Our Lady of Mount Carmel, pray for us
La Virgen del Carmen (Our Lady of Mount Carmel) in Beniajan, Spain
Today is the Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, the beloved Virgen del Carmen of Spain and Latin America. (Think of how many Latinas and Spanish women are named Carmen or Maria del Carmen for an idea of how widespread the devotion to this appearance of Our Lady is.)
St. Simon Stock’s encounter with the Blessed Mother in 1251 is the source of the use of the scapular, which she placed in his hands in answer to his prayers. Many of us wear scapulars predicated on her promise that “whoever dies in this garment will not suffer everlasting fire.”
The scapular is a covenant between Heaven and ourselves that prayers will rise to God for our salvation. The special saints of the Carmelites — St. Therese of the Child Jesus, St. John of the Cross, St. Teresa of Avila — are our intercessors during these prayers for ourselves and for the souls in Purgatory.
July 17th, 2009 at 12:18 pm