Brown Scapular

[Della]

When I receive the Brown Scapula from Camelite Sisters, the instruction says that we need to pray the Little Office, if we want to pray the rosary or the other one that you mentioned, we need to ask permission from your pastor.

That’s not quite right. Maybe you mis-heard? The rosary may be said in lieu of the Little Office, but you don’t need your pastor’s permission to do so since it is a private devotion.

 

[water]

Pastor?

I know that is who you get permission from him for missing Mass on Sundays and holydays of obligation but for the brown scapular?

yeah, that’s what I thought I read on a little piece of paper that came with the scapular. I had tried to find the paper. I might be wrong.

 

[palmas85]

You can say either the Little Office or the Rosary.

 

[Sir_Knight]

I stand corrected. Instead of saying the Little Office, you can either:

• 
  *]Abstain from meat on Wednesdays & Saturdays;
  
  or
  
  *] With permission of your priest, say the rosary.

 

[water]

I stand corrected. Instead of saying the Little Office, you can either:

• 
  *]Abstain from meat on Wednesdays & Saturdays;
  
  or
  
  *] With permission of your priest, say the rosary.

• 
  Thanks Sir Knight!
  Do you have link to the Little Office?
  
  Thanks!

 

[havemercy]

Is one required to wear the scapular in the shower, or while swimming in a pool?

 

[Sir_Knight]

Thanks Sir Knight!
Do you have link to the Little Office?

Thanks!

No, I have a physical copy of the book. Hardcover, skinny and brown.

Going to ask my priest permission to switch it for rosary since I say two rosaries daily already.

 

[LilyM]

Is one required to wear the scapular in the shower, or while swimming in a pool?

Of course not!

 

[Sir_Knight]

Is one required to wear the scapular in the shower, or while swimming in a pool?

I don’t believe so. Just make sure nothing happens to you during those times. Personally, I wear mine in the pool but not in the shower.

They do, however, last longer if you don’t get them wet.

 

[havemercy]

Just make sure nothing happens to you during those times.

Like my dying? hahaha
Oh c’mon. I thought everyone here was keen on being realistic about the scapular, and how it isn’t to be regarded with superstition. It seems Mary would appreciate that I’m taking care of the gift she gave me so that it lasts longer. If I die without wearing the scapular in the pool, or while taking a shower, then I guess I’ll just have to spend a longer time in purgatory. Shucks!!

 

[Sir_Knight]

The scapular ISN’T a pass to live a sinful life. However, the promises of Mary are very clear – the one who dies while WEARING the scapular shall not suffer eternal fire. Additionally, that person is promised that they will be freed from purgatory on the first Saturday after their death.

If I die without wearing the scapular in the pool, or while taking a shower, then I guess I’ll just have to spend a longer time in purgatory. Shucks!!

Spending more time in purgatory is not something to take lightly. I recall reading a story from the lives of the Saints about a holy monk who became very ill and prayed for death. Since he was very pious, God sent his guardian angel to him with a proposal. God would either answer his prayer for death and he would spend three days in purgatory before going to heaven or he would live another year offering up his suffering for his sins and go straight to heaven upon his death.

The monk took the first option and found himself in purgatory. When his guardian angel went to visit him, the monk complained bitterly asking why he had been forgotten reminding his guardina angel that the agreement was that he was to spend only three DAYS in purgatory and he had already been there for several YEARS.

The angel replied that he had been in purgatory for only one HOUR. So intense is the suffering there that one HOUR felt like several YEARS.

Just imagine suffering so intense that one hour feels like SEVERAL YEARS. Wouldn’t you want to do all that is possible to get out as soon as possible?

 

[scapularkid8]

Yeah, I definately would’ve chosen to live for one more year!!!

Anyway, I was curious as to two things:
One, I wear my Scapular everyday and only take it off in the shower, but I don’t see the point any more…don’t know why. Maybe it’s the devil telling me I don’t need the garment of Mary anymore?! I feel like there’s no point. Should I pray the LOBVM everyday along with the Liturgy of the Hours…that might overwhelm me spiritually!

Two, how do I explain the Scapular to my friends when they ask? I know what it is to me…but how do I explain when they ask. I just start by saying “Well, it’s like a Catholic yamika in that it represents a prayer and must always be worn, but a little different because…” and that’s where I just start making things up! (or at least that’s what it feels like!)

 

[RobNY]

The question of what the obligation for the scapular wearer is is a somewhat contentious one, IMO. Last summer/fall I was trying to ascertain what precisely the obligation is and I found conflicting information at every turn. To make things more complicated, it seems the Scapular Promise and the so-called Sabbatine Privilege are often conflated.

The Scapular Promise is that the wearer will not go to hell. The Sabbatine Privilege is release from Purgatory on the Saturday after one’s death.

Fr. William Most has a very good article and an explanation why he thinks nothing except wearing it and being enrolled is necessary:

What conditions are required to gain so great a promise? First of all, the vision spoke of this as a privilege for “all Carmelites.” So it is necessary to be in some way affiliated with the Order of Carmel. For most Catholics, this is accomplished through enrollment in the Confraternity of the Scapular.

But is there anything else required? Not a few Catholics -including some who should know better - insist that she should know what the requirements are. That she mentioned nothing other than wearing the Scapular at the time of death. Therefore we must not add anything else.

And this makes sense to me. The story of the Brown Scapular doesn’t mention requirements other than being enrolled and wearing it.

