The Brown Scapular is a small garment of two pieces of brown wool cloth joined by cords and worn over the shoulders, front and back — a miniature of the scapular that forms part of the Carmelite habit. Wearing it is a sign of belonging to the family of Carmel and of entrusting oneself to the Blessed Virgin, whom the Carmelites honour under the title of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. Tradition holds that Our Lady gave the scapular to Saint Simon Stock in 1251 with the promise of her protection, and the Church has approved the devotion for centuries while teaching, in the Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy, that the scapular is a sign of consecration to Mary, to be worn with a real commitment to live as she lived, and never a charm. Saint John Paul II, who wore it from his youth, wrote to the Carmelites in 2001 that it holds two truths together: Mary's constant protection, and the wearer's resolve to imitate her.

What you need

• A cloth Brown Scapular — a religious-goods shop, a Carmelite community or many parishes will have one
• A priest or deacon willing to enrol you, using the approved rite
• A few minutes after Mass, or an appointment; the rite itself is short
• A resolve to wear it and to pray daily to Our Lady

When to pray it

Enrolment can happen at any time; parishes and Carmelite churches often enrol groups on 16 July, the Memorial of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, or at the close of a Marian devotion. Once enrolled, you wear the scapular always and keep some daily prayer to Our Lady.

Steps

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   Step 1: Understand what the scapular is

   The scapular is a sacramental — a sacred sign instituted by the Church which disposes us to receive grace — and specifically a sign of consecration to the Blessed Virgin under her title of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. The Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy describes it as an external sign of the filial relationship between the Mother of God and the faithful who entrust themselves to her, and asks that it be worn with a true Marian devotion and an effort to live the Gospel. The tradition of the promise to Saint Simon Stock — that Our Lady would protect those who die wearing her scapular — has been permitted by the popes as an expression of confidence in her intercession; it is not a doctrine, and no cloth substitutes for a life of faith. What the Church offers you in the scapular is a habit, in the old sense: a garment that says whose you are.

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   Step 2: Ask a priest to enrol you

   Anyone baptised may be enrolled. Obtain a cloth scapular and ask a priest — or a deacon — to enrol you using the rite of blessing and enrolment approved for the Carmelite scapular; any priest may do it, and Carmelite friars and nuns do it regularly. The simplest approach is to speak to your parish priest after Mass, say that you would like to be enrolled in the Brown Scapular, and ask when he could do it; the rite takes only a few minutes and is often done in the sacristy or before a Marian statue. Families are often enrolled together, and children who are old enough to understand what it means may be enrolled with their parents.

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   Step 3: Receive the rite of enrolment

   The priest first blesses the scapular, then places it over your shoulders. In the approved rite he tells you to receive the scapular as a sign of your special relationship with Mary, the Mother of Jesus, whom you pledge to imitate; that it should remind you of your Christian dignity, of serving others and of following her example; and that you are to wear it as a sign of her protection and of your belonging to the family of Carmel, doing the will of God and working for a world true to his plan of justice and peace. He then prays that Our Lady of Mount Carmel, who clothes you with this sign, may bring you to the mountain which is Christ, and blesses you. You answer the prayers with 'Amen', and if the rite is held before the Blessed Sacrament or a statue of Our Lady, a Hail Mary▾ or the Salve Regina▾ is often sung to close.

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   Step 4: Wear it

   Wear the scapular over the shoulders, one panel resting on the chest and the other on the back, under your clothing; it is meant to be worn continuously, day and night, and not carried in a pocket or hung on a wall. Make it a small daily act: when you put it on in the morning or feel it in the evening, say a Hail Mary▾ or the Sub Tuum Praesidium▾ — 'We fly to your protection, O holy Mother of God...' — and renew your entrustment to her. If it must be removed for surgery, sport or work, put it back on afterwards; taking it off for a reason and a time does not break the enrolment. Treat it with the reverence due to a blessed object.

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   Step 5: Replace it when it wears out

   Cloth scapulars fray and the cords break; that is not a problem. Buy or ask for a new one and put it on: the enrolment was of you, not of the cloth, and it lasts for life, so a replacement needs no new enrolment and need not even be blessed, though it is a good custom to ask a priest to bless it. The old scapular, because it was blessed, should not simply be thrown in the rubbish; the usual practice is to burn or bury it. If you have been enrolled with the cloth scapular, you may also wear the scapular medal instead, particularly where the cloth is impractical, keeping the same intention.

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   Step 6: Live the devotion

   The scapular is a commitment, and the Carmelites describe its content in three parts: to wear it, as a sign of belonging to Mary; to pray to her daily, most fittingly with the Rosary or at least a Hail Mary▾ and the Salve Regina▾; and to live the chastity proper to your state of life and to imitate her virtues — her attentiveness to God's word, her charity, her humble faith. Keep 16 July, Our Lady of Mount Carmel, as a family feast. Saint Teresa of Avila, Saint John of the Cross and Saint Therese of Lisieux all wore this scapular; make their writings your companions, and let the small brown cloth do what it was given for: to keep you turned, day after day, toward Mary and through her toward Christ.

Tips

• Enrolment is once for life. When the cloth wears out you simply put on a new scapular; it does not need to be blessed or the enrolment repeated, though many like to have the new one blessed.
• After enrolment with the cloth scapular, a scapular medal — the Sacred Heart on one side, Our Lady on the other — may be worn instead, by a concession of Saint Pius X in 1910. The cloth remains the fuller sign.
• The scapular commits you, it does not replace you. A wearer who lives in serious sin without repentance should not expect the cloth to do what only grace and conversion do.
• If you cannot find a priest quickly, ask at the parish office: any priest may enrol, and Carmelite communities enrol regularly.