7 
 
 LIBRARY OF CONGRESS.? 
 
 j 
 
 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA . f 
 
r 
 
u> 
 
 oV COHGRBSS 
 
V A 
 
 SHORT TREATISE 
 
 On the Antiquity, Institution, Excellency, Indul- 
 gences, Privileges, etc., 
 
 OF THE 
 
 MOST FAMOUS AN ANCIENT CONFRATERNITY 
 
 OF 
 
 <®ut Mt$$zb Itatip of ^l&ount <£atmei, 
 
 COMMONLY CALLED 
 
 THE SCAPULAR: 
 
 With a Brief Account of the 
 DESIGN, RULES, AND CONDITIONS THEREOF. 
 
 Mecum sunt divitiae, ut ditem diligentes me. 
 With me are riches that I may enrich them that love me. 
 
 Proverbs, viii, 
 
 TO WHICH ARE ADDED 
 
 A short relation of some of the many notable Miracles wrought 
 by Divine Power, in favor of them that were vested with that 
 honorable and Sacred Badge. 
 
 TOGETHER WITH A 
 
 NOVENA IN HONOR OF THE IMMACULATE 
 VIRGIN MARY. 
 
 PHILADELPHIA: 
 
 PUBLISHED BY THOMAS P. COLGAN, 
 
 No. 95 South Street, 
 
 1847. 
 

 ■&«> 
 
 $h^ 
 
 Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1847, by 
 
 THOMAS P. COLGAN, 
 
 In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the Eastern District 
 
 of Pennsylvania. 
 
 Stereotyped by 
 
 R. P. MOGSIDOE PHILAD'A- 
 
 M. Fithian, Printer. 
 
TO THE 
 
 AMERICAN CATHOLIC PUBLIC. 
 
 In accordance with the advice of many judi- 
 cious persons, including several friends, whose 
 long standing and experience in the Catholic 
 Book business, have well qualified them to 
 judge of the wants of a Catholic Community 
 in the book line, the Publisher has embraced 
 this opportunity to send forth a work which he 
 hopes will not only be pleasing to Almighty 
 God and his blessed Mother, but calculated for 
 the Spiritual welfare, and final salvation of all 
 good Catholics. 
 
 In presenting this little book, his first attempt 
 in the publishing line, to the Catholics of 
 North America, the publisher trusts that he has 
 selected a work suitable to the wants of those 
 who already lay claim to the virtuous title of 
 " Brothers and Sister of the chosen orders of 
 the most Holy, and Immaculate Virgin Mother 
 of God of Mount Carmel, and one which will 
 also be a guide to those who are sincerely de- 
 
 (ui) 
 
IV 
 
 sirous of preparing their souls for that great 
 day, when time shall be no more, by entering 
 the order of the Scapular, whereby they may 
 receive those graces which the mother of God 
 has said she will procure for those who de- 
 voutly wear her precious gift, and piously repeat 
 her divine office. 
 
 To those kind friends, who have assisted him 
 in his endeavors by their counsels and voluntary 
 labors, he presents his heart felt acknowledg- 
 ments, and that they may be recipient of the 
 bounty of Almighty God, both spiritually and 
 temporally is the fervent prayer of the 
 
 PUBLISHER. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE. 
 Preface --------- -7 
 
 A short treaties on the Scapular. - _ - 15 
 
 CHAP. 1.— A Narration of the Origin and progress of the 
 Holy Order of Carmelites, in which the Confraternity 
 of the Scapular is erected 21 
 
 CHAP. 2.— Why the successors of the Prophets are called 
 Brothers of the B. V. M. of Mount Carmel, and of the 
 propagation of their order under the Gospel. - - 27 
 
 CHAP. 3— How the Imaculate V. M. hath ever showed 
 herself the singular Patroness and Advocate of the 
 Holy Order of Mount Carmel ; and how She gave the 
 Holy Scapular to St. Simon Stock. 37 
 
 CHAP. 4. — Of divers Sorts of Persons that appertain unto 
 
 the Confraternity of the B. V. ... 43 
 
 CHAP. 5.— The 1st. Privilege of the Confraternity of the 
 
 Holy Scapular. ------- 45 
 
 CHAP. 6.— The 2nd Privilege of the Confraternity. - 45 
 
 CHAP. 7.— The 3rd Privilege of the Confraternity. - 47 
 
 CHAP. 8.— The 4th. Privilege of the Confraternity. - 52 
 CHAP. 9.— Instructions how the Scapular is to be received 
 and worn, and what is required to gain privileges 
 
 annexed to it -------- 56 
 
 CHAP. 10.— A Relation of miracles, &c. Of the Devotion 
 of the seven Pater Nosters and Seven Ave. Marias, 
 usually practised by the Brothers of Mount Carmel, - 66 
 (Translated from the Spanish by the late very Rev. 
 T. Coleman.) --------68 
 
 Another form of Prayer for the Seven Joys of the Virgin 
 
 Mary. ---------73 
 
 Of Devotions for Wednesday. ----- 78 
 
 1* 
 
VI CONTENTS. 
 
 List of the Generals. _______ 83 
 
 The office of the B. V. M. ------ 97 
 
 Address to the Brothers and Sisters of the Venerable Con- 
 fraternity of the B. V. Mary of Mount Carmel by the 
 V. Rev. Prior and Author K. J. Colgan. 
 
 Novena 1st. day. _._-■----_ 109 
 
 Hymn of St. Simon Stock. _•--__ 113 
 
 2nd. Day. -- 115 
 
 Hymn & prayer & as page as - 109 
 
 3rd. Day. -- -119 
 
 Hymn & Prayer &c. as -----_ 109 
 
 4th. Day. ---------- 122 
 
 Hymn &, Prayer &c. as. -_-___ 109 
 
 5th. Day. ---__,____. 125 
 
 Hymn & Prayer &c. as ----_. 109 
 
 6th, Day. - 128 
 
 Hymn & Prayer &c. as. -■---•__- 109 
 
 7th. Day. --------- 131 
 
 Hymn &c. as the above - - 
 
 8th. Day. 134 
 
 Hymn & Prayer as above ------- 
 
 9th. Day. --------- 138 
 
 Hymn &, prayer. ----____ 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 The work of our eternal salvation is a 
 business of great importance, and the one 
 thing necessary, of which our Saviour speaks, 
 Luke x. 42. We ought solicitously to lay 
 hold on all those means and helps, which God 
 of his infinite mercy hath been pleased to 
 furnish us with for the promoting of so mighty 
 an affair, conformable to what the apostle ex- 
 horts us to. 2 Pet. 1. 10, Qua propter fratres 
 magis satagite, §*c. wherefore, brethren, la- 
 bor the more, do whatever lies in your power 
 by good works, to make sure of your vocation 
 and election. 
 
 Amongst many spiritual inventions which 
 the Holy Ghost hath suggested to the church, 
 and which now are in practice amongst good 
 Catholics, that of religious confraternities, 
 or sodalities, ought to be noted ; in which 
 many pious persons united themselves toge- 
 ther for God's glory, in the practice of vir- 
 tuous and devout actions ; they do, in a very 
 particular manner, of many members become 
 
 (?) 
 
8 
 
 one mystical body : insomuch, that each mem- 
 ber is by mutual communication made par- 
 ticipant of the prayers, sacrifices, fastings, 
 alms, mortifications, and generally of all the 
 good works and meritorious actions of all the 
 other members ; from which common affinity, 
 and communication, without doubt many great 
 benefits doth accrue. For as in a well ranged 
 army, each soldier in particular may easily be 
 vanquished by the enemy, and nevertheless, 
 by the general conjunction of them all, one 
 with another, the files are rendered impene- 
 trable, the battalions strong, and the army 
 invincible. So, likewise it happens in the 
 spiritual warfare of our souls against the devil, 
 the world, and the flesh, our sworn enemies ; 
 in which those that fight alone, one by one, 
 although it be under Christ's banner, and that 
 perhaps with much valor and generosity; 
 nevertheless, every one is put to try his 
 strength by himself to combat his adversaries 
 hand to hand, and wrestle against his enemies 
 with his own single force : whereas, in those 
 holy confraternities, the ability of the one is 
 so knit w r ith the ability of the rest, and the 
 good works of all are so common to everyone 
 in particular, that they are all fortified and en- 
 abled not only by their own forces, but by each 
 others strength and assistance : insomuch, that 
 partly by the benefit which every one doth 
 
9 
 
 reap from their own private endeavors, and 
 partly by the great commodities that do arise 
 out of this strict bond and connection with 
 others : Persons do ordinarily in those devout 
 congregations, make so great a progress in vir- 
 tue in a short time, that they become not only 
 invincible, but also formidable to their infer- 
 nal enemies, and are known to abound with 
 many celestial graces and benedictions, as 
 our Saviour promises. — " Where there are 
 two or three gathered together in my name, 
 there I am in the midst of them." Matt. vii. 20. 
 For this cause, good christians have so great, 
 an esteem for those religious sodalities, that 
 they are every w T here in Catholic countries, 
 most generally frequented ; some enrolling 
 themselves in the confraternity of the most 
 Blessed Trinity ; others in that of the Rosary ; 
 some take the Cord of St. Francis ; others 
 join themselves to the sodalities of the Je- 
 suits, or that of the Blessed Sacrament ; 
 every one according to his particular devo- 
 tion. But above all other confraternities, that 
 of the blessed Scapular, or of the habit of 
 the most blessed and ever glorious Virgin 
 Mary, hath for these many years obtained 
 the devotions of all people throughout the 
 whole christian world ; insomuch, that all 
 states, both secular and ecclesiastical, though 
 eminent, have continually procured, and with 
 
10 
 
 earnest affection desire to be invested with 
 this sacred livery, and have worn it day and 
 night, as a most precious and miraculous gar- 
 ment, as an earnest pledge from heaven, for 
 those that devoutly receive it, both of tempo- 
 ral and spiritual graces : and also of eter- 
 nal salvation, as the most holy Virgin pro- 
 mised to her beloved son, St. Simon Stock, 
 general of the Order of the Carmelites, by a 
 supernatural revelation, in which she pre- 
 sented him with the Holy Scapular of her 
 Order, and a sign of her Confraternity, about 
 the year 1251. See Carthegena, Horn. 4. Homil. 
 de B. V. Maria de Monte Carmeli. 
 
 Wherefore the singular prerogatives of this 
 holy Confraternity of the Scapular, above all 
 others, are first, that it is no human invention, 
 but as the divines say, de jure Divino ; hav- 
 ing its institution immediately from heaven. 
 Secondly, that it is favored w 7 ith the singular 
 protection of the Queen of Heaven, who is 
 the patroness and advocate of this Confrater- 
 nity. Thirdly, that it hath the promise of 
 eternal salvation. Fourthly, it avails much to 
 abreviate the expiating flames of Purgatory. 
 Finally, ever since its first institution it hath 
 been favored by Almighty God with many 
 graces and miracles, insomuch, that by means 
 of the sacred Scapular, the sick hath frequent- 
 ly been resorted to their former health, per- 
 
11 
 
 sons bewitched, and possessed by the devil, 
 have been delivered. Women in travail have 
 been miraculously assisted. This sacred ha- 
 bit also hath appeased violent tempests, when 
 it hath been cast into the sea by those that 
 were in danger. Briefly, it is known by daily 
 experience, that the Scapular is a sovereign 
 preservative and remedy against all the evils 
 of this life, both spiritual and temporal ; in- 
 somuch that the devils many times have been 
 heard to howl and cry most miserably, saying, 
 wo to us, by reason of the sacred Scapular of 
 the blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel. 
 
 These are the motives that induced me to 
 publish this little treatise on the effects of the 
 holy Scapular, to the end that I might hereby 
 communicate so great a treasure to the Catho- 
 lics of England, to whom the devotion of the 
 Scapular, or habit of the sacred Virgin seemed 
 particularly to appertain, though at present 
 they are totally ignorant of it. For of all the 
 kingdoms of Europe, England was the first 
 that admitted the religious men of the Order 
 of the blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel, 
 when the persecutions of the Saracens obliged 
 them to fly from Palestine, their native soil. 
 Secondly, it was to an Englishman that the 
 sacred Virgin gave the Scapular with her own 
 hand. Thirdly, the apparition of the blessed 
 Virgin appeared in England in the Carme- 
 
12 
 
 lites Convent at Cambridge. Fourthly, it 
 was in England that the Scapular wrought its 
 miraculous effect. Finally, it was in England 
 that the devotion of the Scapular had its be- 
 ginning, the Confraternity of the most blessed 
 Virgin being erected there before any other 
 place in the world, with such a general con- 
 course of people of all sorts, that even the king 
 himself, Edward I. procured himself to be en- 
 rolled in it, together with Henry, Duke of 
 Lancaster, Henry, Earl of Northumberland, 
 and many others of the chief nobility. The 
 devotion and piety of our ancestors was con- 
 tinued by their successors : and the English 
 did ever signalize themselves by their singu- 
 lar affection towards the immaculate and ever 
 Blessed Virgin Mary Mother of God, and 
 towards her holy Order, and Confraternity of 
 Mount Carme], until the general revolution of 
 things, which happened during the reign of 
 Henry VIII. when the nation banished true 
 religion, and obedience to the See Apostolic, 
 did also banish all sentiments of piety and de- 
 votion towards the most glorious Queen of 
 Angels. 
 
 To the end, therefore, that this holy Con- 
 fraternity of the Blessed Virgin, so ancient 
 and profitable a devotion may at least after 
 so long an exile, be revoked and called to its 
 native soil, I will first of all declare briefly 
 
13 
 
 the origin, progress, and succession of the 
 Order of the Carmelites, to whom the Scapular 
 was given by the Blessed Virgin. Secondly, 
 I will relate the institution of the Confrater- 
 nity erected in this order for all sorts of per- 
 sons who will receive the Scapular. Thirdly, 
 the privileges, favors, and indulgences of this 
 Confraternity, shall be set down together, with 
 the obligations of those that do enter into it. 
 
 God of his infinite mercy grant that this 
 small labor may succeed for his glory, to the 
 honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and Pa- 
 troness of Mount Carmel, and finally to the 
 eternal salvation of our souls. 
 
A 
 
 SHORT 
 
 TREATISE ON THE SCAPULAR. 
 
 CHAPTER L 
 
 A compendious narration of the origin and pro- 
 gress of the Holy Order of Carmelites, in which 
 the Confraternity of the Scapular is erected. 
 
 The ancient and most famous order of the 
 Blessed Virgin, was begun and founded on the 
 Mountain of Carmel, about nine hundred and 
 thirty years before the coming of our Saviour 
 Jesus Christ; for which cause the Professors of 
 the Order are commonly called Carmelites, 
 taking their denomination, (as it hath happened 
 to other Orders,) from the place where their in- 
 stitutes were first founded. The institutor of it 
 was the great Prophet Elias, who three times 
 made fire to come down from heaven to punish 
 the idolators ; who by his prayers, hindered rain 
 for the space of three years — who was carried 
 away in a fiery chariot, and is yet preserved 
 alive, to come and preach before the day of 
 judgment, the faith of Jesus Christ, against Anti- 
 Christ, and his adherents. 
 
 (15) 
 
16 
 
 This holy Prophet, praying on Mount Carmel, 
 (as is related, Kings, iv. 18.) saw a little cloud 
 rise from the sea, which he knew from a prophe- 
 tical notion to signify the glorious Virgin Mary, 
 who was to spring forth out of the infected bitter 
 sea of our corrupt nature without any corruption ; 
 and like an auspicious cloud, being resolved with 
 the force of the Holy Ghost's descent on her, she 
 was to water this barren world with the hea- 
 venly dew of the expected Messiah. Wherefore, 
 by the express command of Almighty God, he 
 presently began to institute a religious congrega- 
 tion, which was to be dedicated to the honor of 
 this sacred Virgin, as it is at large related by 
 John, the 44th Patriarch of Jerusalem, de ortu 
 monachorum, chap. 32. And for as much as we 
 affirm Eliag to have been the author of monastic 
 discipline, as it is asserted by many holy fathers, 
 St. Jlthanasius in vita. St. Jlntonii, St. Hierom, 
 Epis. ad Paulinum, which is, De institutions 
 Monachi Cassianus, lib. 1. De origin cap. 15, 
 and others. 
 
 These disciples and successors of Elias, are 
 named in the holy scriptures, sons of the Pro- 
 phets. And they so much multiplied in a short 
 time, that their glorious founder, before his trans- 
 lation, (it is thought,) into the terrestrial paradise, 
 had the consolation to see convents erected in 
 Bethel, Jerico, Gilgal, and Samaria ; as may be 
 seen in the fourth book of Kings, chap. 2. 
 
 Elias being taken away in a whirlwind, Eliseus 
 succeeded him ; not only in the double spirit of 
 
17 
 
 prophecy and miracles, but also in the govern- 
 ment of the prophetical order, as it is sufficiently 
 expressed in the second chapter of the 4th book 
 of Kings, in which he much augmented by his 
 authority. In 4 Kings, chap. 4. special mention 
 is made of the miracles that he did in favor of 
 those that lived in Galgala ; and in the 6th chap- 
 ter of the same book, we read how he went to 
 erect a new house near the river Jordan, the order 
 been grown so numerous, that their former houses 
 would not satisfy to lodge them conveniently. 
 
 After the death of Eliseus, Jonas the Prophet 
 is affirmed by many to have had the general 
 government of the order. This Jonas was the 
 son of the widow Serepta, in Sidon, whom St. 
 Elias restored to life, and afterwards he was his 
 follower and individual companion, but according 
 to others, Elias left the command to Jonadah, the 
 son of Rechab ; and this is the cause that the 
 sons of the Prophets are sometimes called in 
 scripture Rechabites, of whom you may see 
 honorable mention made. Jerem. chap. 35. 
 But whoever governed, this is certain, that the 
 successors of &&, Elias remained on Mount Gar- 
 ni el until the coming of Christ, and even this 
 very day they preserve in God's church, in the 
 person of the religious Carmelites, who, by her- 
 editary and never interrupted succession, des- 
 cended from them, as most grave authors that 
 have written do affirm. I will content myself to 
 produce two or three testimonies for the defence 
 of this truth : several Popes, namely, Sixtus IV. 
 
18 
 
 Julius II. Gregory XIII. and Clement VIII. in 
 their Bulls, granted to the order of the Carmelites, 
 have divined and canonized this assertion, by 
 these following words : " The sacred Order of 
 the blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel, which 
 now flourisheth in God's church, and the profes- 
 sors of it are the lawful successors of the holy 
 Prophets, Elias and Eliseus." 
 
 In the year 1282, certain prelates of the East 
 being informed that the antiquity of the order of 
 Carmelites were called in doubt, they wrote a 
 letter to the Pope, dated the 23d September, in 
 the city of Accon ; which is related by Walden- 
 sis de Sacramentalibus, tit. 9. Chap.. 89. In this 
 letter the Archbishop of Nicosia, the Bishop of 
 Hebron, the Bishop of Tiberiade, and other pre- 
 lates do attest, that this order flourished on 
 Mount Carmel, and other places of the East from 
 time immemorial. 
 
 Many other testimonies may easily be produ- 
 ced for verifying of this assertion, but I refer the 
 reader to great, volumes which have been pub- 
 lished concerning the same matter. And I will 
 conclude, by showing what was formerly the 
 opinion of our famous university of Cambridge 
 concerning this point. The year 1374, a great 
 dispute was excited here in England about the 
 antiquity of the Carmelites ; who, as we will 
 show hereafter, are called brothers and sisters of 
 the blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel. For 
 the deciding of this controversy, the University 
 of Cambridge deputed several doctors, both of 
 
19 
 
 divinity and of the canonical and civil law, 
 amongst whom was John Donwick, chancellor 
 of the University, and many other eminent and 
 learned persons. 
 
 After a long and serious examination of what- 
 ever could be alleged on both sides, this learned 
 and honorable assembly published the following 
 decree in our favor : 
 
 " We have heard the reasons and allegations, 
 and moreover having seen, read, and examined 
 the privileges, chronicles, and ancient writings 
 of the said order of the blessed Virgin Mary of 
 Mount Carmel, we pronounce, determine, and 
 declare, (as it is manifested to us by the said 
 histories, and other ancient writings,) that the 
 brothers of this order are really the imitators and 
 successors of the holy prophets, Elias and Eli- 
 seus. Given at Cambridge, the 23d of Febru- 
 ary, 1374." 
 
 These sons of the Prophets, (for as much as 
 concerns their life and conversation,) were so 
 alienated from the world, so assiduous in prayer, 
 so rigorous in their mortifications, and so exem- 
 plary and laudable in their actions, that from the 
 sanctity of their lives, they were in process of 
 time named Esseni as Philo writes in his book, 
 quod omnis prebus sit liber, and St. John Chry- 
 sostom, 45, in Act. Apost. by these words : Es- 
 seniid est sancti dicuntur, hoc enim vult nomen, 
 Essenorum, a vitse honestate. Others call them 
 Jlssidui, and under this title mention is made of 
 them, 1 Mechab. 2, which name took its rise 
 
20 
 
 from their assiduousness, and constancy to God's 
 service, according to the opinion of Lyranus, who 
 says, assidui dicti sunt ad assiduante cultus 
 divini. Joseph, the famous historian of the 
 Jews, lib. 6. Antiquit. cap. 13, says, that they all 
 observed rigorous poverty, and had all things in 
 common ; he makes mention of their chastity, 
 obedience and silence. Plinus in the 5th book 
 of his natural history, says the same ; and speak- 
 ing of their chastity, relates, it is a wonder that 
 they should persevere so many years without 
 marriage or generation. And also the Prophet 
 Jeremy, chap. 35, saith much in praise of the 
 Rachabites, for their poverty, obedience, and ab- 
 stinence. — Now that the Rachabites did apper- 
 tain to the order and institute of Elias, 'tis learn- 
 edly proved by Lazena, torn. 1. annal. ad annum 
 mundi, 1189. Finally, Joseph, (the Jew,) affirms 
 that these Esseni, (as he calls them,) were in so 
 great veneration among the people, for their ad- 
 mirable virtues, and piety and perfection of life, 
 that they were commonly esteemed to have 
 something above human nature. And Herod 
 himself, who was grown to that height of impiety, 
 that he seemed to condemn all other things how 
 holy so ever, nevertheless he held these sacred 
 persons in a great deal of honor and veneration : 
 and this is the cause, (as I suppose,) that when 
 the rest of the Jews were led captives to Babylon, 
 in the time of Nebuchadnezar, these devout suc- 
 cessors of Elias were permitted to retain their 
 ~-<^nt habitation of Mount Carmel, where they 
 
21 
 
 happily and religiously lived and preserved till 
 that time, whereon God chose to redeem the 
 world, by the incarnation and death of his beloved 
 Son, whose Virgin Mother lived at Nazareth, 
 three miles only distant from Mount Carmel ; 
 she did often visit these religious hermits, and 
 honor them with her friendship and conversa- 
 tion as the following chapter will relate. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Why the successors of the Prophets are called 
 Brothers of the blessed Virgin Mary of 
 Mount Carmel, and of the propagation of 
 their Order under the Gospel. 
 
