Our Lady of Mount Carmel– 16th July

Our Lady of Mount Carmel

Our Lady of Mount Carmel is the title given to the Blessed Virgin Mary in her role as patroness of the Carmelite Order, particularly within the Catholic Church. The first Carmelites were Christian hermits living on Mount Carmel in the Holy Land during the late 12th and early to mid-13th century. They built a chapel in the midst of their hermitages and dedicated it to the Blessed Virgin, whom they conceived of in chivalric terms as the “Lady of the place.” Our Lady of Mount Carmel was adopted in the 19th century as the patron saint of Chile.

On 16 July 1251, as Simon Stock knelt in prayer, Our Lady appeared to him, holding the Child Jesus in one arm and the Brown Scapular in the other. Our Lady gave St. Simon a scapular for the Carmelites with the following promise, saying, “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…It shall be a sign of salvation, a protection in danger, and a pledge of peace.” On 13 January 1252, the order received a letter of protection from Pope Innocent IV, defending them from harassment. There are three conditions necessary to participate in this Privilege

1. Wear the Brown Scapular,
2. Observe chastity according to your state in life,
3. Pray the Rosary.

0716 Our Lady of Mount Carmel 2p LETTER 20250704

0716 Our Lady of Mount Carmel 2p A4 20250704

Our Lady of Mount Carmel – 16th July

“Whosoever dies clothed in this [scapular] shall not suffer eternal fire.” St. Simon Stock

“The scapular is a Marian habit. It is both a sign and pledge: a sign of belonging to Mary; a pledge of her motherly protection.”

“Just as men take pride in having others wear their livery, so the most holy Mary is pleased when her servants wear her scapular as a mark that they have dedicated themselves to her service.” St. Alphonsus Liguori

“Do whatever He tells you.”

https://www.youtube.com/embed/8N2nkv5yVa8

A Prayer to Our Lady of Mount Carmel

O most beautiful Flower of Mount Carmel, fruitful vine, splendor of Heaven, Blessed Mother of the Son of God, Immaculate Virgin, assist me in this my necessity. O Star of the Sea, help me and show me herein that you are my Mother.

O Holy Mary, Mother of God, Queen of Heaven and earth, I humbly beseech you from the bottom of my heart, to succor me in this my necessity. There are none that can withstand your power. O show me herein that you are my Mother.

O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us that have recourse to thee. (Repeat three times)

Sweet Mother, I place this cause in your hands. (Repeat three times)

Amen.

Novena To Our Lady of Mount Carmel

First Day
O Beautiful Flower of Carmel, most fruitful vine, splendor of heaven, holy and singular, who brought forth the Son of God, still ever remaining a pure virgin, assist us in our necessity! O Star of the Sea, help and protect us! Show us that you are our Mother!
(pause and mention petitions)
Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be
Our Lady of Mount Carmel, pray for us.

Second Day
Most Holy Mary, Our Mother, in your great love for us you gave us the Holy Scapular of Mount Carmel, having heard the prayers of your chosen son Saint Simon Stock. Help us now to wear it faithfully and with devotion. May it be a sign to us of our desire to grow in holiness.
(pause and mention petitions)
Say: Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be
Our Lady of Mount Carmel, pray for us.

Third Day
O Queen of Heaven, you gave us the Scapular as an outward sign by which we might be known as your faithful children. may we always wear it with honor by avoiding sin and imitating your virtues. Help us to be faithful to this desire of ours.
(pause and mention petitions)
Say: Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be
Our Lady of Mount Carmel, pray for us.

Fourth Day
When you gave us, Gracious Lady, the Scapular as our Habit, you called us to be not only servants, but also your own children.
We ask you to gain for us from your Son the grace to live as you children in joy, peace and love.
(pause and mention petitions)
Say: Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be
Our Lady of Mount Carmel, pray for us.

Fifth Day
O Mother of Fair Love, through your goodness, as your children, we are called to live in the spirit of Carmel. Help us to live in charity with one another, prayerful as Elijah of old, and mindful of our call to minister to God’s people.
(pause and mention petitions)
Say: Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be
Our Lady of Mount Carmel, pray for us.

Sixth Day
With loving provident care, O Mother Most Amiable, you covered us with your Scapular as a shield of defense against the Evil One.
Through your assistance, may we bravely struggle against the powers of evil, always open to your Son Jesus Christ.
(pause and mention petitions)
Say: Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be
Our Lady of Mount Carmel, pray for us.

