On July 16, the Church celebrates the Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel.
Mount Carmel is the mountain in the middle of the plain of Galilee on which the prophet Elijah called down a miracle of fire from the Lord to show the people of Israel who had strayed that "The Lord is God!" and that the prophets of Baal were worshipping a false god.
There is a tradition that traces the Carmelite Order's informal beginnings to the prophet Elijah himself, even though there is no evidence of this.
The formal beginnings are attributed to a group of monks who, in the 13th century, began living and praying on the mountain.
They venerated the Virgin Mary as Our Lady of Mount Carmel, and from this veneration was derived the name Carmelite.
In 1226, the Rule of the Order was approved by Pope Honorius III, and 21 years later, St. Simon Stock, an Englishman, was elected superior of the Order.
On 16 July 1251, the Blessed Virgin appeared to Simon and gave him the brown scapular and promised her protection to all those who wear the brown habit.
Pope Pius X decreed in the early 20th century that this blessing of the Blessed Virgin would extend to all who wear the medal of Our Lady of Mount Carmel.
The Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel was instituted by the Carmelites sometime between 1376 and 1386.
I've decided to be self-taught and learn all I can about the Carmelite Order on my own. Except, finding actual info about the Carmel Rule that's not just a one-line description is proving to be tricky.
I already have a copy of The Interior Castle by St. Teresa of Ávila, and a copy of Carmelite Spirituality: The Way of Carmelite Prayer and Contemplation by Cardinal Anders Arborelius. I'd like to learn more.
My purpose is to eventually join the Third Order of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, and while I research the closest and active Order near me, I want to read as much as I can.
I kindly ask of you to share with me any link/info you have about how to live the Carmelite Order, even in English. Thank you.
Marian Apparitions Throughout History: Saint Simon Stock and Our Lady of Mount Carmel
(this is a part of my Marian apparition and visionaries series-- for more on different approved apparitions and visions of Our Lady, check out my #mary as seen through time and space tag!)
Imposición del escapulario de la Virgen del Carmen a San Simón Stock - Vicente Berdusán
1251. Only 43 years after the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to Saint Dominic and gifted him the rosary, another monk, this time an Englishman from the Carmelite Order, was about to have a grand, mystical experience that would shape the Carmelites for the better and introduce a new devotion for the Catholic Church. Let's dive into the story of Simon Stock and Our Lady of Mount Carmel...
The Carmelites:
The Order of the Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel, or the Carmelites, was named for the mountain it was founded upon: Mount Carmel of Palestine, the mountain where the contest between King Ahab's god, Baal, and Elijah's God, the God of Abraham, occurred, showing God's might over all others, and whose caves Elijah retreated into to pray.
Like Elijah, the Carmelites retreated deep into the caves, praying to God as hermits, before later building a chapel dedicated to God and protected by Our Lady, Mary, Star of the Sea, and the Prophet Elijah. Over time, the hermits grew in numbers before fleeing to Europe to avoid the bloody, Christian lead violence of the Crusades, and almost lost their identity to Pope Innocent III, who wished to consolidate the religious orders of Catholicism into one singular organization. Forced to adapt, the Carmelites shifted, hermits no more, now a monastic order, and found themselves scattered and unsure. Who were they without their mountain? Who could they be, now that they had taken on a monastic rule?
They had little cohesion, fought much amongst themselves, and were in need of divine intervention.
The Forest Monk:
Simon Stock was 12 when he left his farm in Aylesford, England for the forests. A soft-spoken boy with a head full of daydreams, Simon Stock had proved to be far from helpful on his father's farm, preferring solitude and meditation over hard work. He'd far rather spend his days in the back of the chapel in prayer than he would help his parents and siblings in the fields, so, after years of finding himself yearning for freedom from all worldly things, he crept out of the house in the dead of night and took for the woods.
The English forests welcomed Simon Stock will open branches, and he soon found a tree deep, deep in the woods, taller than anything he'd ever seen. The oak was alive, but damaged, a lightning bolt haven taken a massive hole from its side, leaving behind a sizable hollow where Simon Stock would make his bed.