 The plenitude of time approaching in which 
 Almighty God, moved with compassion towards 
 mankind, had decreed to blot out the sins of the 
 world by the most precious blood of his only be- 
 gotten Son, our divine Saviour. This joyful 
 news of our approaching redemption was by di- 
 vine Revelation made known to some of the reli- 
 gious followers of Elias and Eliseus, then living 
 in the solitude of Mount Carmel, who, (above all 
 others,) did most earnestly desire, and expect 
 the nativity of that sacred Virgin, who was to be 
 the mother of the desired Messiah, as they had 
 been instructed by the holy Patriarch Elias : and 
 it was kept as a certain tradition amongst them, 
 
22 
 
 that their order was founded in honor and imita- 
 tion of the most pure and immaculate Virgin, 
 who was to be the sovereign princess and pro- 
 tectress of it ; so that they had reason to aspire 
 after the time of her birth. These happy tidings 
 of Christ's approach, was, by the sons of the 
 Prophets, communicated to Emerantiana, mother 
 of St. Anne, and they gave her also assurance 
 from heaven, that of her race should be born the 
 Virgin, who was to be the mother of the Messiah. 
 This motive induced her to embrace the state of 
 marriage which before she rejected, and God 
 Almighty was pleased in verification of what he 
 had revealed to her by the religious of Mount 
 Carmel, to bless her marriage with two daugh- 
 ters, Sobe and Anne ; which Sobe was the mother 
 of St. Elizabeth, of whom was born St. John 
 Baptist; and St. Anne was the mother of the 
 most sacred Virgin Mary, Mother of God, St. 
 Syril, Palianidorus, Carthegena, and others, torn. 
 1, Annals. 
 
 St. Anne had her house at Mazareth, which is 
 distant only three miles from that part of Mount 
 Carmel, where the sons of the Prophet, (named 
 Esseni, or Assidui,) had their habitation. Where- 
 fore the most blessed Virgin, together with her 
 mother, were wont sometimes to return thither ; 
 and by reason of their virtue and sanctity, she 
 took a singular delight in conversing and dis- 
 coursing familiarly with them. She instructed 
 them in many things that concerned our Sa- 
 viour ; she comforted them in their adversities ; 
 
23 
 
 she exhorted them to perseverance, and assured 
 them of her assistance, protection, and prayers. 
 On the other side, those heremitical fathers, 
 knowing assuredly, that this was the Virgin 
 whom the holy patriarchs, and Prophet Elias 
 had foreseen above nine hundred years before 
 she was born, under the figure of a little cloud 
 rising out of the sea, in the form of a man's foot- 
 step, and whom he had assigned for the advocate 
 and protectress of their most holy order ; they 
 dedicated themselves wholly to her, as her per- 
 petual servants, children, and devotees, consider- 
 ing her as the only refuge, advocate, and mother 
 of their congregation. Tritemius de laudibus 
 Carm. cap. 7, Carthagena, and others. 
 
 A little after the birth of our Saviour, St. Eliz- 
 abeth, fearing the tyranny of Herod, who had 
 slain many thousand of infants, she fled with her 
 son, St. John Baptist, into the Desert, where he 
 joined himself to the successors of Elias, and em- 
 braced the institute, as St. Ambrose expressly 
 says, Epist. ad Varcel. ap. 14. From whom they 
 being more fully instructed of the dignity and 
 excellency of the blessed Virgin Mother of God, 
 they much augmented their love and devotion 
 tow r ards her, and were the first of all mortals that 
 built a chapel or temple to her honor, whilst she 
 was yet alive, about the year of our Lord 38, and 
 that on Mount Carmel, near the place where their 
 father, St. Elias, had seen the little cloud mount 
 up out of the sea, by which she was represented : 
 and in this chapel they daily met, and there of- 
 
24 
 
 fered up their sacrifice, prayers, and petitions to 
 the divine Majesty, in honor and under the invo- 
 cation of the blessed Virgin, their mother ; sing- 
 ing continually their praises, and wholly addict- 
 ing themselves to her devotion ; whereupon they 
 were called brothers of the blessed Virgin Mary 
 of Mount Carmel, which honorable title the sa- 
 cred Queen of Angels has approved of by mira- 
 culous demonstrations, as shall be related in the 
 chapter following. Also the sovereign bishops 
 of Rome have confirmed it by their briefs, and 
 adorned it with their Indulgences, Lastly, the 
 quiet and peaceable possession of this title, during 
 so many ages, hath made the Carmelites lawful 
 possessors of it, so that, as during the time of the 
 old law, they were named sons of the Prophets, 
 from Elias, Eliseus, and Esseni, from their sanc- 
 tity, Assidui, because of their assiduousness in the 
 divine service. 
 
 In the same manner, during the time of the 
 Gospel, they are now called Carmelites, from 
 Mount Carmel, where their institutions first began ; 
 and they are named brothers and sisters of the 
 blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel, not only 
 because of the chapel, which they first dedicated 
 to Almighty God, under the invocation of her 
 sacred name, but also because of the great fa- 
 miliarity that they had with her when she lived 
 upon earth, and for the singular affection and de- 
 votion they have ever since retained towards this 
 incomparable Lady. 
 
 Whatever we have said is briefly contained in 
 
25 
 
 the Lessons of the office of the Blessed Virgin 
 Mary of Mount Carmel, which is wont to be 
 celebrated by the order, on the 16th July. The 
 same is affirmed by Joseph of Antioch. In spe- 
 culo militae. cap. 12, John the 44th Patriarch of 
 Jerusalem, de institutione Monach. cap. 57. Bap. 
 Mantuan, lib. 3, Panthem Joan Bacon in com- 
 pendio historiarum, and others. 
 
 By the familiar conversation of the most blessed 
 Virgin, and the preaching of St. John Baptist, 
 many of the disciples of the holy Prophet Elias, 
 were induced to embrace the faith of Christ. 
 Nevertheless, a general conversion happened not 
 amongst them before the feast of Pentecost, when 
 the Gospel was solemnly promulgated by a visi- 
 ble descent of the Holy Ghost upon the Disci- 
 ples. Wastelius, torn. 1. Annal aparatu, proves 
 this out of St. John Chrysostom, Theophilact, 
 and others, which is to be understood of the suc- 
 cessors of Elias, what St. Luke says, Acts 25. 
 There were dwelling at Jerusalem, Jews, and re- 
 ligious men of every nation under heaven. 
 
 The occasion of their being in Jerusalem, was, 
 that they had there two convents ; the one on the 
 part of Mount Sion, which was called Milio, not 
 far distant from the place where our blessed 
 Saviour instituted the blessed Sacrament : The 
 other was in the golden port, which is the place 
 where Joachim and Anne, father and mother of 
 the blessed Virgin first met, and consented to 
 their future marriage. To these two houses the 
 sons of the Prophets that lived at Mount Carmel, 
 
 3 
 
26 
 
 and other places of Palestine, were wont to re- 
 sort at certain times of the year, that they might, 
 (according to the law of Moses,) observe the 
 solemn feast of the Jews : and there they were 
 on the day of Pentecost, when that happened 
 which is related. Acts 2, Wald. de sacrament, 
 tit. 9. chap. 84, 1, 2. After their conversion, they 
 were so zealous for the christian religion, that 
 they joined themselves to the spotless, and were 
 their assistants in the propogation of the faith and 
 doctrine of Christ, as many authors attest : — 
 Joannes Jeresol. cap. 88. Thomas Waldensis. 
 
 This holy order continued always upon Mount 
 Carmel, from the time of their first institution by 
 St. Elias, until the year 1237, though they had 
 endured and suffered great persecution from Cos- 
 roes, king of Persia, Hamar, king of Arabia, and 
 several other Saracens. So that the number of 
 those who shed their blood for the faith of Jesus 
 Christ is so great that a principal writer saith : 
 count the stars of heaven, and you may count the 
 saints of the order of Mount Carmel. Trithemius, 
 cap. 12. de laudibus Carmelitarum. 
 
 About the year 1237, when the Saracens, by 
 reason of the discord among the Christians did 
 waste the Holy Land, which Godfrid had taken 
 out of their hands, in the year 1099. The per- 
 secutions were so bloody and cruel, that there 
 was no more hopes that they could dwell any 
 longer in that country : whereupon they agreed, 
 (by common consent,) that some religious should 
 be sent into Europe, to make foundations, that so, 
 
I 
 
 27 
 
 by this means they might secure and multiply the 
 order. Many came into England, others went 
 into Cyprus, others into Marseilles in France, 
 and others into other provinces. Shortly after, 
 St. Lewis, King, returned from the Holy Land, 
 and brought with him into France, six religious 
 men of Mount Carmel, and caused a cloister to 
 be built for them in Paris. From whence, some 
 time after, several religious men went into the 
 Low Countries ; and so this celestial vine, planted 
 by the great Prophet Elias, and watered by Eli- 
 seus, and by the blood of many thousand mar- 
 tyrs, being plucked up out of Mount Carmel, 
 began to spread its branches throughout all 
 Christendom, under the favorable protection of 
 the most glorious Virgin Mary, who ever has been 
 careful to defend and preserve it, as the following 
 chapter will demonstrate. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 How the immaculate Virgin Mary hath ever 
 showed herself the singular Patroness and 
 Advocate of the Holy Order of Mount Car- 
 mel ; and how she gave the Holy Scapular to 
 St. Simon Stock. 
 
 The devil not being willing to suffer the in- 
 crease of this holy order, resolved to try all his 
 strength and machinations, in order to procure its 
 
28 
 
 utter ruin, and to that end he stirred up many per- 
 sons against it, who in various ways did molest 
 the religious, and oppressed them with many in- 
 tolerable grievances. For, the order being yet 
 strange and unknown in Europe, they thought 
 easily to excite their designs, which was totally 
 to abolish and extinguish it. But these pious 
 devouts of the blessed Virgin, had always re- 
 course to Almighty God, through the intercession 
 of their sacred advocate and patroness ; and the 
 mother of mercy never failed to assist them in 
 their most urgent necessities, as the following ex- 
 amples will sufficiently make manifest. 
 
 In the year 1216, Honorius III., being Pope, 
 and St. Cyril of Constantinople, general of the 
 order, a persecution was raised against it, under 
 pretext that the rule of the order was not con- 
 firmed, and, consequently, the order was not to 
 be tolerated, according to the decrees of the La- 
 teran Council, celebrated the year before, (1225,) 
 under Innocent II. On the other side, those en- 
 vious of the order, did maliciously endeavor by 
 all means to hinder the confirmation of it. But 
 the aforesaid Pope Honorius, to prevent all 
 dangers, and to put a stop to these malicious 
 proceedings, committed the examen of the busi- 
 ness to two of his court, who being of them 
 that had little affection for the order, did ex- 
 pressly prolong and delay the determination of 
 things. Then the glorious Queen of Angels to 
 make known to the world the singular care she 
 had of her Carmelite Order, appeared to Pope 
 
29 
 
 Honorius in his sleep, environed with celestial 
 splendor, and accompanied by many angels, 
 having a severe and most majestic countenance, 
 she strictly commanded him to take her devoted 
 order into his protection, and to confirm the rules 
 that was observed in it. Also, to insinuate how 
 efficaciously and powerfully she had decreed to 
 protect Mount Carmel, she added these words, 
 'tis not to be contradicted what I command ; nor 
 are things to be dissembled, when I am resolved 
 to promote them. She moreover told him, that 
 those of his court, who so maliciously deferred 
 to conclude the business, should for punishment 
 for their wickedness, both die miserably that 
 night. The pope awakening out of his sleep, 
 found that his two courtiers were dead, as the 
 sacred Virgin had foretold him. Wherefore, 
 with all diligence he sent for the Carmelites, and 
 assembled the consistory of Cardinals, and punc- 
 tually related whatever had happened to him ; he 
 highly commended the holy religion of the Car- 
 melites. He extolled the devotion of their glo- 
 rious Princess, the ever blessed Virgin ; and he 
 did most amply by his bulls, confirm the rule of 
 the order, which he also enriched with many 
 privileges, as may be seen in Carthagena, torn. 4, 
 lib. 4. Lazena in annal, in this book de patron- 
 atu Mariae ; where he cites many others. 
 
 But the ever blessed Virgin never favored more 
 her Carmelite Order than when she gave them 
 her holy livery, or habit of the Scapular, by 
 
 3* 
 
30 
 
 which she declared them her domestics and fa- 
 vorites. The thing happened as followeth : 
 
 In the year 1245, St. Simon Stock, was chosen 
 general of the order of the Blessed Virgin 
 Mary of Mount Carmel. This holy man was 
 born in the county of Kent, in the year 1163 : 
 when he was twelve years of age he withdrew 
 himself into a wood, where he lived for the space 
 of twenty years in great austerity, and in the 
 perpetual exercise of celestial meditations, having 
 for his house the trunk of a hollow oak, from 
 whence he was named Stock, and had for his 
 food, roots, herbs, and sometimes bread, which a 
 dog brought him in his mouth, especially on fes- 
 tival days. 
 
 In this solitude, Simon received many super- 
 natural graces from the Almighty God, and es- 
 pecially, he enjoyed the familiar conversation of 
 the blessed Virgin, who, one day appearing to 
 him, told him that shortly some religious men 
 who were under her protection, were to come 
 from Palestine to England, and that he should 
 embrace their institute. 
 
 This prediction of the sacred Virgin was veri- 
 fied in the year 1212, when Sir Richard Grey, and 
 Sir John Viscoy, returning from Palestine with 
 the English fleet that was sent thither to succor 
 the Christians against the Saracens, they brought, 
 with them from Mount Carmel, two religious 
 men, Rodolphus and Yno, who admitted Simon 
 into their order ; where he so well employed his 
 
31 
 
 time, that Anno Domini 1245, he was chosen 
 general of the whole congregation ; which he 
 governed with a great deal of prudence and sanc- 
 tity, until the year 1265, when visiting the con- 
 vents of his order in France, he ended his happy 
 days in the city of Bourdeaux, where he lies 
 buried in the cloister of the Carmelite's Convent. 
 
 Of this holy man, Molanus, in his Martyro- 
 logy, hath these words. In the city of Bordeaux, 
 the nativity of the blessed St. Simon Stock, Car- 
 melite, who was singularly dedicated to the ser- 
 vice of the glorious Virgin Mary, whose life doth 
 give a lustre to the Church of God, by the mul- 
 titude of his miracles ; his life was written by 
 Monaldus, Rolandus, Bouchier, and Nicholas 
 Harlom, the most renowned writers of his time ; 
 and this feast is celebrated by the order, the 10th 
 of May. 
 
 During the time that St. Simon was general, 
 many persecutions were raised against our holy 
 order, some opposing its privileges, others dis- 
 liking the honorable title which they enjoyed, to 
 be called the brothers and sisters of the blessed 
 Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel ; and St. Simon 
 suffered much for the defence of his order ; all 
 which, nevertheless, he at last overcame by the 
 particular assistance and favor of the most sacred 
 Virgin, to whom he had ever recourse to in all 
 his necessities, and she as a pious mother, never 
 frustrated him in his expectations. But at last, 
 seeing himself decline by old age, and consider- 
 ing on the other side, that the enemies of the 
 
32 
 
 order did dailv increase, he ceased not continual 
 tears, to beseech the sovereign Empress of Mount 
 Carmel, that she would not forsake her beloved 
 religious, but that she would vouchsafe to take 
 it under her singular protection, and adorn it 
 with her favors ; seeing it was her order, which 
 she had already honored with her sacred name, 
 and was confirmed by several Popes, Honorius 
 III., Innocent IV., Gregory IX., Alexander V., 
 and others. He composed many prayers and 
 anthems in honor of the glorious mother of 
 God, which ejaculating very often with great 
 fervor towards heaven, he deserved to be gra- 
 tified with the precious pledge which he left to 
 his posterity, the holy Scapular of the blessed 
 Virgin, received from her hands in the manner 
 following : 
 
 As he was upon his knees in the oratory, the 
 most glorious Virgin, environed with celestial 
 splendor in the company of many thousands of 
 angels, appeared to him, and holding the sacred 
 Scapular in her hand, she said to him these words : 
 Receive, most beloved son, the Scapular of thy 
 Order, a sign of my confraternity, a privilege 
 both to thee and to all Carmelites, in ivhich he 
 that dieth shall not suffer eternal fire ; behold 
 the sign of salvation, a safeguard in danger, the 
 covenant of peace, and everlasting alliance. 
 
 Having said these words, she left the sacred 
 habit in his hands, and vanished. This happened 
 on the 16th day of July, A. D., 1251. in the Car- 
 melite convent of Cambridge, which like that 
 
33 
 
 of London, went by the name of Whitefriars, 
 so called, because of the white upper gar- 
 ment that those religious do ordinarily wear. 
 But of this more shall be said in the following 
 chapter. 
 
 The same year, (1251,) another persecution 
 was excited against our religious, by the pastors 
 and curates of the parish churches, who would 
 fain have hindered them from saying the divine 
 office, and from burying their brothers and sisters 
 in their own houses. Our general had recourse 
 to his ordinary refuge, the immaculate Virgin 
 Mary, and commanded public prayers to be made 
 to her throughout the whole congregation. The 
 sacred Virgin appeared to him as before, and com- 
 manded him to send two religious men to Rome, 
 to Innocent IV., who then sat in the chair of St. 
 Peter, whom she promised should take the de- 
 fence and protection of her order against those 
 impugnators. St. Simon executed punctually 
 this heavenly order, and obtained the aid and 
 assistance of the See Apostolic, by four ample 
 briefs, which the said Innocent IV. granted to the 
 order, as the blessed Virgin had promised our 
 general, Arnoldus, Bostius de Patronatu Mariae, 
 cap. 5. — Thrithemius, lib. 1, de laudibus carme- 
 lit. cap. 9. Anno Dom. 1316, the sacred empress 
 of Mount Carmel confirmed the truth of the vision 
 made to St. Simon Stock, concerning the sacred 
 Scapular, and adorned her religious with new and 
 admirable privileges, viz. : 
 
 Clement V. being dead, the sacred college of 
 
34 
 
 Cardinals met, first at Carpentea, then at Lyons, 
 in France, in order to elect a successor. But it 
 was prolonged more than two years, partly by 
 dissention among the Cardinals and by the wars 
 in Germany, England, France, and Italy, which 
 was the cause of a great schism in the church ; 
 whereupon, one of the Cardinals, James Arnald, 
 a Frenchman, of the province of Aquitain, a great 
 devout of the blessed Virgin Mary, had recourse 
 to this Mother of Mercies, beseeching that she 
 would, by her intercessions, obtain from her Son 
 a worthy pastor for the church, and such a one 
 would remedy these disorders. The blessed 
 Virgin appeared to him and promised to place 
 him in the chair of St. Peter, and also to assist 
 and deliver him from all his enemies, on this con- 
 dition, that being made sovereign prelate of the 
 church, he should be favorable to her religious, 
 the successors of Elias ; and that he should pub- 
 lish and confirm on earth, what Jesus Christ, her 
 beloved Son, at her request, had confirmed in 
 heaven ; to wit, That those who should make 
 themselves religious of her order of Mount Car- 
 mel, or should, out of devotion, enter into the 
 confraternity of the blessed Virgin, and wear her 
 habit, should be absolved from part of their sins ; 
 and if after death they should go to purgatory, 
 that the most sacred Virgin would interfere for 
 their deliverance ; supposing that during their 
 lifetime they had fulfilled certain conditions which 
 shall be set down in the ninth chapter. 
 
 This promise and prediction of the mother of 
 
35 
 
 God was fulfilled; first, when Anno Dom. 1316, 
 he was made Pope, under the name of John 
 XXII. , and secondly, when (in the year follow- 
 ing) he was delivered from a conspiracy of some 
 Cardinals against him, and from being poisoned. 
 Thirdly, (Anno Dom. 1320,) when the Antipope* 
 Corburious, adjourned his schism. 
 
 Wherefore, the Pope, to accomplish on his 
 behalf, what the blessed Virgin required of him, 
 he caused a bull to be published, which we call 
 Bulla Sabbatina, dated the 3d of March, 1322, 
 in which he related the apparition of the blessed 
 Virgin made to him whilst he was yet a Cardinal, 
 and consequently, he confirms the said indul- 
 gence, and very much magnifies the protection 
 of the immaculate Virgin, over the order of 
 Mount Carmel, to which he ever after remained 
 much affected, as his favors to us do abundantly 
 testify. 
 
 Anno Dom. 1317, happened that which is ref- 
 lated by Francis Potel, in his book de Origine 
 and Antiquitate Ordinas Carmel, and by Lazena 
 De Patronatu Mariae ; the sum of the thing is 
 this : — In the city of Chester, there was a con- 
 vent of the Carmelites, who, (according to their 
 ancient custom,) named themselves brothers of 
 the blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel. This 
 glorious title offended many citizens ; insomuch 
 that they could not endure the religious, but mur- 
 mured and spoke many injurious and contempt- 
 ible words against them, saying that they were un- 
 worthy of this name, and that they were rather 
 
36 
 
 brothers of Mary the Egyptian, than Mary the 
 mother of God. But our glorious advocate un- 
 dertaking the defence of the holy order, as she 
 had ever been wont to do, within a few days, 
 many of those persons were punished, several 
 dying suddenly, others falling into divers diseases 
 and afflictions, so that a scourge from heaven 
 seemed to have fallen upon the place, whereupon 
 the Abbot of St. Bamburge, who was governor 
 of the city, both spiritual and temporal, ordered 
 that a solemn procession should be made to 
 appease God's wrath. In this procession, 
 amongst other religious, the Father Carmelites 
 were also present ; who passing by a wooden 
 statue of the most pure Virgin Mary, which was 
 held in great veneration, many of them bowed 
 down their heads and saluted the said sacred 
 Virgin, saying Ave Mariae. At the same time 
 the statue did bow down its head and saluted 
 them again, and stretching forth a finger which 
 before was doubled, pointed to the religious Car- 
 melites, did with a distinct voice pronounce 
 three times these words : Behold these are my 
 brothers. 
 
