Monday, July 16, 2012

Brown Scapular Miracles


 
MIRACLE STORIES


Saint Claude de la Colombiere, the renowned Jesuit and spiritual director of St. Margaret Mary,

gives a point that is enlightening. He said,


“Because all the forms of our love for the Blessed Virgin and all its various modes of

expression cannot be equally pleasing to Her, and therefore do not assist us in the same

degree to reach Heaven, I say, without a moment’s hesitation, that the BROWN SCAPULAR IS

THE MOST FAVORED OF ALL!” He also adds, “No devotion has been confirmed by more

numerous authentic miracles than the Brown Scapular.”



True Stories: Our Blessed Lady keeps Her Promise

A priest relates how one day in a town near Chicago he was called to the bedside of a man

who had been away form the Sacrament for many years. “The man did not want to see me: he

would not talk. Then I asked him to look at the little Scapular I was holding. ‘Will you wear this if

I put this on you?’ I ask nothing more. He agreed to wear it and within the hour he wanted to go

to confession and make his peace with God. This did not surprise me, because for 700 years

Our Lady has been working in this way through Her Scapular.”



On the very day Our Lady gave the Scapular to St. Simon, he was hurriedly called by Lord Peter

of Linton: “Come quickly, Father, my brother is dying in despair!” St. Simon left at once for the

bedside of the dying man. Upon arrival he placed his large Scapular over the dying man,

asking Our Blessed Mother to keep Her promise. Immediately the man repented, and died in

the grace and friendship of God. That night the dead man appeared to his brother and said, “I

have been saved through the most powerful Queen and the Habit of that man as a shield.”



St. Alphonsus tell us: “Modern heretics make a mockery of wearing the Scapular, they decry it

as so much trifling nonsense.” Yet many of the popes have approved and recommended it. It

is remarkable that only 25 years after the Scapular vision, Blessed Pope Gregory X was buried

wearing the Scapular, when his tomb was opened 600 years after his death, his Scapular was

found intact. It can be seen, perfectly preserved in the Arezzo museum, in Italy.



Protection against the Devil

You will understand why the Devil works against those who promote the Scapular when you

hear the story of Ven. Francis Ypes. One day his Scapular fell off. As he replaced it, the devil

howled, “Take off the habit which snatches so many souls from us!” Then and there Francis

made the devil admit that there are three things which the demons are most afraid of: the Holy

Name of Jesus, the Holy Name of Mary, and the Holy Scapular of Carmel. To that list we could

add the Holy Rosary.



The great St.Peter Claver was another of God’s heroes who used the Scapular to good

advantage. Every month a shipment of 1000 slaves would arrive at Cartegena, Colombia,

South America. St. Peter used to insure the salvation of his converts. First, he organized

catechists to give them instructions. Then, he saw to it that they were baptized and clothed with

the Scapular. Some ecclesiastics’ accused the Saint of indiscreet zeal, but St. Peter was

confident that Mary would watch over each of his more than 300,000 converts!



Our Lady Protects a Missionary

One day in 1944, a Carmelite missionary in the Holy Land was called to an internment camp in

order to give the Last Rites. The Arab driver made the priest get off the bus four miles from the

camp because the road was dangerously muddy. After two miles, the missionary found his

feet sinking deeper and deeper into the mire. Trying to get solid footing he slipped into a

muddy pool. Sinking to his death in this desolate place, he thought of Our Lady and Her

Scapular. He kissed his great Scapular -- for he was wearing the full habit -- and looked

toward the holy mountain of Carmel, the birthplace of devotion to God’s Mother. He cried out,

“Holy Mother of Carmel! Help me! Save me!” A moment later, he found himself on solid ground.

Later he said, “I know I was saved by the Blessed Virgin through Her Brown Scapular. My

shoes were lost in the mud, and I was covered with it, but I walked the remaining two miles

praising Mary.”



Saved from the Sea

Another Scapular story that bears repeating took place in 1845. In the late summer of that year,

the English ship, “king of the Ocean” found itself in the middle of a wild hurricane. As wind and

sea mercilessly lashed the ship, a Protestant minister, together with his wife and children and

other passengers, struggled to the deck to pray for forgiveness and mercy, as the end seemed

at hand. Among the crew was a young Irishman, John McAuliffe. On seeing the urgency of the

situation, the youth opened his shirt took off his Scapular, and, making the sign of the Cross

with it over the raging waves tossed it into the ocean. At that very moment, the wind calmed.

