Today we commemorate the feast of Our Lady of
Mount Carmel, a feast closely associated with the Carmelite Order. This feast
and the Carmelite Order can trace its roots back to the 12th
Century when a group of Hermits, dedicated to our Lady, formed a community on
Mount Carmel in present day Israel. This is also the location long associated
with the Old Testament prophet Elijah. It was there that Elijah, in a
confrontation, with the false prophets of Baal, showed that there is but one
God in Israel.
These 12th century hermits looked to
Mary as their spiritual mother and patroness, and over time, the devotion to
Our Lady of Mount Carmel spread throughout the Catholic world. This order also
would develop into what we now know as the Carmelite Order. Thanks to the
Carmelite Order, we have such saints as St. Theresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross,
and St. Therese of Lisieux, the Little Flower.
These Hermits came to know that it was through
Mary that they can come to know her Divine Son, Jesus Christ. It is through
Mary, always pointing towards her Son, that they were able to come into a
deeper relationship with Jesus as Lord and Savior. I’m sure they meditated on
the gospel of John often where Christ says to the apostle John, “This is your
mother.” Then, as you recall, John, from that moment, made a place for Mary in
his Home. These hermits also knew well the passage from St. Paul to the
Galatians that “God sent his son, born of a woman, born a subject of the Law,
to redeem the subject of the Law and to enable us to be adopted as sons.” It is
through Mary bringing Christ into the world that we are adopted brothers and
sisters in the eyes of God.
Further, we are called to take Mary, in a
spiritual sense, into our homes. We are to allow Mary to reach into our hearts for
us to follow more closely her Son, Jesus Christ.
It is also customary on the feast of Our Lady
of Mont Carmel to be enrolled in the Brown Scapuar of Our Lady of Mount Carmel.
According to tradition, Mary appeared to St. Simon Stock, a Carmelite friar, in
the 13th century and gave him the scapular as a sign of her protection and
intercession. The scapular has since become a widely recognized symbol of the
Carmelite tradition and a popular sacramental among the faithful.
By wearing the Scapular, we are reminded of not
only our devotion to Mary under the title of Mount Carmel, but to remember our
baptismal promises to put on the Lord Jesus Christ. The scapular is not a lucky
charm, but a reminder that we are followers of Jesus Christ and are called to
live out our lives according to the teaching of the Catholic Church through the
intercession of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. These teachings of Christ, taught
through the Catholic Church, are very clear: we are to love God with our whole
mind, heart and soul, and to love our neighbors as ourselves.
Let us offer all our intentions and concerns to
Mary on this feast to intercede for us. We are to give to Mary these intentions
and concerns and ask her to bring them into the loving presence of Jesus to
respond in a way that’s most beneficial to us and to those who we are praying
for.
Our Lady of Mount Carmel, pray for us.
From Arlene B. Muller
ReplyDeleteI wonder why this Feast day of Our Lady is only considered an "optional memorial" & my morning & evening prayer makes no reference to this Feast day??
Good question. On the Carmelite calendar it’s a Solemnity. Using a breviary is always the best way to pray the Divine Office. It allows you more options than the monthly Liturgy of the Hours you may be getting in the mail.
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