Question about a Brown Scapular

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StudentMI

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I was given a Brown Scapular (should it be capitalized?) and the two pieces of cloth have an image glued on them I think. They are wrapped in a plastic bag type material that is tight, and doesn’t look like it comes off. But I could tear it off, if I need to. I’m going to get it blessed soon, and I’m not sure if I should take the plastic off. The pictures I’ve seen of scapulars don’t have a covering like this. Should I remove it, or just wait for what the priest tells me to do?

Also, do I have to have every new scapular blessed, though not invested? I know investing is just once.
 
I keep the plastic on because I sweat a lot and I want to protect it from bein ruined. But it could be irritating. A blessing is a blessing, a piece of plastic won’t stop the Scapular from being blessed.
 
The Scapular is two pieces of cloth connected with two strings. All rest is accessory.

One does not quite get a Scapular blessed in the usual sense: one is invested in the Scapular by a priest using a specific rite (which once could only be performed by Carmelite monks as far as I recall) and the blessing is attached to the person, not to the Scapular.

Usually a Parish holds this rite on July 16, feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, but any priest can do it at any time upon request - or so I presume.

If the Scapular is to be replaced, however, it is a good practice to ask a priest to bless it in order to further consecrate it for its special purpose.

There are several beautiful promises associated with the Scapular, and it is a devotion that goes hand in hand with the Rosary. It would be nice to read more about it 🙂 I have personally received the grace of conversion through the Rosary and the Scapular. I know of quite a few people who also received significant graces leading them either back or closer to Christ and the Church.
 
StudentMI said:
I was given a Brown Scapular (should it be capitalized?) and the two pieces of cloth have an image glued on them I think. They are wrapped in a plastic bag type material that is tight, and doesn’t look like it comes off. But I could tear it off, if I need to. I’m going to get it blessed soon, and I’m not sure if I should take the plastic off. The pictures I’ve seen of scapulars don’t have a covering like this. Should I remove it, or just wait for what the priest tells me to do?

Also, do I have to have every new scapular blessed, though not invested? I know investing is just once.
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The Brown Scapular does not need to be invested, but may. Read about it here from the*** Carmelitana Collection***: carmelitanacollection.com/catechesis.phpIf 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. …

Who may invest people with the Brown Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel?
According to the Rite for the Blessing and Enrollment in the Scapular of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel, approved by the Holy See in 1996, any priest or deacon has the faculties for blessing the scapular. A person given authority to act in the name of the order may receive people into the confraternity of the scapular. The official ritual provided by the Holy See makes no provision for someone other than a priest or deacon to bless the scapular.
Code: 
           **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.
 
Does enrollment mean invested? I had it blessed today but without Holy Water, and it was not invested. My priest was in a rush.
 
StudentMI said:
Does enrollment mean invested? I had it blessed today but without Holy Water, and it was not invested. My priest was in a rush.
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Yes.

Jimmy Akin states that the only words needed to invest it are:“I admit you to a share in all the spiritual works performed with the merciful help of Jesus Christ by the religious of Mount Carmel.”
 
Vico said:
Jimmy Akin states that the only words needed to invest it are:“I admit you to a share in all the spiritual works performed with the merciful help of Jesus Christ by the religious of Mount Carmel.”
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What if these specific words were omitted but everything else was included?
I doubt these are the essential words, since the official ritual states:
The officiant announces the affiliation to the Carmelite family in the following or similar words:
By the faculties invested in me I admit you to participate in all the spiritual benefits of the Order of Carmel.
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The phrase “or similar words” would indicate that the words are descriptive, not essential. Some guides have instructed that the essential part is the reception:
Receive this Scapular by which you enter the family of the Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel; wear it as a sign of the motherly protection of the Virgin and of your pledge to imitate and serve her. May the Mother of God help you to be clothed in Christ. May He abide in you to the glory of the Trinity and to dedicate yourself to the Church for the good of your brothers and sisters.
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or some other approved alternative.
 
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