 Finally, when by continuance of time this 
 sacred order was fallen from its ancient rigor 
 and observance, the sacred Virgin often appeared 
 to our holy mother, St. Teresa, exhorting her to 
 undertake the reformation of it, and suggesting 
 the means how to effect it, as this saint declares 
 in her life. She also told her what delight she 
 took in this holy order, and what service Teresa 
 
37 
 
 would render her in reducing it to its former 
 rigor and observance* 
 
 These examples of the favor and protection of 
 the blessed Virgin over the order of Mount Car- 
 mel, and many others which I omit for brevity 
 sake, do sufficiently convince how justly this 
 order doth claim this sacred princess for their 
 singular advocate and patroness. 
 
 CHAPTER IV, 
 
 Of divers sorts of Persons that appertain unto 
 the Confraternity of the Blessed Virgin. 
 
 Before I speak further of the sacred confrater- 
 nity, founded upon the holy Scapular, which the 
 blessed Virgin gave with her own hands to St* 
 Simon Stock, general of the Carmelites, and iri 
 his person to all the order, and to all the whole 
 church of God, it will not be from my purpose 
 to tell you that there are several sorts of persons 
 who fight under the standard and livery of the 
 most blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel ; 
 they may be all reduced to four classes, whereof 
 two are religious, and do consecrate themselves 
 to the service of God, by the vows of the Angel- 
 ical Councils, the other two are not. 
 
 In the first class are to be placed men and 
 women who live in monasteries, and have all 
 things in common, observing the ancient rule of 
 
 4 
 
38 
 
 the Carmelites, of whom we have already proved 
 that they are lawful successors of the holy Pro- 
 phets Elias and Eliseus. 
 
 The sacred rank is of these whom we com- 
 monly call Tertians, or the third order ; who 
 living in the world do endeavor to observe the 
 rule of the order, as much as their state and con- 
 dition will permit, and consequently, they imitate 
 others who live in communities, in the color of 
 their clothes, the time of frequenting the sacra- 
 ments, in the manner of praying, and finally, in 
 all their abstinence, penance, and mortifications, 
 all according to the advice and prescriptions of a 
 prudent director. 
 
 Of the third order of the blessed Virgin Mary 
 of Mount Carmel, mention is made in the bull of 
 Sixtus V., which begins thus, Dumattentiva me- 
 ditationes, fyc, wherein it gives full power to all 
 the superiors of the order, to admit what persons 
 they shall judge fit to the habit of Tertians, and 
 consequently, in the same bull, his holiness makes 
 all that wear it, participant of the privileges, im- 
 munities, favors, and indulgences of the whole 
 order of Carmelites. 
 
 This institution, or manner of living, hath pro- 
 duced many persons of most rare virtue and 
 sanctity ; among others the blessed Angel Laudo 
 Arena Paula Villa Franca, Maria del Aquila, 
 Joanna Oliverie, and also Frances de Yopes, a 
 person of known sanctity in Spain, and brother 
 to the divine contemplative, and doctor of mystic 
 divinity, John of the Cross, lately beatified by 
 
39 
 
 Clement X. This person, I say, took publicly 
 the habit of the third order of the blessed Virgin 
 Mary of Mount Carmel at Medina, and make his 
 profession in it : and after the long practice of 
 heroic actions, and the working of the most pro- 
 digious miracles, which are related in the history 
 of his life, he rendered up his happy soul to his 
 Creator, leaving the world embalmed with the 
 sweet odours of his most admirable virtues. Of 
 the venerable Virgin Angela de Arena Carthagena, 
 lib. 17, Homiliarum Homil. 3, writes out of Sil- 
 vester Maurolicus, a Cistercian Abbot, that she 
 having a resolution to become a Tertian of 
 another order, the night before she was to exe- 
 cute her design, she saw in a vision a ladder, 
 whose top reached up to heaven, and two saints 
 of the order of Carmelites appearing to her, and 
 told her that if she desired by this ladder to 
 mount up to heaven, she should become a Ter- 
 tian of the order of the blessed Virgin Mary of 
 Mount Carmel. Whereupon she changed her 
 former resolution, followed this celestial admoni- 
 tion, and died in a great opinion of sanctity in 
 Sicily, on the 2d of October, 1556. 
 
 The other two institutes which are annexed to 
 the holy order of Mount Carmel, are sodalities, 
 or confraternities, and for distinction sake, we may 
 name the first, the sodality of the order ; the 
 second, the confraternity of the Holy Scapular. 
 By the first, we may make persons participants 
 of all privileges, indulgences, prayers, fastings, 
 disciplines, watching and other good works, and 
 
40 
 
 spiritual treasures of the order. This is done 
 by letters of filiation, as they call them ; for as 
 in a temporal republic, the magistrates have pow- 
 er to incorporate into their body whom they think 
 fit, and to dispose of their earthly dominions, so 
 in spiritual congregations, the superiors have au- 
 thority to dispose of their spiritual riches, and 
 apply them to whom they think good, they being 
 authorised thereunto by Gregory V. who died in 
 the year 909, Alexander II. Clement III. and 
 other Popes, in their briefs granted to the Order. 
 The second, which we made the confraternity 
 of the Holy Scapular, and of which alone all 
 our future discourse will be, is (as we have al- 
 ready said,) grounded upon the words of the most 
 Blessed Virgin spoken to St. Simon Stock, and 
 upon the sacred habit which she gave him as a 
 sign of confraternity and powerful protection. 
 Those that enter into this congregation, do at the 
 same time enter into a participation of the pro- 
 mise made by the Mother of God, to them that 
 die invested with her sacred livery, which is (as 
 we have said in the former chapter,) to be deliv- 
 ered from the eternal pains of hell fire, from the 
 temporal pains of purgatory shortly after their 
 decease, and to enjoy many other privileges 
 which are contained in the words of the Blessed 
 Virgin to St. Simon Stock. For the words and 
 promises of the Virgin did not only concern him- 
 self, and the religious men and women of his 
 order, but also, all persons whatsoever, who out 
 of devotion to the Blessed Virgin, do wear the 
 
41 
 
 Scapular, and so become members of her con- 
 fraternity. This may be verified by several ar- 
 guments. 1st. Because several Popes have ap- 
 proved the erecting this confraternity indifferently 
 for all persons to enter into it, of which number 
 they themselves have often been. 2dly. John 
 XXII. relating in his sabbatine bull, the appari- 
 tion of the Blessed Virgin to him, sets down 
 some of her words, which so evidently convince, 
 that the privileges of the Scapular are not only 
 for the Carmelites, but for all that wear it. 
 
 3dly. We find by daily experience that the 
 devouts of the Scapular do enjoy the favor and 
 protection of the sacred Virgin, whether they be 
 ecclesiastical or secular. 
 
 Finally, a most efficacious argument, to con- 
 vince this truth is gathered from what St. Simon 
 Stoek did. This holy man received the Scapular 
 from the Blessed Virgin, and consequently, he 
 knew very well what her meaning was, and 
 nevertheless he gave his precious livery to many 
 out of his order, who, during their life, did all, by 
 a happy experience, learn the efficacy and power 
 of it. Moreover the first miracle we read of 
 done by the Scapular, was by a layman ; and 
 because the thing happened there in England, I 
 will relate briefly the story. 
 
 On the 16th of July, which is the very same 
 day on which the Blessed Virgin gave her Sca- 
 pular to St. Simon, this venerable prelate went 
 to Winchester, about some business he had with 
 the bishop of that place; he was no sooner 
 
 4* 
 
42 
 
 arrived there, but the dean of St. Helen's church 
 came to him, and beseeched him that he would 
 vouchsafe to come and assist a brother of his, 
 named Walter, who lay dying in despair of his 
 salvation, insomuch that he would not hear of 
 God, or of sacraments, but continually invoked 
 the devil, that he would revenge himself of a 
 person who had mortally wounded him. Our 
 holy general went presently with his own com- 
 panion to see this miserable man, whom he found 
 deprived of all use of reason, grinding his teeth, 
 and rolling his eyes in a most hideous manner. 
 After he had recommended him to Almighty 
 God, he made on him the sign of the cross, and 
 gave him the Scapular ; which he had no sooner 
 done, but the sick man returned presently to 
 himself, he detested the devil, with whom he 
 made a contract ; he begged pardon of Almighty 
 God with great signs of true sorrow and contri- 
 tion. He earnestly desired to confess his sins, 
 and to receive the other sacraments of the church, 
 which being done, he died the same night. But 
 the dean being in doubt of his brother's salvation,, 
 because of his wicked life ; the dead man ap- 
 peared to him, and assured him, that by means 
 of the habit, wherewith the general of the Carm- 
 elites had invested him, he had escaped the 
 snares of the devil, and eternal damnation. 
 
43 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 The first Privilege of the Confraternity of the 
 Holy Scapular. 
 
 Hastinus, a learned author in Disquisitionibus 
 Monastic, lib. 3, n. disq. 5, hath well said, that 
 the Holy Scapular was given, not only for a vest, 
 but also for a breast-plate or helmet against all 
 the darts of our spiritual enemies ; for our 
 Blessed Saviour, by the intercession of his Vir- 
 gin Mother, hath annexed to it so many graces, 
 favors, privileges, that it may be verified what is 
 said upon another occasion. Ap. 2. No man 
 knows them but he that receives them. It would 
 require a long discourse to treat exactly on all 
 these privileges ; therefore I will content myself 
 to put down briefly the principal. We said in a 
 former chapter, that two confraternities are an- 
 nexed to the holy order of Mount Carmel ; to 
 wit, that of the third order, and that of the Scapu- 
 lar, insomuch that the devouts of this sacred 
 livery are partakers of the prayers, discipline, 
 alms, watchings, fasts, mortifications, austerities, 
 and good works, which are done in the holy 
 order of Carmelites. 
 
 This privilege ought the more to be esteemed, 
 because this devout and observant congregation 
 hath abounded with many most pure souls, so 
 that it must needs be very advantageous to parti- 
 cipate of their prayers and good deeds ; Clement 
 
44 
 
 VII. out of a singular devotion he had to this 
 holy confraternity, hath extended this communi- 
 cation further, that hath made brothers and sis- 
 ters of the confraternity of the Scapular partici- 
 pants of all pious actions, which are done 
 throughout the whole church of God. More- 
 over, Sextus VI. granted to the devouts of the 
 Scapular, all the privileges, indulgences, graces, 
 and favors, which are granted to the cord of St. 
 Francis, to the Rosary of our Blessed Lady, or 
 to any other confraternity whatsoever ; so that 
 they do enjoy them as much as if tiiey were 
 really members of those sodalities, by reason of 
 their communication in privileges with the order 
 of the Carmelites. The members of this confra- 
 ternity do enjoy that honorable title of being 
 called brothers and sisters of the Blessed Virgin 
 Mary of Mount Carmel ; and they are taken un- 
 der the special protection of this sacred Queen 
 of Angels, as persons particularly appertaining 
 to her, and as it were, her domestics, clothed in 
 her livery. Wherefore, without doubt, this 
 powerful advocate will not fail to aid and assist 
 them, both in their life, and at the hour of their 
 death, obtaining from them a happy intercession, 
 which both appear by an infinite number of mir- 
 acles wrought in favor of the brothers and sisters 
 of this confraternity, whereof some are related in 
 the tenth chapter of this treatise, and many others 
 are yet done by Lazena de Patronatu Mariae, 
 chap. 5, where you may read how the sacred 
 Virgin hath miraculously obtained for most ob- 
 
45 
 
 durate sinners, time and grace to repent and con- 
 fess their sins, because they wore her livery. 
 For, as St. Thomas teaches, 1, 2, p. 31, art. 3 : 
 Grace and virtue imitate the order of nature, 
 which hath this property, atid every agent doth 
 act most powerfully on that subject which is 
 nearest to its virtue. Thus Almighty God, whose 
 nature is goodness, and whose ways are mercy, 
 doth communicate himself more abundantly to 
 these angelical spirits, which are nearly related 
 to him; as St. Denis de Ecclesiastical Hierar. 
 chap. 7, and many others of the holy Fathers do 
 testify. In the same manner the Mother of God 
 doth enlarge her gifts and graces, as well spiritual 
 as temporal, more plentifully and abundantly on 
 those who have contracted any particular alliance 
 or conjunction with her, as here they of the con- 
 fraternity of the Scapular do by several titles 
 they claim in this sacred Virgin for their only 
 Princess, Patroness and Advocate. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 The second Privilege of the Confraternity. 
 
 Another benefit or privilege of this confrater- 
 nity of the Scapular, is contained in these words : 
 he that dieth investeth with this habit shall not 
 suffer eternal fire : which is as much as to say, 
 that the Scapular is a great help in order to ob- 
 
46 
 
 tain eternal felicity. The same thing was re- 
 vealed to Pope John XXII., as he relates in his 
 Bulla Sabbatina, and to the Blessed Angela de 
 Arena, who was told by two saints which ap- 
 peared to her, that ii* she desired to mount up to 
 heaven, by the mystical ladder which she saw in 
 a vision, she should forthwith receive the Sca- 
 pular. Also, Don John de Vesiques relates in 
 the life of the venerable Francis Yopes, who died 
 in a great opinion of sanctity, the year 1617, 
 that amongst many other things which superna- 
 turally were revealed to him, he learned that the 
 holy Scapular was one of the greatest adversaries 
 that the devil had in the world, for great were 
 the number of souls which he lost by the means 
 of it. The Rev. Father Alphoso, a Matre Dei, 
 writes : That in the City of Quanena, during the 
 procession of the holy Scapular, which is made on 
 the third Sunday of every month, the devils were 
 heard to execrate the holy Scapular with many 
 howlings and outcries, lamenting themselves, that 
 by means of this sacred habit of the Blessed Vir- 
 gin the gates of hell were shut to many persons. 
 But you must note, that this promise of the 
 Blessed Virgin, whereby she obliged herself, that 
 none should suffer hell fire who died in her livery, 
 is not to be understood in such a manner as if all 
 those should be absolutely saved, for as much as 
 on the behalf of our Blessed Lady, who in virtue 
 of the alliance contracted with them, will obtain 
 of God such particular graces which they make 
 use of, they will easily arrive at eternal salvation. 
 
47 
 
 Wherefore, if any that wear the Scapular come to 
 be condemned, it will be his own fault, he having 
 not co-operated on his part with God's assistance, 
 but rendered himself obstinate and rebellious to 
 the divine inspirations which the Blessed Virgin, 
 by her powerful intercession, had obtained for 
 him. In the same manner, are to be understood 
 the words of our divine Saviour : he that believ- 
 eth and is baptized, shall be saved. Mark 16. 
 Whosoever shall invoke the name of the Lord 
 shall be saved, for as much as concerns the nature 
 of faith and happiness. For here is signified, 
 not so much the effect as the strength and nature 
 of the thing to which the promise is annexed. 
 See Maldonatus in cap. c. Joan ver. 54. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 The third Privilege of the Confraternity. 
 
 The third privilege of the Scapular is that which 
 we call Bulla Sabbatina, and it consists in this, 
 that the most immaculate and ever Virgin Mary 
 doth assist her devoted brethren after their de- 
 cease in freeing them speedily from the horrible 
 pains of purgatory, especially on the first Sun- 
 day after their death, which day being dedicated 
 by the church to her honor, she is then wont 
 more liberally to bestow her favors. This pri- 
 vilege had for its security, the promise of the 
 
48 
 
 Blessed Virgin, made to Pope John XXII. by 
 these words : The}' that out of devotion shall 
 enter into my confraternity, if after their death 
 they go to purgatory, I that am the Mother of 
 Mercy, will descend the first opportunity after 
 their decease, and by my prayers and interces- 
 sions, will help them hence, and conduct them to 
 the holy mountain of celestial glory. The truth 
 of this promise of privilege cannot now reason- 
 ably be called in doubt, seeing it hath oftentimes 
 been approved by Popes, admitted by good Ca- 
 tholics, and examined and authorised by the most 
 famous universities, colleges and schools of Chris- 
 tendom : as by the university of Cambridge in 
 England, in the year 1754, by that of Bologna 
 in Italy, the year 1600, and lastly, by that of 
 Salamanca in Spain. It was published first by 
 John XXII. and that by express command from 
 heaven, as he himself declares in his bull, which 
 we called Salatipa, and thus begins : Sacratissimo 
 uti culmine, given at Avignon, the 3d of March, 
 1322. Alexander I. confirmed this brief of John 
 XXII. in the year 1409, and also many other 
 chief pastors after him as Clement VII. Pius V. 
 in his bull Superna Dispensatione, given the 
 year 1556. Gregory XIIL in his bull atUt Lande, 
 in the year 1579, and all the congregation of the 
 inquisition at Rome, under Pius V. after a long 
 and accurate examine of this privilege, and after 
 the apparition made to John XXII. confirming it, 
 published the following decree confirmative and 
 decisive. It is permitted to the fathers of Car- 
 
49 
 
 melites to preach, that christian people may be- 
 lieve the help of the souls of the brothers and 
 sisters of the most Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount 
 Carmel, to wit, that the Blessed Virgin in her 
 continual intercessions, and by her pious suffer- 
 ings, merits, and special protection, will help the 
 souls of the brothers and sisters departed in 
 charity, especially on the first Saturday after their 
 decease, supposing, that during their lifetime they 
 did wear the habit of the Blessed Virgin, and 
 for their state did observe chastity, and did say 
 the little office of the Blessed Virgin, or if they 
 could not read, did observe the fasts of the 
 church, and abstain from flesh on Wednesdays 
 and Saturdays. 
 
 Finally, this doctrine is inserted in the lessons 
 approved by the church, for the feast of the so- 
 lemn commemoration of the Blessed Virgin Mary, 
 celebrated by the order of Carmelites, on the 
 16th of July, where we read these words : " Not 
 only in this world our Blessed Lady has beatified 
 with many prerogatives this order, so acceptable 
 to her, but also in the other world, (she every 
 where being in great power and mercy,) doth 
 favor those that are enrolled in the society of 
 the Scapular, for whilst they are purged by the 
 fire of purgatory, she doth comfort them with 
 maternal affection, and by her prayers doth very 
 speedily bring them into the celestial country, as 
 piously believed." The excellency and greatness 
 of this privilege will easily appear, if we consider 
 how horrible the boiling torments of purgatory 
 
 5 
 
50 
 
 are, according to St. Gregory, St. Augustine, St. 
 Bernard, and others, they are not any way to be 
 compared to the pains of this life, nor to those 
 that the holy martyrs did endure, and St. Thomas 
 saith, that they do exceed the pain which Jesus 
 Christ suffered in his holy passion, which not- 
 withstanding, were the most cruel and bitter that 
 ever any creature endured in this life, over and 
 above, they are not torments for an hour or a day, 
 as those of this world ; but they may, and do 
 last twenty, thirty, or a hundred years ; from 
 these fearful torments the devouts of the holy 
 Scapular are exempted, if they perform what shall 
 be put down in the tenth chapter, and die invested 
 with the holy habit, and in the state of grace. 
 
 Lest any one should think that our blessed 
 Lady promised more than she can perform, when 
 she granted this or any other favor to her sacred 
 order and confraternity, it will not be from my 
 purpose to explicate briefly what authority she 
 hath, and how she is able to assist us, either in 
 this world, or in the future. For the clearing of 
 this difficulty you must understand that Jesus 
 Christ, God and Man, hath an immense and ab- 
 solute power over all things both in heaven and on 
 earth, as he himself said to his apostles. Mat. 28. 
 
 All power is given to me both in heaven and 
 upon earth — he is absolute Lord, and has the key 
 of death, of hell, and purgatory. Apoc. 1. No 
 pure creature has this prerogative— it is a juris- 
 diction reserved to him only : insomuch that 
 neither the Father doth judge any, but hath given 
 
51 
 
 all judgment to his Son. John 4. Nevertheless, 
 though all this be true, it is a Catholic proposition, 
 that the most sacred Virgin Mary, by particular 
 authority, granted to her as Mother of Jesus 
 Christ, can do much in all things, where mercy 
 doth contend with justice. 
 
 Wherefore, St. Anselme saith, lib. de excel, 
 virg. There is no doubt but the Blessed Virgin 
 Mary, by maternal right is with Christ president 
 of heaven and earth. St. John Damascus, Orat. 
 2. de Assump. saith, it is fitting and convenient 
 that Mary should possess what is her Son's, and 
 Barbertu assures us, that she is able to obtain 
 more than all the angels and saints in heaven ; 
 and more than all the church throughout the 
 whole world. Lastly, this is the doctrine of St. 
 Jerome, explicated by St. Bernard, torn. Serm. 
 Art. cap. 10. 
 
 Hence we may infer, how the Blessed Virgin 
 can free the souls of her devouts out of purga- 
 tory, and fulfil her other promises made to the 
 brothers and sisters of the holy Confraternity ; to 
 wit, by a power communicated to her from her 
 Son. For she being really Mother of the word 
 incarnated, there is in all propriety due to her a 
 certain power : or as others say, a dominion over 
 all things, as well spiritual as temporal, to which 
 the authority of her Son doth extend itself. 
 
 So that she had by natural right of maternity, 
 a dower almost like that of her Son, in which 
 she may serve herself as often as she shall think 
 good. Relying therefore, on this her participated 
 
52 
 
 power, and on the efficaciousness of her merits, 
 and intercession, she promises the devouts of her 
 holy habit to free them from temporal pains of 
 purgatorial fire, and from many dangers and ca- 
 lamities of this life, as well spiritual as temporal. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 The fourth Privilege of the Confraternity. 
 
 The following benefit of the confraternity of 
 the Scapular, doth consist in the great multitude, 
 and variety of indulgences, wherewith the sove- 
 reign bishops of Rome have honored and adorned 
 it, but that I may not exceed the limits of an 
 abridgment, I will only set down a few of the 
 principal. 
 
