FEAST OF OUR LADY OF MOUNT CARMEL
JULY 16
BACKGROUND
Mt. Carmel is an interesting place, Biblically speaking. In Greek, it is karmel and means “Garden of God.” It is located in Palestine between Tyre and Caesarea about 20 miles from Nazareth, home of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. On Mt. Carmel, the prophet Elijah witnessed God’s triumph over the pagan gods of Ba’aal.
In the Transfiguration on Mount Tabor, it was the Prophet Elijah and the lawmaker, Moses who appeared with Jesus who is the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets.
Carmel is the place where not only Elijah and Elisha lived and prayed but many hermits after them lived lives of prayer and sacrifice. It is a place described as a place where one is alone with God.
ELIJAH
Elijah preached conversion and repentance and turning away from pagan gods. Elijah was the prophet and instrument of God to preserve the true religion of Israel. Perhaps the most exciting and dramatic event in the story of Elijah, the prophet is his confrontation with Ahab and Jezebel and the prophets of the pagan god, Ba’al on Mount Carmel. I Kings, chapter 18
Elijah challenged Ahab’s prophets to a dueling sacrifice of bulls to see whose God was more powerful, “You shall call upon the name of your gods, and I will call upon the name of the LORD. The God who answers with fire is God.” All the people answered, “We agree!”
Elijah then said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose one young bull and prepare it first, for there are more of you. Call upon your gods, but do not start the fire,” The prophets of Ba’al called upon their god from morning until evening to no avail. Elijah, rebuilt the altar of the Lord with twelve stones, prepared a holocaust and even surrounded it with water.
He cried out to the Lord “Answer me, O Lord, answer me, that this people may know that thou, O Lord, art God, and that thou hast turned their hearts back.” The LORD’s fire came down and devoured the burnt offering, wood, stones, and dust, and lapped up the water in the trench. Seeing this, all the people fell prostrate and said, “The LORD is God! The LORD is God!”
Elijah is the founding patriarch of the Order of Carmel. His charism reveals a singular devotion and love for Our Lord, zeal for the salvation of souls and a deep life of prayer. The Spirit of Carmel allows the love of God to increase in us, so that like St. John the Baptist, we can say, “He must increase, I must decrease” John 3:30
CARMELITE SPIRITUALITY
Humility and dependence on God is central to Carmelite Spirituality. The first rule of the Carmelites was written by St. Albert Avogadro between the years 1206 – 1214. In the 16th century, St. Teresa of Jesus (Avila) and St. John of the Cross (both from Spain) inaugurated a reform of the Carmelite Order, aimed at returning to the original observance of the primitive Carmelite rule established by St. Albert. Sts. Teresa and John of the Cross, speak of prayer and contemplation as ‘friendship with God’ and ‘union with God’ respectively.
Both Sts. Teresa and John of the Cross teach us that God, the Blessed Trinity, dwells within the human person. Hence, one need not go out of self in search for God but enter progressively ever deeper within oneself to be with God who dwells at the very center of our being.
Carmelite spirituality proposes silence and solitude as necessary pre-requisites for prayer and contemplation. Silence is the condition for listening attentively to the still small voice of God. to focus more attentively on the soft whispers within us is reminiscent of Elihah’s experience..
“Then the LORD said: Go out and stand on the mountain before the LORD; the LORD will pass by. There was a strong and violent wind rending the mountains and crushing rocks before the LORD—but the LORD was not in the wind; after the wind, an earthquake—but the LORD was not in the earthquake; after the earthquake, fire—but the LORD was not in the fire; after the fire, a light silent sound.* When he heard this, Elijah hid his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave.” I Kings 19:11-13
Carmelite Spirituality also focuses on practices of austerity as a means of freeing one-self from the tyranny of self-will. Detachment is a way of placing God first above all creatures. And Carmelite spirituality is not just about Carmelite salvation but the salvation of others as their daily prayers include all of us that we all may be one in the Spirit and homeward bound.
OUR LADY OF MOUNT CARMEL
From the cross, Jesus gave Mary to be our Mother. As our Mother she intercedes with her Son that He may gift us with all we need that we may be saved. Mary is a very important intercessor on our behalf. From all eternity God chose Mary as the means to bring Christ into the world. Christ could have entered into the world any number of ways. But God chose Mary as the vessel through which all grace would come. Eve, through her disobedience, brought sin into the world. Mary, through her obedience brought salvation.
On July 16, 1251, Mary appeared to St. Simon Stock who was Prior General of Carmel. St. Simon Stock had prayed fervently to the Blessed Mother for assistance as the Order of Carmel was enduring difficulties. Our Lady appeared to him, holding the Brown Scapular in her hands, saying to him, “Whoever dies invested with this Scapular shall be preserved from the eternal flames. It is a sign of salvation, a sure safeguard in danger, a pledge of peace and of my special protection until the end of the ages.”
Today, any priest has permission to enroll a lay person in the brown scapular. Please note that there are no special prayers or good works that are necessary to receive the promise. The Scapular is a silent prayer that shows one’s complete consecration and dedication to the Blessed Virgin Mary. The Scapular is a devotion whereby we venerate Mary, love her, and trust in her protection, and we tell her these things every moment of the day by simply wearing the Brown Scapular.
CONCLUSION
Silence and special places can assist us in our prayer time to deepen our relationship with Jesus and His Father. When we are aware of our own weakness that is when God is most likely to fill us and make us strong. God must increase and I must decrease. Listen to that small quiet voice of the Spirit and pray for discernment. What is that voice really telling me? It may not be what I wanted to hear or expected. Sometimes it even says wait awhile. Mary is our maternal mother too.
Pray for Mary’s intercession. She intends to bring all souls to salvation. She gave us the brown scapular that we might be clothed with Jesus as we were at our Baptisms. Clothed in Jesus Christ we make our way to our heavenly home!
BLESSING AT TIME OF BROWN SCAPULAR ENROLLMENT
Holy Father, you have wished that your only begotten Son Jesus Christ should take our human flesh in the womb of the Virgin Mary by the working of the Holy Spirit; grant to this son/daughter of yours who is about to wear devoutly the Scapular of the family of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel the grace of being clothed in Jesus the Lord in all the circumstances of this life and thus to attain to eternal glory. Through Christ our Lord. Amen
TO JESUS THROUGH MARY