Do you wear a Scapular?

[OSUbride0708]

Would you believe that I received 13 years of Catholic school education, and did not know what this “thing” in my rosary set from first communion was? Horrible, IMO.
I was wondering how many people wear them. I have an Uncle and Aunt who are a little lost. They believe in God, but they just don’t know the truth. My brother is very close with them and eats dinner with them often, and has gotten them in the habit of saying a prayer before meals. (Doesn’t seem like a big deal, but the fact that my very stubborn uncle now asks if my brother is going to say a prayer is huge to us). I would like to present them with the scapular, in hopes that they might want to learn more about it. They are almost 60 and my uncle has a very bad heart (only functioning at 40%) and I am honestly scared for their souls, mostly about my uncle’s pro-choice thinking.
Any advice?

 

[Alexander_Smith]

I wear a brown Scapular. I’ve done so for many years, as have the members of my family.

 

[Scoobyshme]

My advice is this: We always go to God about man, before we go to man about God.

What that means is that we should do our prayer, penance, sacrifice, etc., before approaching Aunt & Uncle. The greatest softener of hearts of the unconverted are our knees. We should be on 'em.

Prayer before the Blessed Sacrament. The Rosary. Offer up any suffering. Fasting. It’s all good and effective. Have others join in with you. Optimally, have someone praying before the Blessed Sacrament WHILE they Aunt and Uncle are being approached. Stack the deck!

 

[OSUbride0708]

My advice is this: We always go to God about man, before we go to man about God.

What that means is that we should do our prayer, penance, sacrifice, etc., before approaching Aunt & Uncle. The greatest softener of hearts of the unconverted are our knees. We should be on 'em.

Prayer before the Blessed Sacrament. The Rosary. Offer up any suffering. Fasting. It’s all good and effective. Have others join in with you. Optimally, have someone praying before the Blessed Sacrament WHILE they Aunt and Uncle are being approached. Stack the deck!

Thank you for the advice. My Uncle is very stubborn and loves to argue, but he truly has a good heart. It’s just very hard to approach him about things, and my brother has taken to slowly introducing them to things through example and conversation. He has also been praying the rosary and the divine mercy chaplet for them. I think he’s doing a great job so far, but I agree, every little bit helps.

 

[Scoobyshme]

Thank you for the advice. My Uncle is very stubborn and loves to argue, but he truly has a good heart. It’s just very hard to approach him about things, and my brother has taken to slowly introducing them to things through example and conversation. He has also been praying the rosary and the divine mercy chaplet for them. I think he’s doing a great job so far, but I agree, every little bit helps.

May I also suggest that you pray the Rosary and do the Divine Mercy chaplet, too, for them? The more people you can get to join in prayer for this, the more grace will be at hand for their conversion.

Also, I’ve often heard about folks saying, “Well, so-and-so never goes to church or says they believe in God or Jesus, but they’re a very good person.” If we were intended to a natural end, then that would be sufficient. But, we’re not. We were created for a supernatural end, and, therefore, need supernatural means to reach that supernatural end.

Don’t fear, though. God can do more in a minute than we can in a thousand years of praying. That doesn’t mean don’t pray, though!

There was a professed atheist once, who was dying in the hospital. His relatives, worried about his eternal salvation, could get nowhere with him, so they called Archbishop Fulton Sheen to see if he could make any headway with him. So, Bishop Sheen said he went to the hospital, stepped into the man’s room for 10 seconds and just said, “Hi.” He kept doing that every day for 40 days, staying a little longer each time. Finally, after 40 days, he asked the man if he wanted to prepare for his death, go to Confession, etc., and the man said, “Absolutely not! I don’t want anything to do with God! I don’t believe in God!” So, he told the man, "Well, you know you’re going to die soon, and you’re going to have to face Our Blessed Lord. At least do this for me, then. Say, “My Jesus, mercy!” The man said, “I will not do it!” He was stubborn! So, Bishop Sheen left, but he stopped by the nurses station and told them, “If he asks for me, at any time, call me and I’ll come.” So, they said they would. About 3am, he got a call that the man had died. Bishop Sheen asked him, “Well, how did he go?” The nurse said, "Not long after you left, he began saying, “My Jesus, mercy!” over and over again until he died.

 

[Trinity117]

There was a professed atheist once, who was dying in the hospital. His relatives, worried about his eternal salvation, could get nowhere with him, so they called Archbishop Fulton Sheen to see if he could make any headway with him. So, Bishop Sheen said he went to the hospital, stepped into the man’s room for 10 seconds and just said, “Hi.” He kept doing that every day for 40 days, staying a little longer each time. Finally, after 40 days, he asked the man if he wanted to prepare for his death, go to Confession, etc., and the man said, “Absolutely not! I don’t want anything to do with God! I don’t believe in God!” So, he told the man, "Well, you know you’re going to die soon, and you’re going to have to face Our Blessed Lord. At least do this for me, then. Say, “My Jesus, mercy!” The man said, “I will not do it!” He was stubborn! So, Bishop Sheen left, but he stopped by the nurses station and told them, “If he asks for me, at any time, call me and I’ll come.” So, they said they would. About 3am, he got a call that the man had died. Bishop Sheen asked him, “Well, how did he go?” The nurse said, "Not long after you left, he began saying, “My Jesus, mercy!” over and over again until he died.

Thanks, Scooby. . . one of my favorite stories!

To the OP, yes. I wear the Brown Scapular every day.

 

[cajun_duck]

My Scapular is part of my 5-way cross. I also wear a Pope John Paul II medal and a St. Micheal medal on the same chain.

 

[twoangels]

Would you believe that I received 13 years of Catholic school education, and did not know what this “thing” in my rosary set from first communion was? Horrible, IMO.
I was wondering how many people wear them. I have an Uncle and Aunt who are a little lost. They believe in God, but they just don’t know the truth. My brother is very close with them and eats dinner with them often, and has gotten them in the habit of saying a prayer before meals. (Doesn’t seem like a big deal, but the fact that my very stubborn uncle now asks if my brother is going to say a prayer is huge to us). I would like to present them with the scapular, in hopes that they might want to learn more about it. They are almost 60 and my uncle has a very bad heart (only functioning at 40%) and I am honestly scared for their souls, mostly about my uncle’s pro-choice thinking.
Any advice?

I’ve worn a brown scapular on and off and have found that they are very brown to breaking when you actually wear them. They deteriorate and then fall apart. I have so many broken brown scapulars, I don’t know what to do with them. After I lost my last scapular, I just decided not to bother replacing it this time.