 I. Paul V. of blessed memory, hath granted to 
 all the faithful of either sex, on the day of their 
 entrance into this confraternity, a plenary indul- 
 gence. 
 
 II. On the day of the solemn commemoration 
 of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount C arm el, 
 which is the 16th of July, for those that having 
 confessed and communicated, to pray for the ex- 
 altation of our holy Mother, the Church, for the 
 extirpation of heresies, and the union of christian 
 princes, a plenary indulgence. 
 
 III. At the hour of their death, having con- 
 fessed and received, invoking with their mouth, 
 
53 
 
 or if they cannot, with their heart, the holy name 
 of Jesus, a plenary indulgence. 
 
 IV. Whoever shall abstain from flesh on Wed- 
 nesdays and Saturdays, shall gain every time a 
 three hundred indulgences. 
 
 V. Every time that they shall say the office 
 of our Blessed Lady, one hundred days' indul- 
 gence. 
 
 VI. As often as they shall serve at mass, or 
 other divine offices in the church or chapel of 
 the Carmelites, one hundred days' indulgence. 
 
 VII. As often as they shall assist at procession, 
 which is made for those of the confraternity, on 
 the third Sunday of every month, if they con- 
 fess and communicate, and pray for the ordinary 
 necessaries as above, a plenary indulgence. 
 
 VIII. As often as they shall say seven Paters 
 and seven Aves, in honor of the seven joys of 
 our Blessed Lady, forty days of indulgence ; if 
 you desire to know these joys, they are as fol- 
 lows : 
 
 1. The joy she had at the annunciation of the 
 angel, when she conceived the Son of God. 
 
 2. The joy that she had when she visited St. 
 Eliza, and was called by her the mother of God. 
 
 3. The joy that she had at the nativity of our 
 Saviour, when the angels sung, glory be to God 
 in the highest. 
 
 4. The joy she had to see her Son adored by 
 three kings. 
 
 5. The joy she had in finding her infant Jesus 
 in the temple among the doctors. 
 
54 
 
 6. The joy she had at the glorious resurrection 
 of our Blessed Saviour. 
 
 7. The joy she had in her assumption, when 
 she was exalted above all the choirs of angels. 
 
 The above mentioned indulgences are given 
 only to those that wear the holy Scapular: but 
 the following are for faithful christians. 
 
 1. Urban VI. hath given to all christians, as 
 often as they shall call the order of the Carme- 
 lites the order of the Blessed Virgin Mary ; or 
 shall call the Carmelites brothers and sisters of 
 the said Virgin, three years' indulgence. 
 
 2. Pope Leo IV. hath granted to everyone 
 that shall visit any church or chapel of the Car- 
 melites at Christmas, Easter, or Whitsuntide, on 
 the feast of St. Peter and Paul, the Assumption, 
 Nativity, Annunciation, and Purification of our 
 Blessed Lady ; the feast of 'All-Saints Day, the 
 two feasts of the Holy Cross, and the Nativity 
 of St. John the Baptist : on any of these days, 
 seven years' indulgence, and as many quaran- 
 tines. 
 
 3. Innocent IV. hath granted forty days of in- 
 dulgence to all those that visiting the Carmelites, 
 say there one Pater and Ave for the living and 
 the dead. 
 
 4. Clement VII. in the year 1530, Pius V. and 
 Gregory XIII. have granted to all faithful chris- 
 tians, that visiting some church or chapel of the 
 Carmelites, and saying seven Paters and Aves, 
 for the ordinary ends ; they may gain the indul- 
 gence of the station of Rome, as well if in effect 
 
55 
 
 they did visit the churches of the stations of 
 Rome. 
 
 5. Paul V. in the year 1622, granted a plenary 
 indulgence to all those persons, who having con- 
 fessed and received, should visit our church on 
 the day of our holy mother, St. Teresa, which is 
 the 5th of October. 
 
 6. Gregory XV. at the instance of the vener- 
 able Father Dominick of Jesus Maria, general of 
 our order, granted a plenary indulgence to all 
 those who say five Paters and Aves, and the Salve 
 Regina, in honor of the most Blessed Virgin for 
 the five necessities. 
 
 1. For those that are in danger to commit some 
 mortal sin. 
 
 2. For those that are fallen into mortal sin. 
 
 3. For those who are afflicted, troubled, sick, 
 and such like. 
 
 4. For those that are agonizing and dying. 
 
 5. For the souls in purgatory. 
 
 This indulgence may be applied to the souls 
 in purgatory also. 
 
 Those that visit our churches, and pray for the 
 ordinary necessities may free a soul out of pur- 
 gatory every Wednesday throughout the whole 
 year, on All Souls Day, on other days, when they 
 may free a soul by visiting the stations at Rome. 
 
 But because indulgences have frequently been 
 revoked, it will not be amiss to assure the reader, 
 that the above mentioned are in full force, as ap- 
 pears by the bull of Clement X. which begins 
 Commissa nobis divitinus, dated May 8th, 1678, 
 
56 
 
 whereby these, with many more, (after a most 
 accurate examen of them by the learned Cardinal 
 Bona,) were amply confirmed. 
 
 Besides so many indulgences, the see apostolic 
 hath granted another favor to the brothers and 
 sisters of this confraternity, which is, that they 
 may be absolved once in this life, and also at 
 their death, from all excommunications, censures 
 and cases, reserved to the Roman bishops, and 
 from others as often as they please, by any con- 
 fessor approved by the ordinary. 
 
 Finally, Clement VII. who granted the former 
 privilege to the devouts of the Scapular, hath 
 granted to all persons who would bestow an alms, 
 though ever so small, upon any of our churches, 
 convents, or religious, that they may be partakers 
 of all the prayers, suffrages, masses, alms, pil- 
 grimages, and penances, which for that time shall 
 be done throughout the whole church. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Instructions how the Scapular is to be received 
 and worn, and what is required to gain the 
 privileges annexed to it. 
 
 We have briefly declared the origin of this 
 confraternity, together with the profits, privileges 
 and benefits of it, it remains only that we give 
 instructions how the Scapular of our blessed Lady 
 
57 
 
 of Mount Carmel, which is the badge of the con- 
 fraternity, is to be received, and what the obliga- 
 tions are of those who wear it. 
 
 Those, therefore, that desire to put themselves 
 under the protection of the most immaculate and 
 ever Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel, and to enjoy 
 the aforesaid privileges, by entering into the con- 
 fraternity of the holy Scapular, must first be ad- 
 mitted thereunto by some superior of the order 
 of the Carmelites, or by some other religious of 
 the same order, that hath commission from the 
 superior to admit persons. The Scapular must 
 be blessed, and given with the prayers and cere- 
 monies, which are designed for that purpose ; 
 also, according to the laudable custom of our holy 
 order, the name of those that receive the Scapular 
 are to be written down in the book of the con- 
 fraternity. 
 
 The Scapular must be made of cloth, serge, or 
 other stuff, and not of silk, though it may be lined 
 with silk, or embroidered with gold, or silver, it 
 must be of a brown or tawny color : the reason 
 of this is, because it is worn in honor of the most 
 blessed Virgin Mary, of whom it is attested by 
 Baronius, torn. 1. annal Carthagenia, torn. 2. 
 homin. 4. and by others, that she never wore silk 
 but woollen, and that of the native color — so 
 Epiphanius, lib. 2. cap. 23. saith, the clothes she 
 (the Blessed Virgin) wore, were of the native 
 color, which both appear by the veil of her head ; 
 in this therefore, it is meet, that the devoted chil- 
 
58 
 
 dren of the Blessed Virgin Mary should imitate 
 their good mother. 
 
 We said even now, that when any one enters 
 first into the confraternity, it is necessary that the 
 Scapular should be blessed ; but if that comes to 
 be lost or worn out, another may be taken, which 
 need not be blessed. 
 
 The Scapular is to be worn continually day 
 and night, and never to be taken off till death ; 
 also, it is good to be buried with it. The broth- 
 ers and sisters may wear it about their necks, 
 not in their pockets, or in their girdle, nor folded 
 in their breasts, for it being a Scapular, must be 
 worn in the form of a Scapular, that is to say, a 
 vest, or habit, that hangs over the shoulders. 
 
 This and no more is required to be a member 
 of the holy confraternity of our Blessed Lady's 
 Scapular, and to participate with the order of 
 Mount C arm el in all the privileges above men- 
 tioned ; except it be that which we speak of in 
 the seventh chapter, so that to be a member of 
 this confraternity, it is no way necessary to abstain 
 from flesh on Wednesdays, or to say the Office 
 of the Blessed Virgin, for this is done to enjoy 
 the privileges of the Sabbatine Bull. Neither is 
 there any obligation at all of saying seven Paters 
 and seven Aves, which is only to gain the indul- 
 gence granted by Paul V. But as I have already 
 said, it sufficeth that the Scapular be received 
 lawfully and worn devoutly without any other 
 obligation. 
 
59 
 
 Nevertheless, to be partakers of the privilege 
 which is explained, chap. 7, viz. to be freed out 
 of purgatory, which is a thing apart, not commu- 
 nicated to any order or confraternity, and called 
 by us the privilege of the Sabbatine Bull, they 
 must observe what follows : 
 
 1. They must observe chastity, every one ac- 
 cording to his condition, which doth not hinder, 
 but that they may lawfully marry, but as long as 
 they are married, to gain this privilege, it is ne- 
 cessary that they preserve themselves from all 
 impurity ; if they are married, they are not only 
 to observe carefully the fidelity and faith of wed- 
 lock ; but if they are not engaged in that state, 
 the virgin is obliged to preserve virginity, and the 
 widow continency. 
 
 2. If they be illiterate persons who cannot 
 read, they must observe all the feasts of the 
 church, and abstain from flesh Wednesdays and 
 Saturdays throughout the whole year, except the 
 nativity of our blessed Saviour happen to fall 
 upon one of those days, for then they may eat 
 flesh. 
 
 What we have said of those that cannot read 
 is also to be understood of those, who, though 
 they can read, do not understand the office of the 
 Blessed Virgin ; and also of them that cannot 
 perform the said office by reason of their contin- 
 ual occupations, as it happens to many servants, 
 workmen, and others, that have public or labori- 
 ous employments, to whom the reciting of the 
 divine office is wholly impossible. All these 
 
60 
 
 must abstain from flesh on Wednesdays and Sa- 
 turdays, if they do desire to enjoy this privilege 
 of the Sabbatine Bull. 
 
 The reason why we abstain from flesh on Wed- 
 nesdays is : because on that day our divine Sa- 
 viour, the only begotten Son of our gracious 
 Princess and patroness was treacherously sold 
 by his own people for thirty pieces of silver ; as 
 St. Clement, Pope and successor to St. Peter, 
 doth assure us in his Apostolical Institutions, lib. 
 5, cap. 14, and for this cause in the primitive 
 church, the faithful did fast on Wednesdays, as 
 besides St. Clement, Loco citato, many do affirm 
 Origin in cap. 10, Livet, St. Ignatius, Mart. St, 
 Augustine, Theophilactus, &c, cited Thomas 
 Sarce, part 5, sol. 220, to accompany the mortifi- 
 cation of our blessed Lady, we mortify ourselves 
 on that day by abstinence from flesh, relying on 
 the promises of our powerful advocate, that in 
 recompense of this good work, we shall be com- 
 forted the first Saturday after our death, with the 
 most sweet meat of eternal glory, at the table of 
 our sweet Saviour and Redeemer, Jesus Christ. 
 
 But for the better understanding of what we 
 have said concerning abstinence from flesh on 
 Wednesdays and Saturdays, 
 
 1. Though any one be obliged to make absti- 
 nence on those days by vow, penance, or the 
 like, it will notwithstanding, serve to gain the 
 privilege. 
 
 2. Children, that by devotion of their parents 
 have received the habit, are not obliged to do any- 
 
61 
 
 thing until they are seven years old, and yet they 
 may gain the aforesaid privileges. 
 
 3. Though the church doth not oblige persons 
 to fast until they are two-and-twenty years old, 
 yet if they will obtain this privilege, they must 
 begin to observe the fasts of the church before 
 they come to that age. 
 
 4. If any one by sickness, or being with child, 
 or giving suck, &c, cannot observe the fasts of 
 the church, nor abstain from flesh, nevertheless, 
 they shall gain the same privilege. The same is 
 to be said of the poor who have not wherewithal 
 to buy things necessary, must eat what they can 
 get. 
 
 If on Wednesdays any one be upon a journey 
 and cannot get anything but flesh, or if he be 
 invited to dinner by a friend, or doth work in 
 another man's house, where they all eat flesh, if 
 he fears to trouble or offend those of the house, 
 he may for that time set his devotion aside, and 
 not therefore lose the privilege. The same I say 
 of those who are subject to another, as wives, 
 children, and servants, when the master of the 
 house is not well contented. Hieron Gratianio 
 in disciplin, Christ, part 3. cap. 7. ver. 3. 
 
 Thus much concerning the obligation of those 
 that cannot read, and nevertheless, would enjoy 
 the privileges of the Sabbatine Bull. Now as for 
 those that are well able to read, it is necessary 
 that every day they say the great or little office 
 of our blessed Lady, according to the custom of 
 the holy church, which if they perform, they 
 
 6 
 
62 
 
 may freely eat flesh on Wednesday, and not be 
 deprived therefore of any grace which the Blessed 
 Virgin hath promised to her favorites — wherefore 
 it is a manifest error, that some affirm, viz. that 
 whosoever do wear the Scapular, is obliged to 
 abstain from flesh on Wednesdays and Saturdays ; 
 whereas this obligation is only for them that say 
 not the office of the Blessed Virgin, and never- 
 theless are desirous to enjoy the privileges of 
 being soon freed out of purgatory, as it doth evi- 
 dently appear by the words of our blessed Lady 
 to John XXII. and related by him in the Sabba- 
 tine Bull. But concerning the office of the 
 Blessed Virgin, here is to be observed : 
 
 1. That if any one doth say the office of the 
 breviary, because he is in holy orders, or by 
 reason of some other obligation, that is sufficient 
 to gain the Sabbatine privilege, without saying 
 the office of the Blessed Virgin. Strat. cap. 12. 
 n. 15. 
 
 2. The office which is said, may be according 
 to any other Roman, Carmelite, or Dominican, or 
 Greek, or according to the custom of every one's 
 country, or community. 
 
 3. When there is reasonable cause, it is law- 
 ful to change the saying of the office into absti- 
 nence from flesh on Wednesdays and Saturdays, 
 or into any other pious work, with the license 
 of a spiritual father ; and if any one happen not 
 to have the conveniency of a spiritual father, he 
 may change it himself, conformable to what di- 
 vines do commonly hold concerning the mutation 
 
I 
 
 63 
 
 of vows. Lazena in Mariae Paton. cap. 12, 21, 
 24. 
 
 4. If any one can neither say the office of our 
 blessed Lady, nor abstain from flesh, nor do any 
 other work equivalent by reason of his many 
 employment, sickness, or some other impedi- 
 ments, nevertheless, he need not therefore omit 
 to enter into this confraternity : for as we have 
 said already, he may gain all the other privileges, 
 only by devoutly wearing the Scapular. 'Tis 
 also very probable, that such a one will not be 
 deprived of the Sabbatine favor, when our blessed 
 Lady seems to insinuate when having assigned 
 the conditions requisite for the granting of it, 
 she added these words : " if they be not hindered 
 by some lawful cause." Thomas a Jesu, lib. 2. 
 Confrat. Theo. Strat. cap. 12. n. 19. 
 
 5. If any one voluntary and without cause at 
 all, merely through negligence or human frailty 
 should omit the office of our blessed Lady, or 
 eat flesh, or should chance to fall into some im- 
 purity, with condition they rise again, and pur- 
 pose for the future to serve all that is required, 
 they will not be deprived of this privilege. 
 
 6. Finally, concerning whatever we have said 
 in this chapter, it is to be noted, that none of the 
 conditions assigned do oblige under sin, either 
 mortal or venial. It is true those that omit the 
 divine office, or commit any unchaste action, may 
 by reason of some other obligation, offend God ; 
 but the fault is not any way aggravated, because 
 they are of the Scapular, for neither the Blessed 
 
64 
 
 Virgin Mary, or the sovereign Bishop of Rome, 
 nor the prelates of the order of Mount Carmel, 
 did ever impose any obligation upon the devouts 
 of the holy Scapular, under pain of sin. 
 
 By what hath been hitherto said, the judicious 
 reader may easily conclude what is to be said, 
 both concerning the antiquity of the order of the 
 Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel, and con- 
 cerning the first institution and excellency of the 
 famous confraternity of the holy Scapular. Like- 
 wise the brothers and sisters of this confraternity 
 will find here sufficient instructions how they are 
 to behave themselves, and what privileges or 
 graces they may enjoy at present, and hope here- 
 after, which is the end of this treatise. 
 
 Wherefore I will conclude with what is related, 
 4 Kings, 5, 13. Naaman the Syrian, who was 
 infected with leprosy, was told by Eliseus the 
 prophet : go and wash in the Jordan seven times 
 and thou shalt be clean ; but he contemning to 
 follow this advice, as a thing that would not at all 
 avail him, was emphatically exhorted thereto by 
 his servant, in this manner : if the prophet had 
 bid thee some great thing, thou oughtest to have 
 done it : how much rather then, when he said to 
 thee wash and be clean — I say the same at pre- 
 sent, concerning the sacred habit of the Scapular, 
 If our blessed Lady had bid us do some great act, 
 we ought to do it ; how much rather than when 
 she saith : wear my livery and you shall not 
 suffer eternal fire! If she had enjoined us to 
 make great abstinence ; to undergo some rigorous 
 
65 
 
 mortification, or to undertake a long and tedious 
 pilgrimage, with this condition, that we should 
 be freed from eternal damnation ; from the tor- 
 ments of purgatory, and from the many dangerous 
 events which easily do befall us in this life : right 
 reason would dictate to us, that we ought to at- 
 tempt any thing for the obtaining of so great a 
 good : how much more then, when she had 
 annexed these and many more extraordinary 
 graces, to the reception only, and devout wearing 
 the holy habit of the Scapular, with a final con- 
 fidence in her holy protection ? But you will 
 perhaps with Naaman object, what does such a 
 weak thing avail us, as the Scapular is ? To this 
 I answer with the apostles — 1 Corinth, i. 27. 
 The weak things of the world hath God chosen, 
 that he might confound the strong. He that made 
 choice of this weak element of water to wash us 
 from original sin, which is so deeply indicated in 
 us by the prevarication of our first father, Adam, 
 hath made use of the weak habit of the Scapular 
 to produce those excellent effects which are men- 
 tioned in the chapter following : 
 
 It is no new thing to Almighty God to make 
 use of the clothes and garments of saints, in order 
 to the effecting of prodigious things. The man- 
 tle of our holy patriarch, St. Elias, divided twice 
 the water of the Jordan — 4 Kings, 2. The 
 shadow of St. Peter did cure all diseases — Acts, 
 5, 15. 
 
 The handkerchiefs and napkins of St. Paul did 
 drive away all evil spirits, and heal all sorts of 
 
 6* 
 
66 
 
 infirmities, (Acts, 19, 12,) nevertheless, our Sa- 
 viour did never so frequently concur with the 
 relics of any saints, to the effecting of such like 
 things, as he had done with the sacred habit of 
 his Virgin Mother ; which he seems to have made 
 choice of, that he may thereby demonstrate to the 
 world both the efficaciousness of her intercession 
 and the height of her merits and glory. For 
 during these four hundred years, ever since the 
 time of St. Simon Stock, most miraculous and 
 extraordinary things have been, and daily are 
 done throughout the whole christian world, by 
 the intercession of the most Blessed Virgin Mary 
 of Mount Carmel, and by means of her sacred 
 Scapular. Wherefore, courteous reader, seeing 
 thou hast at hand so easy and efficacious a way 
 of promoting, both by the spiritual and temporal 
 goods, thou wilt if thou art wise, forthwith make 
 use of it, if thou dost not, it cannot be attributed 
 but to the negligence of that important affair of 
 thy salvation, which thou oughtest principally to 
 mind ; and if thou comest at last miserably to lose 
 thyself, God will have just cause to object against 
 thee, what he objected against the Israelites. 
 Osea, 14, 9, thy perdition is on thyself. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 A Relation of Miracles, fyc. 
 The last privilege of those that are enrolled in 
 
67 
 
 the confraternity of the sacred Scapular, is con- 
 tained in these words of our blessed Lady to St. 
 Simon Stock, Ecce signum salutis salus in peri- 
 culis : and it is a perpetual safeguard from all 
 manner of perils, as well by sea as by land ; a 
 protection and defence against fire, thunder and 
 lightning : many tempests have been appeased 
 by the Scapular ; many fires have been quenched ; 
 many sorts of infirmities have been cured ; griev- 
 ous contagions have been overcome ; the devils 
 have been put to flight ; and it is the most speedy 
 and efficacious remedy against witchcraft, fasci- 
 nations and enchantments that can be found. All 
 this may be manifested by several examples. 
 
 If the pious reader desire to know of them par- 
 ticularly, he must repair to greater volumes, which 
 treat of this matter. Amongst others, Lazena de 
 Palron Maria?, cap. 5, 9, and Theophilus Ray- 
 mundus, of the society of Jesus, in the scapul. 
 carthag. carm. cap. 6, hath many examples of 
 those that hath been freed from the devils, from 
 fire, water, wild beasts, sickness, witchcrafts, 
 danger in child-bed, from pistol shots, and many 
 other ill accidents, by means of the Scapular. 
 But it may suffice to convince us, with how much 
 reason Laurentius a Sancto Victore had said : 
 happy are they that are clothed with the habit 
 and mantle of the Blessed Virgin ! and so I con- 
 clude this devout treatise, which 1 dedicate to the 
 glory of God. 
 
68 
 
 Of the Devotion of the Seven Pater Nosters 
 
 and Seven Ave Marias, usually practised by 
 
 the Brothers of Mount Carmel. 
 
 [Translated from the Spanish, by the late Very Rev. T. 
 Coleman.] 
 
