Our Lady of Mt. Carmel

This feast, instituted in the 14th century by the Carmelite Order, commemorates the anniversary of the day in 1251 when the Blessed Mother gave the brown scapular to St. Simon Stock. "The scapular is 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" (Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy 205)

"The Blessed Virgin Mary watches unceasingly with a mother's loving care over the brethren of her Son, and lights us along our pilgrim way to the Mount of your Glory, our beacon of comfort, and the embodiment of all our hopes as members of the Church" (Preface for Our Lady of Mount Carmel). -- taken from The Magnificat, July 16, 2010 page 235

In the spirituality of the Carmelite Order, the blessed Virgin Mary shows the way to all who believe in her Son. She says to the servants at the wedding feast in Cana: "Do whatever he tells you" (John 2:5). Let us pray that we be granted the grace to fulfill her words on this feast day.

--from the website of the Saint James Vicariate for Hebrew speaking Catholics in Israel