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Kristy
Chen
wrote:
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Hello,
I have been reading the literature sent to me by Mike
Humphrey and have a couple of questions. My first question
is:
- Why do you prefer the Brown Scapular of Mount Carmel
when there are other saint's scapular's that could be
worn?
I read the
literature [MS-WORD] [PDF] about the Brown Scapular and understand
it's importance.
I also wanted to know what the difference between them is.
Kristy
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{
Why
do you prefer Mary's Brown Scapular over the Scapulars of other saints that could be worn? }
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Mike
replied:
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Hi, Kristy —
You said:
- Why do you prefer the Brown Scapular of Mount Carmel
when there are other saint's scapular's that could be
worn?
Because the most perfect yet human model of holiness
for us is our Blessed Mother, Mary.
As men and women who all struggle with concupiscence,
whether our struggle is as single men or women or married
men or women outside the marital embrace, she will
always be there to help and assist us.
Unlike Jesus, Mary is a human person who was conceived
without sin; Jesus is the divine Person who took on human nature.
If worn with the correct inward intention, the promises
of the Sabbatine Privilege are also very appealing.
| The name Sabbatine Privilege is derived from
the apocryphal Bull Sacratissimo uti culmine of
John XXII, 3 March, 1322. In this Bull the pope
is made to declare that the Mother of God appeared
to him, and most urgently recommended to him the
Carmelite Order and its confratres and consorores.
The Blessed Virgin asked that John, as Christ's
representative on earth, should ratify the indulgences
which He had already granted in Heaven (a plenary
indulgence for the members of the Carmelite Order
and a partial indulgence, remitting the third part
of the temporal punishment due to their sins, for
the members of the confraternity); she herself
would graciously descend on the Saturday (Sabbath
after their death and liberate and conduct to Heaven
all who were in Purgatory. |
Other specific scapulars include the following:
Also Our Blessed Mother said at Fatima: More souls
go to Hell because of sins of the flesh than for
any other reason. Now, Fatima is not doctrine nor dogma, but the
Church has approved this important apparition for
the faithful to follow . . . if they choose.
Probably the second most popular Scapular is the
Green Scapular known as the Scapular of Conversion.
For readers interested in the various types
of Scapulars, I've put together a group of various
scapulars below along with some corresponding information
about them.
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The Brown Scapular
and Important Specific Scapulars
Though many different specific scapulars are recognized
by the Church, the best known is the Scapular of
Our Lady of Mount Carmel, also known as the Brown
Scapular or even "the Scapular."
It is probably the oldest scapular and served as
the prototype of the others. According to Catholic
tradition, the Blessed Virgin appeared to St. Simon
Stock at Cambridge, England, on Sunday, 16 July,
1251. In answer to his appeal for help for his oppressed
order, she appeared to him with a scapular in her
hand and said:
"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".
The Brown Scapular thus carries with it the promise
never to die without the opportunity to confess or
otherwise achieve forgiveness of sins. It also carries
the second promise of being freed from Purgatory
on the first Saturday (the day of Mary) after death.
Like the rosary, the Brown Scapular has become the
badge of the devout Catholic and the true servant
of Mary. Any priest can invest a layperson with this
scapular.
Whether this happened exactly in this way or not
(St. Simon's original descriptions of the vision
are not extant and the wording may not be exact),
the Scapular was given to St. Simon Stock, and the
devotion spread and was well-known by the 16th c.
What can be safely believed because of papal decree
is the promise known as the "Sabbatine Privilege." The
Sabbatine Privilege is the promise that Our Lady
will intercede and pray for those in Purgatory who,
in earthly life:
- wore the Scapular in good faith;
- were chaste according to their state in life;
- daily recited the Divine Office OR, with the
permission of one's Confessor, the Little Office
of Our Lady [a shorter form of the Divine Office
in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary, used by certain
religious orders and laity. It is similar to the
Common of the Blessed Virgin Mary from the Roman
Breviary] or the Rosary; and
- departed earthly life in charity.
You can be enrolled in the Confraternity of our
Lady of Mount Carmel by any priest. Just obtain a
scapular, take it to him to have it blessed, and
express your desire for enrollment.
Warning: Some falsely believe that wearing the Brown
Scapular offers some sort of guarantee of salvation
because of the legendary words attributed to Our
Lady. This is against Church teaching, is superstitious
and a grave error. Sacramentals are not magical ways
to manipulate God; they are Church-instituted rituals/objects
that remind us of what we are supposed to be doing/thinking
of, that depend on the faith, hope and love of the
user, and which help prepare us to receive God's
saving grace. One must do more than "wear the
scapular"; one must wear it worthily.
