Mount Carmel rises 1,742 feet above sea level, towering above Israel's Mediterranean coastline. It's the place where the prophet Elijah dwelt. It was here that he prayed to God for the salvation of Israel, which was suffering a terrible drought. He prayed and sent his servant up the mountain several times to look for rain. On the seventh try, Elijah's servant returned with good news:
"And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he cast himself down upon the earth, and put his face between his knees, And said to his servant, Go up now, look toward the sea. And he went up, and looked, and said, There is nothing. And he said, Go again seven times. And it came to pass at the seventh time, that he said, Behold, there ariseth a little cloud out of the sea, like a man's hand." (1 Kings 18:42-44)
Elijah saw the cloud as a symbol of the Virgin mentioned in the prophecies of Isaiah:
Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.
A group of hermits had lived on Mount Carmel, following Elijah's example and praying for the advent of the awaited Virgin who would become the mother of the Messiah. Thus, the origins of the Carmelite Order can be traced back to Elijah and these hermited disciples praying for the coming of the Virgin who would bring the Messiah.
The Liturgy gives us the following account of the history and object of today's feast:
"When on the holy day of Pentecost the Apostles, through heavenly inspiration, spoke divers tongues and worked many miracles by the invocation of the most holy name of Jesus, it is said that many men who were walking in the footsteps of the holy prophets Elias and Elusius, and had been prepared for the coming of Christ by the preaching of John the Baptist, saw and acknowledged the truth, and at once embraced the faith of the gospel. These new Christians were so happy as to be able to enjoy familiar intercourse with the Blessed Virgin, and venerated her with so special and affection, that they, before all others, built a chapel to the purest of virgins on that very spot of Mount Carmel where Elias of old had been had seen the cloud, a remarkable type of a virgin ascending.
Many times each day they came together to the new oratory, and with pious ceremonies, prayers, and praises honored the most blessed Virgin as the special protectress of their Order. For this reason, people from all parts began to call them the brethren of the Blessed Mary of Mount Carmel; and the Sovereign Pontiffs not only confirmed this title, but also granted special indulgences to whoever called either the whole Order or individual brothers by that name. But the most noble Virgin not only gave them her name of protection, she also bestowed upon blessed Simon the Englishman the Holy Scapular as a token, wishing the holy Order to be distinguished by that heavenly garment and to be protected by it from the evils that were assailing it. Moreover, as formerly the order was unknown in Europe, and on this account many were importuning Honorius III for its abolition, the loving Virgin Mary appeared by night to Honorius and clearly bade him receive both the Order and its members with kindness.
The Blessed Virgin has enriched the order so dear to her with many privileges, not only in this world, but also in the next (for everywhere she is most powerful and merciful). For it is piously believed that those of her children who having been enrolled in the con fraternity of the scapular, have fulfilled the small abstinence and said the few prayers prescribed, and have observed chastity as far as their state of life demands, will be consoled by our lady while they are being purified in the fire of Purgatory, and will through her intercession be taken thence as soon as possible to the heavenly country. The Order, thus laden with so many graces has ordained that this solemn commemoration of the Blessed Virgin should be yearly observed forever, to her greater glory.
The Order had difficulty gaining acceptance and suffered persecution and oppression, which prompted the monks to have recourse to the Blessed Virgin in the year 1251. It was on Sunday, July 16th, 1251, as Simon Stock knelt in prayer, thatOur Lady appeared to him holding the Child Jesus in one arm and the Brown Scapular in the other. She uttered the following words: "Hoc erit tibi et cunctis Carmelitis privilegium, in hoc habitu moriens salvabitur." This shall be the privilege for you and for all the Carmelites, that anyone dying in this habit shall be saved.
"In the night between the 15th and 16th of July of the year 1251, the gracious Queen of Carmel confirmed to her sons by a mysterious sign the right of citizenship she had obtained for them in their newly adopted countries; as mistress and mother of the entire religious state she conferred upon them with her queenly hands the scapular, hitherto the distinctive garb of the greatest and most ancient religious family in the West. On giving St. Simon Stock this badge, enobled by contact with her sacred fingers, the mother of God said to him: “whosoever shall die in this habit shall not suffer eternal flames."
- Dom Prosper Gueranger
The Brown Scapular became part of the Carmelite habit. This is a devotional sacramental signifying the wearer's consecration to Mary and affiliation with the Carmelite order. It symbolizes her special protection and calls the wearers to consecrate themselves to her in a special way.
The Carmelites consider Mary to be a perfect model of the interior life of prayer and contemplation to which the Carmelites aspire, as well as a model of virtue as the person who was closest in life to Jesus Christ. She is seen as the one who points Christians most surely to Christ. Like she says to the servants at the Wedding Feast at Cana, "Do whatever He tells you."
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