Homily for Solemnity of Our Lady of Mount Carmel & The Brown Scapular (July 16th, 2023)
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we celebrate Our Lady of Mount Carmel, the patronal feast of the Carmelite Order, who take their name from Mount Carmel in Palestine. It is also a very important feast for us as parishioners of St. Joseph Parish.
In the book of Kings, this is where the prophet Elijah challenged 450 prophets of Baal ( a false deity) to prove the divinity of their god. It was of course Elijah who showed the supremacy of the True God of Israel. In this regard, Mount Carmel represents the triumph of genuine faith over idolatry. Elijah exhorted the people to reaffirm their faith in the one true God. Mount Carmel, therefore, symbolizes the power of genuine prayer and a call to re-commitment to one’s faith.
Carmelite tradition suggests that a community of Jewish hermits had lived at that site from the time of Elijah until the Carmelites were founded in that same place in the late 12th Century.
The early Christian hermits of Mount Carmel dedicated a chapel to Mary. Soon, community members were known as the “Brothers of Our Lady of Mount Carmel.” In the early 13th Century, members of the Carmelites moved to England where they became mendicant friars.
According to tradition, the Brown Scapular of Carmel was presented to an English Carmelite named Saint Simon Stock during a period of severe oppression of the Carmelite Order. The Blessed Mother appeared to him as an apparition and handed him a brown Scapular.
The scapular was originally a garment which looked like a large apron that would be placed over the Carmelite’s good clothes. And while they would be out in the fields working, the scapular would protect the good clothes from getting dirty. It is a powerful symbol of the protection of our Lady. We have received the “good clothing” of our baptism, and she protects us from the dirt and evil of the world. She helps us to keep the dignity of our baptismal garment unstained through this pilgrimage of the Christian life on earth.
The Scapular reminds us that we are to be like Mary, to be totally dedicated to God. More than anyone else, it is she who can help us to follow her Son to love him and serve him and live for his glory and the salvation of souls.
The Scapular symbolizes her special protection and calls the wearers to consecrate themselves to her in a special way. It is a garment that we wear as both a sign of our belonging to Mary and pledge of her maternal protection in this life and the next.
It is also a sign of three other elements: Which are:
- Belonging to the Carmelite ‘family,’
2. Consecration to and trust in Mary, and
3. An incentive to imitate our Lady’s virtues, especially her humility, chastity, and prayerfulness. The brown scapular is a symbol of devotion and yoke of obedience to Our Lady of Mount Carmel whose feast we celebrate today. May Our Lady of Mount Carmel pray for us.
Fr Stephen Kakande Sekayala C.S.Sp
St. Joseph Parish Luquillo
Puerto Rico