Brown Scapular

[Livelaughlove17]

It is necessary to be invested in the Brown Scapular to wear it or can I wear it without that and partake in the carmelite spirituality associated with it?

 

[ChibiViolet]

You need to have it blessed by a priest, live chastly for your state in life and either pray the Rosary each day, pray the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary each day, abstain from meat on Wednesdays and Saturdays, or ask permission from a priest if you want to replace that with another prayer or a good work, if you want the full benefits of your Scalpular.

 

[fred_conty]

It is necessary to be invested in the Brown Scapular to wear it or can I wear it without that and partake in the carmelite spirituality associated with it?

My understanding is that is is best to be invested by a priest. Once your invested in the brown scapular you are always invested to the end of your life. This holds true even tho a person may decide not to wear it for a long time. In this case they just wear the scapular again without being re-invested. It is my understanding that it does not need to be blessed although it would be good to do so.

At times the cloth scapular wears out or breaks or fades, or lost. Just get a new scapular and put it on since you have already been invested for life.

 

[CKA]

The enrollment in the scapular is short but necessary and can be done easily by any priest.

I was wondering to receive the graces of being saved from eternal fire and only receiving a maximum of 8 days in purgatory does one need to take a further investment into the confraternity of the Carmelite Order? For example to receive these graces you need pray the Little office of the Blessed Virgin Mary, live a life of chastity in your given state as mentioned by ChibiViolet in their post. But not sure about needing to fast from meat?

Also if the priest who has diocesan facilities he has the extra facility to commute the right of the daily little office of the Blessed Virgin Mary to praying the Daily rosary.

All in this talk here:

audiosancto.org/sermon/20030123-Purgatory-Pay-Now-or-Pay-Later.html

My only question is that is there any further investment or devotion to our lady or the carmelite order to have these graces of receiving less then 8 days in Purgatory

I recommend all to listen and pass on this talk to their families/loved ones

 

[stewstew03]

…
I was wondering to receive the graces of being saved from eternal fire and only receiving a maximum of 8 days in purgatory does one need to take a further investment into the confraternity of the Carmelite Order? For example to receive these graces you need pray the Little office of the Blessed Virgin Mary, live a life of chastity in your given state as mentioned by ChibiViolet in their post. But not sure about needing to fast from meat?
…

“Sacramentals do not confer the grace of the Holy Spirit in the way that the sacraments do, but by the Church’s prayer, they prepare us to receive grace and dispose us to cooperate with it. For well-disposed members of the faithful, the liturgy of the sacraments and sacramentals sanctifies almost every event of their lives with the divine grace which flows from the Paschal mystery of the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Christ. From this source all sacraments and sacramentals draw their power. There is scarcely any proper use of material things which cannot be thus directed toward the sanctification of men and the praise of God.” (CCC 1670)

 

[Alfonsus]

Not necessarily.
Following is from the Catechesis on the Brown Scapular, published by the Carmelite Order under the direction of the North American prior provincials of the Carmelite Order and the Order of Discalced Carmelites as the Carmelite Family prepared to celebrate the 750 anniversary of the Brown Scapular.

What is the relationship of the Carmelite Order to the Brown Scapular?
The Brown Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel is the habit of the Carmelite Order. For the religious members of the Order it takes the form of two long, undecorated panels of brown cloth joined at the shoulders and falling, one to the front and one to the back. For the laity it takes the form of a two smaller pieces of brown or dark cloth, preferably plain, joined over the shoulder by ribbons, and falling, one to the back, the other to the front. As the Order’s habit, the scapular signifies some degree of affiliation to the Carmelites.

Six practical ways of affiliation are recognized by the Carmelite Order:

• the religious men and women of the Order and aggregated institutes
• the Secular/Lay Order (Third Order)
• members of public associations and confraternities of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, such as active communities of the Scapular Confraternity.
• Those who have been invested in the scapular, practice the Order’s spirituality, and have been granted some association with the Order.
• Those who wear the scapular out of devotion, practice the Order’s spirituality, but who have no formal association to the Order.
• Those who are committed to practice the Marian characteristics of Carmelite Spirituality but use outward forms other than the Brown Scapular to express this devotion.

The Brown Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel is the common habit of all branches of the Carmelite Family and a sign of unity of that family. For that reason the Scapular Confraternity and similar associations of the faithful centering around this sacramental belong not to any one branch of Carmel but to the entire Carmelite family. Thus, there is only one common public association of the Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel.

If a person wears the scapular, but has no formal association to the Order, does that person still gain the benefits associated with the scapular?
A person who wears the scapular and practices the spirituality of the Carmelite Order has an affiliation, loose as it may be, to the Carmelite family and so shares in the graces traditionally associated with the Brown Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. However, simply to wear the 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.

What is this Carmelite spirituality that one must practice in order to have an affiliation with the Carmelite Order?
The spirituality of the Carmelite Order is one of the preeminent spiritual traditions of the Catholic Church. It is difficult to reduce this spirituality to a few sentences. One who wears the scapular should certainly reflect upon the teachings of the great Carmelite saints, three of whom are doctors of the Church.
A few basic introductory principles of Carmelite spirituality would be:

• frequent participation in the Mass and reception of Holy Communion;
• frequent reading of and meditation on the Word of God in Sacred Scripture;
• the regular praying of at least part of the Liturgy of the Hours;
• imitation of and devotion to Mary, the woman of faith who hears the Word of God and puts it into practice;
• the practice of the virtues, notably charity, chastity (according to one’s state of life), and obedience to the will of God.

Is it necessary to enroll people in the Scapular Confraternity for them to share in the spiritual benefits attached to the scapular?
No, those who wear the scapular out of devotion, practice the Order’s spirituality, yet who have no formal association to the Order share in a spiritual affiliation to the Carmelite Order. It gives them the assurances of the graces pertinent to this sacramental. Indiscriminate enrollment in the Scapular Confraternity or other such associations weakens the purpose and mission of those associations and should be avoided.