For years, the boy lived in that hollow in the oak tree, embracing a life of solitude, prayer, and penance as he grew into a young man. His “hallowed hollow,” touched by God's lightening, for him and him alone. But Simon Stock couldn't be a hermit forever. When a group of travelers heading to the coast stopped to ask him if he'd life to join them on their trip to the Holy Land, Simon Stock left his holy tree behind, and as he returned to England years later, he found himself traveling with a band of Carmelites. In awe of their grace and Godliness, Simon Stock realized he'd finally found home.
Through his dedication and love of others, Simon Stock saw the Carmelite presence in England grow, and his leadership touched them so deeply that he was elected as the sixth Prior General of the Carmelites in 1247. But, even Simon Stock couldn't fix all the Carmelite's troubles. He agonized on how to best lead his fellow monks and help them adapt to their new surroundings, helping them build friaries in Cambridge, Oxford, Paris, and Bologna, but soon the tide of public opinion changed against the Carmelites, and they found themselves being expelled from their own towns. It seemed to them that they would never succeed as a true monastic Order outside their mountain... until the miracle of July 16, 1251.
A Holy Gift:
The weather in Cambridge this time of year was usually lovely, but now, as Simon Stock trudged through the mud after a summer rain, he couldn't enjoy it. His men were frazzled, and things were dire. Was it right to leave his tree? Were they right to cleave Mount Carmel?
There was a clap of thunder, and the skies open up. Simon Stock offered up his annoyance to the Lord before stopping under a tree to wait out the rain. Suddenly, the chill of the rain and mud was gone, replaced by a gentle warmth. His hair was dry, the hem of his garments clean of mud, and he felt as toasty and one would after a warm meal beside a crackling fire. Light broke through the leaves despite the dreary weather, and Simon Stock's heart skipped a beat.
Above him, resting on a throne of cloud and vapor, was the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen. She wore the clothes of a religious, though no Order he knew, a brown apron with a creamy white wool cloak across her shoulders, her face radiant, her hair covered modestly. Terrifying and glorious beings surrounded her, crying out the Lord's name with praise, holding out their many hands to keep a single drop of rain from falling on their mistress.
"Child," The Blessed Virgin Mary said, smiling softly, "Come closer."
Trembling, Simon Stock stepped closer, and Our Lady opened her hands, letting a strip of cloth fall from them. It was an apron, like the one she wore, made of brown wool. The wool was the width of one shoulder to the other and such a length that it reached the feet in front and behind, coarse but not rough.
"Receive, my beloved son, this scapular of thy Order; it is the special sign of my favor, which I have obtained for thee and for thy children of Mount Carmel. He who dies clothed with this habit shall be preserved from eternal fire. It is the badge of salvation, a shield in time of danger, and a pledge of special peace and protection."
Simon Stock clutched the scapular to his chest, laughing with disbelief and joy. It was beautiful. A sign from the Mother of God herself that the Carmelites would survive.
"Thank you," He cried, falling to his knees and kissing the hem of her cloak. "Bless you!"
"Go, and be well."
The clouds and vapors lifted into the stormy sky, taking Mary and the angels with them. Simon Stock pulled the scapular over his shoulders and ran to his brothers, ready to spread the news: they were protected under the eye of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, and she would not let them flounder.
Simon Stock would go on to become a saint and one of the oldest documented Carmelites. After it was gifted to him by Our lady of Mount Carmel, Simon Stock began spreading the scapular devotion. It continues to be followed to this day, with the scapular signifying the wearer's consecration to Mary and affiliation with the Carmelite order, as well as Mary's promised protection. Simon Stock's feast day is May 16th, and the feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel is celebrated on July 16.
The Miraculous Apparition of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel
On the summer day of July 16, 1251, in the quiet town of Cambridge, England, an event occurred that would forever change the course of Marian devotion.
St. Simon Stock, the elderly prior general of the Carmelite Order, was deep in prayer, beseeching the Blessed Virgin Mary for help. The Carmelite Order was facing severe oppression and uncertainty, and Simon turned to Mary in this time of great…
Georges Bernanos “Dialogues des Carmelites” (finale, two versions)
“La France est en train de passer de fille aînée de l’Église [Catholique] à petite nièce de l’Islam.” - Marion Le Pen