Only one more wave washed the deck, bringing with it the Scapular, which came to rest at the

boy’s feet. All the while the minister, a Mr. Fisher, had been carefully observing McAuliffe’s

actions and the miraculous effect of those actions. Upon questioning the young man, they

were told about the Holy Virgin and Her Scapular. Mr. Fisher and his family were so impressed

that they were determined to enter the Catholic Church as soon as possible, and thereby enjoy

the same protection of Our Lady’s Scapular.



A Home Saved from Fire

In May of 1957, a Carmelite priest in Germany published the unusual story of how the Scapular

saved a home from fire. An entire row of homes had caught fire in Westboden, Germany. The

pious inhabitants of a 2-family home, seeing the fire, immediately fastened a Scapular to the

main door of the house. Sparks flew over it and around it, but the house remained unharmed.

Within 5 hours, 22 homes had been reduced to ashes. The one structure, which stood

undamaged amidst the destruction, was that which had the Scapular attached to its door. The

hundreds of people who came to see the place Our lady had saved are eye-witnesses to the

power of the Scapular and the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary.



A Train Accident

One of the most extraordinary of all Scapular incidents took place right here in the United

States. It happened around the turn of the century in the town of Ashtabula, Ohio, that a man

was cut in two but a train; he was wearing the Scapular. Instead of dying instantly, as would be

expected he remained alive and conscious for 45 minutes -- just enough time until a priest

could arrive to administer the Last Sacraments. These, and other such incidents, tell us that

Our Blessed Mother will take personal care of us in the hour of our death. So great and

powerful a Mother is Mary that She will never fail to keep the Scapular contract, i.e. to see that

we die in God’s grace.



A Priest’s Life is Saved

Still another Scapular miracle concerns a French priest who had gone on pilgrimage. On the

way to say Mass, he remembered that he had forgotten his Scapular. He knew he would be

late if he went back to retrieve it, but he could not envision offering Mass at Our Lady’s altar

without Her Scapular. Later, as he was offering the Holy Sacrifice, a young man approached

the altar, pulled out a gun, and shot the priest in the back. To the amazement of all, the priest

continued to say the prayers of the Mass as though nothing had occurred. It was at first

presumed that the bullet had miraculously missed its target. However, upon examination, the

bullet was found ADHERING TO THE LITTLE BROWN SCAPULAR, which the priest had so

obstinately refused to be without.



Conversions

We should even give the Scapular to non-Catholics for Our Lady will bring conversions to

those who will wear it and say one Hail Mary each day, as the following true story will show. An

old man was rushed to the St. Simon Stock Hospital in New York City, unconscious and dying.

The nurse, seeing the Brown Scapular on the patient, called a priest. As the prayers were

being said for the dying man, he became conscious and spoke up: “Father, I am not a

Catholic.” Then why are you wearing the Brown Scapular?” asked the priest. “I promised my

friends to wear it,” the patient explained, ” and also to say one Hail Mary a day.” “You are dying”

the priest told him. “Do you want to become a Catholic?” “All my life I wanted to be one.” the

dying man replied. He was baptized, received the Last Rites, and died in peace. Our Lady took

another soul under Her mantle through the Scapular!



A Call to Fervor

In October of 1952, an Air Force officer in Texas wrote the following: “Six months ago, shortly

after I started wearing the Scapular, I experienced a remarkable change in my life. Almost at

once, I started going to mass every day. After a short time, I started receiving Holy Communion

daily. I kept lent with a fervor that I had never experience before. I was introduced to the practice

of meditation, and found myself making feeble attempts on the way to perfection. I have been

trying to live with God. I credit Mary’s Scapular.”