 Many are the acts of devotion used by the 
 brothers and sisters of the Carmelite Order, to 
 honor and reverence their Mother and Patroness 
 the Virgin Mary. Among these is the devout 
 recital of Seven Pater Nosters and Seven Ave 
 Marias, in memory of the seven principal prero- 
 gatives with which the blessed soul of the great 
 Queen of Angels is honored and exalted in heaven 
 by her most divine Son Jesus Christ. The pure 
 Virgin herself made known to the world how 
 dear to her heart this devotion is, when she ap- 
 peared in person to the glorious martyr, St. 
 Thomas, Archbishop of Canterbury in England, 
 and condescended to instruct him with her own 
 mouth. 
 
 This holy prelate, as a special votary of the 
 mother of God, was accustomed to offer his de- 
 votions to her every day with particular affection, 
 making mention of the seven principal joys which 
 she had in this mortal life, viz. : — 
 
 1. When the King of heaven entered her 
 chaste womb to take on him human flesh. 
 
 2. When, without affecting her virginity, she 
 brought him forth. 
 
 3. When thirteen days after that she saw three 
 kings of the east adoring him, and offering him. 
 tribute, as true God and true man. 
 
69 
 
 4. When she heard the holy old man Simon, 
 declaring him to be the true Messiah and Saviour 
 of the world. 
 
 5. When she found him among the doctors in 
 the temple disputing, to the astonishment of all 
 of them. 
 
 6. When she saw him raised from the dead 
 immortal. 
 
 7. When, finally, she saw him rise glorious 
 and triumphant into heaven. 
 
 This saint, according to the relation of Bustio 
 in his Mariale ; being one day among others 
 practising this holy devotion, there appeared to 
 him visibly, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and speak- 
 ing kindly, pronounced the following words : — 
 
 "It gives me, my dear Thomas, no slight plea- 
 sure, that you honor me by addressing me in 
 memory of those pleasures which I formerly had 
 in the world, but know that your devotion will 
 be much more acceptable to me, if you make 
 mention of the seven principle delights among 
 the many others my heart enjoys above in 
 heaven." 
 
 Such was the origin of this devotion, so pleas- 
 ing to our Lady the Blessed Virgin, and after- 
 wards so much divulged and disseminated in the 
 hearts of the faithful. In order, therefore, that 
 all who profess the devotion of Mount Carmel 
 might embrace it with greater fervor, Paul V., 
 sovereign Pontiff, of happy memory, granted 
 forty days' indulgence on each day, to all those 
 who being registered in the confraternity of the 
 
70 
 
 Carmelites, and wearing the blessed Scapular of 
 the Blessed Virgin, should recite every day seven 
 Paters and seven Ave.s, in memory of the above 
 mentioned seven delights that she enjoys in glory 
 in paradise. 
 
 From which circumstance the greater part of 
 the brothers have taken up the belief that the re- 
 cital of the seven Pater Nosters is an indispen- 
 sable obligation on those who wear the Carmelite 
 Scapular, so that if they wish to enjoy the indul- 
 gences, privileges and participations in the spiri- 
 tual blessings, they must recite every day, these 
 Pater Nosters and Ave Marias, and these are 
 called by many, not to say by all, the Pater 
 Nosters of the habit : and such great force has 
 this opinion got in the minds of some, that they 
 sometimes accuse themselves in confession of 
 having transgressed the obligations of the confra- 
 ternity of Mount C arm el, by not reciting the 
 Pater Nosters of the habit, which recital they be- 
 lieve to be sufficient to satisfy all their obliga- 
 tions. 
 
 This opinion is a manifest error, for no one is 
 obliged to observe, that, as an obligation which 
 is only an act of simple devotion, there being no 
 obligation that the person wearing the Scapular, 
 should recite every day these seven Pater Nosters* 
 because, as was said, it is merely a simple act of 
 devotion, through which the brothers gain forty 
 days' indulgence granted by Paul V. 
 
 We ought not, however, to disregard the recital 
 of these Paters as well to gain the indulgence as 
 
7L 
 
 to do what is pleasing to the Virgin Mary, mother 
 and special protectress of the Carmelites, as it is 
 a devotion that gives so much delight and plea- 
 sure ; but the brother imagining himself present 
 before her, should recite them with great atten- 
 tion and devotion, in the honor and memory of 
 her joys, and this is sufficient to obtain the in- 
 dulgence. But, whoever through a greater devo- 
 tion would wish to render this spiritual exercise 
 longer and more devout, may do so by inter- 
 spersing the following prayers between the Pater 
 Nosters in this manner : 
 
 Making the sign of the Cross, he will say — 
 " In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and 
 of the Holy Ghost." Amen. 
 
 1. Rejoice, O Spouse of the Holy Ghost, and 
 I rejoice with you ! for that happiness which you 
 now enjoy in heaven : because, by your purity 
 and virginity you are exalted above all angelic 
 choirs. Oar Father, fyc. Hail Mary, <fyc. 
 
 2. Rejoice, O true Mother of God, and I re- 
 joice with you ! because, you alone have merited 
 to sit at the right hand of your most holy Son, 
 nearest the throne of the holy Trinity* Our 
 Father, #c. Bail Mary, fyc. 
 
 3. Rejoice, O daughter of God, and I rejoice 
 with you ! because, all the hierarchies of angels, 
 and all the blessed spirits, honor, revere, and 
 acknowledge you as the mother of their Creator, 
 and, at every, the smallest sign, are most obedient 
 to you. Our Father, fyc. Hail Mary, fyc. 
 
 4. Rejoice, O handmaid of the most holy 
 
72 
 
 Trinity ! and I rejoice with you, because, as the 
 sun here illumines the whole world, so you by 
 your presence, illumine and make resplendent 
 the whole of paradise, and are the source of high 
 content to those happy nations. Our Father, fyc. 
 Hail Mary, fyc. 
 
 5. Rejoice, O most serene princess ! and I 
 rejoice with you, because, you enjoy this delight 
 of having always your will united, and conform- 
 able with the will of his divine Majesty. Our 
 Father, fyc. Hail Mary, fyc. 
 
 6. Rejoice, O refuge of sinners, and comfor- 
 ter of the afflicted ! and I rejoice with you, be- 
 cause, all the favors you ask of your divine Son 
 are granted to you, or rather none are granted 
 here below on earth, but what pass through your 
 most holy hands. Our Father, fyc. Hail Mary, fyc. 
 
 7. Rejoice, O mother, daughter and spouse 
 of God ! and I rejoice with you, because, all the 
 joys, contentments and favors you possess in 
 paradise will never be diminished, nay, rather 
 will be augmented daily until the day of judg- 
 ment, and will last for all ages of ages ! Our 
 Father, fyc. Hail Mary, fyc. 
 
 Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to 
 the Holy Ghost ; as it was in the beginning, is 
 now, and ever will be, world without end. Amen. 
 
 V. Pray for us, O holy Mother of God ! 
 
 R. That we may be made worthy of the pro- 
 mises of Christ. 
 
73 
 
 Let us Pray. 
 
 O Loud, we beseech thee, that the glorious in- 
 tercession of the Blessed Virgin may protect us 
 and bring us to eternal life, through Christ our 
 Lord. R Amen. 
 
 V. Us with our pious offspring, 
 
 R. May the Virgin Mary bless, R. Amen. 
 
 Another form of Prayer for the Seven Joys of 
 the Virgin Mary. 
 
 In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and 
 of the Holy Ghost. Amen. 
 
 1. In this first joy I am consoled, O most 
 holy and miraculous Virgin of Mount Carmel, 
 conceived without the stain of original sin ; by 
 contemplating you all full of gladness, in as much 
 as you not only were filled with joy here on 
 earth at seeing yourself elected true Mother of 
 God our Creator, but also still rejoicing at pre- 
 sent in heaven at seeing yourself, by your more 
 than angelic purity, exalted above the glory of all 
 the Seraphims. Our Father, <^c. Hail Mary, fyc* 
 
 2. In this second joy, I exult, O sovereign 
 Queen of the skies ! conceived without the stain 
 of original sin, in contemplating you, because, 
 you not only were filled with joy, when here on 
 earth, without any pain, or in the least defiling 
 
 7 
 
74 
 
 your immaculate virginity, you brought forth as 
 the Sun, the true Light of the world, but also are 
 still rejoicing at present in Heaven, because you 
 ornament the whole of Paradise with your glories 
 and beauties. Our Father, fyc. Hail Mary, fyc. 
 
 3. In this third joy. I contemplate, O Mary, 
 Virgin and pure Mother of Mount Carmel ! con- 
 ceived without the stain of original sin ; the glad- 
 ness and joy you received on earth on seeing 
 your infant Jesus adored by the kings of the east, 
 as the true God of the universe, and yourself re- 
 verenced by them as his blessed Mother, and 
 \vhich moreover, you still enjoy in Heaven, for 
 all the Hierarchies of those high spirits, the 
 saints and the blessed, honor, revere, and ac- 
 knowledge you as the true Mother of the Crea- 
 tor, and are most obedient to every sign of 
 yours. Our Father, fyc. Hail Mary, fyc. 
 
 4. In this fourth joy, I contemplate you, O 
 Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel ! conceived with- 
 out the stain of original sin, full of extraordinary 
 joy, not only because you were rejoiced here on 
 earth at seeing your dearly beloved Son raised 
 from death to life immortal ! to whom his Eternal 
 Father conceded power in Heaven, in earth, and 
 in the abyss, but also because you rejoice at pre- 
 sent in Heaven at seeing yourself the dispenser 
 of all the graces you ask for your supplicants, 
 and obtain from your beloved Son. Our Father, 
 fyc. Hail Mary, tyc. 
 
 5. In this fifth joy, O most happy Mother of 
 God, Mary of Mount Carmel, conceived without 
 
75 
 
 the stain of origiual sin ! I exult in, the content- 
 ment you experienced here on earth, when you 
 saw your blessed Son ascend into Heaven to sit 
 there as king of glory at the right hand of his 
 Eternal Father, and which you also experience 
 at present in Heaven, by seeing yourself seated 
 in majesty as Queen, at the right hand of your 
 most holy Son Jesus. Our Father \ fyc. Hail 
 Mary, #-c, 
 
 6. In this sixth joy, O blessed Virgin Mary 
 of Mount Carmel, conceived without the stain of 
 original sin ! I contemplate you enriched with 
 blessings, in as much as you saw yourself filled 
 with the gifts of the Holy Ghost to a greater de^ 
 gree than the Apostles, for you are the purest 
 and highest of created beings, after your beloved 
 Son Jesus Christ, true God and true Man ; and 
 this joy you at present possess, for under your 
 protection are all sinners ; particularly those who 
 dev utly wear on them your Holy Habit, through 
 which the great God, and also you yourself have 
 deigned to grant in this life so many favors 
 and singular privileges. Our Father, fyc. Hail 
 Mary, fyc. 
 
 7. In this seventh joy, O glorious Queen of 
 the Universe, Mary of Mount Carmel, conceived 
 without the stain of original sin ! I revere you, 
 greatly rejoiced at seeing yourself assumed both 
 soul and body into Heaven, and there crowned 
 Queen of Glory by the three Divine Persons, 
 with whom you show yourself filled with all the 
 graces that can possibly be granted to a mere 
 
76 
 
 created being, and this joy you at present have in 
 Heaven, since you see that all the favors, privil- 
 eges and pre-eminent concessions made to you, as 
 daughter, spouse, and mother of God, from the 
 first moment of your pure conception, will never 
 be diminished, but will endure for all eternity. 
 Our Father, fyc. Hail Mary, fyc. 
 
 Monstra te esse Matrem, 
 
 Sumat per te preces, 
 
 Qui pro nobis natus, 
 
 Tulit esse tuus. 
 O ! Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel, dearest 
 Mother of God, Queen of Angels, Advocate of 
 Sinners, Comforter of the Afflicted, extend, O 
 glorious Virgin ! the ear of your pity to the pray- 
 ers of me your most humble servant, and grant 
 me by your grace, to be in the number of those 
 whom you love and keep inscribed in your vir- 
 ginial bosom. Purify my heart, O immaculate 
 Virgin ! from every sin ; take away, and banish 
 from me all, every thing that can offend your 
 chaste eyes ; purge this soul of its affection for 
 earthly and sinful goods, and raise it to the love 
 of celestial and everlasting blessings, and cause 
 that this may be my whole study and diligence ; 
 pray to your Son, O Holy Virgin ! for me now, 
 always, and at the hour of my death, and in that 
 tremendous and awful day of judgment, and when 
 I shall be obliged to render an account of my ac- 
 tions, that by your means I may be able to es- 
 cape the eternal flames. Do not withdraw your- 
 self from me, O blessed Virgin ! since with the 
 
77 
 
 liveliest affection, I this day give my soul and 
 body to your pity : do you direct me and defend 
 me from all the ills and dangers of this world, 
 and deign to intercede for me with your divine 
 Son, that he (and I thank your intercession for 
 it,) may grant me the pardon of all my sins, for 
 which I smite my breast as a token of my grief 
 and true repentance for having offended a Being 
 so infinitely good ; may He instil into me a lively 
 faith, firm hope, and ardent charity, and the grace 
 of the Holy Ghost, through which I may be en- 
 abled to perform his holy will, and may he deign 
 by his mercy to preserve this kingdom from war, 
 pestilence, famine, and sins, and all my parents 
 and friends, and every faithful christian from all 
 evil. To you I recommend also, merciful 
 Virgin ! the suffering souls in Purgatory ; pray 
 for these affectionate souls to your most beloved 
 Jesus, that the leaving those avenging flames and 
 flying to Heaven, may there enjoy for all eter- 
 nity, beatific glory, and pray for me a wretched 
 sinner. Amen, 
 
 These short prayers in this order, whether of 
 the one form or of the other, may be practised in 
 families every evening in their houses, in the 
 same way as the Holy Rosary is recited. This 
 practice would be very agreeable to the Virgin, 
 and profit much their common interests, as well 
 spiritual as temporal, and in addition to the seven 
 joys, the Litanies of the Blessed Virgin also be 
 recited, as is done by many, besides exhibiting 
 this greater respect to the great Mother of God, 
 
 7* 
 
78 
 
 they will gain an indulgence of two hundred 
 days, granted by Sixtus V. of happy memory. 
 
 Of the Devotion of Wednesday. 
 
 Even from the time of the primitive church, it 
 was a pious custom with the faithful, to observe 
 a fast and abstinence on Wednesdays, and this 
 they did to mortify their flesh on that day on 
 which, with execrable sacrilege, the infamous and 
 profligate Judas impiously sold for a small sum 
 of money the innocent body of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ, his loving Master ; and though this mor- 
 tification is generally disused, the Church has, 
 nevertheless, in our times, retained, in some part, 
 this fast, as it has ordained that four times in the 
 year, namely, the Quarter Tenses, the Wednes- 
 days, should also be comprehended in the fasts ; 
 this is in like manner practised by the sovereign 
 Pontiffs, when they impose a fast for any Jubi- 
 lee, or extraordinary indulgence. 
 
 Hence, in order that the treason which Judas 
 did, may always be in the mind of the Car- 
 melites, that by remembering it they may be en- 
 abled to avoid all occasions of betraying God by 
 mortal sin, the Virgin Mary wishes that this ab- 
 stinence from meat should be perpetuated and ob- 
 served in her Order, and by her brothers, and 
 this Wednesday remain for ever marked by it 
 among her beloved Sons, the Carmelites. 
 
79 
 
 To propagate this devotion more extensively, 
 Paul V. of happy memory, a great votary of our 
 Lady of Mount Carmel, concurred with the Vir- 
 gin by conceding in a special Brief three hun- 
 dred days' indulgence, every Wednesday, to the 
 Brothers who should comply with this absti- 
 nence. 
 
 To increase still more this devotion on Wed- 
 nesdays, it is an usual custom with many Car- 
 melite Churches, for the spiritual father of the 
 convent, or any other priest, to celebrate on every 
 Wednesday in the year, the Mass of the Blessed 
 Virgin, or the Regular Mass of the day at the 
 altar of the Blessed Virgin herself. This Mass 
 is usually called the Mass of the Devotion, be- 
 cause, at this Mass, they chaunt the Litanies of 
 our Lady, and recite the seven joys, with the Pa- 
 ter Nosters and Ave Marias, and the priest usually 
 makes a short and beneficial discourse, to incite 
 and inflame the faithful still more to the devotion 
 of the Virgin Mary. The fruit of this Mass, as 
 it affects the dead, is given for the relief of the 
 souls of the deceased Brothers, and as it affects 
 the living, for the benefit of all the Brothers alive, 
 particularly those present, and the priest offers up 
 his prayers to Heaven into the hands of the 
 Queen of Paradise, that by her intercession they 
 may be protected and defended from all spiritual 
 and temporal labors, and that the devotion of the 
 sacred habit of Mount Carmel may every day be 
 more and more extended and increased. 
 
 In some of the Carmelite churches it is usual 
 
80 
 
 also on Wednesdays to give a benediction of the 
 most holy Sacrament, To all who are present 
 at this ceremony, Benedict XIII. in a bull, dated 
 4th March, 1727, has granted on one Wednesday 
 in each month, to be appointed by the ordinary, 
 a plenary indulgence if they sincerely repent, 
 confess and receive. On so many grounds and 
 motives are the brothers and sisters exhorted to 
 frequent the devotions : not so much for their 
 own profit as for that of those poor souls who are 
 suffering in the flames of purgatory, and waiting 
 for our aid. 
 
 Let all then concur on this day with a pious 
 and holy affection in praying to the Lord for these, 
 since prayers are the divine incantations that force 
 those flames to leave free and unincumbered those 
 souls, that they with joy and gladness may fly to 
 possess themselves of the eternal happiness of 
 paradise. And let each remember, that when it 
 will please the divine Majesty he will himself 
 have need of such suffrages, and therefore let him 
 not omit, while in his power, to partake, on the 
 like day, of the divine bread of angels in aid of 
 those, since this consecrated host is the gift the 
 "Wiseman speaks of in the Proverbs : u Mimus 
 absconditum extinguit iras." (chap, xxi.) Jesus 
 Christ our Lord concealed under the veil of the 
 Eucharistic appearances will easily be able to stay 
 that anger of the purging fire, and so precisely 
 the angelic doctor explained the words of the 
 Wiseman in his works, appropriately speaking 
 of the august Sacrament of the Altar : M Hoc 
 
81 
 
 munus absconditum extinguit pcenas purgatorii. 
 Op. 58. chap. xxv. 
 
 But above all let them aid with the holy sacri- 
 fices those tormented souls, since the Victim of 
 the Sacred Altar appeases heaven and extinguishes 
 the fire ; nor is the Sacrifice of the Altar less 
 useful or profitable to those souls than that of 
 Calvary, so the golden pen of St. John Chrysos- 
 tom testifies : Tantum valet celebratio missse 
 quantum mens Christi in cruce, (Prep. fig. Pur. 
 fer. 6. n. 1.) and with reason since if Christ our 
 Redeemer on the cross, dying and lifeless, for the 
 price of one single memento gave the kingdom to 
 a robber ; so now that he sits glorious and im- 
 mortal at the right hand of the Father, for another 
 memento of the sacrificing priest, grants, to the 
 souls in purgatory, rest and peace in the kingdom 
 of glory. 
 
 On the Sundays on which the procession is 
 celebrated, viz. once in each month, the brothers 
 and sisters should be present at it to acquire the 
 plenary indulgence granted by Paul V. This in- 
 dulgence can be applied by way of suffrage for 
 the souls in purgatory, and likewise for honoring 
 the Virgin Mary, who as a loving mother invites 
 them to appear once a month to fill them liberally 
 with heavenly gifts. Let them not show them- 
 selves slothful and careless respecting so great a 
 blessing, nor remove themselves for any small 
 and trifling occasion from these sacred assemblies 
 and processions, because as negligent and contu- 
 macious they will not participate in the delights 
 
82 
 
 of Mary, and will run the risk of not enjoying 
 that assistance the same Virgin promises to her 
 true children in the dangers of this life. 
 
 To receive any slight favor, not to say from 
 any prince or high personage, but from a person 
 of our own condition, and perhaps inferior, we 
 inconvenience ourselves, and are extremely obse- 
 quious ; nay, sometimes, (if I be allowed to say 
 it,) we descend to some base act, to arrive at our 
 purpose, Oh God ! And can we not admit of 
 some slight inconvenience, to obtain from so great 
 a personage as is the Empress of the Skies, the 
 Great Mother of God, favors so great, privileges 
 so extraordinary, as are daily experienced by her 
 true votaries. 
 
 Every day let us pray to the Virgin that it may 
 be her wish to be a mother to us, (Monstra de 
 esse Matrem) though she does not omit to make 
 us perceive every moment, in a thousand ways, 
 that she is a mother truly kind and affectionate ; 
 well, with reason can she say to more than one 
 of us, Monstra te esse/lliian, inasmuch as by our 
 negligence and little devotion, we but badly cor- 
 respond with her so great maternal affections. 
 
 Ah ! my dear and beloved Carmelites ! it is not 
 the name but the works that justify the man, if 
 you ardently desire that the blessed Virgin Mary 
 may be a mother to you, act so that your deeds 
 may correspond with that noble name you gra- 
 ciously enjoy, of Sons of Mary. 
 
83 
 
 LIST OF THE GENERALS. 
 
 The christian princes after having made them- 
 selves masters of the Holy Land under the com- 
 mand of Godfrey of Bologne, in the year 1099, 
 St. Berthold, a native of France, and doctor of 
 Paris, accompanied the army thither for the pur- 
 pose of visiting the holy places, fixed his abode 
 in Mount Carmel among the hermits, who in the 
 year 1141 assembled to hold their first Chapter, 
 Aimericus, then patriarch of Antioch and Pope's 
 legate, was by the unanimous consent of all, 
 chosen to preside over this meeting, in which St. 
 Berthold was elected first general of the Latins 
 or Europeans. Verner, a Cartusian, speaking 
 of Aimericus, in his Chronicles of the Church, 
 in the year 1141, says: " Ordo Carmelitarum 
 restitutus et reformatus ah Aimerico Malfaida 
 Lemovicenee Patriarcha Jlntioque et Jlpostolicx 
 Sedis transmere Legato, primus General fuit 
 Frater Bertholdus Vir Sanctus : — " The Order 
 of Carmelites was revived and reformed by 
 Aimericus, Patriarch of Antioch and Pope's Le- 
 gate ; and their first General was St. Berthold, a 
 holy man." From that time, all the hermits of 
 Mount Carmel, Syria, and Palestine, have been 
 subject to, and under the obedience of a prelate. 
 This election of general was two thousand and 
 sixty seven years after our patriarch, St. Elias, 
 instituted the order of Mount Carmel, and seventy 
 years before the institute of the order of St. Dom- 
 
84 
 
 inick and St. Francis ; and the reason why the 
 Carmelite order has not the precedence of the 
 others, is not, because it is said not to have been 
 instituted and approved previous ; on the con- 
 trary, it was approved by Pope Stephen V. in the 
 year 816, by Leo IV. 847, Sergius III. 907, John 
 X. 913, John XI. 931, Sergius IV. 1009, Alexan- 
 der III. 1180, and Innocent IV. 1199; but the 
 reason why it has not the priority, or precedence, 
 is, that the orders of St. Dominick and St. Fran- 
 cis were confirmed by a bull from the Pope in the 
 year 1224, and the order of Carmel not for two 
 years after, in 1226. St. Berthold was general 
 of the entire order for the period of forty-six 
 years ; he died in the year 1187, aged 115, after 
 having given the habit to many, and founded 
 several convents. 
 
