THE SCAPULAR OF THE BLOOD

THE SCAPULAR OF THE BLOOD

A simple Brown Scapular

Mary Offering The Brown Scapular for Hope

WHAT IS THE BROWN SCAPULAR?

(From the online "Wikipedia")

Just as the stole is the vestment that marked the office of a priest, the monastic scapular became the equivalent for those in monastic life, even those who had not been ordained. It became a symbol of the confraternal way, and so the form was later adopted by pious laity who wished to have an open sign of their devotion.

The monastic scapular appears to have originated in the Rule of Saint Benedict in which he calls for a scapulare propter opera ("surcoat for work") which appears to have been simply a tunic or apron designed to protect the monastic robes during manual labor. The Dominican Order added a hood, and even today, such garments mark the wearer as a member of a religious order.

More commonly, a smaller form (but still larger than the small scapulae available today) of an order's scapular would be bestowed upon the lay member. Rather than a full length of cloth, it consisted of two rectangles (approximately 2" x 3") of cloth joined by bands in some fashion.

You can buy a Scapular from any Catholic bookstore or just write to us here at the Shrine for your own free, blessed Brown Scapular:

CCLRC/ Shrine of the Martyrs of Purity/ 5230 Canyon Creek Road/Idaho Falls/Idaho 83402

God bless you!

Legend says Mary saved relics of Christ's Blood

(This picture is from "The Passion of the Christ"

WHY WEAR A SCAPULAR?

During the Scourging of Jesus, Mary left the scene briefly, overcome by the sheer horror of it all.

While she and Mary Magdalene comforted each other, Claudia, the wife of Pontius Pilate, came to them bearing clean strips of cloth. Mary takes the cloths and uses them to mop up the bloodstains from Her Son’s beating. the Jews would often do that to perserve the signs of an innocent person's sufferings to bring before the altar of Almighty God for justice on the killers.

But the Blood of Jesus cries out for Mercy for all sinners!

And Mary knew this. She gathered His Blood to show forgiveness, not to condemn others.

The legends say that Mary wore the biggest piece of cloth as a sort of apron covering her heart and back for the rest of her life to honor Her Son’s sacrifice. The bloodstains on the cloth turned brown after washing, time and some fading and when Mary was buried with it the holy covering looked pretty much like a big brown piece of cloth. The other pieces were cut up and given to others as a memento of the saving Blood of Jesus. That’s how the first Scapulars (which literally means shoulder coverings) came to be.

In 1251, Mary appeared to Saint Simon Stock, the head of the oldest religious in the world, the Order of Mount Carmel. It seems that their order, which goes back to the school of the prophets with Elijah, had worn a Brown Scapular in honor of the Prophet’s mantle for centuries. But when Mary appeared, she handed Saint Simon a new Scapular, made just like the one she worn in honor of the Precious Blood. And she said:

"Take this scapular. Whosoever dies wearing it shall not suffer eternal fire. It shall be a sign of salvation, a protection from danger, and a pledge of peace."

Simon took the Scapular and not only wore it himself; he also ordered his monks and everyone who supported the Carmelites to wear both large and small versions of this special sacramental.

Today the Brown Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel is the second most popular sacramental in the world, after the Rosary. Many people have reported miracles from wearing the “blood cloth:”

Mary Uses The Brown Scapular To Cover The World With Her Son's Blood

A GREAT WITNESSING TOOL

The easiest way to witness to someone is to wear the cloth Scapular. People get so curious about it that they have to ask what it is and why you’re wearing it. That’s why the Brown Scapular with the Holy Face of Jesus that we often wear is so powerful.

I pull it out. Then I ask, “Have you seen the "Passion of The Christ" movie?” Usually they say yes, or that they know about it. I then go on to mention how Mother Mary wiped up Jesus’ blood and wore one of the cloths to remember the sufferings of Her Son for the sins of the world. and how years later she appeared and gave a duplicate of that cloth, stained to dark brownish red to Saint Simon Stock and asked that everyone wear it in honor of the Precious Blood and her suffering heart.

“It’s kind of like wearing one of those prayer cloths, like they talk about in the Bible,” I say.

I then go on to repeat Mary’s promise that ANYONE WHO DIES CLOTHED IN THIS SCAPULAR WILL NEVER SUFFER ETERNAL FIRE. Why? Because if you persist in wearing this as a sign of love and sympathy for Mary or her Son, God will touch your heart with sorrow for all of your sins before you die so that you can be saved.

In my experience, if I tell the whole story and then mention that I have a pamphlet on the Scapular, (with one attached to it), people will take it. I have NEVER seen anyone refuse it or throw it away.

Easy, no brain witnessing-yippee!

You might say, what good does that do? They probably won’t wear it seriously. After a while, they’ll forget about it. Well, I have a real life Scapular story that shows the power of this little piece of cloth.

A PERSONAL TALE

My friend had a sister named who was very badly treated as a child. She ended up turning tricks on the street to support her heroin habit. One day she ended up pregnant and against all odds she had the child. That didn’t stop her from returning to the streets and getting deeper into her habit.

One day, she got so high on Angel Dust that she ended up totally psychotic in a hospital. Since I was a member of the Third Order of Our Lady of Our Carmel and I had received permission to wear a full, modified habit, I had my big scapular on. I covered her in bed with it when she lapsed into a coma and prayed for her. I heard the Lord say that He wanted me to place a picture of Our Lady At Fatima beside her bed and enroll her into the Scapular of Moutn Carmel. I did, putting a small Scapular around her neck and within a few days she was back in her right mind.

She told her sister and me that the only thing she remembered was the picture of Mary and how she seemed to call her back away from the “dark stuff.” She then asked me about the Scapular I had placed around her neck. When I explained about how the Scapular protects us and is Mary’s promise to take us to Heaven, she got very quiet and cried.

After that, no matter what happened the girl refused to go anywhere without her Scapular. She stopped doing drugs and started talking about going back to school and getting her education. She also spent more time with her little girl. However, one day right before New Year’s Day, the small tube the doctors had placed in her neck became clogged. She went into the operation wearing her Scapular. A hospital based infection got into her system and she was dead within 72 hours at the age of 21.

The funeral was hard enough for everyone. But her little daughter, took it especially hard. For a while, we thought she would never get over it. But then, one morning she came downstairs with a dream that I will never forget.

“I saw Mama,” she said. “She didn’t have that thing in her neck anymore from her operation and she was dressed all in white. We went to the zoo and every place I always wanted her to take me before. She even bought me ice cream. Then she said she had to go back to heaven but she would always watch out for me.”

That could be wistful thinking, I thought. What child wouldn’t dream about a dead mother?

“I knew it was her,” the little one said, almost reading my thoughts.

“How?” I asked.

She pointed to her aunt’s chest. “She had that thing on, you know that she wore from Mary. She had it on. So, I knew it was her. My mama’s in Heaven!”

Then she went skipping out the door to play rope. The little girl didn’t cry as much after that.

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"Blessed Are the Pure of Heart, For They Shall See God."