Mary, Our Lady, the Blessed Mother, Mother Mary, Queen of Angels, Queen of Heaven. The names by which we call the mother of our Lord are many, and many are the devotions to her. I thought I’d highlight one of the many in our first month of this series. July 16th happens to be the feast of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel.

For those enrolled in the confraternity of the brown scapular this day is a wonderful one to commemorate as a family. For those who are not, this day offers another peek into the great care Our Lady takes of us as Mother of the Church.

Her Story

A little story I penned on the history of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel:

Mount Carmel, the verdant mountain near the childhood home of our Lord, a place of refuge and prayer, a place of beauty and fruitfulness is the place I call my own. My mantel of protection covers not only this one lush mountain, but anywhere my children, my brothers and sisters, carry the mantel of Carmel—the brown scapular.

Mount Carmel became the dwelling place of the great prophet Elijah after he called down fire from the one true God to drive away the pagan gods.

Mount Carmel became the haven for the first of my brethren and sons to devote their lives to prayer. There they adopted me as their Lady, and I became their protectress.

From Mount Carmel the Carmelite brothers sailed toward the West bringing the charism of my place there out into the world. From the far shores of the Mediterranean to the continent of Europe, all the way to England. As they sailed away they sang out for me to guide them with the help of my Son. “Regina Caeli” they sang. They named me Star of the Sea.

Years later my children, my brothers, were in need of guidance. The Carmelite Order was in turmoil. St. Simon Stock prayed fervently for my intercession. I delivered to him the scapular, the brown woolen yoke as a sign of Heaven’s care. Anyone who places the scapular on their shoulders puts on the yoke of my Son, a burden that is easy because of the love and devotion with which it is carried.

The devotion to the way of Carmel spread, drawing men and women, boys and girls all over the world to seek a life of prayer and penance for the great work of the Church. My brother St. John of the Cross and my sisters St. Teresa of Avila and St. Therese of Lisieux, each offered their lives as devotion to our Lord under my mantel of Carmel. And many more today, both lay and religious, wear my scapular and bear Christ into the world.

Today you celebrate a day in my honor, in honor of the devotion of the Carmelites. I am the Lady of Their Place, the Lady of Mount Carmel.

The Brown Scapular

The devotion of wearing the brown scapular dates back hundreds of years. If you’d like to learn more about it check out this post on Word on Fire or this page from the Sisters of Carmel.

In essence the scapular is a mini Carmelite habit made up of two squares or rectangles of brown wool, connected by two cords worn over the shoulders so that one piece lies in front of and the other on the back of the wearer. It is a devotion that holds with it’s wearing, and the life of prayer and work that goes with it, the protection Our Lady, specifically Our Lady of Mt. Carmel.

This will be the inspiration of the craft for this feast day celebration!

The Plan

The Story

In lieu of a book for this day, as I have yet to find a hard copy to show you, I plan to show my children (7, 6, and 2) a map of Israel. We will find places on the map and I’ll tell them where some of the events in Jesus’ life took place. I’m thinking the Sea of Galilea, the Jordan River, Nazareth. Not far from Nazareth is Mt. Carmel. And that is how I’ll introduce the idea of the place of Carmel.

I’ll also tell them the story of the Carmelites, as I wrote at the beginning of this post. Or share this page from Loyola Press either by reading aloud or  by paraphrasing. It has a nicely trim explanation of both the history of the order and the brown scapular.

If you’d like to incorporate scripture read the Magnificat (Luke 1:46-55) aloud, as the Church does during the Psalm for the Mass of the day.

The Coloring Page

Here’s the link for the coloring page for today.

The Craft

Brown Scapular Wall Hanging

Materials: Brown paper (or paper colored brown); printable images (found here); scissors; glue; string, ribbon or yarn; hole punch or stapler.

Instructions:

Print images and cut out. Cut the brown paper into  two rectangles each a little larger than the images. Glue one image onto each rectangle. Cut two equal lengths of string, ribbon or yarn. Attach one end of each piece of string to the top corners of one brown rectangle. Attach the other ends to the top of the other rectangle so that the images both face outward (one toward the front and one toward the back). Hang on your wall to remember Our Lady of Mt. Carmel!

The Prayer

Prayer of St. Simon Stock

O, beautiful Flower of Carmel,
most fruitful vine,
Splendor of Heaven,
holy and singular,
Who brought forth the Son of God,
still ever remaining a Pure Virgin,
assist me in this necessity.
O, Star of the Sea,
help and protect me.
Show me that Thou art my Mother.

O, Mary, conceived without sin,
Pray for us who have recourse to Thee.

Mother and Ornament of Carmel,
pray for us.

Virgin, Flower of Carmel,
pray for us.

Patroness of all who wear the Scapular,
pray for us.

Hope of all who die wearing the Scapular,
pray for us.

St. Joseph, Friend of the Sacred Heart,
pray for us.

St. Joseph, Chaste Spouse of Mary,
pray for us.

St. Joseph, our Patron,
pray for us.

O, Sweet Heart of Mary,
be our Salvation.

–OR–

Father,
may the prayers of the Virgin Mary protect us
and help us to reach Christ her Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

The Treat

Caramel Ice Cream Mountains (Sundaes!)

Or just caramel candies. 🙂

But for the sundaes pile up some of your favorite ice cream and drizzle with your favorite caramel sauce. And voila!

For a homemade caramel sauce try this Salted Caramel Sauce. It’s delicious! You can trust me on that.

Word association folks. They’ll always remember Our Lady of Mt Carmel’s Caramel Mountains.

The Plan!

Click the link to download the printable plan!

Our Lady of Mt Carmel Celebration Plan

If you celebrate this one snap some pics and share on IG with the hashtag #hdahOLMC