From: richarra@gmail.com   
      
    -- Titus 2:11-13 --   
      
     11 For the grace of God has appeared for the salvation of all men,   
   12 training us to renounce irreligion and worldly passions, and to   
   live sober, upright, and godly lives in this world, 13 awaiting our   
   blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and   
   Savior Jesus Christ,  RSVCE   
   =====================   
       No matter what you struggle with now, no matter how successful or   
   stuck you see yourself to be, no matter how young or how old you are   
   in your faith, no matter if you are a man or a woman, or a boy or a   
   girl — if you are Christ's child, there is hope for you! Your hope is   
   Jesus! He lives in you, and because of that, you have reason to   
   celebrate each new day. You no longer live, but Christ lives in you!   
      
   <<>><<>><<>>   
   May 16: Saint Simon Stock   
      
   (1164-1265)   
    Saint Simon Stock was Superior General of the Carmelite Order, and   
   blessed receiver of a vision and gift from the Blessed Virgin, Our   
   Lady of Mount Carmel. Through the visitation of Our Lady, the world   
   was presented with the brown Scapular, referred to as “the armor of   
   Our Lady” by Pope Benedict XV, a devotional aid in the consecration of   
   our lives to Our Holy Mother.   
      
   Simon was born in Aylesford, England, to one of the most well-known   
   and respected Christian families in the County of Kent. While still an   
   infant, he was chosen by the Blessed Mother for her own, with his   
   parents and others hearing him recite the Angelic Salutation of the   
   Archangel Gabriel long before he had learned to speak. Prodigious as a   
   child, he learned and memorized the Little Office of the Blessed   
   Virgin before he was able to read, reciting it on a daily basis. He   
   was observed to read the Holy Scripture, kneeling in his room, by the   
   age of six.   
      
   At the age of 12, Simon left home, living as a hermit in the hollowed   
   trunk of a large oak tree, earning him the name Simon “Stock.” There   
   he triumphed over the demon, as he would later tell his religious,   
   only by the assistance of the Most Holy Virgin. While living as a   
   hermit, he drank only water and ate only herbs, roots, and wild   
   apples. Eventually, after eight years of solitude, Simon felt called   
   back to communion with others, and joined the Carmelite Order. He   
   finished his studies at Oxford, and later (in 1215) was appointed   
   Vicar General of the Order.   
      
   Saint Simon worked tirelessly to spread the Carmelite Order throughout   
   Europe, rounding many communities in university towns such as   
   Cambridge, Oxford, Paris, and Bologna. He was responsible for the   
   revision of the Rules of the Order, leading the community from lives   
   as hermits to those of mendicant friars. Known for his deep devotion   
   to Our Blessed mother, as well as for the spiritual gifts of miracles   
   and prophecy, Simon was elected as the 60th Superior General of the   
   Carmelites at age 82. He continued to govern the order for 20 years,   
   demonstrating holiness, vision, and prudence.   
      
   During his tenure as Superior General, Simon was graced with a   
   visitation from the Blessed Mother, to whom he was so devoted.   
   Radiantly surrounded by a multitude of Angels, Our Lady of Mount   
   Carmel appeared to him as he knelt in prayer at Aylesford, England.   
   Presenting to him the Carmelite Brown Scapular, She made Her Promise   
   of unparalleled generosity to him, his spiritual children, and to all   
   those who wished to consecrate themselves to her by this special sign:   
   Her words were: "Receive, my beloved son, this scapular of your Order;   
   it is the special sign of my favor, which I have obtained for you and   
   for your children of Mount Carmel. He who dies clothed with this habit   
   shall be preserved from eternal fire. It is the badge of salvation, a   
   shield in time of danger, and a pledge of special peace and   
   protection."   
      
   The scapular (from the Latin, scapula, meaning "shoulder blade")   
   consists of two pieces of cloth, one worn on the chest, and the other   
   on the back, which were connected by straps or strings passing over   
   the shoulders. In certain Orders, monks and nuns wear scapulars that   
   reach from the shoulders almost to the ground as outer garments. Lay   
   persons usually wear scapulars underneath their clothing, consisting   
   of two pieces of material only a few inches square. Although the   
   scapular may be worn by any Catholic, even an infant, proper   
   investiture must be done by a priest. Subsequently, the scapular must   
   be worn in the proper manner, the individual forfeiting its holy   
   benefits if neglectful or careless.   
      
   Saint Simon Stock died on May 16, 1265, at the age of 100 and was   
   buried in the cathedral of Bordeaux, where he was visiting at the time   
   of his death. The Saint's bones are still preserved in a cathedral in   
   Bordeaux; a tibia was brought to England in the 1860s for the   
   Carmelite church in Kensington, a part of the skull was enshrined at   
   Aylesford in 1950.   
      
   The brown Scapular of the Carmelite Order has gained considerable   
   popularity and use among those devoted to the Blessed Mother.   
      
   In 1322, Pope John XXII issued a document known as a Papal Bull in   
   which he included a promise from Our Lady of Mount Carmel. In his   
   document, the Pope revealed that he had received an apparition of Our   
   Blessed Mother, during which she made a promise to all mankind. Her   
   “Sabbatine Privilege” was as follows: on the First Saturday after the   
   death of one of the faithful, Our Blessed Mother would free from   
   Purgatory her Scapular children who have fulfilled certain conditions.   
   She stated to Pope John XXII: "I, the Mother of Graces, shall descend   
   on the Saturday after their death, and as many as I find in Purgatory   
   I shall free.”....   
      
   The immeasurable benefits of the Scapular result from the fact that   
   the wearing of "the armor of Mary" is not merely an external act of   
   devotion-- it is a sign of our internal consecration to the Immaculate   
   Virgin. The scapular recommends us to her endless grace and   
   generosity. At Fatima in 1917, the Mother of God encouraged all people   
   to consecrate themselves to Her Immaculate Heart. And in the final   
   Fatima vision on October 13th, the Blessed Virgin appeared as Our Lady   
   of Mount Carmel, wearing the robes of the Carmelite Order, holding   
   aloft the Brown Scapular.  On that occasion, Our Blessed Mother   
   reminded us that the devoted living of the Brown Scapular   
   consecration, paired with daily prayer of the Holy Rosary, is a   
   necessary part of the amendment of life--the random of a sinful   
   world--for which she so earnestly pleaded. Pope Pius XII stressed this   
   important truth: "May the Scapular be a sign to them (all who wear it)   
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)