Responsorial Psalm Lk 1:46-47, 48-49, 50-51, 52-53, 54-55
R. O Blessed Virgin Mary, you carried the Son of the eternal Father.
"My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
my spirit rejoices in God my savior."
R. O Blessed Virgin Mary, you carried the Son of the eternal Father.
"For he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed:
the Almighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his Name."
R. O Blessed Virgin Mary, you carried the Son of the eternal Father.
"He has mercy on those who fear him
in every generation.
He has shown the strength of his arm,
he has scattered the proud in their conceit."
R. O Blessed Virgin Mary, you carried the Son of the eternal Father.
"He has cast down the mighty from their thrones,
and has lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty."
R. O Blessed Virgin Mary, you carried the Son of the eternal Father.
"He has come to the help of his servant Israel
for he has remembered his promise of mercy,
the promise he made to our fathers,
to Abraham and his children for ever."
R. O Blessed Virgin Mary, you carried the Son of the eternal Father.
REFLECTION
"O Blessed Virgin Mary, you carried the Son of the eternal Father."
While Our Lady of Mt. Carmel is the patron saint of the Carmelite Order, the basis for the universal Church honoring Mary under this title dates to her appearance to an English Carmelite St. Simon Stock in the 13th century. She gave him the Brown Scapular, a garment worn by religious over the neck and shoulders as an apron, to be worn by Carmelites “as a sign of her protection.” It is a Marian devotional practice which, over the centuries, has spread to Catholics around the world.
We celebrate the feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel on July 16.*
“To him,” [Saint Simon Stock] an early chronicle states, “appeared the Blessed Virgin with a multitude of angels, holding the Scapular of the Order in her blessed hands, and saying: ‘This will be a privilege for you and for all Carmelites, that he who dies in this will not suffer eternal fire.’” **
Throughout the centuries, the validity of the visions of St. Simon Stock have been disputed, as well as the "Sabbatine Privilege", which is an early liberation of the souls in Purgatory through the intercession of Our Lady.
We have to be careful in not treating the brown scapular as a magical item. Instead, it is a reminder of her protection and intercession.
A story from our Patron, St. John of Vianney tells us the following from a young woman that went to confession with him:
Before she began her confession, Saint John Vianney said to her, “Remember a few days ago in the ballroom a good-looking young man who danced with all the girls but you? And you felt ashamed? And remember you saw sparks coming off his feet when he left? Know that it was the devil in human form, and the only reason he didn’t dance with you is because you were wearing the Scapular. Thank the Blessed Mother for that.”
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