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Our Lady of Mount Carmel

Our Lady of Mount Carmel is the title of Our Blessed Mother Mary in her role as patroness of the Carmelite Order.

The prophet Elijah devoted himself completely to God. His one desire was to stand before the face of the living God. He is perhaps best known for his contest on Mount Carmel with the false prophets of Baal, whom God exposed by sending fire from heaven on Elijah’s sacrifice, and whom Elijah subsequently slew in order to restore Israel to God.

In the 12^th century, a group of pilgrims settled at the foot of Mount Carmel to lead a life of prayer and contemplation. These first fathers built a chapel in honor of the Virgin Mary and placed themselves under her special patronage and protection. In 1209, Saint Albert, Patriarch of Jerusalem, gave a rule to these first hermits, known as the Brothers of Our Blessed Lady of Carmel—the Carmelites. When Jerusalem fell to Saracen invaders a few decades later, the monks fled to Europe, reaching England around 1240. In 1247, the English Carmelites chose Saint Simon Stock as their Prior General.

On July 16, 1251, the Virgin Mary appeared to Saint Simon, holding out a brown woolen scapular, saying, “Receive, My beloved son, the Scapular of thy Order. It is the special sign of my favor, which I have obtained for thee and for thy children of Mount Carmel. Whoever dies clothed with this Scapular shall be preserved from the eternal flames. It is a sign of salvation, a sure safeguard in danger, a pledge of peace and of My special protection until the end of the ages.”

The Brown Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel is the habit of the Carmelite Order and signifies an affiliation with the Carmelites. Therefore, the wearer shares in the graces of the Carmelite family. In 1331, the feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, July 16^th, was instituted as the patronal feast of the Carmelite Order, and extended by Pope Benedict XIII to the whole Church in 1726.

In the late 16^th century, Saints Teresa of Avila and John of the Cross reformed the Order, out of which came the Discalced Carmelites. The Carmelites have produced other great saints, among them Saint Therese of Lisieux, and Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein). Today all Carmelites continue to seek to stand before God, true to their motto, taken from the words of the Prophet Elijah in 1 Kings 19:14: “With zeal have I been zealous for the Lord, God of hosts.”

Our Lady of Mount Carmel, pray for us!