carmelite monastery at Bordeaux, France on May 16, 1265.

The feast of “Our Lady of Mt. Carmel” was instituted between 1376 and 1386 to celebrate the victory of the Carmelite order over its enemies on obtaining the official seal of approval of its name and constitution from Pope Honorius III on January 30, 1226. But the feast day was assigned to July 16th because on that date in 1251, according to Carmelite traditions, the scapular was given by Our Lady to St. Simon Stock. This apparition was officially approved by Pope Sixtus V in 1587.



“Whoever dies clothed in this scapular shall not suffer eternal fire.” - Mary’s promise to St. Simon Stock, July 16, 1251
“Wear it devoutly and perseveringly", she says to each soul,
“it is my garment. To be clothed in it means you are continually thinking of me, and I, in turn, am always thinking of you and helping you to secure eternal life.”




Brown Scapular Devotion


The brown scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel is the most popular devotion involving wearing of a scapular in the Catholic Church today. In the Middle Ages, a scapular was a full-length garment (an apron) worn over other clothing by monks and nuns, the color signifying the particular religious order.
The brown scapular was revealed to St. Simon Stock, the Prior General of the Carmelite order in 1247. The Virgin Mary appeared to him and gave him the scapular and associated promises as a result of his pledge of complete loyalty to her. The smaller version of the scapular is worn by lay associates.Saints and popes throughout the ages have worn and encouraged wearing of the brown scapular. And, many miraculous events have attested to the value of the sacramental (the scapular worn by Blessed Pope Gregory X, who died in 1276, was found intact in 1830).
Practices
1. Wear the Brown Scapular (or scapular medal) after enrollment*
2. Observe chastity according to your state in life
3. Recite the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary or five decades of the Rosary daily (usual requirements)
Promises/Benefits
1. "...whosoever dies wearing this (the brown scapular) shall not suffer eternal fire" (Virgin Mary's promise to St. Simon)
2. Sabbatine Privilege: release from purgatory on the first Saturday after death (revelation by the Virgin to Pope John XXII in 1322)
3. Partial indulgence granted by Pope Benedict XV to those who devoutly kiss the scapular

Enrollment involves a priest blessing the first brown scapular with this prayer:
"Receive this blessed habit; praying the most holy Virgin, that by Her merits thou may wear it without stain; and that She may guard thee from all evil and bring thee to life everlasting. Amen. By the power granted me, I admit thee to the participation of all the spiritual good works, which through the gracious help of Jesus Christ are performed by the religious of Mount Carmel. In the name of the Father, and the Son, + and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. May the Creator of Heaven and earth, Almighty God, bless + thee; Who has deigned to unite thee to the confraternity of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel. We beseech Her, in the hour of thy death, to crush the head of the old serpent. So, that thou may in the end win the everlasting palm and crown of the heavenly inheritance. Through Christ our Lord. Amen."
After enrollment in the Confraternity of the Scapular, the scapular may be replaced by a Carmelite scapular medal worn around the neck. The enrollment is for a lifetime and need not be repeated, and new scapulars do not need to be blessed again but scapular medals do.


In the early part of the 13th century when the Albigensian heresy was devastating the country of Toulouse, St. Dominic earnestly besought the help of Our Lady and was instructed by her (in an apparition), to preach the Rosary among the people as an antidote to heresy and sin. From that time forward this manner of prayer was published abroad and developed by St. Dominic whom different popes have declared (St. Dominic) to be the institutor and author of the same devotion.

From as early as 360 AD church history mentions various religious using pebbles or beads to count their daily prayers (the first being the hermit Paul of Egypt). Eventually, the pebbles or beads were tied (knotted) to a cord to facilitate ease in counting and carrying. Another example of this dates to 1040 AD when a wealthy British lady bequeathed to a monastery her Christian prayer beads, “… a circlet of gems which she had threaded on a string… and fingering them one by one… she successfully recited her prayers…”

The Rosary, as we know it, developed over a long period of time. In the Divine Office, all 150 psalms were prayed in the course of a week. Around the year 800 AD in Ireland, the custom arose to pray 150 “Our Fathers” instead of the 150 psalms. This spread throughout Europe, becoming known as “the poor man’s office. So, in the beginning it was a rosary of 150 “Our Fathers” with no “Hail Marys”. Then, an early form of the “Hail, Mary” developed by joining the greetings of Gabriel, the archangel, and St. Elizabeth (to Mary). Some Christians in the 12th century began to pray rosaries of 150 “Hail Marys”, as well as rosaries of 150 “Our Fathers”. These practices continued into the following centuries and eventually combined into a rosary that contained some of both prayers.

By the middle of the 15th century, a list of 50 mysteries had been compiled – some or all to be meditated upon in conjunction with the recitation of 50 “Hail Marys”. Thus, various forms of the rosary arose as a form of popular piety and prayer. In 1489, a book was published describing a rosary much like the one we say today. The “Glory Be’s” were added during the 16th century; and during the 20th century the “Fatima Prayer” was, also, added to each decade.

The Rosary originally developed as a prayer for those who could not read the great prayers of Scripture, the Psalms, and as a way of meditating on the events of our salvation, which are present in the gospels.

St. Dominic did have a great love for Mary and his preaching helped spread the popularity of devotion to her. The order he founded, the Order of Preachers or Dominicans, certainly played a very important role in popularizing the Rosary in later centuries, as did the Confraternity of the Rosary founded by a Dominican. In 1573 Pope Gregory XIII established the feast of the Most Holy Rosary. And, in 1716, Pope Clement XI made this a feast of the universal church.


Our Lady of Mt. Carmel


O Most beautiful flower of Mount Carmel,
fruitful vine,
splendor of heaven,
Blessed Mother of the Son of God,
Immaculate Virgin,
assist me in this my necessity...
O, star of the sea,
help me
and show me herein you are my mother.

O holy Mary, Mother of God,
Queen of heaven and earth,
I humbly beseech you
from the bottom of my heart,
to aid me in my need;
there are none that can withstand your power.

O show me herein you are my Mother.
O Mary, conceived without sin,
pray for us
who have recourse to thee.

O Mary, conceived without sin,
pray for us
who have recourse to thee.

O Mary, conceived without sin,
pray for us
who have recourse to thee.

Sweet Mother, I place this cause in your hands.

Sweet Mother, I place this cause in your hands.

Sweet Mother, I place this cause in your hands.

Amen