How the Brown Scapular Can Lead to a “Habit” of Holiness

Today is the Feast Day of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, who appeared to St Simon Stock (Feast 16 May) and gave him the Scapular, saying, 'This is for you and yours a privilege; the one who dies in it will be saved.'

From Aleteia

By Philip Kosloski

The Brown Scapular is technically part of a habit worn by religious, but it can also lead to good habits that bring a soul closer to God.

It can be tempting to wear the Brown Scapular in a superstitious manner, much like a lucky charm that protects someone from potential danger.

However, that is not the proper way to wear the Brown Scapular, as it is meant to be a holy reminder to us that leads us closer to Christ.

A holy habit

While most Catholics are familiar with the smaller piece of brown cloth that people wear underneath their clothing, the Brown Scapular is still worn in its fullest form as part of the habit of Carmelites.

Both men and women who are members of the Carmelite Order wear a long brown piece of cloth that that falls from the shoulders to the feet in front and in back.

When Pope John Paul II addressed the Carmelite Order in 2001, he wanted to make sure that anyone who wore the Brown Scapular would see it as a spiritual sign:

The sign of the Scapular points to an effective synthesis of Marian spirituality, which nourishes the devotion of believers and makes them sensitive to the Virgin Mother's loving presence in their lives. The Scapular is essentially a "habit." Those who receive it are associated more or less closely with the Order of Carmel and dedicate themselves to the service of Our Lady for the good of the whole Church

He then goes one step further to say how this habit needs to inspire holy habits:

[T]he awareness that devotion to her cannot be limited to prayers and tributes in her honor on certain occasions, but must become a "habit," that is, a permanent orientation of one's own Christian conduct, woven of prayer and interior life, through frequent reception of the sacraments and the concrete practice of the spiritual and corporal works of mercy. In this way the Scapular becomes a sign of the "covenant" and reciprocal communion between Mary and the faithful.

In this way the wearing of a piece of brown cloth can be a constant reminder to the wearer to lead a holy life, united to the Blessed Virgin Mary.

The Brown Scapular shouldn't be a lucky charm, but a visible sign to us that is a channel of grace in our daily lives.