Seventh Day
O Mary, Help of Christians, you assured us that wearing your Scapular worthily would keep us safe from harm. Protect us in both body and soul with your continual aid. may all that we do be pleasing to your Son and to you.
(pause and mention petitions)
Say: Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be
Our Lady of Mount Carmel, pray for us.

Eighth Day
You give us hope, O Mother of Mercy, that through your Scapular promise we might quickly pass through the fires of purgatory to the Kingdom of your Son. Be our comfort and our hope.
Grant that our hope may not be in vain but that, ever faithful to your Son and to you, we may speedily enjoy after death the blessed company of Jesus and the saints.
(pause and mention petitions)
Say: Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be
Our Lady of Mount Carmel, pray for us.

Ninth Day
O Most Holy Mother of Mount Carmel, when asked by a saint to grant privileges to the family of Carmel, you gave assurance of your Motherly love and help to those faithful to you and to your Son.
Behold us, your children.
We glory in wearing your holy habit, which makes us members of your family of Carmel, through which we shall have your powerful protection in life, at death and even after death.
Look down with love, O Gate of Heaven, on all those now in their last agony!
Look down graciously, O Virgin, Flower of Carmel, on all those in need of help!
Look down mercifully, O Mother of our Savior, on all those who do not know that they are numbered among your children.
Look down tenderly, O Queen of All Saints, on the poor souls!
(pause and mention petitions)
Say: Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be
Our Lady of Mount Carmel, pray for us

Litany (Response to each petition: Pray for us)

Holy Mary.
Mother of God.
Mother of our Redeemer.
Mother of a lost child.
Mother of comfort and understanding.
Mother who shares our joys.
Mother who endures our sorrows.
Mother whose heart was pierced by a sword.
Mother most merciful.
Woman responsive to God’s word.
Woman willing to believe the impossible.
Woman who rejoices in her lowliness.
Woman with an undivided heart.
Woman wrapped in mystery.
Woman moved by the Spirit.
Woman champion of the poor and lowly;
Woman graced by a husband’s love.
Woman widowed by a husband’s death.
Woman at the cross.

Woman patient and waiting.
Woman clothed with the sun.
Queen of all beauty.
Queen of integrity.
Queen of painful meetings.
Queen of all our heart’s treasures.
Queen of our destiny.
Queen of peace.

Prayer to Our Lady of Mount Carmel

O most radiant blossom in the garden of God
who opened so completely
to the seed of Divine love,
plant yourself now in the reality of my heart.
Turning to you as a sister
take my hand in yours and share with me your gift of faith.
As we climb the mountain to God,
remind me that the overshadowing presence
of the Holy Spirit will open
the vision of my soul to all that I cannot see.
Yearning for you as mother
lift me onto your lap and hold me gently
in the arms of hope, sharing with me the promise of new life
passing from one generation to the next.
Reaching out to you as patroness
enfold me in your mantle of care
permeate my spirit with the grace of love.
May my yield for you be full
and my service to God complete.
As Our Lady of This Place,
continue to be my guiding star;
ignite in me wisdom
that I might follow your lead,
conceiving the Word within,
and bringing Jesus to birth in yet
a new day and time.

Prayer to Our Lady of Mount Carmel

Thou who, with special mercy, look upon those clothed in thy beloved Habit, cast a glance of pity upon me. Fortify my weakness with thy strength; enlighten the darkness of my mind with thy wisdom; increase my faith, hope and charity. Assist me

during life, console me by thy presence at my death, and present me to the August trinity as thy devoted child, that I may bless thee for all eternity in Paradise.

Amen.

Memorial of Our Lady of Mount Carmel

This optional memorial of Our Lady of Mount Carmel was established to commemorate her apparition to Saint Simon Stock on 16 July 1251. The Book of Kings recounts that on Mount Carmel the Prophet Elijah gathered a group of men to defend the purity of the Hebrew faith and won a challenge against the priests of the pagan god Baal. Inspired by this experience, a group of monks, following the Rule of Saint Basil, was established to imitate the prophet Elijah. There are traces going back to the 11th century with the arrival of the crusaders. Around 1154, the French nobleman Berthold retreated to this mountain when he arrived in Palestine with his cousin Aimery de Limoges, Patriarch of Antioch. He decided to gather the hermits to live a cenobitic life. These men religious built a small church that stood in the middle of their cells, dedicating it to the Blessed Virgin. They themselves took the name Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel. The Carmelites would gradually acquire their two defining elements: a reference to Elijah and a strong connection with Mary Most Holy. In addition, according to tradition, it was there that the Holy Family stopped on their return from Egypt.

