Proper sacramentals' blessing

[Neithan]

Today I took a Brown Scapular and St. Joseph’s Cincture to my parish priest to be blessed. He placed his hand over them and said a prayer, but didn’t use the ‘official forms’ of blessing. I’m wondering now if I’ve been properly ‘invested’ in these sacramentals for the particular graces they confer?

 

[stbruno]

Yes, you are. And if you have a concern, you can recite the blessing as you have it.

 

[John_Lilburne]

Today I took a Brown Scapular and St. Joseph’s Cincture to my parish priest to be blessed. He placed his hand over them and said a prayer, but didn’t use the ‘official forms’ of blessing. I’m wondering now if I’ve been properly ‘invested’ in these sacramentals for the particular graces they confer?

I think your concern is justified.

According to the 2002 Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy:
“The Brown Scapular and other Scapulars
205 … The imposition of the Scapular should be celebrated with “the seriousness of its origins. It should not be improvised. The Scapular should be imposed following a period of preparation during which the faithful are made aware of the nature and ends of the association they are about to join and of the obligations they assume”(footnote 257: RITUALE ROMANUM, De Benedictionibus, Ordo benedictionis et impositionis scapularis, cit., 1213.).” The full document is at vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/ccdds/documents/rc_con_ccdds_doc_20020513_vers-direttorio_en.html .

This footnote is referring to the ceremony in the Book of Blessings, “Order for the Blessing and Conferral of a Scapular”, n. 1493. This book was published by Liturgical Press, Minnesota, 1989, ISBN 0-8146-1875-8.

There are seven pages describing the ceremony. To summarise:
“1488 The blessing and conferral of a scapular should, if at all possible, be carried out in a communal celebration. …”
Sign of the Cross
Greeting
Reading of the Word of God
Intercessions
Prayer of Blessing
Conferral of the Scapular
Concluding Rite

The prayers in the Book of Blessings are different to those you linked to at sistersofcarmel.com/scapinfo.php .

I do not know which book the prayers are from at (“St. Joseph's Cinctures (Cords)”)

 

[Br.Rich_SFO]

Today I took a Brown Scapular and St. Joseph’s Cincture to my parish priest to be blessed. He placed his hand over them and said a prayer, but didn’t use the ‘official forms’ of blessing. I’m wondering now if I’ve been properly ‘invested’ in these sacramentals for the particular graces they confer?

It is my understanding that only priests who are given special facilities can enroll someone in the Brown Scapular of the Carmelites. They can request them and be given them temporarily.

 

[John_Lilburne]

Here is an example of the correct text from the Book of Blessings, compared to the text at sistersofcarmel.com/scapinfo.php .

After the conferral, from the Book of Blessings, Liturgical Press, Minnesota, 1989, ISBN 0-8146-1875-8, page 567:
“1501 After the conferral, the celebrant, facing the new confraternity members, says:
By being clothed with the scapular (or habit)
you have been accepted into the religious family of N.
in order that you may more fully serve Christ and his Church
in the spirit of that community.
So that you may more completely achieve that goal,
I admit you, in virtue of the power entrusted to me,
into a participation in all the spiritual favors
belonging to this religious family.”

But at sistersofcarmel.com/scapinfo.php it has:
“AFTER INVESTITURE THE PRIEST CONTINUES WITH THE PRAYERS:
P - I, by the power vested in me, admit you to participate in all the spiritual benefits obtained through the mercy of Jesus Christ by the Religious Order of Mount Carmel. In the name of the Father + and of the Son + and of the Holy Ghost. + Amen.”

The correct Latin text is from De Benedictionibus, Liberia Editrice Vaticana, 1993, ISBN 880118994, page 468:

“1221. Tum celebrans, ad novos confratres versus, dicit:
Hoc Scapulari induti,
in familiam religiosam N. suscepti estis,
ut Christo eiusque Ecclesiae
in spiritu eiusdem Ordinis
impensius servire valeatis.
Quod ut perfectius assequamini,
ego, ex potestate mihi concessa,
ad participationem omnium bonorum spiritualium
eiusdem familiae religiosae vos admitto.”

