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January 13, 2023
The benefits of wearing Our Lady’s Scapular are so myriad, so great, and so powerful, that it’s worth dwelling on some of them in detail.You might ask yourself exactly how is that the Scapular gives me spiritual benefits, aside from Mary’s promise and her protection, that is (and as great as that is).“I know that Mary has promised that I won’t suffer the fires of hell…but how does the Brown Scapular benefit me spiritually every day?”One way to think about the Scapular is by comparing it to the spiritual communion of the Body of Christ or what we call the Communion of Saints.All baptized Catholics shared a mystical solidarity with one another. This extends from the Church Militant here on earth to the Church Suffering in Purgatory to the Church Triumphant in Heaven.All of the merits and graces that are gained from our prayers, sacrifices, good deeds, and reception of the sacraments are shared one with another. We benefit from the prayers of the whole Church, and as we seek to be more holy, this benefits the whole Church in some mystical (but real) way as well.Since we all share in the merits of Christ, likewise, we all share in one another’s merits as well.Children of Mary
And just as we are all made children of God through our baptism and membership in the Church, wearing the Brown Scapular binds all of us as children of Mary in a particular way.According to John Mathias Heffert in Mary and Her Scapular Promise:
“Among Scapular wearers, therefore, there is a special communication of benefits - a deeper and fuller communication, additional to that which arises from membership in the Mystical Body…Moreover, the Scapular wearer has an intimate share in the spiritual goods of millions of saints. Not only is he united to the members of the Carmelite Order and to every wearer of the Scapular, he is even a partner of each of them in the very end of their institution.”
It’s official
And this isn’t just a pious belief (not that there’s anything wrong with pious beliefs), but the Church has officially declared this as well.Popes Clement VII (in his bull, Ut Laudes) and Clement X (in Agni Immaculati) have both proclaimed that those who wear the Brown Scapular participate in the spiritual work of the Carmelites in a special manner but also in the work of the Church as a whole.That means that when you wear the Scapular, you’re participating in the spiritual benefits of everyone who is devoted to Mary through the Scapular, on Earth, and in Heaven.That means your mother here on earth that is devoted to the Scapular AND St. Therese of Lisieux in heaven AND the unknown soul in a monastery somewhere.As part of the Scapular Fraternity, we participate in the spiritual benefits and graces that Mary gives to all who wear and are devoted to her through the Scapular.Your prayer matters
And our prayers and devotion also go out to all those who are Children of Mary in the Scapular as well.Just as our prayers and sacrifices aid the Body of Christ in the Communion of the Saints, our prayers and devotions aid those who are members of the Scapular Family in a special way as well.One of the joys of the spiritual life is that as our souls grow more on fire for God we naturally want to share that love and joy with others, and through the Scapular devotion the merits and prayers which we offer to God pour out to others in an even more special manner.It makes sense
And when you think about it - it makes sense.We are made to know and love God, and by extension, we’re made to know and love others. When we remain in a state of grace and act in good faith, each element in this equation should reinforce the other.The more that we love God, the more we love our neighbor, and vice-versa.
If anyone says, “I love God,” but hates his brother, he is a liar; for whoever does not love a brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen (I John 4:20).
The doctrine of the Communion of Saints is based on this understanding.So of course a bond that we make through our devotion to Mary would have the same effect, because everything Marian reinforces faith in Christ.Whether it’s the theology behind Marian titles and doctrines, or prayers such as the Rosary, they all lead to a deeper understanding and love of her son, Jesus Christ.By gathering us in a deeper bond through the powerful promises made in the Scapular, by letting us share in the merits of one another through the Scapular - Mary is pointing us to the glory of the Mystical Union of the Body of Christ, and she is reminding us that in Christ we are all one family.
If Our Lady has blessed you through the Brown Scapular then consider donating to help us spread this powerful devotion to others.