I will note that there is much conflicting information. Carmelnet.org says:

                          The Scapular holds us to live as authentic Christians in line with the teaching of the Gospel, to receive the sacraments, to profess our special devotion to the Blessed Virgin, which should be expressed each day, at least by saying the Hail Mary three times.

To wear the Scapular without also cultivating a Marian devotion would seem to make little sense.

Ultimately, though, I think the greater requirements for the Scapular stem from conflation with the Sabbatine Privilege. Fr. Most is again most illustrative:

There is also a Sabbatine Privilege. The report is that Pope John XXII hada vision of Our Lady on March 3, 1322, in which liberation from purgatory was promised on the first Saturday after death, on three conditions**: 1)Wear the Scapular 2) Observe 6th and 9th commandments according to one’s state in life 3) say the Little Office, or, if illiterate, observance of the fasts of the Church plus abstinence on Wednesdays and Saturdays. The requirement of the Office can be commuted by a priest who has the faculty.

** A daily rosary is a common commutation. Those bound to the large office fulfill the condition by saying it.

The original copy of the bull was lost. This is not too strange in view of the disturbed state of Rome after the sack of 1527. Some other documents of the same Pope are also lost. There was a copy of the bull, given by Pope Clement VII, dated May 15, 1528, but for some reason it was never solemnly issued, and so is technically invalid. The same Pope on August 12, 1530 did issue a transcript, but it promised only special help, not liberation.

So it would seem that the Sabbatine Privilege is what requires the daily rosary. The Sabbatine Privilege is much less well established than the Scapular Promise.

However, I do recommend praying the rosary daily. It is a beautiful devotion.

As for wearing or not wearing the Scapular-- if one removes the scapular briefly for a legitmate reason, i.e., for a shower, the promises still apply.

 

[LilyM]

Yeah, I definately would’ve chosen to live for one more year!!!

Anyway, I was curious as to two things:
One, I wear my Scapular everyday and only take it off in the shower, but I don’t see the point any more…don’t know why. Maybe it’s the devil telling me I don’t need the garment of Mary anymore?! I feel like there’s no point. Should I pray the LOBVM everyday along with the Liturgy of the Hours…that might overwhelm me spiritually!

Better say the Rosary if you already do Liturgy of the Hours. LOBVM is quite similar to LOTH, except the Psalms are on a weekly rather than four-week rotation.

Two, how do I explain the Scapular to my friends when they ask? I know what it is to me…but how do I explain when they ask. I just start by saying “Well, it’s like a Catholic yamika in that it represents a prayer and must always be worn, but a little different because…” and that’s where I just start making things up! (or at least that’s what it feels like!)

I’d start with something simple, like saying ‘it’s like wearing a locket with a photo of your Mum, so that when she sees you wearing it she knows how much you love her. Mary is my spiritual mother, and it’s not like they had photographers back in Jesus’ day, so this is the best I can do! I love her, so I wear it as much as I can.’

If they want to know more, just say there are special prayers you say with it - again, like wearing a locket with your Mum’s picture might remind you sometimes to tell her you love her!

 

[havemercy]

The scapular ISN’T a pass to live a sinful life. However, the promises of Mary are very clear – the one who dies while WEARING the scapular shall not suffer eternal fire. Additionally, that person is promised that they will be freed from purgatory on the first Saturday after their death.Spending more time in purgatory is not something to take lightly. I recall reading a story from the lives of the Saints about a holy monk who became very ill and prayed for death. Since he was very pious, God sent his guardian angel to him with a proposal. God would either answer his prayer for death and he would spend three days in purgatory before going to heaven or he would live another year offering up his suffering for his sins and go straight to heaven upon his death.

The monk took the first option and found himself in purgatory. When his guardian angel went to visit him, the monk complained bitterly asking why he had been forgotten reminding his guardina angel that the agreement was that he was to spend only three DAYS in purgatory and he had already been there for several YEARS.

The angel replied that he had been in purgatory for only one HOUR. So intense is the suffering there that one HOUR felt like several YEARS.

Just imagine suffering so intense that one hour feels like SEVERAL YEARS. Wouldn’t you want to do all that is possible to get out as soon as possible?

Meh…So long as I’m in purgatory and not hell, right?

 

[lak611]

I don’t believe so. Just make sure nothing happens to you during those times. Personally, I wear mine in the pool but not in the shower.

They do, however, last longer if you don’t get them wet.

Of course, you could always get a scapular medal, and have it blessed by your priest.

 

[LilyM]

Meh…So long as I’m in purgatory and not hell, right?

:nope: Father Corapi put it best - if we aim to get straight into heaven and fall short, we will end up in purgatory. If we aim to get into purgatory and fall short … :ehh: :bigyikes:

 

[Sir_Knight]

Of course, you could always get a scapular medal, and have it blessed by your priest.

The scapular medal doesn’t have all of the blessings and graces associated with it that the cloth scapular does. Besides, I already wear a blessed crucifix. According to church teaching, those who devotely [sp] wear a crucifix are promised a happy death.

 

[havemercy]

:nope: Father Corapi put it best - if we aim to get straight into heaven and fall short, we will end up in purgatory. If we aim to get into purgatory and fall short … :ehh: :bigyikes:

Perhaps I’m a realist. I know I’m not going to heaven directly, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t care about purgatory. I do, but I don’t think not wearing the scapular when one happens to die is any real threat to my salvation.

 

[Sir_Knight]

So, are you saying that the promise made by the Mother of God is of little or no value?