Why I Wear a Brown Scapular
Posted by Danielle Bean in Faith on Tuesday, May 12, 2009 10:30 AM
“Oh, I know what that is,” a fellow library craft class mom once said to me when she caught a glimpse of the brown scapular peeking out of the collar of my t-shirt. “That’s one of those ‘get out of hell free’ cards.”
Not exactly.
My history of wearing a scapular began in my teenaged years when my parents encouraged me to wear one.
As a young Catholic, I read horror stories of devils and days of darkness, and so I wore my scapular daily. Mostly out of fear, I wore it.
After a few years of marriage and motherhood, I became less of an easy scare, I guess, and bit by bit, wearing of the scapular was a practice that I let fall away. I became more and more lax about putting it on until at last my brown scapular found a permanent resting place in my jewelry box.
In recent years, though, as a more grown up Catholic, I came to see the scapular in a new light.
While it’s true that Mary, in an apparition to St. Simon Stock, promised to protect those who wear a scapular from eternal fire, it’s not Mary’s promise that the scapular really symbolizes. It’s ours.
After coming through many a motherly trial thanks only to the good example and faithful generosity of Mary the Mother of God, I retrieved my scapular from my jewelry box and began to wear it again.
I wear a wedding ring as a tangible symbol of my wedding vows and I wear a scapular as a tangible symbol of my special devotion to Mary. My scapular is an outward sign of my trust and hope in Mother Mary, who always leads me to Christ, and who obtains for me the gift of all graces necessary for my salvation.
It’s a devotion I choose to “put on” each day.
If you’ve never looked into wearing a scapular or have never thought about it before, Mary’s month of May just might be the perfect time to consider it. Isn’t it time you showed Mary how much you trust in her?
Print Blog
Email a FriendPost a Comment
By submitting this form, you give Faith And Family Magazine permission to publish this comment. Comments will be published at our discretion, and may be edited for clarity and length. For best formatting, please limit your response to one paragraph and don't hit "enter" to force line breaks.