You can get well-made, wool, traditionally-designed
Brown Scapulars from Rose Scapular Company. |
Green Scapular
Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul (Paulists)
A.D. 1840
In 1840, Mary appeared to Sister Justine Bisqueyburu
(a Seminary Sister of the Daughters of Charity) in
Paris, France and commended the Green Scapular to
her. It's known as the Scapular of Conversion, and
its promises are the strengthening of faith, protection
against Satan, a happy death for Catholics, and,
most of all, for conversion for those outside the
Church. It's to be worn or carried by the faithful,
or given to an unbeliever for their conversion. The
following prayer is to be said daily by the wearer:
Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us now and at
the hour of our death
If the scapular is given to an unbeliever for their
conversion, the person giving the scapular prays
the prayer for them if the unbeliever does not want
to pray the prayer himself. If the unbeliever does
not want the scapular, it may be hidden in their
vicinity and the prayers said for him. Enrollment
in a Confraternity is not necessary for this scapular,
but the scapular should be blessed by a priest before
use.
The Green Scapular is connected with devotion to
the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Strictly speaking,
this is not a scapular, because it is not connected
with the habit of a religious congregation, but it
has the same form as a scapular and is perhaps the
second-most popular such devotional object after
the brown scapular. There is no investiture for this
scapular, but each scapular must be blessed by a
priest. The person wearing the scapular must daily
pray, "Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us
now and at the hour of our death." The promises
connected with this scapular are almost identical
with the brown scapular. |
The Scapular of The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus
- Form: White woolen cloth, on which is embroidered
or sewed in red a picture of the Heart of Jesus.
- Order: Order of the Visitation of Holy Mary
- Origins: The constant wearing of a small picture
of the Heart of Jesus was already recommended by
Blessed Margaret Mary Alacoque, who herself made
and distributed them. This badge was especially
employed during the plague at Marseilles as a protection
against the pest. During the terrors of the French
Revolution it also served as a safeguard for the
pious faithful.
- Use: Although this badge is often called a scapular,
it is not really such; consequently the conditions
governing scapulars do not apply to it. It was
only in 1872 that an indulgence was granted by
Pius IX for the wearing of this badge.
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The Scapular of
the Most Blessed Trinity (The White Scapular)
- Form: Small white scapular with a blue and red
cross
- Order: Confraternity of The Most Blessed Trinity
(Trinitarians)
- Origins: To Innocent III, who sanctioned the
Order of the Trinitarians on 28 January, 1198,
an angel is said to have appeared wearing a white
garment and on his breast a cross of which the
transverse shaft was blue and the longitudinal
shaft red.
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The Scapular of
our Lady of Ransom
Order of Our Lady of Mercy and the Redemption of the Captives
In Latin: Ordo Beatae Mariae de Mercede Redemptionis Captivorum
- Form: White cloth with an image Our Lady of
Ransom on the front and a smaller segment of white
cloth in the back.
- Order: Fathers of the Order of Our Lady of Mercy
for the Ransom of Prisoners
- Origins: The order was founded by St. Peter Nolasco
(1256).
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The Black
Scapular of the Seven Dolours of Mary (The Black
Scapular)
- Form: black cloth, usually with an image of
the Mother of Sorrows on the front
- Order: Servite Order (sanctioned by Alexander
IV in 1255); Confraternity of the Seven Dolours
of Mary
Added note: The Passionists also have a Black Scapular The
Black Scapular of the Passion ca. A.D. 1720
- Origins: Gradual tradition
- Use: This scapular must be worn constantly if
one wishes to gain the indulgences of the confraternity.
Priests may obtain from the General of the Servites
the faculty to receive the faithful into the confraternity
and to bless and invest with the scapular.
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The Black Scapular
of the Passion
- Form: Black cloth bearing bears an exact replica
of the badge of the Passion, namely a heart above
a cross, on which is written Jesu XPI
Passio and below sit semper
in cordibus nostris. The back portion
consists simply of a small segment of black woolen
cloth.
- Order: Congregation of the Passionists
- Origins: It is related in the life of St. Paul
of the Cross that before founding the Congregation
of the Passionists he received in apparitions the
black habit of the order with the badge on the
breast.
- Use: At various times, indulgences have been
granted to the faithful who wear this scapular.
The Superior-General of the Passionists communicates
to other priests the faculty to bless and invest
with the scapular.
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The
Blue Scapular of the Immaculate Conception
- Form: Blue cloth, which normally has a symbolization
of the Immaculate Conception on one side and the
name of Mary on the other.
