Monday, July 16, 15th Week in Ordinary Time
The iconography for this particular manifestation of the Virgin is among the most diverse and prolific. Leftmost in the top panel is the 'Brown Madonna' venerated in her Basilica in Naples, said to have been brought to Italy by nuns who fled Mt. Carmel in the 13th century. Most images show the Virgin or the Baby Jesus holding out the Brown Scapular, which traditionally has the images of the Madonna and of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
OUR LADY OF MT. CARMEL
Hermits began to inhabit Mt. Carmel (in northern Israel) near the so-called Fountain of Elijah since the 12th century, and eventually called themselves the 'brothers of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel', with a chapel dedicated to the Virgin Mary. In the late 14th century, the Carmelites, whose contemplative order (male and female) was recognized by Pope Honorius III in 1226, instituted the feast of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel on July 16, the date when according to their tradition, the Virgin appeared in 1251 to the leader of the Carmelite community on Mt. Carmel, St. Simon Stock, and handed him a scapular that would become the Carmelites' main devotional aid (it symbolizes her special protection and reminds its wearers to practice prayer and penance). July 16 became the patronal feast of the Order in 1609. The great Carmelite saints and theologians have promoted devotion to Mary. Teresa of Avila said Carmel was 'the order of the Virgin'. John of the Cross believed Mary had saved his life as a child and helped him escape prison later. Therese of Lisieux was a great Marian devotee.
A note about the 'Brown Scapular': Carmelite tradition states that Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary granted the Brown Scapular promise to St Simon Stock in Cambridge, England on July 16, 1261. This makes the Brown Scapular 760 years old today. The Holy See defines the Brown Scapular as "an external sign of the filial relationship established between the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother and Queen of Mount Carmel, and the faithful who entrust themselves totally to her protection, who have recourse to her maternal intercession, who are mindful of the primacy of the spiritual life and the need for prayer." We learned last year, as Benedict xVI reminded Poles at the Angelus yesterday, that Blessed John Paul II carried the Brown Scapular with him all the time.
Readings for today's Mass:
www.usccb.org/bible/readings/071612.cfm
WITH THE POPE TODAY
The Holy Father met with
- Cardinal Marc Ouellet, Prefect of the Congregation for Bishops.
The Vatican also said that after the Angelus yesterday at Castel Gandolfo, the Pope met with
Cardinal Fiorenzo Angelini, who will turn 96 next month. He had been the first president of the
Pontifical Council for the Ministry to Healthcare Workers when John Paul II established this in
1986, remaining at the helm until he turned 80 in 1996.
Before that, he was a co-worker and staunch defender of Pius XII. He lives in retirement in the Abruzzi, and two years ago,
Benedict XVI visited him in his home, on one of the Pope's summer excursions outside Castel Gandolfo.
The Vatican also released
- The theme for the Pope's Message for the World Day of Peace in 2013
- The Pope's message to the Bishop of Avila (Spain) on the 450th anniversary of the establishment
of the Convento de San Jose in Avila by St. Teresa of Avila and the start of the Carmelite order's
reformation with the initiatives of Saint Teresa and her good friend St. Juan de la Cruz (John of the Cross).
[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 19/07/2012 17:43]