Grace and Space

On July 16, 1251, our Lady appeared to St. Simon Stock, the Father of the Carmelite Order, and presented him with the scapular. St. Simon's story began as an English hermit. He received the name "stock" because he lived in the hollowed trunk or the stock of a tree. In time he would become a Carmelite and later the Father General of the Order. The Carmelites in the beginning were hermits on Mount Carmel, near Nazareth in the Holy Land. When they migrated to Europe, in this case England, some decided to no longer be hermits and instead became friars who worked among the people. St. Simon guided them through this state of transition. In the year 1251 a miraculous vision took place. St. Simon Stock, newly transplanted to England, prayed fervently to Our Lady for her help. Then the Blessed Virgin appeared to him with a multitude of angels, holding the Scapular of the Order in her blessed hands. Our Lady gave St. Simon a scapular for the Carmelites with the following promise: “Receive, my beloved son, this habit of your Order, this shall be to you and to all Carmelites a privilege, that whosoever dies clothed in this shall never suffer eternal fire. ... It shall be a sign of salvation, a protection in danger, and a pledge of peace.” Another important aspect of wearing the Scapular is the Sabbatine Privilege. This concerns a promise made by Our Lady to Pope John XXII. In a papal letter he issued, he recounted a vision that he had had. The Blessed Virgin had said to him in this vision, concerning those who wear the Brown Scapular: "I, the Mother of Grace, shall descend on the Saturday after their death and whomsoever I shall find in Purgatory, I shall free, so that I may lead them to the holy mountain of life everlasting."

 Novena to Our Lady of Mt. Carmel