- Order: Order of Theatine Nuns
- Origins: Vision of the Venerable Ursula Benicasa,
foundress of the Order of Theatine Nuns, in which
Jesus Christ had promised great favors for her
order. She begged the same graces for all the faithful
who should devoutly wear a small sky-blue scapular
in honor of the Immaculate Conception and to secure
the conversion of sinners, and her request was
granted.
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The Scapular of the
Most Precious Blood
- Form: Red cloth scapular or a red girdle. The
scapular as used in Rome bears on one portion a
representation of the chalice with the Precious
Blood adored by angels; the other segment which
hangs at the back is simply a smaller portion of
red cloth.
- Order: Confraternity of the Precious Blood
- Use: No special indulgences are connected with
the wearing of this scapular, and the wearing of
it is left optional to the members of the confraternity.
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The Red Scapular of
the Passion
- Form: The scapular and bands must both be of
red woolen material. On one woolen segment Jesus
Christ is represented on the Cross; at the foot
of the Cross are the implements of the Passion,
and about it are the words: "Holy Passion
of Our Lord Jesus Christ Save us." On the
other are represented the Hearts of Jesus and Mary,
and above these a cross with the inscription: Sacred
Hearts of Jesus and Mary, protect us.
- Order: Sister of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul
- Origins: a vision of a Sister of Charity of
St. Vincent de Paul in 1846 in which Jesus Christ
showed the sister the scapular and promised to
all who should wear it on every Friday a great
increase of faith, hope, and charity.
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The Scapular
of the Blessed Virgin Mary under the title of Help
of the Sick
- Form: Black woolen cloth, with the a copy of
the above picture of the Mother of God and at her
feet Sts. Joseph and Camillus, the two other patrons
of the sick and of the confraternity, on the front.
On the small segment at the back is sewed a little
red cloth cross; although this receives separate
and special blessing for the sick, it does not
constitute an essential portion of the scapular.
- Order: Order of St. Camillus; Confraternity of
the Mother of God for the Poor Sick, founded 15
June, 1860.
- Origins: Based on a painting in the Church of
St. Magdalene at Rome of the Blessed Virgin, which
is specially venerated under the title of Help
of the Sick.
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The Scapular
of the Immaculate Heart of Mary
- Form: The scapular is of white woolen cloth;
on the front is represented the burning heart of
Mary, out of which grows a lily; the heart is encircled
by a wreath of roses and pierced with a sword.
- Order: Sons of the Immaculate Heart of Mary
- Origins: This scapular originated with the Sons
of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in 1877, and was
sanctioned and endowed with indulgences by Pius
IX on 11 May of that year. The scapular was later
approved by the Congregation of Rites in 1907,
and its form more exactly decreed; in the same
year it was assigned new indulgences.
- Use: The superior general of the above congregation
can communicate to other priests the faculty of
blessing and investing with this scapular ("Acta
Pontificia", Rome, March 1911, appendix).
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The Scapular
of the Mother of Good Counsel
- Form: Two segments of while woolen cloth, usually
with white bands. The front segment bears the image
of the Mother of Good Counsel (after the well-known
picture in the Augustinian church at Genazzano)
with the inscription: "Mother of Good Counsel".
The back segment has the papal arms (i.e., the
tiara and the keys of Peter) with the inscription: "Son,
follow her counsel. Leo III".
- Order: Augustinian Order
- Origins: At the petition of the Augustinian
monks this scapular was approved and endowed with
indulgences by Leo XIII in a Decree of the Congregation
of Rites of 19-21 December, 1893.
- Use: The faculty of blessing and investing with
the scapular belongs primarily to the Augustinian
monks, but the General of the Augustinians communicates
this privilege to other priests.
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The Scapular of
St. Michael the Archangel
- Form: In outward form this scapular is different
from the others, inasmuch as the two segments of
cloth have the form of a small shield; of these
one is made of blue and the other of black cloth,
and of the bands likewise one is blue and the other
black. Both portions of the scapular bear the well-known
representation of the Archangel St. Michael slaying
the dragon and the inscription Quis ut
Deus.
- Order: Archconfraternity of the Scapular of
St. Michael
- Origins: While this scapular originated under
Pius IX, who gave it his blessing, it was first
formally approved under Leo XIII. In 1878 a confraternity
in honour of St. Michael the Archangel was founded
in the Church of St. Eustachius at Rome, and in
the following year in the Church of Sant' Angelo
in Pescheria (Sancti Angeli in foro Piscium). In
1880 Leo XIII raised it to the rank of an archconfraternity,
which was expressly called the Archconfraternity
of the Scapular of St. Michael.
