July 16 is the feast day of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. In iconography, she is usually a white Madonna with Child, sometimes pictured with a scapular, and sometimes visibly standing on a mountaintop, sometimes a cloud. Both mother and child are usually depicted wearing crowns.
Our Lady appeared to St. Simon Stock in 1251, in Cambridge, actually, rather than at Mt. Carmel, which is in northern Israel and had been a traditional home of hermits and ascetics for centuries. He was the head of this persecuted Order of Carmelites (there was local Trouble with Saracens in Palestine), working for its acceptance in Europe, where it had only recently arrived, and was eager in addition for the conversion of the king and a little help from the Pope, both of which he is said to have gotten because of the intercession of Our Lady of Mount Carmel.
I was going to put pictures here of OL of Mt. Carmel and of the scapular associated with her, but livejournal informs me that I need to either upgrade my account or do something complicated and esoteric with a photobucket, whatever that is, unless I want to hotlink, so you’re on your own with Google Images for this one.
In any case, the scapular is still seen today around the necks of devotees to Our Lady, and over the centuries it has become invested with various indulgences and blessings by various Popes, as well as a great deal of folk belief in its efficacy and spiritual power. Those who die wearing the scapular are said to avoid the fires of hell; I have seen the scapular around the necks of many Catholic soldiers and others who have reason to fear they might die unshriven.
The scapular is a symbol of the spiritual maternity of Mary, who will intercede on behalf of the recently deceased believer to get him or her what is called “final perseverance,” or, more commonly, a death in a “state of grace.” Of course, it is assumed that one who wears the scapular also lives as a faithful member of the Church, receiving the Sacraments, praying, and observing the proprieties of chastity appropriate for his or her state in life.
In voudon iconography, Our Lady of Mt. Carmel is sometimes associated with Erzulie Dantor (or vice versa). (If you google Erzulie Dantor, you will get images of Our Lady of Czestochowa first, and indeed that attribution is more common for reasons that make a lot of “visual sense,” but I couldn’t neglect the association with Mt. Carmel!)
Following is a novena for OL of Mt. Carmel.
First Day (7 July)
O Beautiful Flower of Carmel, most fruitful vine, splendor of heaven, holy
and singular, who brought forth the Son of God, still ever remaining a pure virgin, assist us in our necessity! O Star of the Sea, help and protect us! Show us that you are our Mother! (pause and mention petitions)
Recite: Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be
Our Lady of Mount Carmel, pray for us.
Second Day (8 July)
Most Holy Mary, Our Mother, in your great love for us you gave us the Holy
Scapular of Mount Carmel, having heard the prayers of your chosen son Saint Simon Stock. Help us now to wear it faithfully and with devotion. May it be a sign to us of our desire to grow in holiness. (pause and mention petitions).
Recite: Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be
Our Lady of Mount Carmel, pray for us.
Third Day (9 July)
O Queen of Heaven, you gave us the Scapular as an outward sign by which we
might be known as your faithful children. may we always wear it with honor
by avoiding sin and imitating your virtues. Help us to be faithful to this
desire of ours. (pause and mention petitions)
Recite: Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be
Our Lady of Mount Carmel, pray for us.
Fourth Day (10 July)
When you gave us, Gracious Lady, the Scapular as our Habit, you called us
to be not only servants, but also your own children. We ask you to gain for us from your Son the grace to live as you children in joy, peace and love. (pause and mention petitions)
Recite: Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be
Our Lady of Mount Carmel, pray for us.
Fifth Day (11 July)
O Mother of Fair Love, through your goodness, as your children, we are
called to live in the spirit of Carmel. Help us to live in charity with one another, prayerful as Elijah of old, and mindful of our call to minister to God’s people. (pause and mention petitions)
Recite: Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be
Our Lady of Mount Carmel, pray for us.
Sixth Day (12 July)
With loving provident care, O Mother Most Amiable, you covered us with your Scapular as a shield of defense against the Evil One. Through your
assistance, may we bravely struggle against the powers of evil, always open to your Son Jesus Christ. (pause and mention petitions)
Recite: Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be
Our Lady of Mount Carmel, pray for us.
Seventh Day (13 July)
O Mary, Help of Christians, you assured us that wearing your Scapular
worthily would keep us safe from harm. Protect us in both body and soul
with your continual aid. may all that we do be pleasing to your Son and to
you. (pause and mention petitions)
Recite: Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be
Our Lady of Mount Carmel, pray for us.
Eighth Day (14 July)
You give us hope, O Mother of Mercy, that through your Scapular promise we
might quickly pass through the fires of purgatory to the Kingdom of your
Son. Be our comfort and our hope. Grant that our hope may not be in vain
but that, ever faithful to your Son and to you, we may speedily enjoy after death the blessed company of Jesus and the saints. (pause and mention petitions)
Recite: Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be
Our Lady of Mount Carmel, pray for us.
Ninth Day (15 July)
O Most Holy Mother of Mount Carmel, when asked by a saint to grant
privileges to the family of Carmel, you gave assurance of your Motherly
love and help to those faithful to you and to your Son. Behold us, your
children. We glory in wearing your holy ha bit, which makes us members of
your family of Carmel, through which we shall have your powerful protection in life, at death and even after death. Look down with love, O Gate of Heaven, on all those now in their last agony! Look down graciously, O Virgin, Flower of Carmel, on all those in need of help! Look down mercifully, O Mother of our Savior, on all those who do not know that they are numbered among your children. Look down tenderly, O Queen of All Saints, on the poor souls! (pause and mention petitions)
Recite: Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be
Our Lady of Mount Carmel, pray for us.
Big Lucky Hoodoo 