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The Scapular, and the Titular Feast of our Parish
Homily Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Parish, Emmett
It is truly a privilege for me to preside over Mass this morning on the feast day of our parish patron. I have warn the scapular for years, I admire the Carmelites, I have always encouraged the Third Order of Carmelites for the laity, and even keep on my desk a miniature statue of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. Her name is the title of our Church, and so we call today the “Titular Solemnity” of this parish. So in the homily, I will explore some of the history and message of our Lady of Mount Carmel, and I will try to warm your hearts to an ardent love for Our Lady, the Mother of God, in whose hands we put all the hope of our salvation. It was July 16, exactly 756 years ago today, in 1251, when Our Lady, the Blessed Virgin Mary, appeared to St. Simon Stock in Cambridge, England. She told him, “Take, beloved son this scapular of thy order as a badge of my confraternity and for thee and all Carmelites a special sign of grace; whoever dies in this garment, will not suffer everlasting fire. It is the sign of salvation, a safeguard in dangers, a pledge of peace and of the covenant.” And ever since then, the wearing of the brown scapular has been one of the most popular sacramental and most encouraged by the Popes, second perhaps only to the holy Rosary. Nearly one hundred years later, Pope John XXII (who lived from 1249-1334) had a related vision of Our Lady. She told him that she would free from Purgatory, on the Saturday after their death, those who prayed the little office of the Blessed Virgin Mary. He promulgated this to the world in a Papal Bull, today called the “Sabbatine Privilege,” in 1332. [1] Many wear the scapular confiding our Our Lady’s promise. But most praiseworthy is the enrollment of the scapular, which will follow Eucharistic Benediction after Mass today for those who wish. Naturally, with divine things, it’s a two-way street; blessings come from heaven, but the Lord expects some response from our own freedom for the graces to take root in our lives. So the enrollment in the scapular has commitments with it. You get all the blessings of the Carmelite order, plus the promise of our Lady, and the Sabbatine Privilege. But in return, there are three things you must do. Pope Leo XIII, of magnificent memory, stated that three conditions were necessary to obtain the Sabbatine Privilege: 1. To wear the scapular. To be enrolled you need to use the cloth ones, but later on at your own free decision you may choose to wear or keep on you the metal one. 2. To observe chastity according to one’s state in life. 3. To pray the Little Office of our Lady or abstain from meat on Wednesdays and Saturdays; and the Pope also gave confessors permission to commute this third condition, which is very commonly done to this day.* So I encourage all to consider this enrollment, if you haven’t already, as it would be of great advantage to your soul. There is more good news today. Since this is the Titular Solemnity of our parish, the Church offers a plenary indulgence. By indulgences, the Church lifts from you the temporal punishment from all your sins. It can remove all this punishment, and then it is called a plenary indulgence. Or it can remove all this punishment, which is called a partial indulgence. If this due punishment is not removed in this life, by prayer, fasting and almsgiving, it is removed very painfully in purgatory. And they help us break the habit of sin. You can offer an indulgence for yourself or for a deceased person, but not another living person. To get any plenary indulgence, you must receive communion, go to confession within a reasonable amount of time (one confession is good for several indulgences), you must pray for the Holy Father’s intentions, and you must renounce all voluntary attachment to sin. Then you must do the deed to which the indulgence is attached. For the Titular Feast of a parish, it is the visiting of the parish, and the praying there of the Creed and an Our Father. The Law of the Church on this matter says, “A plenary indulgence is granted to the faithful who visit, and there pray the Our Father and the Creed… a parish church on the Titular solemnity.” We will say these prayers today together, to facilitate the graces God has for you and for all souls. Therefore, between the love of our Lady, the gift of the Scapular, the Sabbatine Privilege, and the Indulgence, let us praise God for the countless gifts of love which he shows us. Often when I visit hospitals, I give dying persons my own scapular. I try to keep a spare one in my car. It is a shield against the evil one, a ladder to heaven, a cloak of our Lady’s consolation, and a sure sign of her love for us. And on our part, the scapular of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel is a sign of the humble confession of our sins and a promise of devotion, trust and imitation of Mary, the Mother of God. Mary, Our heavenly Mother, you who are Assumed Body and Soul into heaven, and there suffer tears of sorrow for your wayward children, have mercy on us, and help us see the face of God forever. Amen. |