- Use: The scapular is so associated with the
confraternity that each member is invested with
it.
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The Scapular of
St. Benedict
- Form: A small blessed piece of black cloth. One
of the segments usually has a picture of St. Benedict
but no picture is necessary.
- Order: Benedictine Order; Confraternity of St.
Benedict
- Origins: To associate the faithful, who were
not Oblates of St. Benedict, in a certain measure
with the Benedictine Order, a confraternity of
St. Benedict was founded in the second half of
the nineteenth century, at first by the English
Congregation. The confraternity was endowed with
indulgences in 1882 and 1883.
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The Scapular of
St. Dominic
- Form: It is made of white wool, but the bands,
as in the case of so many other scapulars may be
of another material. No image is prescribed for
the scapular, but the scapular given in the house
of the Dominican General at Rome has on one side
the picture of St. Dominic kneeling before the
crucifix and on the other that of B. Reginald receiving
the habit from the hands of the Mother of God.
- Order: Dominican Order
- Origins: Approved on 23 November 1903 by Pius
X.
- Use: On 23 November, 1903, this scapular was
endowed by Pius X with an indulgence of 300 days
in favor of all the faithful who wear it, as often
as they devoutly kiss it. The General of the Dominicans
communicates to other priests the faculty of blessing
and investing with the scapular.
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The Scapular of
St. Joseph (Capuchin) A.D. 1880
Form: A gold and violet-colored scapular with a white
cord, the front shows St. Joseph holding the child
Jesus in one arm and a staff of lilies on the
other. Underneath are the words, "St.
Joseph, patron of the Church, pray for us." On the
back of the scapular are the papal crown under
a dove as the symbol of the Holy Ghost. Underneath
those are the Cross, the keys of Peter, and the
inscription: Spiritus Domini ductor eius (The
Spirit of the Lord is his Guide).
Order: Order of Friars Minor Capuchin
Origins: In 1898, Pope Leo XIII granted the Capuchins the right of blessing and investing this scapular.
Use: The scapular is to remind us of St. Joseph's virtues
(humility, modesty, purity); to remind us to pray
to St. Joseph, asking him to pray for the Church;
and to assist the dying since St. Joseph is the
patron of a happy death.
In addition to the above benefits, there is a plenary
indulgence for those who confess, receive Holy
Communion and pray for the intentions of the Holy
Father on the following feast days:
- December
25th (the day of investment of the scapular)
- January 1st
- January 6th
- February 2nd
- March 19th
- March 25th
- Easter
- Feast of the Ascension
- August 15th
- September 8th
- December 8th
- Third Sunday after Easter, and
- at the
time of death.
It is recommended also to say 5
Our Fathers, 5 Hail Marys and 5 Glorias before
the Blessed Sacrament at these times.
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Five-Fold Scapular
The Five-Fold Scapular is made of 5 of the following
Scapulars above:
Any priest can
invest you in the Brown Scapular with these instructions:
[MS-WORD][PDF] |
You can get well-made, wool, traditionally-designed
Brown (as well as other) Scapulars from
Rose Scapular Company.
Tell them Mike Humphrey from
AskACatholic.com sent you!
Hope this helps,
Mike
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Kristy
replied:
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Hi, Mike —
After some reading and searching, I have found that
the only scapulars approved by the Vatican for everyday
wear are the wool ones.
- Is this right?
- I know the metal ones were only approved for
harsh circumstances but why not the wooden ones?
- Am I missing something?
Kristy
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Mike
replied:
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Hi, Kristy —
You said:
After some reading and searching, I have found that
the only scapulars approved by the Vatican for everyday
wear are the wool ones.
Yes!
You said:
- I know the metal ones were only approved for
harsh circumstances but why not the wooden ones?
- Am I missing something?
As I said, the wool ones are the Vatican's preference. It has to do with what Our Blessed Mother gave to
St. Simon Stock.
The woolen scapular is a miniaturized form of the
bigger scapular that consecrated religious, like Benedictine Monks, wear.
- The front side of my scapular lies on my chest.
- The
front side of the larger scapular that Benedictine monks
wear covers the entire front of their body.
- The
back of my scapular lies on my back near the back
of my neck.
- The back side of the larger scapular that Benedictine
monks wear covers their entire back.
Pope Pius X originally granted the use of the Scapular Medal as a concession to Missionaries in Africa, who found the cloth Scapular did not hold up in the climate, in addition to other reasons, but as he later stated when he found the medal becoming widespread: I never intended that Medal be used in Europe and America.
If there are good and serious reasons, e.g. extreme
allergies to materials, it is true, the Medal can
be worn.
Mike
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Kristy
replied:
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