At a Mass on April 26th the Associate Pastor of Ste. Genevieve, Father Greg Klump presented each Valle Catholic 2nd Grader with a Brown Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in anticipation of their First Holy Communion on May 5th. 4th Grader, Matthew Bodine and 5th Grader Camryn Hobbs will receieve their First Holy Communion on Sunday, May 6th. Their scapulars will be presented on May 3rd.
The scapular stands for a commitment to follow Jesus, like Mary, the perfect model of all the disciples of Christ. Wearing the scapular reminds the children of the example of the saints of Carmel and will remind them how to be guided by faith, hope, and love. It will help them to be close to the needs of others.
Many popes and saints have strongly recommended wearing the Brown Scapular to the Catholic Faithful, including St. Robert Bellarmine, Pope John XXII, Pope Pius Xl, and Pope Benedict XV.
Karol Wojtyla (Pope John Paul II) received the Brown Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel when he was about 10 years old. When he was shot and operated on in 1981, he told doctors not to remove the brown scapular he was wearing.