Brown Scapular made by the Carmelites of Alexandria. Photo courtesy of the Discalced Carmelite Nuns of Alexandria
Discalced Carmelite Nuns of Alexandria
“Who bought you that First Communion dress?”
“Who bought you that shirt?”
Years ago, when Father Robert J. Fox brought his first communicants over to our chapel to enroll them in the Brown Scapular, he was fond of asking them these questions. The children would inevitably answer that it was their mother who had bought them these clothes for receiving Jesus for the first time that morning. Capitalizing on that point, Father Fox would then tell them that their heavenly Mother was no less solicitous for their protection (bodily and spiritually), lovingly providing them with the Brown Scapular.
It is the sign, not only of Mary’s love for us but also of our love and devotion to her. In fact, it is the sign of our consecration to her Immaculate Heart.
In giving the Brown Scapular 775 years ago to St. Simon Stock, the prior general of the Carmelites, Our Lady said, “Receive, my beloved son, this scapular of your order. This shall be to you and to all Carmelites a privilege that whosoever dies clothed in this shall never suffer eternal fire. It is a badge of salvation, a protection in danger, a pledge of peace and eternal alliance.”
Called by some eternal “fire insurance,” the Brown Scapular is not to be looked upon as a “good luck charm.” The Brown Scapular challenges its wearers to live lives worthy of Our Lady, to whose service and devotion it pledges them. If we are not ashamed to proclaim Our Lady as our mother by wearing it and living virtuous lives, she will not be ashamed to claim us as her children of predilection, here and hereafter.
In addition, those enrolled in the Confraternity of the Brown Scapular are entitled to a share in all the Masses, prayers and good works of Carmelites around the world. For those who have not been previously enrolled, this enrollment will be offered here, in the Carmel of Alexandria, at the evening Mass on the Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Thursday, July 16. (Brown Scapulars may be obtained from our gift shop.)
A special triduum of Masses is planned this year for the nights of July 14-16 to thank Our Lady for her gift of the Brown Scapular. Each evening, the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass will be preceded by the Rosary at 6:30 p.m., and National Guard Chaplain Father Kevin Peek of the Archdiocese of Atlanta will be the celebrant (EF) and homilist. Join us not only at the triduum but also by getting into the habit of wearing the Brown Scapular, the abbreviated form of our holy habit, happy to be known as children of so powerful and loving a Mother, who desires us to see and adore the face of God eternally!
In a letter to the Order of Carmel for the 750th anniversary of Our Lady’s gift of the Brown Scapular to St. Simon Stock, Pope St. John Paul II joyfully admitted that he had worn her scapular from childhood. As we now celebrate the 775th anniversary, we are pleased to announce that the Holy Face relic is returning for the triduum and will be available for veneration July 14-16. Below, we recall the origin of the Holy Face relic, stemming from a miracle at the Vatican, Jan. 6, 1849:
For three days, Veronica’s veil had been on display in St. Peter’s Basilica for the veneration of the faithful in reparation for what revolutionary men were doing to the Church. At the close of 1848, Pope Pius IX (now Blessed) had been exiled from Rome to Gaeta. From there, His Holiness asked for this exposition of the veil along with the relic of the True Cross. On the third day, an unusual prodigy, lasting three hours before many witnesses, took place with regards to the Veil of the Holy Face, the impression of which had been so faint as to be scarcely visible. A detailed description of this “epiphany” comes to us from the “Chronology of the Holy Face Devotion”:
“Through another veil of silk which covers the true Relic of Veronica’s Veil, and absolutely prevents the features from being distinguished, the Divine Face appeared distinctly, as if living, and was illumined by a soft light; the features assumed a death-like hue, and the eyes, deep-sunken, wore an expression of great pain. The canons (appointed to guard the precious relics during the exhibition) immediately notified the clergy; the people were called in [by the ringing of the basilica bells]. Many wept; all were impressed with a reverential awe. An apostolic notary was summoned; a certificate was drawn up attesting to the fact. A copy of it was sent to the Holy Father at Gaeta …”
After this miracle, the Vatican permitted that copies of the Holy Face be made on linen or silk and touched to Veronica’s veil, the True Wood of the Cross and the lance that pierced Christ’s side. These were then stamped with a waxen seal and marked “gratis,” accompanied by certificates of authenticity verifying that the images had been touched to the blood of Christ through the three instruments of our Lord’s Passion. In a relic class of their own, they are considered “living images of Jesus Christ,” marked “True Effigies of the Holy Face of Our Lord Jesus Christ.”
The oldest known (1857) of these Veronicas, “true icons,” as they came to be called, is coming from Detroit, Michigan, to the Carmelite Monastery in Alexandria (221 5th St.) for the triduum in honor of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. Brought by its custodian, Mary Mutti, the Veronica will be here on the evening of July 14 and will be available for veneration through July 16. The Rosary starts each night at 6:30 p.m., followed by Holy Mass. Come pray for your loved ones, living and deceased, that they may one day behold the face of God for all eternity, and also make reparation for the many ways in which the face of Jesus is still outraged today by atheism, blasphemy of the Holy Name, profanation of Sundays and attacks against Holy Mother Church
and the Vicar of Christ here on earth.
The miracle at the Vatican took place only six months after the death in Tours, France, of the holy Carmelite, Sister Mary of St. Peter, to whom our Lord, in revealing devotion and reparation to his Holy Face, had said, “Rejoice, my daughter, because the hour approaches when the most beautiful Work under the sun will be born.”
For those desiring to know more about the connection between Carmelites and devotion to the
Holy Face, please see the article
“To Be a Prayer Before Thy Mystery: A Carmelite Before The Holy Face” project updates at holyfacechapel.org. God bless you!
