Thursday of the Fifteenth Week of Ordinary Time
Today is one of my favorite Marian Feast Days, Our Lady of Mt. Carmel. Our Lady appeared to St. Simeon Stock and gave him the brown scapular.
“According to Pope John XXII, the Blessed Virgin gave him the following message in a vision related to those who wear the Brown Scapular: ‘I, the Mother of Grace, shall descend on the Saturday (Sabbath) after their death, and whomsoever I shall find in Purgatory, I shall free, so that I may lead them to the holy mountain of life everlasting.’”
Now, this doesn’t mean if we wear a scapular we have a “get out of hell/purgatory card.” No, there are three conditions we have to follow:
- Wear the Brown Scapular
- Observe chastity according to one’s state in life
- Pray the Rosary.
In the Gospel today, the Lord says, “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.” Now, with these guidelines, may seem hard but to echo what I said yesterday, and throughout the week, if we place all of our trust in the Lord and Our Lady then we can conquer all of our enemies. As the responsorial psalm says, “From heaven, the Lord looks down on the earth.” He looks down on the earth always taking care of us with His love.
Today I challenge you again to put your trust in the Lord and Our Lady but I am also going to add that you may also feel the love that they have for you. Ask for this grace, and feel what true love is!
Reflection by Br. Maximilian Burkhart, OSB
1 ourladymountcarmel.com/history/
Posted in Articles for Lent, Daily Reflections, Lenten Resources