Necessity of Wearing the Scapular

During the Spanish civil war in the 1930s, seven Communists were sentenced to death

because of their crimes. A Carmelite priest tries to prepare the men for death; they refused. As

a last resort, he brought the men cigarettes food and wine, assuring them that he would not

talk religion, in a short while they were all friendly, so he asked them for one small favor: “Will

you permit me to place a Scapular on each of you?” six agreed, one refused. Soon all Scapular

wearers went to confession. The seventh continues to refuse. Only to please them he put on

the Scapular, he would do nothing more. Morning came, and as the time of the execution came

near, the seventh man made it clear that he was not going to ask for a priest. Although wearing

the Scapular he was determined to go to his death an enemy of God. Finally, the command

was given, the firing squad did its deadly work, and seven lifeless bodies lay sprawled in the

dust. Mysteriously a Scapular was found approximately 50 paces from the bodies. Six men

died WITH Mary’s Scapular; the seventh died Without the Scapular. St. Claude gives us the

solution to the mystery of the missing Scapular: “You ask; what if I desire to die in my sins?” I

answer, “Then you will die in your sins but YOU WILL NOT DIE IN YOUR SCAPULAR.” St.

Claude tells the story of a man who tried to drown himself three times. He was rescued

against his will. At last he realized that he was wearing his Scapular. Determined to take his

life, he tore the Scapular from his neck and leaped into the water. Without Mary’s protective

garment he accomplished his wish and died in his sins.



Further Miracles

A Jesuit missionary in Guatemala tells an incident of Our Lady’s Scapular protection. In

November of 1955 a plane carrying 27 passengers crashed. All died except one young lady.

When this girl saw that the plane was going down, she took hold of her Scapular, and called

on Mary for help. She suffered burns, her clothing was reduced to ashes, but the flames did

not touch her Scapular.



In the same year of 1955, a similar miracle occurred in the Midwest. A 3rd-grader stopped in a

gasoline station to put air in his bicycle tires, and at that very moment an explosion occurred.

The boy’s clothing was burned off, but his Brown Scapular remained unaffected: a symbol of

Mary’s protection. Today, although he still bears a few scars from the explosion, this young

man has special reason to remember the Blessed Mother’s protection in time of danger.



The Scapular that Saved Two Lives

My battalion was a member of the Irene Brigade. We were just about to advance. After we

passed Eindhofen, our trucks and tanks went through Uden. In the evening we encamped on

an old farm near Nijmegen. Behind the house there was an old wooden pump surrounded by

bricks, to wash away the sweat and dust of hours of fighting. You can well imagine that we

made good use of this opportunity. I was one in the group and so I tossed my jacket on the

ground and hung my Scapular on the pump while I washed.



An hour later we received orders to proceed about a mile and a half further and to occupy a

trench there. We were looking forward to being able to get a peaceful night’s sleep in that

trench. I was about to lie down and was unbuttoning my collar when to my horror I realized that

I no longer had my Scapular. It had been a gift from my mother. I had it with me all during the

war and now that we were approaching the lion’s den was I to be deprived of it? To go fetch it

was unthinkable, so I tried not to think about it any more and to go to sleep. I pitched and

tossed from side to side, but I couldn’t get to sleep.



All round me, my buddies were sleeping like logs even though from time to time shells fell

dangerously close. Finally I was overcome by the desire to get my Scapular back and I crept

out among my sleeping companions. It wasn’t so easy to get past the sentry but I managed to

do it and ran back the way we had come. It was pitch dark, but nevertheless I had good luck

and in a short time I was back on the farm and at the pump. My hands glided searchingly all

over the pump but the Scapular was gone. I was just about to strike a match when there was

the sound of a dreadful explosion. What was I to do? Was that the sign of an enemy attack? As

fast as I could I ran back to our trench. Maybe I could do something for my buddies there.



Near the trench I saw the engineers busily removing piles of dirt and barbed wire. At the very

spot where my companions had been sleeping there yawned a gigantic shell-hole. Before the

enemy had vacated this trench the enemy had placed a time bomb in it and it had exploded

during my absence. Nobody survived the explosion. If I had not set out to fetch my Scapular, I

would have been buried under that rubble too.



On the following morning I went to the field kitchen and met a buddy there. He looked at me

with astonishment. “I thought you were in that trench!” “And I thought you were buried there!”

My friend continued, “I was lying in the trench, but before I went to sleep I went looking for you.

But I couldn’t find you. The corporal saw me hunting around and asked me what I wanted.

When I told him what I was doing there he said, “Be sensible! Instead go to that inn nearby and

get me a bottle of water.” And while I was on the errand the explosion occurred.



