Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel
Fr. Dwight P. Campbell, S.T.D.
Devotion to Our Lady of Mount Carmel can be traced back to the time of the great Old
Testament Prophet Elijah, who lived more than 800 years before Christ.
Here’s a little history. After the death of King Solomon, in about 931 BC, the kingdom of
Israel was divided between the North and the South. In the ninth century BC, the time in which
Elijah lived, the Northern kingdom of Israel was ruled by King Ahab who, at the urging of his
pagan wife Jezebel, built a temple in honor of the pagan god Baal.
As related in 1 Kings ch. 17, God sent the Prophet Elijah to condemn these practices. At
Elijah’s command, no rain fell in the land for 3 ½ years.
Mount Carmel is situated between Tyre and Caesarea, about 20 miles from Nazareth, and
stretches about 15 miles across Palestine.
The word “Carmel” in Hebrew means garden or choice orchard of God.
On top of Mount Carmel, the Prophet Elijah challenged 450 false prophets of Baal to a
kind of dual: Two altars were set up; the prophets of Baal would call on their god to bring down
fire from heaven to consume a bull on a pile of wood, and Elijah would call on the true God to
do the same. The false prophets of Baal danced around all morning, cut themselves, and called
upon their god to bring down fire, but nothing happened. Elijah even mocked them saying,
“Perhaps your god is meditating, or asleep, or on a journey.”
Then Elijah called on the true God and fire came down from heaven to consume the
wood offering. All the people present then believed in the true God, and Elijah slit the throats of
the 450 false prophets to prevent them from leading people into demonic idol worship. Thus,
from Old T. times Mount Carmel is revered as a place where God conquers evil and idolatry.
After this, Elijah with his servant climbed to the top of Mount Carmel and prayed for rain.
Six times, Elijah instructed his servant to go look out to the sea for rain; the servant went to
look but saw nothing. Elijah sent him a seventh time, and then his servant saw a small cloud
rising from the sea. From that one small cloud the whole sky became filled with clouds and a
heavy rain fell upon the earth, ending the 3 ½ year drought.
Many saints and spiritual writers, especially those in the order of Our Lady of Mount
Carmel, have seen in this little cloud which brought forth great rain, a symbol or type of the
Blessed Virgin Mary, who, though small and insignificant in comparison with God, by her
cooperation with the Holy Spirit, brought forth the greatest fruit of all, Jesus Christ.
Moreover, through her heavenly intercession the Blessed Virgin continues to shower
down upon the human race all graces and blessings from God.
The religious order of Our Lady of Mount Carmel traces its roots to the prophet Elijah.
According to ancient sources, from Old T. times there were hermits who lived solitary life of
prayer and penance following the example of Elijah, and awaited the coming of the Messiah.
In the early centuries after Jesus Christ came, monks continued to live lives of prayer and
penance, recognizing Elijah as their spiritual leader; but they did not get call themselves
Carmelites.
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In the ninth century, Pope Alexander III took these monks under his special protection,
and monasteries were erected. Eventually, in the year 1207, the monks of Carmel adopted a
formal rule to live by, recognizing Elijah as their spiritual predecessor.
The religious order spread quickly, but in the year 1215 Pope Innocent III issued a decree
to prevent the establishment of new religious orders in the Church. His successor, Pope
Honorius III, was asked to suppress the new order of Mount Carmel, but then received a vision
from Our Lady who directed him to take the Order of Mount Carmel – “her order” – under his
special protection and to confirm their rule, which he did in a Bull dated Jan. 30, 1226.
Later in the 13th century, the Muslim Saracens invaded the Holy Land, and the Carmelites
had to flee. The order then spread in the West, including England. One of the first Englishmen
to join the order was St. Simon Stock, who was later elected prior general.
It was to St. Simon stock that Our Lady appeared on July 16, in the year 1251. At that
time the order was experiencing difficulties and St. Simon was calling fervently upon Our Lady
for help. Mary appeared to him holding the Brown Scapular in her hands, and said to him:
“Whoever dies clothed with this habit will be preserved from eternal flames.”
The Brown Scapular, you see, is a miniature version of the larger Brown scapular which
the Carmelites where as part of their religious habit. The Brown Scapular is a sacramental, a
blessed object, which carries with it special blessings for those who wear it, and makes us
receptive to God’s graces. Those who wear it devoutly receive special protection from Our
Lady: They are assured of dying free from mortal sin, in a state of grace, with the grace of final
perseverance, so as to not to suffer eternal flames of Hell.
A person is formally enrolled In the Confraternity of Our Lady of Mount Carmel by a
priest, which means that you partake of all the spiritual benefits of the members of the order of
Mount Carmel. Once enrolled, you are enrolled for life. If the scapular is lost or wears out, just
buy another one, get it blessed, and begin wearing it.
In 1950, Pope Pius XII wrote these famous words regarding the Brown Scapular: “Let it
be your sign of consecration to the immaculate heart of Mary, which we are particularly urging
in these perilous times.” And in 2001, soon-to-be canonized, Pope John Paul II, called the
Brown Scapular “the most genuine form of devotion to the Blessed Virgin, a humble sign of
consecration to her Immaculate Heart.”
At Fatima, Portugal, at Our Lady’s sixth and final appearance to the three little shepherd
children, Lucia, Jacinta and Francisco (the latter two whom are now Blessed), while 80,000
people witnessed the miracle of the sun – as it danced around the sky and then came plunging
toward the earth, before it returned to its normal place – the children saw Mary under different
forms: as Our Lady of Sorrows, as part of the Holy Family (with St. Joseph and the Baby Jesus),
and as Our Lady of Mount Carmel – holding the Brown Scapular. In the 1950’s, when John
Haffert, co-founder of the Blue Army, asked Sister Lucia (then a Carmelite nun) as to why
Mary held out the Brown Scapular, she responded: “Because Our Lady wants everyone to wear
it. It is our sign of consecration to her Immaculate Heart.” Let us wear the Brown Scapular as a
sign of our consecration to her Immaculate Heart, and to receive her motherly protection!
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