Our Lady of Mount Carmel

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Our_Lady_of_Mount_Carmel

Today is the feast day of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. We parents dedicated all of our children to Mary, the Mother of God under this title. They were given brown scapulars to wear by our local parish priests. One of the children, Melanie, was dedicated on the July 16 feast day.

Mount Carmel is located in the Holy Land, and it is said that in the 1200’s hermits gathered there to engage in contemplative prayer. A new contemplative order was founded under the patronage of Mary. By the mid-thirteenth century an Englishman named Simon Stock was visited by Our Lady in Cambridge, England and given the brown scapular as a promise of salvation to anyone who dies wearing it. The scapular is draped over the shoulders and can be tucked under ordinary clothing. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scapular

Stories of the efficacy of the scapular abound. This story from freebrownscapular.com relates one instance of grace given:

The Brown Scapular | A True Story
You will understand why the Devil works against those who promote the brown scapular when
you hear the true story of Venerable Francis Yepes. One day his Scapular fell off. As he
replaced it, the Devil howled, “Take off that habit which snatches so many souls from us! All
those clothed in it die piously and escape 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.

Anatomically, the word scapular comes from the Latin medical term scapula, meaning shoulder blades. In religious circles, scapulars refer to the apron like cloth that is draped over the shoulder blades. The Order of St. Benedict used scapulars as part of their religious habit as early as the seventh century. The use of scapulars became part of the monastic tradition early on and included scapulars for the lay people attached to the order through confraternities. Members of third orders, canonical lay orders, were allowed to be buried in their full length scapulars. 

Among the many monastic orders using scapulars are Carmelites, Servites, Benedictines, Passionists, and Dominicans. The colors of scapulars match the color of each order’s full habit. The Benedictines wear black, the Dominicans wear white, and the Carmelites wear brown. The Carmelite scapular not only promises salvation, it also promises a speedy release from purgatory.

Our Lady of Mount Carmel and Purgatory

Our Lady of Mount Carmel has been related with Purgatory from centuries ago. In some cases, she is shown accompanied with angels and souls wearing Brown Scapulars, who plead for her mediation. In 1613, the Church forbade images of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel descending into purgatory to be made, due to errors being preached about certain priviliges ascoiated with the Brown Scapular ("the Sabbatine Privilege").^[16]

That privilege appears in mentioned Decree of the Holy Office (1613), and later was inserted in its entirety (except for the words forbidding the painting of the pictures) into the list of the indulgences and privileges of the Confraternity of the Scapular of Mount Carmel.^[17] Today, the Carmelites, while encouraging a belief in Mary's general aid and prayerful assistance for their souls beyond death, especilly her aid to those who devoutly wear the Brown Scapular, and commending devotion to Mary especially on Saturdays which are dedicated to her, do not focus on the Sabbatine Privilege.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabbatine_Privilege