Saint Simon Stock and the Brown Scapular

The promise of the Brown Scapular was made by Mary, the Mother of God, to St. Simon Stock (1165-1265) in the year 1251.

Saint Simon Stock was born of a distinguished family in the County Kent, England. At the age of 12, Simon retired to the solitude of a forest where, for over 20 years, he lived in the hollow of an oak tree and survived on herbs, roots, and wild apples. He drank only water. He was in a continual state of prayer and was frequently visited by Our Lord and Our Lady. During one of these heavenly meetings, the Blessed Virgin Mary revealed to Saint Simon that he was to seek the company of those hermits known as the Carmelites who recently arrived in England. Simon obeyed and found the Carmelites at Aylesford, near Rochester in Kent, England.

Some background on the Carmelite Order

The Carmelite Order is the only one in the Catholic Church which can trace its origins back to the Old Testament. Elias who lived some 800 years before the birth of Our Lord was chosen by God to be its founder. He was the fiery prophet who never died but was carried away from the earth in a blazing chariot, a symbol of the burning zeal and love of God which would prevail among the Carmelites. Elias was the glowing figure who, together with Moses, appeared with Our Divine Lord at the Transfiguration, a symbol fo the eternal glory which will be awarded to those who die clothed in the habit of Carmel.

The name of the Order is derived from the Mount of Carmel in Palestine where dwell the disciples of the prophet Elias and after him Eliseus. These pious souls were really the first in history to devote their lives solely to prayer and contemplation. Their knowledge of the scriptures and particularly of the prophets inspired in them a tremendous longing for the fulfillment of those prophecies concerning the birth of the Messiah.

At the base of this holy mountain, Mount of Carmel, in the little village of Nazareth, the Incarnation was accomplished. The Blessed Virgin Mary, there in the shadow of Mount Carmel, uttered her fiat (this was what Mary responded to the angel who appeared to her to tell her she would be the mother of Jesus:" Let it be done according to Thy will.", meaning whe was submitting herself totally to God's Will) thus enabling the second Person of the Blessed Trinity to become Man for our salvation. And Mary and Joseph and the Child Jesus visited Mount Carmel upon returning from their two year exile in Egypt. Tradition also assures us that because of their faith, the Carmelites were among the first to be baptized by the Apostles after Pentecost. Because of their love for Our Lady, the Carmelites also erected the first Church honoring Our Lady.

Our Lady's Promise to St. Simon Stock

The blessed Simon could do little to hide his extraordinary holiness and within just two years of entering the order he was appointed Vicar General of all the Western Carmelite Provinces. However, there was great suffering for Simon in the next forty years: dissensions within the Order and other problems outside the order were ongoing. But Simon placed his trust in his beloved Queen of Heaven, Mary.

The continued attacks of thr Mohamedans hastened the Carmelites in Palestine to send many of their friars to Europe in 1244. The following year Saint Simon Stock was chosen to be the 6th general of the Order and the government of the Carmelites was transferred to England. Saint Simon was now nearly 80 years old. His life-long penances had taken a toll on his body, but he accepted the responsibility despite the ongoing persecutions and internal problems of the Carmelite order.

In 1251, burdened with the weight of his many troubles, Saint Simon retreated to the Monastery in Cambridge. He prayed fervently in the privacy of his cell, asking Heaven to again bestow its graces upon the spiritually parched Carmelites. Just as Elias had obtained through this prayer the end of three years draught in Israel, so too did Saint Simon receive an answer to his prayer. While in ecstasy he beheld the Mother of God surrounded by a multitude of angels. Our Lady held in her hands the full brown scapular of the Carmelite habit and looking upon Saint Simon with utmost compassion she said:

"Receive, my beloved son, this habit of thy Order. This shall be to thee and to all Carmelites a privilege that whosoever dies clothed in this shall never suffer eternal fire."

The holy Carmelite was filled with unspeakable joy and consolation. Our Lady concluded by assuring her troubled child, Simon, that his present difficulties would shortly be overcome, and having said this, she vanished from his sight.

