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Elizabeth
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I just read this book at someone's suggestion (Gwen?). But I can't find the post where it was suggested. anybody know? Was it on CCM?
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Elizabeth Foss is no longer a member of this forum. Discussions now reflect the current management & are not necessarily expressions of her book, *Real Learning*, her current work, or her philosophy. (posted by E. Foss, Jan 2011)
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JennGM
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This is the first I've heard of that title. What did you think of it?
That brings to mind something I've been pondering....and it may sound scandalous. I used to wear the brown scapular religiously...cloth kind. Then I switched to a scapular medal. I'm aware of the Sabbatine Privilege, but in doing some research the origins are a bit dubious...and because there is no time in Heaven, how can I have a promise that on "Saturday" Mary will take me to heaven? I didn't want to be wearing the cloth just because of some promise...it seemed a bit superstitious.
But then I noticed my own thinking of wearing the scapular, and it seemed I had wrong intentions. I wear the 4way medal at all times ('til my chain broke  )I would put on the cloth if I was travelling, having surgery, swimming..anything particularly dangerous. This was the thought process I was taught...don't let yourself go without the scapular at any time...some time of fear.
I had to rethink some things. I need to wear the scapular purely as a devotion -- sign of love for Mary -- and her sign of love for me. I don't think I should be thinking of the attached promises. Or should I? How do you separate your thoughts so that you don't make the scapular become a magical charm or wear it for just the promises? 
For further reading on the scapular, see the Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel.
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Natalia
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Elizabeth,
I happened to notice yesterday that Swimming with Scapulars was the selection for the book club at Catholicmom.com Maybe that is what you got it from? BTW, what is it about?
Natalia
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Elizabeth
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Swimming with Scapulars
Cardinal Francis George Writes: This is a highly personal account of a young man seriously trying to live the Catholic fatih in America today; it will encourage Catholics and entertain them. Lickona faces the difficulties and appreciates the blessing of belonging to Christ and the Church in an often hostile and uncertain world and he does so with literacy and style."
I agree with all of that. The book is a compelling read. The author is in his early thirties, a graduate of TAC, and a voice to many things that confront an orthodox Catholic, who truly discovers orthodoxy as a young adult. I originally bought the book thinking I'd pass it along to ds16. But as I read, I thought it more appropriate for my husband, who would nod in agreement and recognition as he read. I wanted to send it to a nominal Catholic who is as literate as the author and whose life in many ways reminds me of his. And then I wanted to loan it several key people in my parish as a tool to convey what I think is missing in liberal happyland...
I found myself challenged and encouraged. The book is not about scapulars, though he does addresss them.One thing that struck me was that on matters of doctrine he is unwavering. But, otherwise, he raises lots of questions, along with eloquently expressed arguments presented with style and grace.
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Elizabeth Foss is no longer a member of this forum. Discussions now reflect the current management & are not necessarily expressions of her book, *Real Learning*, her current work, or her philosophy. (posted by E. Foss, Jan 2011)
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Elizabeth
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jenngm67 wrote:
I had to rethink some things. I need to wear the scapular purely as a devotion -- sign of love for Mary -- and her sign of love for me. I don't think I should be thinking of the attached promises. Or should I? How do you separate your thoughts so that you don't make the scapular become a magical charm or wear it for just the promises?
For further reading on the scapular, see the Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. |
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Lickonia writes that after losing his scapular he didn't make an effort to replace it:
And why should I have made an effort? I hadn't done anything differently while wearing it, hadn't said any special prayers or cultivated any particular devotion. I was not ready to believe that a scapular could serve as a sort of grace magnet, acting independently from my own efforts. I was fixed in the rather contradictory notion that I had to do something in order to attain grace. Augustine had taught me that if grace is earned, then it's not grace--not a free git but a just reward. But I didn't think of that at the time. And I was still suspicious of the scapular; it was too much like a talisman for my tastes. The promise of salvation to the wearer sounded to close to superstition.
He wrangles with sacrament versus sacramental for an interesting few pages and then he writes:
But if the scapular could prepare me to receive grace and dispose me to cooperate with it, then the promise could be regarded as true without removing salvific grace from the realm of the sacraments. And wasn't it a sort of grace to be prepared and disposed? I decided my first idea, that of the scapular as a grace magnet, was not quite as absurd as I had thought. My scapular attracted to me the intercessory prayer of the church. It sounded strange, but then, the unity of the Mystical Body of Christ had allowed my father to free the souls in purgatory by his prayers here on earth, and that sounded strange as well. I was humbled. Who was I to place a limit on the working of grace?
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Willa
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I heard once that the brown scapular was the habit and armor of Mary Immaculate, and that's how I wear it. I don't even know what all the promises are. I do not at present recite the Little Office, and I haven't been formally consecrated, so I guess I'm a bit of a novice at present.
