Receive, my beloved son, this Scapular

Today the Church celebrates the feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, because on July 16, 1251, Our Lady appeared to a holy English Carmelite, Saint Simon Stock, handed him a brown woolen scapular and said:

“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.

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.”

Seventy years later, Our Lady appeared to Pope John XXII and gave him a new promise, considered to complement the first.

At first, the Scapular was for the exclusive use of the Carmelite monks. Later, the Church decided to extend the privileges and spiritual benefits attached to it to all Catholics, by making it smaller and making the conditions to receive it accessible to everyone.

Sources: Notre Dame des Neiges & catholic-church