 St. Brocard, a native of Jerusalem, was unani- 
 mously chosen to succeed St. Berthold in the 
 government of the order in the year 1118; he 
 received into the order S. Cyril of Constantino- 
 ple, and St. Angel of Jerusalem, who foretold the 
 stigmas of St. Francis, and the persecution of St. 
 Dominick by the Albigenses ; they in like man- 
 ner prophesied to him the martyrdom which he 
 afterwards suffered in the year 1220 : he also in- 
 vested with the holy habit St. Angela, daughter 
 of the king of Bohemia, and prioress of the con- 
 vent of St. Sepulchre in Jerusalem, the venera- 
 ble Eusebius the Syrian, Jerom, and Jeremy of 
 Palestine, and Rodolph Fresbuno, who was the 
 first Provincial of England, whither he accompa- 
 
37 
 
 would render her in reducing it to its former 
 rigor and observance. 
 
 These examples of the favor and protection of 
 the blessed Virgin over the order of Mount Car- 
 mel, and many others which I omit for brevity- 
 sake, do sufficiently convince how justly this 
 order doth claim this sacred princess for their 
 singular advocate and patroness. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Of divers sorts of Persons that appertain unto 
 the Confraternity of the Blessed Virgin. 
 
 Before I speak further of the sacred confrater- 
 nity, founded upon the holy Scapular, which the 
 blessed Virgin gave with her own hands to St. 
 Simon Stock, general of the Carmelites, and in 
 his person to all the order, and to all the whole 
 church of God, it will not be from my purpose 
 to tell you that there are several sorts of persons 
 who fight under the standard and livery of the 
 most blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel ; 
 they may be all reduced to four classes, whereof 
 two are religious, and do consecrate themselves 
 to the service of God, by the vows of the Angel- 
 ical Councils, the other two are not. 
 
 In the first class are to be placed men and 
 women who live in monasteries, and have all 
 things in common, observing the ancient rule of 
 
 4 
 
38 
 
 the Carmelites, of whom we have already proved 
 that they are lawful successors of the holy Pro- 
 phets Elias and Eliseus. 
 
 The sacred rank is of these whom we com- 
 monly call Tertians, or the third order ; who 
 living in the world do endeavor to observe the 
 rule of the order, as much as their state and con- 
 dition will permit, and consequently, they imitate 
 others who live in communities, in the color of 
 their clothes, the time of frequenting the sacra- 
 ments, in the manner of praying, and finally, in 
 all their abstinence, penance, and mortifications, 
 all according to the advice and prescriptions of a 
 prudent director. 
 
 Of the third order of the blessed Virgin Mary 
 of Mount Carmel, mention is made in the bull of 
 Sixtus V., which begins thus, Dumattentiva me- 
 ditationes, §*c, wherein it gives full power to all 
 the superiors of the order, to admit what persons 
 they shall judge fit to the habit of Tertians, and 
 consequently, in the same bull, his holiness makes 
 all that wear it, participant of the privileges, im- 
 munities, favors, and indulgences of the whole 
 order of Carmelites. 
 
 This institution, or manner of living, hath pro- 
 duced many persons of most rare virtue and 
 sanctity ; among others the blessed Angel Laudo 
 Arena Paula Villa Franca, Maria del Aquila, 
 Joanna Oliverie, and also Frances de Yopes, a 
 person of known sanctity in Spain, and brother 
 to the divine contemplative, and doctor of mystic 
 divinity, John of the Cross, lately beatified by 
 
39 
 
 Clement X. This person, I say, took publicly 
 the habit of the third order of the blessed Virgin 
 Mary of Mount Carmel at Medina, and make his 
 profession in it : and after the long practice of 
 heroic actions, and the working of the most pro- 
 digious miracles, which are related in the history 
 of his life, he rendered up his happy soul to his 
 Creator, leaving the world embalmed with the 
 sweet odours of his most admirable virtues. Of 
 the venerable Virgin Angela de Arena Carthagena, 
 lib. 17, Homiliarum Homil. 3, writes out of Sil- 
 vester Maurolieus, a Cistercian Abbot, that she 
 having a resolution to become a Tertian of 
 another order, the night before she was to exe- 
 cute her design, she saw in a vision a ladder, 
 whose top reached up to heaven, and two saints 
 of the order of Carmelites appearing to her, and 
 told her that if she desired by this ladder to 
 mount up to heaven, she should become a Ter- 
 tian of the order of the blessed Virgin Mary of 
 Mount CarmeL Whereupon she changed her 
 former resolution, followed this celestial admoni- 
 tion, and died in a great opinion of sanctity in 
 Sicily, on the 2d of October, 1556. 
 
 The other two institutes which are annexed to 
 the holy order of Mount Carmel, are sodalities, 
 or confraternities, and for distinction sake, we may 
 name the first, the sodality of the order ; the 
 second, the confraternity of the Holy Scapular. 
 By the first, we may make persons participants 
 of all privileges, indulgences, prayers, fastings, 
 disciplines, watching and other good works, and 
 
40 
 
 spiritual treasures of the order. This is done 
 by letters of filiation, as they call them ; for as 
 in a temporal republic, the magistrates have pow- 
 er to incorporate into their body whom they think 
 fit, and to dispose of their earthly dominions, so 
 in spiritual congregations, the superiors have au- 
 thority to dispose of their spiritual riches, and 
 apply them to whom they think good, they being 
 authorised thereunto by Gregory V. who died in 
 the year 909, Alexander II. Clement III. and 
 other Popes, in their briefs granted to the Order. 
 The second, which we made the confraternity 
 of the Holy Scapular, and of which alone all 
 our future discourse will be, is (as we have al- 
 ready said,) grounded upon the words of the most 
 Blessed Virgin spoken to St. Simon Stock, and 
 upon the sacred habit which she gave him as a 
 sign of confraternity and powerful protection. 
 Those that enter into this congregation, do at the 
 same time enter into a participation of the pro- 
 mise made by the Mother of God, to them that 
 die invested with her sacred livery, which is (as 
 we have said in the former chapter,) to be deliv- 
 ered from the eternal pains of hell fire, from the 
 temporal pains of purgatory shortly after their 
 decease, and to enjoy many other privileges 
 which are contained in the words of the Blessed 
 Virgin to St. Simon Stock. For the words and 
 promises of the Virgin did not only concern him- 
 self, and the religious men and women of his 
 order, but also, all persons whatsoever, who out 
 of devotion to the Blessed Virgin, do wear the 
 
41 
 
 Scapular, and so become members of her con- 
 fraternity. This may be verified by several ar- 
 guments. 1st. Because several Popes have ap- 
 proved the erecting this confraternity indifferently 
 for all persons to enter into it, of which number 
 they themselves have often been. 2dly. John 
 XXII. relating in his sabbatine bull, the appari- 
 tion of the Blessed Virgin to him, sets down 
 some of her words, which so evidently convince, 
 that the privileges of the Scapular are not only 
 for the Carmelites, but for all that wear it. 
 
 3dly. We find by daily experience that the 
 devouts of the Scapular do enjoy the favor and 
 protection of the sacred Virgin, whether they be 
 ecclesiastical or secular. 
 
 Finally, a most efficacious argument, to con- 
 vince this truth is gathered from what St. Simon 
 Stock did. This holy man received the Scapular 
 from the Blessed Virgin, and consequently, he 
 knew very well what her meaning was, and 
 nevertheless he gave his precious livery to many 
 out of his order, who, during their life, did all, by 
 a happy experience, learn the efficacy and power 
 of it. Moreover the first miracle we read of 
 done by the Scapular, was by a layman ; and 
 because the thing happened there in England, I 
 will relate briefly the story. 
 
 On the 16th of July, which is the very same 
 day on which the Blessed Virgin gave her Sca- 
 pular to St. Simon, this venerable prelate went 
 to Winchester, about some business he had with 
 the bishop of that place ; he was no sooner 
 
 4* 
 
42 
 
 arrived there, but the dean of St. Helen's church 
 came to him, and beseeched him that he would 
 vouchsafe to come and assist a brother of his, 
 named Walter, who lay dying in despair of his 
 salvation, insomuch that he would not hear of 
 God, or of sacraments, but continually invoked 
 the devil, that he would revenge himself of a 
 person who had mortally wounded him. Our 
 holy general went presently with his own com- 
 panion to see this miserable man, whom he found 
 deprived of all use of reason, grinding his teeth, 
 and rolling his eyes in a most hideous manner. 
 After he had recommended him to Almighty 
 God, he made on him the sign of the cross, and 
 gave him the Scapular ; which he had no sooner 
 done, but the sick man returned presently to 
 himself, he detested the devil, with whom he 
 made a contract ; he begged pardon of Almighty 
 God with great signs of true sorrow and contri- 
 tion. He earnestly desired to confess his sins, 
 and to receive the other sacraments of the church, 
 which being done, he died the same night. But 
 the dean being in doubt of his brother's salvation, 
 because of his wicked life ; the dead man ap- 
 peared to him, and assured him, that by means 
 of the habit, wherewith the general of the Carm- 
 elites had invested him, he had escaped the 
 snares of the devil, and eternal damnation. 
 
43 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 The first Privilege of the Confraternity of the 
 Holy Scapular. 
 
 Hastinus, a learned author in Disquisitionibus 
 Monastic, lib. 3, n. disq. 5, hath well said, that 
 the Holy Scapular was given, not only for a vest, 
 but also for a breast-plate or helmet against all 
 the darts of our spiritual enemies ; for our 
 Blessed Saviour, by the intercession of his Vir- 
 gin Mother, hath annexed to it so many graces, 
 favors, privileges, that it may be verified what is 
 said upon another occasion. Ap. 2. No man 
 knows them but he that receives them. It would 
 require a long discourse to treat exactly on all 
 these privileges ; therefore I will content myself 
 to put down briefly the principal. We said in a 
 former chapter, that two confraternities are an- 
 nexed to the holy order of Mount Carmel ; to 
 wit, that of the third order, and that of the Scapu- 
 lar, insomuch that the devouts of this sacred 
 livery are partakers of the prayers, discipline, 
 alms, watchings, fasts, mortifications, austerities, 
 and good works, which are done in the holy 
 order of Carmelites. 
 
 This privilege ought the more to be esteemed, 
 because this devout and observant congregation 
 hath abounded with many most pure souls, so 
 that it must needs be very advantageous to parti- 
 cipate of their prayers and good deeds ; Clement 
 
44 
 
 VII. out of a singular devotion he had to this 
 holy confraternity, hath extended this communi- 
 cation further, that hath made brothers and sis- 
 ters of the confraternity of the Scapular partici- 
 pants of all pious actions, which are done 
 throughout the whole church of God. More- 
 over, Sextus VI. granted to the devouts of the 
 Scapular, all the privileges, indulgences, graces, 
 and favors, which are granted to the cord of St. 
 Francis, to the Rosary of our Blessed Lady, or 
 to any other confraternity whatsoever ; so that 
 they do enjoy them as much as if they were 
 really members of those sodalities, by reason of 
 their communication in privileges with the order 
 of the Carmelites. The members of this confra- 
 ternity do enjoy that honorable title of being 
 called brothers and sisters of the Blessed Virgin 
 Mary of Mount Carmel ; and they are taken un- 
 der the special protection of this sacred Queen 
 of Angels, as persons particularly appertaining 
 to her, and as it were, her domestics, clothed in 
 her livery. Wherefore, without doubt, this 
 powerful advocate will not fail to aid and assist 
 them, both in their life, and at the hour of their 
 death, obtaining from them a happy intercession, 
 which both appear by an infinite number of mir- 
 acles wrought in favor of the brothers and sisters 
 of this confraternity, whereof some are related in 
 the tenth chapter of this treatise, and many others 
 are yet done by Lazena de Patronatu Mariae, 
 chap. 5, where you may read how the sacred 
 Virgin hath miraculously obtained for most ob- 
 
45 
 
 durate sinners, time and grace to repent and con- 
 fess their sins, because they wore her livery. 
 For, as St. Thomas teaches, 1, 2, p. 31, art. 3 : 
 Grace and virtue imitate the order of nature, 
 which hath this property, and every agent doth 
 act most powerfully on that subject which is 
 nearest to its virtue. Thus Almighty God, whose 
 nature is goodness, and whose ways are mercy, 
 doth communicate himself more abundantly to 
 these angelical spirits, which are nearly related 
 to him ; as St. Denis de Ecclesiastical Hierar. 
 chap. 7, and many others of the holy Fathers do 
 testify. In the same manner the Mother of God 
 doth enlarge her gifts and graces, as well spiritual 
 as temporal, more plentifully and abundantly on 
 those who have contracted any particular alliance 
 or conjunction with her, as here they of the con- 
 fraternity of the Scapular do by several titles 
 they claim in this sacred Virgin for their only 
 Princess, Patroness and Advocate. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 The second Privilege of the Confraternity. 
 
 Another benefit or privilege of this confrater- 
 nity of the Scapular, is contained in these words : 
 he that dieth investeth with this habit shall not 
 suffer eternal fire : which is as much as to say, 
 that the Scapular is a great help in order to ob- 
 
46 
 
 tain eternal felicity. The same thing was re- 
 vealed to Pope John XXII. , as he relates in his 
 Bulla Sabbatina, and to the Blessed Angela de 
 Arena, who was told by two saints which ap- 
 peared to her, that if she desired to mount up to 
 heaven, by the mystical ladder which she saw in 
 a vision, she should forthwith receive the Sca- 
 pular. Also, Don John de Vesiques relates in 
 the life of the venerable Francis Yopes, who died 
 in a great opinion of sanctity, the year 1617, 
 that amongst many other things which superna- 
 turally were revealed to him, he learned that the 
 holy Scapular was one of the greatest adversaries 
 that the devil had in the world, for great were 
 the number of souls which he lost by the means 
 of it. The Rev. Father Alphoso, a Matre Dei, 
 writes : That in the City of Quanena, during the 
 procession of the holy Scapular, which is made on 
 the third Sunday of every month, the devils were 
 heard to execrate the holy Scapular with many 
 howlings and outcries, lamenting themselves, that 
 by means of this sacred habit of the Blessed Vir- 
 gin the gates of hell were shut to many persons. 
 But you must note, that this promise of the 
 Blessed Virgin, whereby she obliged herself, that 
 none should suffer hell fire who died in her livery, 
 is not to be understood in such a manner as if all 
 those should be absolutely saved, for as much as 
 on the behalf of our Blessed Lady, who in virtue 
 of the alliance contracted with them, will obtain 
 of God such particular graces which they make 
 use of, they will easily arrive at eternal salvation. 
 
47 
 
 Wherefore, if any that wear the Scapular come to 
 be condemned, it will be his own fault, he having 
 not co-operated on his part with God's assistance, 
 but rendered himself obstinate and rebellious to 
 the divine inspirations which the Blessed Virgin, 
 by her powerful intercession, had obtained for 
 him. In the same manner, are to be understood 
 the words of our divine Saviour : he that believ- 
 eth and is baptized, shall be saved. Mark 16. 
 Whosoever shall invoke the name of the Lord 
 shall be saved, for as much as concerns the nature 
 of faith and happiness. For here is signified, 
 not so much the effect as the strength and nature 
 of the thing to which the promise is annexed. 
 See Maldonatus in cap. c. Joan ver. 54. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 The third Privilege of the Confraternity. 
 
 The third privilege of the Scapular is that which 
 we call Bulla Sabbatina, and it consists in this, 
 that the most immaculate and ever Virgin Mary 
 doth assist her devoted brethren after their de- 
 cease in freeing them speedily from the horrible 
 pains of purgatory, especially on the first Sun- 
 day after their death, which day being dedicated 
 by the church to her honor, she is then wont 
 more liberally to bestow her favors. This pri- 
 vilege had for its security, the promise of the 
 
48 
 
 Blessed Virgin, made to Pope John XXII. by 
 these words : They that out of devotion shall 
 enter into my confraternity, if after their death 
 they go to purgatory, I that am the Mother of 
 Mercy, will descend the first opportunity after 
 their decease, and by my prayers and interces- 
 sions, will help them hence, and conduct them to 
 the holy mountain of celestial glory. The truth 
 of this promise of privilege cannot now reason- 
 ably be called in doubt, seeing it hath oftentimes 
 been approved by Popes, admitted by good Ca- 
 tholics, and examined and authorised by the most 
 famous universities, colleges and schools of Chris- 
 tendom : as by the university of Cambridge in 
 England, in the year 1754, by that of Bologna 
 in Italy, the year 1600, and lastly, by that of 
 Salamanca in Spain. It was published first by 
 John XXII. and that by express command from 
 heaven, as he himself declares in his bull, which 
 we called Salatipa, and thus begins : Sacratissimo 
 uti culmine, given at Avignon, the 3d of March, 
 1322. Alexander I. confirmed this brief of John 
 XXII. in the year 1409, and also many other 
 chief pastors after him as Clement VII. Pius V. 
 in his bull Superna Dispensatione, given the 
 year 1556. Gregory XIII. in his bull atUt Lande, 
 in the year 1579, and all the congregation of the 
 inquisition at Rome, under Pius V. after a long 
 and accurate examine of this privilege, and after 
 the apparition made to John XXII. confirming it, 
 published the following decree confirmative and 
 decisive. It is permitted to the fathers of Car- 
 
97 
 
 THE 
 
 OFFICE 
 
 OF THE 
 
 BLESSED VIRGIN MARY. 
 
 At Mattins. 
 
 V. Now let my lips sing and display, 
 R. The blessed Virgin praise this day, 
 V. O Lady to my help intend : 
 R. Me strongly from my foes defend, 
 Glory be to the Father, &c. 
 
 The hymn. 
 
 Hail Lady of the world, 
 
 Of Heaven bright Queen : 
 Hail Virgin of virgins 
 
 Star early seen. 
 Hail full of all grace, 
 
 Clear light divine ; 
 Lady, to succor us, 
 
 With speed incline. 
 God, from eternity, 
 
 Before all other, 
 Of the world thee ordain'd, 
 
 To be the Mother, 
 By which he created 
 
 The Heavens, sea, land, 
 His fair spouse he chose, 
 
 Free from sin's band. 
 9 
 
98 
 
 V. God hath elected and pre-elected her. 
 R. He hath made her dwell in his tabernacle. 
 
 Let us Pray. 
 
 O HOLY Mary, Mother of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ, queen of heaven, and lady of the world, 
 who neither forsakest or despisest any, behold 
 me mercifully with the eye of pity, and obtain 
 for me, of thy beloved Son, pardon for all my 
 sins : that I, who, with devout affection, do now 
 celebrate thy holy conception, may, hereafter, 
 enjoy the reward of eternal bliss ; through the 
 grace and mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, 
 whom thou, a virgin, didst bring forth : who, 
 with the Father and the Holy Ghost, livest and 
 reignest one God in perfect Trinity, forever and 
 ever. Amen. 
 
 V. O Lord hear my prayer. 
 
 /?. And let my cry come unto thee. 
 
 V. Let us bless our Lord. 
 
 R. Thanks be to God. 
 
 V. And may the souls of the faithful depart- 
 ed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. 
 
 R. Amen. 
 
 Jit Prime. 
 
 V. O Lady, to my help intend. 
 
 R. Me strongly from my foes defend. 
 
 Glory be to the Father, &c. 
 
99 
 
 The Hymn. 
 
 HAIL Virgin most prudent, 
 
 House for God plac'd, 
 With the seven-fold pillar 
 
 And table grac'd. 
 Sav'd from contagion 
 
 Of the frail earth : 
 In the womb of thy parent, 
 
 Saint before birth. 
 Mother of the living. 
 
 Gate of Saint's merits, 
 The new star of Jacob, 
 
 Queen of pure spirits. 
 To Zabulon fearful : 
 
 Armies' array ; 
 Be thou of Christians 
 
 Refuge and stay. 
 
 V. lie hath created her in his holy Spirit. 
 R. And hath poured her out, over all his 
 works. 
 
 Let us pray. 
 
 O holy Mary, Mother of our Lord, &c, as 
 before. 
 
 V, O Lord hear my prayer. 
 
 R. And let my cry come unto thee. 
 
 V. Let us bless our Lord. 
 
 R. Thanks be to God. 
 
 V. And may the souls of the faithful depart- 
 ed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. 
 
 R. Amen. 
 
100 
 
 At Third. 
 
 V. O Lady, to my help intend ; 
 
 JR. Me strongly from my foes defend. 
 
 V. Glory be to the Father, &c. 
 
 The Hymn. 
 
 HAIL ark of the covenant, 
 
 King Solomon's throne, 
 Bright rainbow of Heaven, 
 
 The bush of vision. 
 The fleece of Gideon, 
 
 The flow'ring rod ; 
 Sweet honey of Sampson, 
 
 Closet of God. 
 'Twas meet Son so noble 
 
 Should save from stain, 
 (Wherewith Eve's children 
 
 Spotted remain.) 
 The maid whom for mother 
 
 He had elected, 
 That she might be never 
 
 With sin infected. 
 
 V. I dwell in the highest ; 
 
 R. And my throne is the pillar of the clouds. 
 
 Let us Pray. 
 
 O holy Mary, Mother of our Lord, &c, as 
 before. 
 