Just recently I was convicted that I was wearing it sort of matter-of-factly and that it wasn't really affecting how I live. So I started kissing my scapular before I put it on in the morning or after a bath. I find myself blushing even writing that  -- I come from a long line of Scottish and Dutch Reformers! All my blood rises up against that! But it's been a sort of mortification and a grace in my life, and I live more consciously as a "soldier of the Immaculata" now.
Particularly it is a reminder to my and my dc to practice chastity in our states of life. Chastity is a positive virtue and a key one, not just a negative "shalt-not" (I know I'm preaching to the choir here!)
My dc have also occasionally been a "witness" for Mary because other kids have noticed them wearing the scapular, and in that way it's just like the habit of a religious or priest. Since so many priests and religious don't choose to wear anything that sets them apart nowadays, it could also be thought of as a reparation in that way. That just occured to me.
The book sounds really interesting!
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momwise
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No, I didn't recommend it; I just heard about it today on Catholic Exchange.
Here's the review: Actually it's an interview with the author.
Looks like a good book!
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I read somewhere of woman who would touch the scapular to her face in prayer. It reminded her of the rough fabric of a tunic Christ would have worn and helped her focus on HIm in prayer. I thought that was beautiful.
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We belong to a Carmelite parish of Discalced Carmelites
(it means without shoes)...they are not the clostiered
variety.
Anyway, the scapular is a part of our family life...we
are all enrolled....(a lifetime enrollment) and the scapular is a outward sign of our willingness to
follow Our Lady towards holiness.....Prayer, Fasting(sacrifices), Confession(frequent), and Mass (Eucharist). It is a reminder when we feel it against our skin, or feel it tuck out behind our necks...and we all need that little nudge to stay focused on our goal.
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Elizabeth
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So, is a 4-way medal somehow less a grace magnet?
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Elizabeth
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Here's another web info site on the Brown Scapular
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Willa
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Bridget wrote:
| I read somewhere of woman who would touch the scapular to her face in prayer. It reminded her of the rough fabric of a tunic Christ would have worn and helped her focus on HIm in prayer. I thought that was beautiful. |
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Me too, Bridget -- thanks!!
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Genevieve
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Elizabeth wrote:
| So, is a 4-way medal somehow less a grace magnet? |
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I believe it is now the five-fold scapular.
I'm not sure whether it is less a "grace magnet". However, you are granted all indulgences as attributed to the individual scapular. So in that sense, you actually receive more graces. In order to obtain this though, you need to fulfil the requirement for each.
Some people do prefer the wool over the metal. Both are accepted by the Vatican. I did read somewhere that with regards to the Brown scapular that miracles have only been attributed
to the wool one.
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Genevieve
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jenngm67 wrote:
I had to rethink some things. I need to wear the scapular purely as a devotion -- sign of love for Mary -- and her sign of love for me. I don't think I should be thinking of the attached promises. Or should I? How do you separate your thoughts so that you don't make the scapular become a magical charm or wear it for just the promises?
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I too had struggled with the idea of wearing it as a magical charm. However, I realize that it is not the scapular that gives me grace, but the devotion to God that does. The three conditions attributed to the Brown Scapular is as such
1) we must wear the Scapular at all times except for short periods like taking a bath
2) Observe chastity according to our vocation.
3) Recite the little office or the rosary daily (the later must be granted by the priest - you simply ask the priest and he says yes  )
I believe by fulfilling these conditions faithfully, I do increase my devotion to God and hence increasese the grace bestowed upon me. It is a powerful reminder to me to love and serve our Lord. As I continue to do so in increasing amounts, I do believe that heaven would be a more likely prospect.
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JennGM
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Yes, thanks. I do think these things, but I have to sift through some of the childhood baggage that you don't even realize that is there sometimes! I just had to embrace the habit of wearing the scapular as my own devotion, not as something as a carryover from upbringing. Does that make sense?
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Genevieve
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It makes sense. You want to do it for the right reasons. 
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Enrollment is done by a priest,
After enrollment in the Confraternity of the Scapular, the scapular may be replaced by a Carmelite scapular medal worn around the neck. The enrollment is for a lifetime and need not be repeated, and new scapulars do not need to be blessed again but scapular medals do.
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Matthew Lickona is my neighbor and friend here in San Diego! I told him I would post something here about his book and just haven't had the time, so I'm really glad to see that some of you have read the book! I'll let him know that so far the reviews are good!
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JennGM
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Genevieve wrote:
Elizabeth wrote:
| So, is a 4-way medal somehow less a grace magnet? |
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I believe it is now the five-fold scapular. |
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I have to disagree here. The five-fold scapular is just a combination of 5 different types of scapulars. There are many other kinds, besides the Brown Scapular -- green, white, black, red.
A Scapular Medal is one with the Sacred Heart on the front and Our Lady of Mount Carmel on the back. A 4-way medal is a combination of several devotions (again): Miraculous Medal, Scapular Medal, St. Joseph and St. Christopher.
A scapular medal is
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Genevieve
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Whoops! Thanks for the correction.
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4Real Forums : Book Club
Topic: Swimming with Scapulars
