Our Lady of Mount Carmel and the Brown Scapular
The Scapular represents Our Lady’s protection. She promised St Simon Stock; “It shall be a sign of salvation, a protection in danger and a sign of peace. Whoever dies wearing the Scapular shall not suffer eternal fire.”
Miracle of Grace
On the very day that Our Lady gave the Scapular to St Simon, he was hurriedly called to Lord Peter of Linton: “Come quickly, Father, my brother is dying in despair!” St Simon left at once to go to the dying man’s bedside. Upon arrival, he placed his Scapular over the man, asking Our Blessed Mother to keep her promise. Immediately, the man repented and died in the grace of God. That night the dead man appeared to his brother: “I have been saved through the most powerful Queen and the habit of that man as a shield.”
Saved from the sea
In 1845, in the late summer of that year, the English ship, “King of the Ocean”, on its way to Australia, not far from Cape Hope, found itself in the middle of a hurricane. As wind and sea lashed the ship, a Protestant minister, with his wife and children and other passengers, struggled to the deck to pray for mercy and forgiveness, as the end seemed near. Among the crew was a young Irishman, John McAuliffe. On seeing the urgency of the situation, he opened his shirt, took off his Scapular, and, making the sign of the cross over the raging waves with it, tossed it into the ocean. At that very moment, the wind calmed down. Only one more wave washed the deck, bringing with it the Scapular which came to rest at the young man’s feet. All the while the minister, Mr Fisher, had been carefully observing McAuliffe’s actions and the miraculous effect of those actions. Upon questioning the young man, he was told about the Holy Virgin and Her Scapular. Mr Fisher and his family became determined to enter the Catholic Church as soon as possible. And thereby enjoy the same protection of Our Lady’s Scapular. This they did shortly after landing in Australia.