 V. O Lord hear my prayer, 
 
 B. And let my cry come unto thee. 
 
 V. Let us bless our Lord. 
 
 
101 
 
 R. Thanks be to God. 
 
 V. And may the souls of the faithful depart- 
 ed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. 
 R. Amen. 
 
 At Sixth. 
 V. O Lady, to my help intend. 
 R. Me strongly from my foes defend. 
 V. Glory be to the Father, &c. 
 
 The Hymn. 
 HAIL Mother and Virgin : 
 —Of the Trinity 
 Temple ; joy of Angels, 
 
 Ceel of purity. 
 Comfort of mourners, 
 
 Garden of pleasure ; 
 Palm-tree of patience, 
 
 Chastity's measure. 
 Thou land sacerdotal 
 
 Art blessed wholly 
 From sin original 
 
 Exempted solely. 
 The city of the highest, 
 
 Gate of the East ; 
 Virgin's gem, in thee 
 
 All graces rest. 
 As the lily among thorns ; 
 R. So my beloved among the daughters of 
 Adam. 
 
 Let us Pray 
 O holy Mary, Mother of our Lord, &c. as 
 before. 9* 
 
102 
 
 V. O Lord hear my prayer. 
 R. And let my cry come unto thee. 
 V. Let us bless our Lord ; 
 R. Thanks be to God. 
 V. And may the souls of the faithful depart- 
 ed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. 
 R. Amen. 
 
 Jit Ninth. 
 
 V. O Lady, to my help intend. 
 
 R. Me strongly from my foes defend. 
 
 V. Glory be to the Father, &c. 
 
 The Hymn. 
 
 HAIL city of refuge, 
 
 King David's tower, 
 Fenc'd with bulwark, 
 
 And armour's power. 
 In thy conception 
 
 Charity did flame ; 
 The fierce dragon's pride 
 
 Was brought to shame. 
 Judith invincible, 
 
 Woman of arms, 
 Fair Abisaig, Virgin, 
 
 True David warms, 
 Son of fair Rachael 
 
 Did Egypt store ; 
 Mary of the world 
 
 The Saviour bore. 
 V. Thou art all fair, O my beloved. 
 R. And original spot was never in thee. 
 
103 
 
 Let us Pray. 
 
 O holy Mary, Mother of our Lord, &c. as 
 before. 
 
 V. O Lord hear my prayer ; 
 
 R. And let my cry come unto thee. 
 
 V. Let us bless our Lord ; 
 
 R. Thanks be to God. 
 
 V. And may the souls of the faithful depart- 
 ed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. 
 
 R. Amen. 
 
 At Even- Song. 
 
 V. O Lady, to my help intend. 
 
 R. Me strongly from my foes defend. 
 
 V. Glory be to the Father, &c. 
 
 The Hymn. 
 HAIL dial, in which 
 
 Turns retrograde, 
 The sun, ten degrees ; 
 
 The Word is flesh made, 
 That man from hell pit 
 
 To Heaven might rise, 
 Th' immense above angels, 
 
 In stable lies. 
 This Son did on Mary 
 
 Betimes appear, 
 Made her conception 
 
 A morning clear, 
 Fair lily among thorns, 
 
 That serpent frights, 
 Clear moon that in dark 
 
 The wanderer lights. 
 
104 
 
 V. In heaven I made a never failing light rise, 
 R. And I covered all the world as a mist. 
 
 Let us Pray. 
 
 O Holy Mary, &c. as before. 
 V. Lord hear my prayer : 
 R. And let my cry come unto thee. 
 V. Let us bless our Lord ; 
 R. Thanks be to God. 
 
 V. And may the souls of the faithful depart- 
 ed, through the mercy of God rest in peace. 
 R. Amen. 
 
 At Compline. 
 
 V. Let thy Son, Jesus Christ, O Lady paci- 
 fied by thy prayers, convert us ; 
 R. And turn his anger from us. 
 V. O Lady, to my help intend. 
 R. Me strongly from my foes defend. 
 V. Glory be to the father, &c. 
 
 The hymn. 
 
 HAIL flourishing Virgin, 
 
 Chastity's renown ; 
 Queen of clemency, 
 
 Whom stars do crown. 
 Thou pure above Angels, 
 
 Dost Son behold, 
 Sitt'st at his right hand, 
 
 Attir'd in gold. 
 Mother of grace, hope 
 
 To the dismay'd ; 
 * Bright star of the sea, 
 
105 
 
 In shipwreck, aid. 
 Grant Heaven-gate open, 
 
 That by thee blest, 
 We thy Son may see 
 In blissful rest. 
 V. Thy name, Mary, is oil poured out. 
 R. Thy servants have exceedingly loved thee. 
 
 Let as Pray. 
 
 O HOLY Mary, Mother of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ, queen of Heaven, and lady of the 
 world, who neither forsakest or despisest any, 
 behold me mercifully with an eye of pity, and 
 obtain for me of thy beloved Son, pardon of 
 all my sins ; that I, who with devout affection, 
 do now celebrate thy holy conception, may 
 hereafter enjoy the reward of eternal bliss ; 
 through the grace and mercy of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ, whom thou, a Virgin, didst bring forth ; 
 who, with the Father and the Holy Ghost, 
 liveth, <fec. 
 
 V. Lord hear my prayer ; 
 
 R. And let my cry come unto thee. 
 
 Vm Let us bless our Lord ; 
 
 R. Thanks be to God. 
 
 V. And may the souls of the faithful depart- 
 ed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. 
 
 R. Amen. 
 
 The Commendation. 
 To thee, Virgin pious, 
 
 We humbly present 
 These hours canonical, 
 
 With pure intent, 
 
106 
 
 Guide pilgrims, until 
 
 With Christ we meet : 
 In our agony aid us, 
 
 O Virgin sweet. Amen. 
 
 This Anthem following, with the Prayer of the 
 Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Vir- 
 gin, is approved of by Pope Paul V. who 
 hath granted an hundred days of indulgence 
 to all faithful Christians, that shall devoutly 
 recite the same. 
 
 Anthem. 
 
 THIS is the branch, in which was neither 
 knot of original, nor bark of actual sin found. 
 
 V. In thy conception, O Virgin, thou wast im- 
 maculate. 
 
 R. Pray unto the Father for us, whose Son 
 thou didst bring forth. 
 
 Let us Pray. 
 
 O GOD, who by the immaculate conception 
 of the Blessed Virgin, didst prepare a fit habita- 
 tation for thy Son, we beseech thee, that, as by 
 the foreseen death of her same Son, thou didst 
 preserve her pure from all spot, so likewise 
 grant, that we, by her intercession made free 
 from sin, may attain unto thee ; through our 
 Lord Jesus Christ, thy Son, who, with thee and 
 the Holy Ghost, liveth and reigneth, one God, 
 world without end. Amen. 
 
TO THE BROTHERS AND SISTERS 
 
 OF THE VENERABLE CONFRATERNITY 
 OF THE 
 
 B. V. MARY, OF MOUNT CARMEL. 
 
 The Author feels peculiar pleasure in present- 
 ing this little Work to yon, the cherished off- 
 spring of the Mother of God. His reason for 
 writing it, was — the will of his Superior, his 
 motive for publishing it, that all who may attend 
 at the Novena, might, by having a copy, the 
 more easily join the priest reciting the prayers at 
 the Altar ; and the end he has in view, is, the 
 greater glory of God — the honor of his Blessed 
 Mother, and — the sanctification of your souls, by 
 your devotion to that Great Mother of divine 
 grace. That such will be its effects he confi- 
 dently hopes, because, as may be perceived, 
 there is scarcely any thing in it from himself, it 
 being principally extracted from the writings of 
 the holy Fathers, whose sentiments on the glori- 
 ous subject-matter of the short meditations, 
 have been collected by that most devout panegy- 
 
 (107) 
 
108 
 
 rist of Mary the Mother of God, Saint Alfonsus 
 de Liguori. Accept the good wishes of, and 
 pray for 
 
 R. J. C. OCC. 
 
 N. B. — Although the usual time for commen- 
 cing a Novena be nine days preceding the Festi- 
 val with which it is connected, yet the considera- 
 tion that a Plenary Indulgence may be gained by 
 the faithful, on any day they visit the Carmelite 
 Church during the octava of the Solemn Com- 
 memoration of the B. V. M. of Mount Carmel, 
 has induced the Fathers of said Convent to begin 
 this Novena on the Festival, (July 16) and con- 
 tinue it for nine successive days, to the end that 
 persons visiting the church for the performance 
 of the Novena, might at the same time (if they 
 had complied with the other necessary condi- 
 tions) gain the Plenary Indulgence. 
 
NOVENA. 
 
 FIRST DAY. 
 
 Come, O Holy Ghost ! replenish the hearts 
 of thy faithful, and enkindle in them the fire of 
 thy divine love. 
 
 V. Send forth thy Spirit and they shall be 
 created. 
 
 R. And thou shalt renew the face of the 
 Earth. 
 
 PRAYER. 
 
 Prostrate before the throne of thy eternal 
 Majesty, in humble adoration of thy infinite per- 
 fections, and conscious of our great unworthiness 
 to appear in thy divine presence, O Lord God ! 
 our Creator and most merciful Saviour, before 
 we presume to perform this Novena, which we 
 offer to thee in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary 
 of Mount Carmel, and in grateful acknowledg- 
 ment of the innumerable graces and blessings 
 thou hast conferred on us through Her merits and 
 intercession ; particularly for thy having given 
 her to us as our Mother and special Protectress, 
 we most humbly confess all our grievous and 
 10 (109) 
 
110 
 
 numberless sins, detest and renounce them from 
 the bottom of our hearts, and cry to thee for 
 mercy and pardon. 
 
 FIRST MEDITATION. 
 
 Since the Church teaches us so frequently to 
 repeat the words " pray for us," when we recite 
 the Litany of the B. V. before we meditate on 
 the various titles under which we invoke her, let 
 us consider the efficacy of her prayers with God. 
 Oh ! thrice happy is that soul for whom Mary 
 prays ; our Lord Jesus delights to be petitioned 
 by this his most beloved mother, and to grant 
 whatever she asks of him ; * "Ask my dear 
 mother," says our Lord, " whatever thou wilt 
 from me, for thou knowest that no petition of 
 thine can be in vain ; thou didst deny me noth- 
 ing on earth, nor will I deny thee any thing in 
 heaven." t As soon as Mary's petition is heard 
 by her divine Son, says St. Bernard, that instant 
 it is granted : let us then, if we be solicitous 
 about our eternal salvation, frequently beseech 
 this heavenly Queen to pray for us. 
 
 PRAYER. 
 
 Inspired with confidence on account of your 
 unspeakable tenderness in giving us the holy 
 Scapular, as a livery whereby we might be dis- 
 tinguished as your servants, we beg of you, O 
 great Queen of Heaven ! to offer your most 
 
 * Rev. S. Brid. t A Filio audiri est exaudiri. 
 
Ill 
 
 powerful prayers for us at the throne of mercy : 
 and obtain that we may never disgrace your holy 
 habit by the irregularity of our lives, but that we 
 may honor it by the purity of our morals. 
 
 Holy Mary pray for us. 
 
 Our Father — Hail Mary — Glory, fyc. 
 
 SECOND MEDITATION. 
 
 Holy Mary, 
 
 The name of Mary is so sweet and so salu- 
 tary, that St. Epiphanius concludes it must have 
 been given her, not by her parents, but from 
 above. After the most adorable name of Jesus, 
 there is none so consoling, or so powerful as 
 that of Mary. " ! Mary," exclaims St. Ber- 
 nard, " no one can pronounce thy name without 
 feeling his heart inflamed with love and rever- 
 ence for thee." " O ! Mary," cries out another 
 saint,* " what must thou thyself be, when thy 
 very name is so sweet and amiable ?" And St. 
 Bonaventure assures us, that this holy name can- 
 not be invoked without great advantage to the 
 person who pronounces it, particularly in the 
 time of temptation, when the infernal powers are 
 to be overcome. 
 
 PRAYER. 
 
 O ! Holy Queen of Carmel, had I invoked 
 your holy name in the hour of temptation, I 
 
 * St. Henry Suson. 
 
112 
 
 should not have so often fallen, and offended ray 
 God ; but since I have the happiness, however 
 unworthily, of being now enrolled amongst those 
 whom you have been pleased to honor with the 
 fond title of your children, I shall, with the as- 
 sistance of your prayers, henceforward, con- 
 stantly, and with confidence, particularly when 
 in any spiritual danger, call on you to pray for 
 me. 
 
 Holy Mary pray for us. 
 
 Our Father — Hail Mary — Glory, <^c. 
 
 THIRD MEDITATION. 
 
 Holy Mother of God! 
 
 If the prayers of the saints prevail so much 
 with God, what must be the power and efficacy 
 of those of Mary ? Those are the petitions of 
 servants, but these are the prayers of a mother. 
 Hence St. Antoninus did not hesitate to say, that 
 the prayers of Mary, are by our Lord Jesus 
 Christ regarded as commands, and, he concludes, 
 it is impossible that any request of the Mother 
 of God in our behalf, should not be granted.* 
 Let us then, following the advice of St. Bernard, 
 ask no grace or favor from heaven, unless through 
 the intercession of Mary — for she is the Mother 
 of God, and cannot be refused. 
 
 PRAYER. 
 
 O ! Mary, Mother of God, pray for us ; yes, 
 * Orato Virginis habet rationem imperii. 
 
113 
 
 let your powerful prayers be continually offered 
 up for us. Not content with calling us your 
 children, you were pleased to distinguish us by 
 the privileged title of your most beloved chil- 
 dren, * cease not then, O most pious Virgin 
 Mary ! to pray that we may also be distinguish- 
 ed by our ardent love for your divine Son, our 
 Lord Jesus Christ ; and do not forsake us until 
 you see us in possession of eternal happiness in 
 the kingdom of heaven. Amen. 
 
 Holy Mother of God, pray for us. 
 
 Holy Virgin of Virgins, pray for us. 
 
 Our Father — Hail Mary—Glory, fyc* 
 
 HYMN OF ST. SIMON STOCK. 
 
 Bright Mother of our Maker, hail, 
 
 Thou Virgin ever blest ; 
 The Ocean's Star by which we sail, 
 
 And gain the port of Rest. 
 
 Whilst we this "Ave" thus to thee 
 From Gabriel's mouth rehearse, 
 
 Prevail that peace our lot may be, 
 And Eva's name reverse. 
 
 * Accipe filii dileetissime. — B. V. to St. Simon Stock. 
 10* 
 
114 
 
 Release our long entangled mind 
 
 From all the snares of ill, 
 With heavenly light instruct the blind. 
 
 And all our vows fulfil. 
 
 Exert for us a mother's care, 
 
 And us thy children own : 
 Prevail with Him to hear our prayer, 
 
 Who chose to be thy Son. 
 
 O spotless Maid ! whose virtues shine 
 
 With brightest purity, 
 Each action of our lives refine, 
 
 And make us pure like thee. 
 
 Preserve our lives unstained with ill, 
 
 In this infectious way ; 
 That heaven alone our souls may fill 
 
 With joys that ne'er decay. 
 
 To God the Father endless praise ; 
 
 To God the Son the same ; 
 And Holy Ghost, whose equal rays, 
 
 One equal glory claim. Amen. 
 
 V. Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God. 
 
 R. That we may be made worthy of the pro- 
 mises of Christ. 
 
 PRAYER. 
 
 Oh God, who hast adorned the Society of 
 Carmelites with the glorious title of the Order 
 
 OF THY BLESSED AND EVER VIRGIN MOTHER MaRY, 
 
115 
 
 mercifully grant, that we who this day celebrate 
 with solemnity her Commemoration, may, as- 
 sisted by her protection, arrive at eternal happi- 
 ness. Who liveth and reigneth with the Father 
 in the unity of the Holy Ghost, one God, world 
 without end. Amen. 
 
 SECOND DAY. 
 
 Come Holy Ghost, <fyc. — Prayer as in page 109, 
 
 FIRST MEDITATION. 
 
 Mother of Divine Grace, 
 
 Mary the Mother of God, is called by St. 
 Anselm, the Mother of all Graces, and Saint 
 Bernardine of Sienna, writes, that all the divine 
 gifts and graces are dispensed through the hands 
 of Mary, to whom Mary wills, when Mary 
 pleases, and in the maimer that Mary wishes. 
 With me (says our B. Lady) are riches, that 1 
 may enrich them that love me.* That is, the 
 Lord has placed in my hands all the treasures of 
 his graces, in order that I may bestow them on 
 those who love me. 
 
 * Proverbs 8. 
 
116 
 
 PRAYER. 
 
 It is true then, chaste Mother of the Word In- 
 carnate, that if I love you, I shall no longer be 
 poor as I am. If every creature be bound to love 
 you, am not I still more so, in gratitude for the 
 many signal proofs you have given Carmelites of 
 your love and tenderness ? Yes, after God, I love 
 you above all things ; obtain for me that this my 
 love towards you may daily increase, and lead 
 me to a perfect love of God. St. Bernard* tells 
 me, that whomsoever you wish shall be saved — 
 you have declared that your Scapular should be 
 to us a Sign of Salvation — save me then, oh Holy 
 Virgin — save me from Hell, and save me from 
 sin, which ought to be more dreaded than hell. 
 
 Mother of Divine Grace, Pray for us. 
 
 Pater and Jive, Glory, <$*ic. 
 
 SECOND MEDITATION. 
 
 Most pure Mother, 
 
 This Virgin Mother who is all pure and spot- 
 less, renders all her devout Servants pure and 
 chaste. Mary, says St. Ambrose, even whilst on 
 earth, was so full of grace that she inspired those 
 who beheld her with a love for the virtue of 
 purity. As the lily among thorns, so was Mary 
 among the other Virgins ; for, says St. Dionysius, 
 the Carthusian, other virgins may be pure them- 
 selves, but Mary infused into the souls of her 
 
 * Quern ipsa vult salvus erit. 
 
117 
 
 beholders pure and holy affections. Nay we are 
 told,* that St. Thomas of Aquin was wont to say, 
 that to look upon an image of this Chaste Dove 
 with devotion, was sufficient to extinguish the 
 fire of concupiscence, and the Ven F. John Avila 
 assures us, that many persons have been preserved 
 pure amidst most violent temptations, by their 
 devotion to the pure and spotless Virgin Mother 
 of God. 
 
 PRAYER. 
 
 Yes, most pure Mother, I know that your very 
 name is sufficient to put to flight the demon of 
 impurity — surely you will not permit your chil- 
 dren, who are under your special protection and 
 wear your livery, ever to yield to such abomina- 
 ble temptations. iSo, when assailed, may we 
 ever invoke your assistance, until delivered from 
 danger by your prayers and protection. 
 
 Most pure Mother, pray for us. 
 
 Our Father and Hail Mary, Glory, fyc. 
 
 THIRD MEDITATION. 
 
 Mother Inviolate. 
 
 Mary was that inviolate soul, addressing whom, 
 our Lord in the Canticle (4, 7,) says, " Thou art 
 all fair my beloved, and there is not a Spot in 
 thee" It was on account of her being free from 
 every stain of sin, that she was appointed the 
 peace maker between God and man ; hence she 
 
 * Frieen in vit. S. Tho. 
 
118 
 
 says (Cant. 8) " / am become in his presence as 
 one finding peace " If says St. Gregory, a rebel 
 subject appeared as an intercessor for his accom- 
 plices before his offended king, instead of ap- 
 peasing, he would provoke the monarch's anger 
 and indignation, hence Mary, who was destined 
 to be our Mediatrix, was preserved from a par- 
 ticipation in the crime of Adam, and free from 
 every stain of Sin. 
 
 PRAYER. 
 
 Oh ! holy and inviolate Virgin, pure and spot- 
 less Dove, so dear to God, let not the sight of my 
 sins and corruption cause you to turn away from 
 me with disgust, but rather to compassionate and 
 pity my misery. Our God, who loves you so 
 much, can deny you nothing, nor can you, Oh 
 merciful Virgin of Carmel ! refuse to assist your 
 Children, who put their trust in your intercession ; 
 obtain for me a horror for sin, and a true spirit 
 of penance and mortification. 
 
 Mother inviolate, 
 Undefiled Mother 
 
 v Pray for us. 
 
 Pater and Ave, Glory be to the Father, &c, 
 Hymn and Prayer, as page 114. 
 
119 
 
 THIRD DAY. 
 
 Come, oh Holy Ghost, &c. Prayer as page 110, 
 
 FIRST MEDITATION. 
 
 Amiable Mother, 
 
 Mary appeared so amiable in the eyes of God, 
 that the holy Spirit, addressing her in the Canti- 
 cle says, " How beautiful art thou my beloved" 
 and again, chap. 6, our Lord declares her to be 
 "his only Dove! his only perfect one" It is 
 certain that God loves the Blessed Virgin more 
 than he does all the other Saints, because her 
 love for God exceeds the united love of all his 
 other creatures, both angels and men. 
 
 PRAYER. 
 
 Oh ! beauteous Flower of Carmel, lovely 
 Spouse of the Spirit of God ; since your graces 
 and beauty have merited the admiration and love 
 of your Creator, take also my poor heart. It 
 loves you, oh amiable Mother of God, teach it 
 ardently to love your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. 
 Amen. 
 
 Amiable Mother, 
 
 Admirable Mother, y Pray for us. 
 
 Mother of our Creator, 
 
 ,i 
 
 Pater and Ave, Glory, fyc. 
 
120 
 
 SECOND MEDITATION. 
 
 Mother of oar Saviour, 
 
 Mary not only brought forth to the world a 
 Saviour, but co-operated so far in the great work 
 of our redemption, that she is called by St. Bon- 
 aventure, the Mediatrix of our Salvation, and St. 
 John Damascen says, " she in a certain manner 
 saved the world. "* First, because she gave her 
 consent to the Incarnation of the Son of God, by 
 which St. Bernardine declares she procured our 
 salvation ; and secondly, because she consented 
 to the death of her Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, 
 for love of us. 
 
 PRAYER. 
 
 Queen of Carmel ! Mother of Charity ! who 
 for love of us sinners, and for our salvation, did 
 resign your adorable son, Jesus, to the ignomini- 
 ous death of the Cross, in obedience to the will 
 of his Eternal Father ; obtain for me, that by fre- 
 quently meditating on his Passion and Death, my 
 heart may be inflamed with his holy love. Amen. 
 