Father Peter Swanington, the saint's confessor, writes of his having accompanied Simon Stock on the very day of the apparition to the house of a man possessed by the devil. Satan's poor victim had led a scandalous life and had remained obstinate in his sins. He was on the verge of dying in despair, refusing the Sacraments and blaspheming God. Father Swanington relates:

"We entered the house and he foamed with rage, ground his teeth and rolled his eyes like a furious animal. Saint Simon seeing that he was about to expire and had already lost the use of his senses, made the sign of the cross and laid upon him the holy Scapular of Carmel, then lifting his eyes to Heaven he prayed to God to give time for repentance, that a soul bought with the price of the blood of Jesus Christ might not become the prey of the demon. All at once the sick man regained his strength, recovered the use of his senses, adn making the sign of the cross, cried against the demon, saying with tears, 'Alas, wretch that I am, how terrible is the fear of my damnation! My sins are more numerous than the sand of the sea! Oh my God, Thy Mercy is above Thy justice, have pity on me, and you, My Father, help me.' "

Having renounced his past he made his confession and received the last sacraments. In a few hours he died peacefully in the friendship of God. News of the miracle spread quickly and with it the story of Saint Simon's vision.

Wearing the Brown Scapular: Conditions, Enrollment and Devotion

As if Our Lady had not done enough in promising salvation to faithful Scapular wearers, she extended her motherly protection even to Purgatory as well. In 1322 she appeared to Pope John XXII and revealed to the Vicar of Christ that she would descend into Purgatory, on the first Saturday after their death, to deliver from their agaony those who had faithfully donned the Scapular of Carmel. Our Lady also made known to the Pope that her visitation to these devoted clients of her scapular would be made on the Saturday after their death if three conditions were fulfilled:

THE THREE CONDITIONS:

First: The Brown Scapular of Carmel must be worn with constancy.

Second: One must observe chastity according to one's state in life.

Third: The Divine Office must be recited daily.

Since this last requirement is difficult for laymen to fulfill, the Church has allowed the observance of the ordinary fasts of the Liturgical Year along with abstaining from meat on Wednesdays and Saturdays to be used in place of the Divine Office. But more recently the daily Rosary has become generally accepted as a substitution for both the Office and the fasting with the permission of one's Confessor.

ENROLLMENT:

For the brown scapular wearer to be properly enrolled, the first brown scapular worn must be blessed by a priest of deacon - a simple blessing or that of the "Book of Blessings" or the old Roman Ritual.
Subsequent scapulars do not have to be blessed because the blessing transfers.

DEVOTION:

Those who wear the brown scapular practice a special devotion to Mary. In the past this was the Little Office of Our Lady, but can be commuted by any priest to the rosary.
In addition the person has a special entrustment of themselves to Mary for their salvation. This, in fact, has been promised to those who faithfully wear the scapular - meaning exterior and interior fidelity.

A SPECIAL NOTE:
The Brown Scapular is not a superstition!

The promise "Those who die wearing this brown scapular shall not suffer eternal fire" must NOT be understood superstitiously or magically, but in light of Catholic teaching that perseverance in faith, hope and love are required for salvation. The scapular is a powerful reminder of this Christian obligation.

We at Apostles Creed hope that many of our readers' questions about the Brown Scapular have been answered. Prior to our research, the authors of Apostles Creed did not know much about the brown scapular so we have benefitted, as well.

If you would like to receive a brown scapular, you can go to any Catholic bookstore. EWTN (link below) will send a free Brown Scapular to anyone who writes to:

EWTN Viewer Response
Re: Brown Scapular
5817 Old Leeds Road
Irondale, AL 35210

Please note: EWTN requests no e-mails. May we also suggest a self-addressed and stamped envelope. We are sure a small donation would be appreciated. Thank you!

You can learn more about the Brown Scapular and the Sabbatine Privilege By CLICKING BELOW:

THE BROWN SCAPULAR AND THE SABBATINE PRIVILEGE

FYI: the word scapular is taken from the word scapula, which is one of two triangular-shaped bones of the shoulder.