feast day of our lady of mt. carmel
11 Jul
Feast Day of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel
July 16, 2012
“Take, beloved son, this scapular of thy Order… It is the sign of salvation, a safeguard in dangers, a pledge of peace and of the covenant” – Our Blessed Mother to St. Simon Stock
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.
In 1251, Our Lady of Mt. Carmel appeared to Simon Stock with a scapular in her hand. On 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.”
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 century.
Read the full article from: blessedmotherschildren.com
No comments yet