The text at sistersofcarmel.com/scapinfo.php

“P - Ego, ex potestate mihi concessa, recipio vos ad participationem, omnium bonorum spiritualium, qua, cooperante misericordia Jesu Christi, a Religiosa de Monte Carmelo peraguntur. In Nomine Patris + et Filii + et Spiritus Sancti. + Amen.”

 

[puzzleannie]

I just finished typing a Spanish translation of a pamphlet on the Brown Scapular which I obtained from the Carmelites, in conjunction with a parish project. Anyone may wear a scapular that has been blessed by a priest, using the same formula he would for any sacramental, and that has merit. But to gain the specific indulgences promised, one must be formally invested with the Brown Scapular, and the whole ritual is given, and the prayers include the blessing of the scapular, the investiture (placing it on the person’s shoulders) and the personal consecration to Christ through Mary.

The history of the scapular and details of the indulgences are given, and it notes that formerly only a Carmelite priest can do this, or a priest who has received the faculty to do so, but now any priest can do it.

my purpose in doing this, and I had to do a lot of research even to find the info, is to persuade our pastor to formally invest the children in the scapular as part of their 1st communion preparation, since most of them receive one in the gift package they receive (missal, rosary, scapular, pin etc.). Now all we do is the standard blessing of religious articles.

I remember (in the old days, sonny) this was done on Saturday before 1st communion, usually the day we made our first Confession, for the whole class. The pamphlet explains why, I think, because it quotes extensively from Pope Pius XII and his writings on the occassion of his infallible declaration on the Assumption of the BVM in 1950. So I imagine the practice became widespread in the 50s.

 

[John_Lilburne]

… my purpose in doing this, and I had to do a lot of research even to find the info, is to persuade our pastor to formally invest the children in the scapular as part of their 1st communion preparation, since most of them receive one in the gift package they receive (missal, rosary, scapular, pin etc.). Now all we do is the standard blessing of religious articles. …

I agree with the concern about them just being given the blessed scapular in the gift pack. But I do not see the ceremony to invest them as the solution. I suggest just removing the scapulars from the gift packages. I see encouraging children to join a confraternity as part of First Communion prepration as far too much pressure on them.

I put an incorrect footnote in post #3 above. The correct footnote makes the point about the importance of receving the scapular being a commitment to join a confraternity.

From the 2002 Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy:
"The Brown Scapular and other Scapulars
205. … The imposition of the Scapular should be celebrated with “the seriousness of its origins. It should not be improvised. The Scapular should be imposed following a period of preparation during which the faithful are made aware of the nature and ends of the association they are about to join and of the obligations they assume”.
The correct footnote to this is 257, but it is listed as 256 on the internet at vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/ccdds/documents/rc_con_ccdds_doc_20020513_vers-direttorio_en.html . The footnote is:
“CONGREGATION FOR DIVINE WORSHIP, Circular Letter Guidelines and proposals for the celebration of the Marian Year,88.”

Anyway, this document is at campus.udayton.edu/mary//resources/documents/marianyearorientations.html : What it has is:

"Consecrations, Membership in Confraternities, the Giving of Scapulars

86 On the occasions of visiting marian shrines, the devotion towards the Mother of God moves the faithful to fulfill some acts of worship which in themselves are good, but must be selected with deliberation and preceded by adequate preparation.

Consecrations

…

The consecrations to the Blessed Virgin – of families, ecclesiastic groups, or parishes just on the spot, on the occasion of visiting a shrine – must not be the fruit of a passing emotion, as sincere as it may be. Such consecration requires personal decision, made freely and maturely after reflection. This must start from a correct evaluation of the primary and fundamental consecration at Baptism, and must reach an exact understanding of the theological meaning of “consecration to Mary.”

Membership in Confraternities

1. Many shrines are the center of confraternities or other associations that have as their purpose the honoring of the Blessed Virgin and promoting the Christian life among its members. The giving of the name to such confraternities is of itself an act of devotion. What must be avoided is that membership becomes nothing more than a formality. That could happen when membership starts with a short visit to a shrine, without any previous knowledge of the nature and statutes of the associations, their aims and obligations. Besides, some faithful think that membership is a sure guarantee of some spiritual advantage, without making any promise, or with the conviction that it is a condition or means to obtain graces from the Blessed Virgin.