“Well, I escaped it by a hair’s breadth too, “I replied. “But why on earth were you looking for me

so late at night?” “To give you this,“ he replied, and handed me my Scapular, which he had

taken from the old pump.



A Shield in Time of Battle

Mr. Sisto Mosco of North Providence, Rhode Island, is a veteran of World War II, who survived,

unscathed, the invasion of Normandy, and later, the 7th fleet war with the Japanese fleet, the

taking of Iwo Jima and Okinawa, and other bloody battles in the South Pacific. Sisto affirms that

his miraculous escape is another perfect example of the powerful protection of Our Blessed

Mother of Mount Carmel, through Her Brown Scapular.

“I was on the battleship the U.S.S. Nevada as chaplain’s yeoman during WW II in the Pacific. (I

always wore my Scapular because I was brought up close to the Church, and I kept it on me all

through the war.) The ship was loaded with dynamite. A suicide plane hit the deck real close to

where I was positioned. The blast blew open the bolted steel doors of the compartment. I

alone was left uninjured after the explosion. The rest were all dead or seriously mangled. I

was the only one untouched and I attribute it to the wearing of my Scapular.”



Mr. Mosco later received a commendation from the Admiral of the fleet for bravery, but in his

heart he firmly believes that the credit goes to Our Lady, the Virgin most powerful, who works

such wonders through Her Habit of Salvation.



Vatican Approval

In wearing the Scapular at all times we make silent petition for the Blessed Mother’s continual

assistance. We share in all the prayers and good works of the Carmelite Scapular

Confraternity throughout the world. Pope Pius XII often spoke of the Scapular. On the 700th

anniversary of the appearance of Our Lady to St. Simon Stock, Pope Pius XII referred to the

Scapular as “the sign of Consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary”. The Scapular also

represents the sweet yoke of Jesus Christ, which Mary helps us to bear. And finally, the pope

continued, the Scapular marks us as one of Mary’s chosen children, and becomes for us (as

the Germans call it) a “Garment of Grace”. St. Claude tells us, “Of all the pious practices which

have inspired the faithful to honor the Mother of God, there is none so sure as that of the

Scapular. No other devotion has been confirmed by so many and such extraordinary miracles.”



As we mentioned above, during the Scapular Anniversary celebration in Rome in 1951, Pope

Pius XII told a very large audience to wear the Brown Scapular as a sign of consecration to the

Immaculate Heart of Mary. Our Lady asked for this consecration in the last apparition at

Fatima, when She appeared as Our Lady of Mount Carmel, holding the Brown Scapular out to

the whole world. It was Her last moving appeal to souls to wear Her Scapular as a sign of

consecration to Her Immaculate Heart.



A Brief Summary

The Scapular is a habit -- Our Lady’s habit. The Scapular must be worn over the shoulders in

such a manner that one part hangs in front of the body and the other at the back. Worn in any

other way, it carries no indulgence or promise. It is not necessary to wear the Scapular next to

the skin. Many Catholics may not know it is the wish of the Holy Father the Pope, that the

Scapular Medal should not be worn in place of the Cloth Scapular without sufficient reason.

Mary cannot be pleased with anyone who substitutes the medal out of vanity, or out of fear of

making open profession of faith. Such persons run the risk of not receiving the Promise. The

medal has never been noted for any of the miraculous preservations attributed to the Brown

Cloth Scapular.



May a non-Catholic wear the Brown Scapular?

Yes, and in doing so a non-catholic will receive many graces and blessings with this special

sign of devotion to the Blessed Mother of God. Although baptized Catholics are the only ones

who can be officially enrolled in the Confraternity and enjoy the special Scapular privileges,

non-Catholics are warmly encouraged to avail themselves of this special way of honoring

Jesus’ Mother. By wearing the Scapular we are dedicated to Our Blessed Mother in a special

way and have a strong claim upon Her protection and intercession.


(”Garment of Grace,” Imprimatur: Most Rev. Timothy Harrington, March 9, 1990.)



"Whosoever dies wearing

this scapular shall not suffer

eternal fire."

- Promise of Our Lady made July

16, 1251 to St. Simon Stock



http://www.freebrownscapular.com/


6185 Magnolia Ave. 219

Riverside, CA 92506

NO MAIL-ORDERS



....

Taken from: http://www.freebrownscapular.com/brown_scapular_miracles.html

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