“The brown scapular is not a magic charm to protect us. It is not an automatic guarantee of salvation. It is not an excuse for not living up to the demands of a Christian life,” said Fr. Reynaldo Sotelo Jr., OCD, on the misconception on the wearing of the scapular during his homily at the Mass during the celebration of the Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel on July 16.
“The Church teaches that Jesus Christ is the only one who liberates us from our sin…. All grace is won for us by the passion, death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Simply wearing the brown scapular does not confer that same result,” Sotelo pointed out during the Mass at the Saint John of the Cross Monastery OCD House of Studies in Quezon City. The Mass was beamed online through Facebook.
Sotelo is the Provincial Superior of the Order of Discalced Carmelites, Philippine Province of St. Teresa of Jesus.
The devotion to the Virgin Mary, under the title of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, started in the 14th century and came to be observed throughout the West during the 18th century.
It commemorates the Virgin Mary as associated with the beauty of Mount Carmel in Israel, where the prophet Elijah defended the faith of Israel in the living God, and of the 12th-century eremitical forerunners of the Carmelites, said the Basilica of the National Shrine of Mount Carmel in Quezon City in its Facebook page.
The feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel was instituted between 1376 and 1386 to celebrate the victory of the Carmelite Order over its enemies in obtaining the official seal of approval of its name and constitution from Pope Honorious III on January 30, 1226.
However, the feast day was assigned to July 16, 1251, the date when, according to Carmelite traditions, Mary gave the brown scapular to Saint Simon Stock. The apparition was approved by Pope Sixtus V in 1587.
Since then the significant Carmelite devotion to Our Lady of Mount Carmel is through the brown scapular, “one of the most popular sacramentals in Catholic devotional life for over 700 years.“
Sotelo explained that while there was a zeal to encourage the Catholics wear the brown scapular, sufficient catechism was not exercised.
“Well-meaning people have often spread the devotion to the scapular with extravagant claims that have no historical background and are sometimes difficult to reconcile with sound Christian doctrine,” he said.
He explained that simply wearing the brown scapular without accepting the responsibilities attached to it “would be to reduce this precious sacramental to the status of a charm or good luck piece, parang anting-anting [amulet].”
Wearing it must be a “sign of a relationship with Christ along with Mary, one of dependence and love,” he said
He added that those who wear the brown scapular are engaged in the works of evangelization.
“They identify themselves with the mission of Carmel to be a prophetic sign of union with God, to work for the coming of the kingdom of God through the visible signs of sharing, reconciliation, justice, looking after the sick and listening to the cries of the poor,” he explained.
Catholics should not be encouraged to wear the brown scapular and be contented with it, he said.
“We can publish books and [other] writings, air programs on radio and television, flood the Internet with thoughts on the brown scapular. But they will remain useless if we cannot concretely reach out to our brothers and sisters who are in dire need of our help, care and compassion, especially at this time of the pandemic,” Sotelo added.
Those who experience the mercy of God, are summoned to be its witness for other people. “Whats the use of wearing of the brown scapular when there is no mercy in our hearts?” he asked.
For Carmelites, the wearing of the brown scapular “stands for a commitment to follow Jesus, like Mary, the perfect model of all the disciples of Christ,” the commitment that originated in baptism “by which we become the children of God.”
He said the Blessed Virgin teaches Catholics four things: First, to be open to God and to His will as shown in the events of our lives;
Second, to listen to the word of God in the Bible and in life; to believe in it and to put into practice its demands;
Third, to pray at all times as a way of discovering the presence of God in all that is happening around us; and,
Fourth, to be involved with people, by being attentive to their needs, especially the poor by carrying the works of mercy.
“The brown scapular that we wear symbolizes that we belong to Mary, and that we strive to be clothed with her virtues so as to mirror in the world the beauty of her holiness. Like Mary, we ponder on God’s word in faith, and spend ourselves in a manifold service of love. Then, our life will truly resemble hers, and under Mary’s guidance, we shall be made to share more fully in the mystery of Christ and His Church,” Sotelo said.
Pope OK’s canonical coronation of Our Lady of Mount Carmel
Meanwhile, Pope Francis has approved the canonical coronation of the image of Our Lady of Mount Carmel enshrined at the basilica in Quezon City.
Although the Vatican approved the petition last May 13, the Feast of Our Lady of Fatima, it was only announced on July 9 by the Diocese of Cubao.
According to Catholic News Agency, “a canonical coronation is a pious institutional act, wherein the pope, through a bull, designates a crown or stellar halo to be added to a Marian image under a specific devotional title in a particular area or diocese.”
The diocese said the coronation is the pope’s way to affirm the devotion of the faithful to Our Lady of Mount Carmel, as her feast was celebrated on July 16.
The crowning of Our Lady of Mount Carmel was the third such coronation that will take place in the diocese.
The two other images that have received pontifical coronations were the Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary de Manila and the Our Lady of Lourdes, both enshrined in two national shrines. With CBCP News
Image credits: Lyn Resurreccion, Facebook screenshot