The Brown Scapular enrollment

[RedDuke50]

I heard that you must be formally enrolled by a Priest into the Order so that you can receive the graces of wearing a brown Scapular. But then I read that if you simply wear one and follow the spirituality of the Order, then you will receive the graces even if you are not formally enrolled. So, must I be enrolled or no?

Thanks!

 

[holyghost]

Yes you must be formally enrolled by a priest, under the following format:
freebrownscapular.com/brown_scapular_enrollment.html

 

[Imcatholic7]

You should be enrolled if your Catholic but non-Catholics can wear the Scapular as well. Our Lady of Mount Carmel said “whosoever dies wearing this Scapular shall not suffer eternal fire”.

 

[R_C]

Anyone - even someone who is not Catholic - can wear the Scapular.

However, as a Catholic, you want to be invested in the scapular: this is done the first time only by a priest through the “Rite for the Blessing of and Enrollment in the Scapular of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel”. This is very often done on July 16, Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel.

You can find out more here, here, and here (just a few useful links) as well as on the forum, here.

Also here is a quote from an official source (link):

Devotion to Our Lady of Mount Carmel is bound to the history and spiritual values of the Order of the Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel and is expressed through the scapular. Thus, whoever receives the scapular becomes a member of the order and pledges him/herself to live according to its spirituality in accordance with the characteristics of his/her state in life.

As a result of the history and evolution of devotion to Mary through the scapular, there are today several categories of devotees according to the degree of identification with and affiliation to the family of Carmel. These may be listed as follows:

a) The religious men and women.

b) The Secular Order (also called Third Order).

c) Those who belong to the Confraternity of the Scapular.

d) All those who receive the scapular and live according to its spirituality in various degrees of association with the order.

e) Those who receive the scapular and live according to its spirituality, but have no formal association with the order.

f) All who are committed to put into practice the Marian characteristic of Carmelite spirituality wholly and fervently, but in forms which correspond to the nature of the bond that ties them to the family of Mary.

Bl. Pope John Paul II used to wear the Scapular ever since young age (as we can see in this famous picture); he was wearing it that Wednesday when he was shot four times, and it is known that right before undergoing surgery he personally told the doctors not to remove his scapular.

He once wrote:

The Scapular is essentially a “habit”. Those who receive it are associated more or less closely with the Order of Carmel and dedicate themselves to the service of Our Lady for the good of the whole Church.

Those who wear the Scapular are thus brought into the land of Carmel, so that they may “eat its fruits and its good things” (cf. Jer 2: 7), and experience the loving and motherly presence of Mary in their daily commitment to be clothed in Jesus Christ and to manifest him in their life for the good of the Church and the whole of humanity.

I love wearing my Scapular…as a sinner, it reminds me of our Mother’s embrace at all times, an embrace of consolation, intercession, and hope.

 

[RedDuke50]

Okay, I guess I will go to a Priest and get enrolled soon. I was hoping I didn’t have to go to the Priest and say the prayers and stuff as I am shy. But I guess I got to!

 

[Fan_of_Trent]

Anyone - even someone who is not Catholic - can wear the Scapular.

However, as a Catholic, you want to be invested in the scapular: this is done the first time only by a priest through the “Rite for the Blessing of and Enrollment in the Scapular of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel”.

I asked my priest (FSSP) to invest me in the scapular yesterday, which he formally did through a Latin blessing and Holy Water, but I was not personally “invested”. Perhaps he misunderstood me or I was not clear enough in conveying that I had not yet been initially invested and so he only blessed the scapular itself. Should I approach him and specifically ask to be “invested”, or is the blessing sufficient?

I suspect there may have been a misunderstanding because he mentioned that it was a devotional item and that it was blessed in the same manner as a surplice/cassock or other minor liturgical vestment.

Pax.

J.M.J.

 

[R_C]

What you describe sound similar to the ritual described here. However, if you are unsure, you may want to find out about the ceremonies that take place on July 16 specifically for this. I personally wouldn’t insist with him, since it seems that he did the blessing to the best of his knowledge, but maybe you can confirm with another priest.

 

[E_7]

Yes you must be formally enrolled by a priest, under the following format:
freebrownscapular.com/brown_scapular_enrollment.html

This.

My Opus Dei SD enrolled me ,but I had to say just “Amen” at the end.

 

[RedDuke50]

This.

My Opus Dei SD enrolled me ,but I had to say just “Amen” at the end.

You did? I hope that is all I have to do because doing all of those responses makes me nervous.

 

[MS_SURVEYOR]

Nothing the priest did wrong. He just didn’t know. My priest did the same thing, I didn’t know any better until the Holy Spirit showed me. So I just printed 2 enrollment sheets. 1 for the priest, and 1 for me. I asked him after evening mass, showed him the enrollment sheet. He smiled, told me to kneel and give him the scapular. Less than 5 minutes later I was enrolled. I’ve had one on ever since. Being enrolled made a big difference. Oh what blessings and protection has Mary poured upon me. Just go ahead and do it.

 

[gxensen]

OMG! :crying: :nope:

I’m too scared to put it on without being formally enrolled and having it blessed, as it should be. When I received my brown scapular—I ordered mine from Amazon—I was eager to put it on, just to see what I would look like wearing it. I hastily tried to open the flimsy plastic bag, it was packaged in, without harming the scapular and the informational card inside. I unfolded the strands of the scapular and I just stood there, for a couple seconds, looking at how wonderful it looked, and how satin-like the wool felt. Then, I sped to the bathroom where I immediately turned on the light.

I looked at myself in the mirror, then back at the scapular. Then, I started rearranging it in my hands, so I could get it in position to put it on, as it should be worn. As I was putting it on, one strand accidentally fell into that rim where the earpiece of a pair of glasses mounts onto, behind one’s ear. At the exact moment, I actually questioned, could God not want me to put it on?

So, kept going. I moved the strap so it could be over my shoulder, like it a scapular is supposed to be worn, and the light bulb in my bathroom started flickering wildly and making threateningly sounding voltage jolts; as if it was about to strike at me with glass, by it shattering, or a bolt of electricity. You have to keep in mind that this was something that had never happened with the light bulb! And, I have a huge fear of lightning.

Indeed, I immediately took the scapular off, and the light returned to its state of normalcy…

Again, I’m going to wait for it to be enrolled and blessed formally before I wear it. I could be that the Holy Spirit wishes I do it as so, too.

 

[Alfonsus]

You don’t need to be enrolled.
In fact, the Order of Carmel is against hasty enrollment.

Here is what the Order of Carmel has said regarding the brown scapular, from A Catechesis of the Brown Scapular, prepared by 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.

 

[bakaten]

II have a quick question

I decided to get enrolled in Brown Scapular. Surprisingly I found a Carmelite parish in the town that I visited for a business trip, (they are quite rare in this part of the globe LOL). So I went there and ask the priest for the enrollment.

The thing is, the ceremony is a bit different than the one people posted here, it’s like a really compact prayer, without the sprinkle of the holy water etc, just a short prayer. It looks like a blessing.
But the thing is at the end, the priest also bless me with the sign of the Cross at my forehead, and he open his arm and say congratulation. I was a bit stun for a moment because the enrollment is quite different, however the priest seems to sense my hesitation, once again he open his arms, smile and said congratulations.

So the question is, this is still considered as enrollment right?

On the side note, when the priest do the gesture, I really feel like I am really welcomed as part of the Carmelites