Saturday, May 16, 2015

May 16: St. Simon Stock

St. Simon Stock receiving the
 brown scapular from the
Blessed Mother

History

Simon was a Carmelite monk who started a lot of Carmelite communities in Europe. He became Vicar General of the order, but that mean dealing with a lot of problems. Some people made fun of the monks. Other people were tired of donating money to them. And the monks argued with each other. One day when Simon was praying, he saw a vision of the Blessed Mother with a brown scapular. She told him that it would make a difference for his order, and it did.  Things got better almost immediately. 



Activity

The idea of a scapular is rooted in the words of Christ: Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:29-30The brown scapular is two small pieces of brown wool with string or wool connecting them so that the wearer has one piece of fabric over his or her chest and the other over his or her back. Any Catholic can wear one – even a baby – but you have to have your scapular blessed and “imposed” by a priest – basically, that means that as the priest places the scapular over your head, he prays a certain prayer.  If you don’t have a brown scapular, get one today – you can even get one for free on this website

Saint Simon Stock, pray for us!


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