What's the point of the Brown Scapular?

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Zynxensar

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From what I know it isn’t an instant ticket to Heaven - we still have to exhibit repentance in order to be “saved” by it. So what’s the point of this? I can just exhibit perfect contrition if I don’t have access to Confession and still be saved; the Brown Scapular doesn’t seem to change this. Someone please educate me.
 
www.philipkosloski.com

Why Satan Hates the Brown Scapular - Philip Kosloski

Is the Brown Scapular simply a lucky “charm” that bestows salvation on those who wear it? While there are many “promises” to the wearers of this scapular, we must always keep in mind that the Brown Scapular does not grant someone access to eternal life no matter what kind of life they live. In...
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http://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p2s2c4a1.htm

1667 "Holy Mother Church has, moreover, instituted sacramentals. These are sacred signs which bear a resemblance to the sacraments. They signify effects, particularly of a spiritual nature, which are obtained through the intercession of the Church. By them men are disposed to receive the chief effect of the sacraments, and various occasions in life are rendered holy."173

**[1670] Sacramentals do not confer the grace of the Holy Spirit in the way that the sacraments do, but by the Church’s prayer, they prepare us to receive grace and dispose us to cooperate with it. "For well-disposed members of the faithful, the liturgy of the sacraments and sacramentals sanctifies almost every event of their lives with the divine grace which flows from the Paschal mystery of the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Christ. From this source all sacraments and sacramentals draw their power. There is scarcely any proper use of material things which cannot be thus directed toward the sanctification of men and the praise of God."176

**[1673 When the Church asks publicly and authoritatively in the name of Jesus Christ that a person or object be protected against the power of the Evil One and withdrawn from his dominion, it is called exorcism. Jesus performed exorcisms and from him the Church has received the power and office of exorcizing.178 In a simple form, exorcism is performed at the celebration of Baptism. The solemn exorcism, called “a major exorcism,” can be performed only by a priest and with the permission of the bishop. The priest must proceed with prudence, strictly observing the rules established by the Church. Exorcism is directed at the expulsion of demons or to the liberation from demonic possession through the spiritual authority which Jesus entrusted to his Church. Illness, especially psychological illness, is a very different matter; treating this is the concern of medical science. Therefore, before an exorcism is performed, it is important to ascertain that one is dealing with the presence of the Evil One, and not an illness.179

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catholicism.org

The Brown Scapular of Carmel

The Mother of God made this astounding promise to a humble Carmelite Monk, Saint Simon Stock, in England more than 700 years ago. Most Catholics have learned the story of Saint Simon and the scapul…
catholicism.org
 
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Zynxensar said:
So what’s the point of this?
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Holy reminders… sacred signs…

For some it is incredibly useful to have signs and reminders of the promises and prayers we have made to God. For some of us, it helps us to remember to remain open to the graces that God promises his children. The sacramentals I use do exactly this. I’m thankful for them.

Sacramentals are not a requirement. If you don’t benefit from the use of sacramentals you are certainly free to not use them.
 
Mary’s protection is a great benefit, sure. But for me, I wear it to express my love and devotion to that August Princess, the most perfect and purest of all God’s creatures. Simple as that.
 
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Another beautiful reason to use a sacramental. Ultimately, sacramentals are just material signs of our internal dispositions.
 
Like all sacramentals, it is a physical reminder. To me, it’s a reminder to act as holy as I can.
It reminds me that I consecrated myself to Mary, and all my words and actions are ultimately in His name. I can say it increases my piety.

Very soon after getting mine, I immediately stopped a lot of bad and hurtful habits in my life.
Could I have done that without my scapular? Sure probably, but I know for certain it would have been harder and would have taken a lot longer without it.
 
Zynxensar said:
  • we still have to exhibit repentance in order to be “saved” by it. So what’s the point of this?
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True, we must still exhibit repentance.
The scapular makes it easier to exhibit your repentance.
 
It’s a sign of my devotion to Mary and my promise to pray Rosary daily. And also a reminder of Mary’s love for me.

Catholics don’t use scapulars, medals etc as “instant tickets to heaven” or “instant demon repellers” or any of that superstitious junk. If your only focus is being 'saved" you’re really missing the point.
 
Zynxensar said:
From what I know it isn’t an instant ticket to Heaven - we still have to exhibit repentance in order to be “saved” by it. So what’s the point of this? I can just exhibit perfect contrition if I don’t have access to Confession and still be saved; the Brown Scapular doesn’t seem to change this. Someone please educate me.
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I think you are grossly underestimating how difficult it is to have truly perfect contrition, born entirely out of love of God, not from fear of punishment. What’s more, you can never be sure that your contrition was perfect.
 
So it’s merely an external symbol and nothing of significance in itself? What about the saying that “Whoever wears this shall not suffer eternal fire” or something?
 
I’m not underestimating anything. I understand that perfect contrition is hard to achieve but I’m saying one can have perfect contrition without the scapular.
 
Can you elaborate on the last part (“makes it easier to exhibit your repentance”)?
 
That promise you mention about “Whoever dies wearing this Scapular shall not suffer eternal fire” has been through various wordings over the centuries, but the original meaning of it was that members of the Carmelite order who, throughout their life, wore their habit and were faithful to their religious vows would be saved. The scapular is a lay person’s version of the Carmelite habit and those who wear it are expected to practice some Carmelite spirituality in their daily life.

Needless to say that the important part is being faithful in your Carmelite spirituality and practicing devotion to Mary, not whether you happen to have the scapular on the minute you pass away.
And the converse is also true; if you are some unrepentant sinner, you can’t just hang a scapular around your neck and expect to be saved. You would need to repent of your sin and start living the life of a faithful scapular wearer in order to have the hope of being saved.
 
as in, why? Is it because it serves as a reminder of devotion to God?
 
“Wear a scapular and automatically go to Heaven” is one of those superstituous beliefs I can’t believe anyone actually holds.
 
True, but that’s not something we should rely on, because we can never know. If the brown scapular really does offer the gift of death in grace (when approached properly), then it would be wise to wear it.

I don’t think I can wear it in the correct mindset yet, so I don’t, but I hope one day to be able to.
BoomBoomMancini said:
“Wear a scapular and automatically go to Heaven” is one of those superstituous beliefs I can’t believe anyone actually holds.
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That’s not what we believe. It’s not even close to what we believe.

We believe that, when worn properly, the scapular will grant a gift of protection and prevent a person from dying while not in a state of grace. However, in order to receive this benefit, you must be living a life directed towards God. It won’t save an unrepentant sinner, in fact it may very well be the rope that ties the millstone if you approach it as a superstitious trinket or talisman. The scapular will also not do away with the need for purgatory.
 
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ProdglArchitect said:
…when worn properly…
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That’s the key to understanding the scapular. It isn’t the cloth, it’s how we live and act and pray that makes the scapular efficacious. You could say the the habit (cloth) of the brown scapular reflects the habits (acts) in our lives.
 
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I heard about the miracle of the Brown Scapular about a soldier in WWII (I believe, maybe a different war) who was wearing a Scapular, and got so badly injured he should have never survived for even a minute, but he survived just long enough to make a last confession on the battle field.
Anyone else hear of this? Know more details?
 
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