The Giving of Scapulars

1. In the history of devotions the devotion to different scapulars can be found. Moved by their love for the Blessed Virgin, the faithful were attracted by the spirituality of religious families with a marian inspiration. Because of that they joined associations or confraternities founded under their spirit, put on the habit in the form of the scapular, and followed their way of life. In the scapular, the faithful saw a remembrance of baptism in which they had put on Christ. (cf. Gal. 3:27).

The giving of a scapular must be done in line with the seriousness of its origins. It must not be an act more or less improvised, but the concluding moment of an accurate preparation, during which the faithful has been well instructed about the nature and aims of the association to which he gives his name, and the duties that he takes upon himself for life."(footnote 151: De Benedictionibus, 1208-1210.)

This footnote 151 is referring to Book of Blessings, 1488-1490, the Introduction to the Order for the Blessing and Conferral of a Scapular
Reference: Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy, St. Paul’s Publications, 2002, ISBN 1876295546.

 

[vince2paul]

a little bit off topic,
my parish priest usually does the blessing not saying anything, he just makes Sign of the Cross over it (it takes about 3-5 seconds). Is it valid?

 

[Neithan]

Thanks for your replies. I guess I’ll take my Scapular back to be properly invested.

 

[Polish]

vince2paul:

a little bit off topic,
my parish priest usually does the blessing not saying anything, he just makes Sign of the Cross over it (it takes about 3-5 seconds). Is it valid?

Whenever I have an icon for my parish priest to bless, he blesses it with holywater and a prayer and then puts it on the altar during Sunday Mass. In other Eastern Catholic Churches, the icon remains on the altar for 40 days. (Now that’s a blessing!!! )

 

[Polishman]

From the Carmelite Generalate in Rome, 1996

Reception into the Confraternity of the Scapular of Carmel is the prerogative of an authorised person who acts in the name of the Order. The reception takes place according to the proper rite approved by the Holy See, by means of enrolment in the Scapular. The Scapular, which may be blessed by any priest or deacon, consists of two brown or dark pieces of any suitable material, joined together by two ribbons. For receptions, the name of the faithful and the date must be registered in a book kept for the purpose. On this occasion, a certificate with the name of the Confraternity or of the Church to which the person enrolled belongs may be given. These conditions, however, may be waived.

After the reception of the cloth Scapular, the faithful may, for personal reasons, substitute it with a medal showing on one side the Sacred Heart of Jesus and on the other Our Lady. Both Scapular and medal may be replaced without having to be blessed again. The members of the Confraternity must at all times devoutly wear the Scapular (or the medal), as a visible sign of their belonging to Mary in the brotherhood of Carmel. But above all the members are bound to set aside regularly time to be with God in prayer, frequent participation in the Eucharist, daily recitation of one of the Hours of the Liturgy or of some Psalms or the rosary or other equivalent prayers. New members may gain plenary indulgences on the day they join the Confraternity and on the following feasts: Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel (16 July), St. Elias, prophet (20 July), St. Simon Stock (16 May), St. Therese of the Child Jesus (1 October), St. Teresa of Jesus (15 October), all the Carmelite Saints (14 November), and St. John of the Cross (14 December), provided they fulfil the usual conditions: going to confession and communion, saying a prayer for the intentions of the Pope and renewing the promise to observe the commitments to the Confraternity.

The solemn feast of the Confraternity is that of the Commemoration of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel (16 July). Members will celebrate this feast with great devotion and gratitude towards Mary, renewing their commitment of service to her, fidelity to Jesus Christ and the Church, and commending the whole Carmelite Family to the maternal heart of the Virgin.

If possible, the members will meet periodically to build up the sense of fraternity, to study Carmelite spirituality, to care for brothers and sisters in need, all in union with Mary.

 

[Polishman]

The following is the approved English text of the doctrinal section of the “Rite of Blessing of and Enrollment in the Scapular of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel” as issued and confirmed by the Congregation for Divine Worship and for the Discipline of the Sacraments, November 29, 1996, Prot. 2243/96/L.

geocities.com/korvesem/carmel/doctrinalstatement.html