While he was still speaking to the crowds, his mother and his brothers appeared outside, wishing to speak with him. Someone told him, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, asking to speak with you.” But he said in reply to the one who told him, “Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?” And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my heavenly Father is my brother, and sister, and mother.” (Mt. 12:46-50)

Bonds of love, not of blood

On the day on which we celebrate the optional memorial of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, the liturgy presents this passage from the Gospel according to Matthew concerning the degree of familial relationship with Jesus. This degree that is not based on blood, but on imitation: “Whoever does the will of my heavenly Father is my brother, and sister, and mother”. Those who belong to “his family” become a member not through bonds of blood, or by practicing a common religion, but by a free and individual choice that is translated into the commitment to do the Father’s will.

Mary, the first disciple

To confirm what has just been said, Jesus himself responded to a woman who exalted Jesus’s Mother: “Blessed is the womb that carried you and the breasts at which you nursed.” He replied, “Rather, blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it” (Lk. 11:27-28). Mary is the one who knows how to listen, how to keep things in her heart, how to direct everyone to her Son – “Do whatever he tells you” (Jn. 2:5). Mary is the one who never abandoned her Son Jesus, not even along the way of the Cross. She “stood” under the Cross. She is a disciple who never abandons the Lord Jesus, but who always follows him.

Mary, model for Christians (and Carmelites)

All of this leads to imitate the Virgin Mary. Just as the monks have been doing and still do on Mount Carmel, every Christian is called to look to Mary to learn from her, to entrust themselves to her intercession to guard “the purity of faith” against the idols of today’s ‘Baals’.

The Scapular that frees from the pains of purgatory

Saint Simon Stock propagated the devotion to Our Lady of Mount Carmel and composed a beautiful hymn to her called the Flos Carmeli. Our Lady assured Saint Simon Stock those who died wearing the scapular would be freed from the pains of purgatory. Flower of Carmel, Tall vine blossom laden; Splendor of Heaven, Childbearing yet maiden. None equals thee.

BLESSING AND ENROLLMENT OF THE BROWN SCAPULAR OF OUR LADY OF MOUNT CARMEL

CELEBRANT: IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER, AND OF THE SON, AND OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

C: SHOW US YOUR MERCY, O LORD

PEOPLE: AND GRANT US YOUR SALVATION

C: O LORD, HEAR MY PRAYER

P: AND LET MY CRY COME UNTO THEE.

C: THE LORD BE WITH YOU

P: AND ALSO WITH YOU

C: LET US PRAY

O LORD, JESUS CHRIST, SAVIOR OF THE HUMAN RACE, WITH YOUR RIGHT HAND SANCTIFY + THESE HABITS WHICH YOUR SERVANTS ARE TO WEAR DEVOUTLY OUT OF LOVE FOR YOU AND YOUR MOTHER, THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY OF MOUNT CARMEL, IN ORDER THAT THROUGH THE INTERCESSION OF THE SAME BLESSES MOTHER, THEY MAY BE DEFENDED FROM THE EVIL ONE AND MAY PERSEVERE IN YOUR GRACE UNTIL DEATH, WHO LIVES AND REIGNS, WORLD WITHOUT END, AMEN.

[sprinkle with Holy Water]

RECEIVE THESE BLESSED SCAPULARS AND PRAY THAT THE MOST HOLY VIRGIN MARY, THAT BY HER MERITS YOU MAY WEAR THEM WITHOUT STAIN AND THAT SHE MAY GUARD YOU FROM ALL ADVERSITY AND BRING YOU UNTO EVERLASTING LIFE.

[Priest places Scapular on individual saying:]

IN VIRTUE OF THE POWER GIVEN TO ME , I ADMIT YOU TO SHARE IN ALL THE SPIRITUAL GOODS WHICH THROUGH THE MERCIFUL ASSISTANCE OF JESUS CHRIST ARE PERFORMED BY THE RELIGIOUS OF MOUNT CARMEL. IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER, + AND OF THE SON, AND OF THE HOLY SPIRIT, AMEN.

[people return to pews]

MAY ALMIGHTY GOD, THE CREATOR OF HEAVEN AND EARTH, BLESS YOU, HE WHO HAS CHOSEN TO ENROLL YOU IN THE CONFRATERNITY OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY OF MOUNT CARMEL: WE IMPLORE HER TO CRUSH THE HEAD OF THE OLD SERPENT IN THE HOUR OF YOUR DEATH AND HELP YOU TO ATTAIN AT LAST UNTO THE PALM AND CROWN OF THE EVERLASTING INHERITANCE. THROUGH CHRIST OUR LORD, AMEN.