 Mother of our Saviour, ? p f 
 Most prudent Virgin, 3 ^ 
 
 Pater and Ave, Glory, tyc. 
 
 THIRD MEDITATION. 
 
 Virgin most Venerable, 
 Mary is the Mother of our God, therefore she 
 
 * Salvatrix Mundi, Sue modo. 
 
121 
 
 is worthy of the most profound veneration from 
 all God's creatures. Oh, Lady, exclaims St. An- 
 selm, nothing is equal to you — " for every thing 
 is either superior to you, and that is God alone ; 
 or inferior to you, and such is every thing that is 
 not God." St. Bernard says that God alone can 
 comprehend the greatness and dignity of Mary, 
 or how much she is worthy of veneration. She 
 could not, says B. Albert the Great, be more 
 closely united with God unless she became God. 
 
 PRAYER. 
 
 You are truly worthy of my most profound 
 Veneration, oh ! Most Venerable Virgin of Car- 
 mel, since the omnipotence of God could not 
 exalt any creature to a dignity more eminent than 
 that to which you have been elevated by becoming 
 his Mother : as such then I love and reverence 
 you with the most profound respect, and oh that 
 I could induce all mankind to love and honor 
 you ! Pray, I beseech you, for the conversion 
 of those blind mortals, who offend our Lord 
 Jesus, by their blasphemous disrespect for you 
 his most venerable Mother. 
 
 Virgin most Venerable, pray for us. 
 
 Pater and Jive, Glory, #*c. 
 
 Hymn and Prayer, as in page 114. 
 11 
 
122 
 
 FOURTH DAY, 
 
 Come, O Holy Ghost, fyc. Prayer as in page 109. 
 
 FIRST MEDITATION. 
 
 Virgin Most Renowned, 
 
 The Catholic Church sings that " Mary is 
 worthy of all praise ;" for all the praise bestowed 
 on the Blessed Virgin redounds to the honor of 
 God : hence St. Gregory assures us, that God 
 accepts the praises conferred on Mary as if offered 
 to himself. It is for this reason that this most 
 Blessed Virgin promises heaven to those who 
 proclaim to other her virtues and prerogatives. 
 "And they that explain me shall have life ever- 
 lasting." (off par.) It is true, that all cannot pro- 
 nounce eloquent eulogies and panegyric on the 
 Mother of God ! but each one can, when in fa- 
 miliar conversation with his companions or 
 friends, speak of her glories and recommend de- 
 votion to the Mother of God, who is so eminently 
 entitled to the praises of all generations. 
 
 PRAYER. 
 
 Mother of God I should be unworthy to call 
 myself a member of your cherished order, which 
 first built an oratory in your honor, and first sang 
 your praises on Carmel, did I not do all in my 
 power to induce all mankind to love, honor, and 
 praise you : yes, this is my earnest and ardent 
 desire ; assist me, glorious Virgin to accomplish 
 
123 
 
 it, and as I am your servant, do not permit me to 
 become a slave to sin. 
 
 Virgin Most Renowned, Pray for us. 
 
 Pater and Jive, Glory, #c. 
 
 SECOND MEDITATION. 
 
 Virgin Most Powerful, 
 
 What power can be conceived, after omnipo- 
 tence, greater than that of the Mother of God ? 
 " Oh, Holy Virgin," exclaims St. Bernard, " ask, 
 and all things are done." And St. Peter Damian 
 assures us, that Mary is so powerful in Heaven, 
 that when Mary approaches the throne of God, 
 even in behalf of the enemies of his divine Ma- 
 jesty, (such are those in the state of mortal sin) 
 she is not looked upon as a petitioner, but as one 
 who may command, for Jesus the Son of Mary, 
 honors his Virgin Mother so much, that he will 
 deny her nothing. 
 
 PRAYER. 
 
 Oh, most powerful Virgin Mary of Carmel, 
 your prayers in behalf of sinners are omnipotent 
 with God, you can if you will make me a Saint, 
 for you are the Mother of God ; will it then, oh 
 merciful Virgin, ask it of your Son Jesus. I 
 place all my confidence in you, do not forsake me. 
 
 Virgin most Powerful, Pray for us. 
 
 Pater and Jive, Glory, #c. 
 
124 
 
 THIRD MEDITATION. 
 
 Virgin Most Merciful, 
 
 Mary is not only most powerful with God, 
 but also full of mercy and clemency towards 
 those who have recourse to her by humble prayer; 
 she not only can, says St. Bernard, as Mother of 
 God, but also has the will to assist and serve us, 
 for she is our Mother also. Let him, continues 
 the same Saint, (addressing the Blessed Virgin,) 
 who recollects his ever having had recourse to 
 you in vain, cease to join in the praises of your 
 mercy. No, this clement Mother cannot be ac- 
 quainted with our miseries without feeling for and 
 assisting us. 
 
 PRAYER. 
 
 Turn, oh gracious Virgin of Carmel your eyes 
 of mercy towards all the miseries of my poor 
 soul ; I am nothing but sin, and merit no mercy 
 from your son, our Lord Jesus Christ, having so 
 often abused his grace and mercy. — He will re- 
 gard your prayers in my behalf. St. Bonaven- 
 ture encourages me to implore your intercession, 
 when he tells me, that you are offended with 
 those who do not solicit favors at your hands — 
 do then I implore you most clement Virgin — 
 Pray to our Lord for me, and obtain for me 
 mercy and pardon of my sins. 
 
 Virgin Most Merciful, Pray for us. 
 
 Pater and Ave, Glory, $e 
 
125 
 
 FIFTH DAY, 
 
 Come, Holy Ghost, fyc. Prayer as in p. 114L 
 
 FIRST MEDITATION. 
 
 Virgin most Faithful. 
 
 The Church of Christ puts these words in the 
 mouth of the B. Virgin, (Prov. 8,) " Blessed is 
 the man who watcheth daily at my gates" in 
 prayer, like a mendicant at the door of the 
 rich, waiting for relief. Oh were we faithful, 
 like St. Simon Stock, in our devotions to this 
 Mother of Mercy, we should like him find her 
 most faithful in assisting us. Mary promises 
 (and she is most faithful to her promises) that 
 those who honor and serve Her shall be pre- 
 served from sin,* and shall possess eternal life, 
 — and in the words of Ecclesiasticus, (chap. 24) 
 invites all to come to Her and assures them that 
 " in Her is all grace of the way, and of the Truth 
 — all hope of life and of Virtue." 
 
 PRAYER. 
 
 Holy Mother of God, encouraged by your 
 invitations and gracious promises to which you are 
 always most faithful, I fly to you, and most will- 
 ingly place in your hands all my hopes of grace 
 and glory. You have been always the most 
 
 * Qui perantur in me non peccabunt. 
 II* 
 
126 
 
 faithful protectress of your order. Pray, Mother 
 of Carmel, that we may be faithful observers of 
 the law of God to the end of our lives. Amen. 
 
 Virgin most Faithful,! 
 
 Mirror of Justice, L Pray for us. 
 
 Seat of Wisdom, J 
 
 Pater and Jive, Glory, fyc. 
 
 SECOND MEDITATION. 
 
 Cause of our Joy. 
 
 Mary was the morning Star that announced 
 the rising of the Sun of Justice — Christ Jesus 
 our Redeemer, who was to dispel the darkness of 
 death that had overhung the Earth for 4000 years. 
 Her birth after that long and saddening gloom of 
 Sin, brought Joy and Gladness to the world. 
 With reason then does the Church of God on the 
 Feast of her Nativity sing, " thy birth, oh Virgin 
 Mother of God, announced joy to the entire 
 world." Mary is not only the cause, but also 
 the completion of our joy — for, according to St. 
 Bernard, our Lord has placed the whole price of 
 his passion in the hands of his divine Mother, in 
 order that our ransom should be paid through 
 Her. 
 
 PRAYER. 
 
 Mother of Carmel ! cause of our joy and safe 
 anchor of our hope, 1 rejoice that through you 
 we have received the World's Redemption. I 
 rejoice that you are so exalted, so powerful, and 
 so dear to God, and oh how happy do I feel in 
 
127 
 
 being permitted to call you Mother of the Car- 
 melites. You are my joy, and my consolation, 
 protect and pray for me.. 
 
 Cause of our Joy, "*) 
 
 Spiritual Vessel, I Pray for us. 
 
 Honorable Vessel, 1 
 
 Pater and Ave, Glory, <^c. 
 
 THIRD MEDITATION. 
 
 Vessel of singular Devotion. 
 
 Devotion, according to St. Thomas, consists 
 in the prompt resignation or obedience of our 
 will to the holy will of God. This virtue saw 
 the greatest of Mary's perfections, and our divine 
 Redeemer insinuated as much, when in answer 
 to the woman who exclaimed, " Blessed is the 
 womb that bore thee," He said, " Yea, rather 
 blessed are they that hear the word of God, and 
 keep it," by which words, says V. Bede, our 
 Lord declares, that Mary was more blessed, on 
 account of the uniformity of her will to the will 
 of God, than in being his mother : the holy and 
 adorable will of God, was the only object, the 
 only consolation of the heart of Mary ; hence in 
 her canticle, she sings, " And my Spirit hath re- 
 joiced in God my Saviour." 
 
 PRAYER. 
 
 Mary, Vessel of singular devotion, you have 
 declared that, your holy Scapular should be the 
 
128 
 
 bond of peace and union, between you and your 
 Carmelites : but how can we pretend to this 
 holy union with you, unless our will, like yours, 
 be united to the holy will of God, in which alone 
 is eternal life.* Pray for me, O holy Virgin of 
 Carmel, that my will may henceforward be per- 
 fectly conformable in all things to the divine 
 will. Amen. 
 
 Vessel of singular devotion, pray for us. 
 
 Pater and Ave, Glory, fyc. 
 
 Hymn and Prayer, as in page 114. 
 
 SIXTH DAY, 
 
 Come Holy Ghost, and Prayer, as in page 109, 
 
 FIRST MEDITATION. 
 
 Mystical Rose. 
 
 The Rose, on account of its color resembling 
 that of naming fire, is an emblem of the glowing 
 fire of charity, hence Mary, who is ail charity, is 
 called the Mystical Rose, ever-blooming because 
 ever burning with love for God, and for miserable 
 sinners, — what a happiness for us, to reflect with 
 St. Augustine, that she is all charity, all solicitude 
 for our eternal happiness : Mary, says St. Ber- 
 nard, is the Spouse, whom our Lord in the Can- 
 
 * Et Vita in voluntate ejus. 
 
129 
 
 tide calls, the enclosed garden of God, she being 
 the mystical Violet of humility, the Lily of purity, 
 and the Rose of charity. 
 
 PRAYER. 
 
 Oh ! Mother of God, beauteous ever-blooming 
 Rose, ornament of Carmel, you entice all to ap- 
 proach you by the fragrant odours of your sanctity, 
 and vivify all by the glowing heat of your charity, 
 draw off, I beseech you, my affections from myself, 
 and from sin, and lead me to love my God, and 
 my neighbor for the love of God. Amen. 
 
 Mystical Rose, Pray for us. 
 
 Pater and Ave, Glory, fyc. 
 
 SECOND MEDITATION. 
 
 Tower of David. 
 
 Mary, in the sacred canticle, is compared to 
 the tower of David. " Thy neck is as the tower 
 of David, built with bulwarks," because says St. 
 Bernardine, of her eminent sanctity, and sublime 
 dignity, David's tower being erected on the high 
 and holy Mount Sion ; hence it is declared in the 
 Psalms, (86,) that the very foundations of her 
 Sanctity, are exalted above the highest mountains. 
 " Her foundations are in the holy mountains," 
 which interpreted by St. Gregory signifies, that 
 the Mother of God possessed a higher degree of 
 sanctity in the first moments of her existence, 
 than the most eminent Saints did at the hour of 
 their death. 
 
130 
 
 PRAYER. 
 
 I rejoice, oh supreme Queen of Angels and 
 Saints, at your exalted dignity and super-eminent 
 sanctity, and would be ready to lay down my life, 
 if necessary, to prevent your being deprived of 
 one particle of your greatness or glory. Oh, that 
 I could, at the price of my blood, bring all the 
 nations of the earth to know, love, and honor you 
 as you merit. — Keep me under your protection, 
 and pray for me. 
 
 Tower of David pray for us. 
 
 Pater and Jive, Glory, #c. 
 
 THIRD MEDITATION, 
 
 Tower of Ivory, 
 
 Mary is also compared to a Tower of Ivory, 
 " Thy neck is as a Tower of Ivory." (Cant c. 
 c. 7, v. 4.) Because ivory is remarkable both 
 for the beautiful whiteness of its color, and for 
 its strength. Mary is spotless and amiable, be- 
 cause full of grace, and strong, because she 
 crushed the Serpent's head. Her neck is ex- 
 pressly mentioned because the spiritual nourish* 
 ment which preserves in us the life of grace, 
 descends through Her, from Christ the Head, to 
 us, the members of his Mystical Body ; — for as 
 St. Antoninus assures us, no grace has ever been 
 conferred upon man, since Mary became the 
 Mother of God, unless through Mary. 
 
131 
 
 PRAYER. 
 
 Oh Holy Virgin, because you are amiable and 
 dear to God, you can obtain for us whatever you 
 ask ; and because terrible to the infernal spirits, 
 you can free us from their snares and assaults ; 
 pray then for, and defend those who glory in 
 being under your powerful protection. 
 
 Tower of Ivory, pray for us. 
 
 Pater and Ave, Glory, fyc. 
 
 Hymn and Prayer as in page 114. 
 
 SEVENTH DAY, 
 
 Come Holy Ghost, &c, and Prayer as in p. 109. 
 
 FIRST MEDITATION, 
 
 House of Gold. 
 
 Gold is the emblem of divine Love ; hence 
 Blessed Albert the Great calls Mary the Golden 
 Temple of Charity, for, as St. Thomas remarks, 
 as in the temple of Solomon every thing was 
 covered with Gold, so in the soul of Mary every 
 virtue was perfected by her great love for God. 
 Mary was that House of Gold, which the eternal 
 Wisdom of the Father prepared for his habitation 
 on earth. 
 
 PRAYER. 
 
 Holy Virgin of Carmel, Golden Temple of 
 holy Love, because you love our God so ardently, 
 
132 
 
 you desire that He should be loved by all his 
 creatures — you being the rich, the Golden House 
 of God, can relieve all my wants ; all then I 
 want, all I ask, all I crave is, that my poor heart 
 may be enriched with the love of God. Re- 
 member, oh Mother of Carmel, that if I love not, 
 1 abide in death ; obtain for me, I beseech thee, 
 the love of God, that I may live in God. Amen. 
 
 House of Gold, Pray for us. 
 
 Pater and Jive, Glory, <^c. 
 
 SECOND MEDITATION. 
 
 Ark of the Covenant. 
 
 Mary is called the " Ark more spacious than 
 that of Noah," for in it but a few select persons, 
 and a limited number of animals were saved, but 
 all, both sinners and saints, find a place under 
 the saving protection of Mary, — This was repre- 
 sented to St. Gertrude in a vision, wherein she 
 saw all the wild and fierce beasts of the creation 
 approaching the Queen of Heaven, who receiving 
 them with mildness, and caressing them with 
 blandishments, rendered them tame. Thus, our 
 Blessed Lady, (as she revealed to St. Bridget) 
 reeeives under her protection, sinners, no matter 
 how numerous or grievous their crimes, provided 
 they approach her with a sincere desire of re- 
 turning to God by true repentance, she will heal 
 all the wounds of their souls, and prove herself 
 the Mother of Mercy, by obtaining for them 
 mercy and pardon. 
 
133 
 
 PRAYER OF SAINT AUGUSTINE. 
 
 Remember, oh Mother of Mercy, that it is a 
 thing unheard of that you ever forsook a sinner 
 who had recourse to you for assistance ; behold 
 me, a miserable sinner, who place all my hopes 
 in your intercession — intercede for me, and save 
 me. 
 
 Ark of the Covenant, Pray for us. 
 
 Pater and Jive, Glory, fyc. 
 
 THIRD MEDITATION. 
 
 Gate of Heaven, 
 
 No one can enter Heaven, says St. Bonaven- 
 ture, unless through Mary, hence she is called 
 the " Gate of Heaven." My power, says our 
 B. Lady, is in "the Heavenly Jerusalem," (Mass 
 of the B. V.) obtaining what I ask, and introdu- 
 cing whom I please. And St. Bonaventure says 
 that " those who enjoy the favor of Mary, are re- 
 cognised as citizens of Paradise, and those who 
 wear her livery are written in the Book of Life. 
 
 prayer. 
 
 Oh Mother of God, though unworthy, I have 
 the happiness of wearing the Scapular you have 
 given your favored children, as a badge of your 
 favor ; you are the Gate of Heaven : do not per- 
 mit me, your devoted servant, to be condemned 
 to Hell, there to curse you and God for eternity ; 
 but open Heaven to me by your prayers, that I 
 
 12 ' 
 
134 
 
 may rejoice with you, oh Heavenly Queen, and 
 sing the mercies of your Son, our Lord Jesus, 
 for ever. 
 
 Gate of Heaven, Pray for us. 
 
 Pater and Ave, Glory, fyc. 
 
 Hymn and Prayer, as in page 114. 
 
 EIGHTH DAY. 
 
 Come Holy Ghost, &c. Prayer as in page 109. 
 
 FIRST MEDITATION. 
 
 Morning Star. 
 
 As the Morning Star announces the rising of 
 the Sun, so does devotion towards the Mother of 
 God indicate that the fire of divine love already 
 blazes, or is about to be enkindled in the soul, by 
 rays from the Sacred Heart of Jesus, who is the 
 Sun of Justice. Mary is also called by the 
 Church — " Star of the Sea," which, as explained 
 by Saint Thomas, means, that as in a tempest 
 the mariners are guided in their course by a 
 Star, so are we directed by Mary in our voyage 
 through the tempestuous ocean of this World, to 
 the Port of eternal Happiness ; hence St. Ber- 
 nard exhorts us, " Ever to gaze on this refulgent 
 Star, unless we wish to be wrecked in the storm 
 of temptation ;" and he adds, " if you follow Mary 
 
135 
 
 you cannot err ; if she protects you, you need 
 not fear ; if she be propitious, you will gain the 
 harbor of Salvation." 
 
 harbor of Salvation 
 
 PRAYER. 
 
 O ! most holy Virgin of Carmel, storms of per- 
 secution have raged — billows of temptation have 
 dashed with fury — the gulph of despair has 
 yawned — the black and horrid tempest of sin, 
 often, but in vain, menaced the destruction of 
 your cherished order ; but guided by you, as- 
 sisted by you, protected by you, O ! glorious 
 " Star of the Sea," Saints Albert, Angel, John of 
 the Cross, Teresa, Mary Magdalen de Pazzi, and 
 numberless others of your children, have braved 
 all dangers, and arrived safe in the port of eternal 
 felicity ; look down on us we beseech you, O 
 holy Virgin ! who place all our confidence in 
 you, and obtain, that walking in their footsteps, 
 we also may merit your protection on earth, 
 with them thank and enjoy you in heaven, and 
 there with you lose ourselves in the love of our 
 God, through the merits of Christ — for ever. 
 Amen. 
 
 Morning Star, pray for us. 
 
 Pater and Ave, Glory, #c. 
 
 SECOND MEDITATION. 
 
 Health of the Weak. 
 
 Mary is such a tender and compassionate 
 
136 
 
 mother to us, that she is not only called the 
 Medicine, but the Health of the Weak, by Sts. 
 Ephraim and Simon Stock, to the latter of whom, 
 when giving the holy Scapular, she declared it 
 would be to all Carmelites a sign of health, 
 which is to be understood not merely of the 
 body, but also, and more particularly, of the 
 soul. This corresponds with what our B. Lady 
 says of herself. (Prov. 8.) " He that shall find 
 me, shall find life and shall have salvation from 
 the Lord." Let us then have recourse to this 
 merciful mother in all our infirmities. St. Ber- 
 nard assures us, that though we be covered with 
 ulcers she will not turn from us with disgust, 
 but will heal all our wounds, and effect our recon- 
 ciliation with God. 
 
 PRAYER. 
 
 Mother of God, you are the health of the 
 weak; — pray then for me I beseech you, who 
 am all weakness : assist and comfort me, when 
 it shall please God to send me any sickness or 
 infirmity, and obtain that I may bear it with 
 patience and resignation : but O ! Mother of 
 Mercy, cure all the maladies of my poor soul, 
 by your salutary prayers, and thus render me 
 pleasing in the sight of your divine Son, our 
 Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. 
 
 Health of the weak, pray for us. 
 
 Pater and Ave, Glory, <^c. 
 
137 
 
 THIRD MEDITATION. 
 
 Refuge of Sinners. 
 
 Saint John Damascen says, " that Mary is not 
 only mother of the innocent, and queen of saints, 
 but also the refuge of sinners, who implore her 
 protection." Nor will she, says St. Anselm, 
 abandon them, though they are the enemies of 
 God, and perhaps outcasts of the world, until 
 she succeeds in obtaining their pardon from her 
 Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, who is the judge of 
 the living and the dead. 
 
 PRAYER. 
 
 Mother of Mercy, as you are the refuge of 
 all sinners, you are my refuge — you reject none 
 that have recourse to you ; do not, I beseech 
 you, cast me off, who am a most miserable sin- 
 ner, and implore your protection. I detest, re- 
 nounce, and execrate sin from the bottom of my 
 heart, because by it I have offended my good 
 God, and implore you, Mother of Carmel, by 
 the love you have for your divine Son, and by 
 all you suffered at seeing him expire on Calvary, 
 to obtain for me pardon of my sins, and grace 
 never more to ottend him. 
 
 Refuge of sinners, pray for us. 
 Pater and Jive — Glory, <^c. 
 i Hymn and Prayer as in page 114. 
 
 12* 
 
138 
 
 NINTH J)AV. 
 
 Come Holy Ghost, &c. Prayer as in page 109. 
 
 Comfortess of the Afflicted. 
 
 " O ! Mary," exclaims St. Germanus, " after 
 thy Son Jesus, who is there so much interested 
 for our happiness as you ? — or, who affords us 
 such consolation in our afflictions?" "No," 
 says Saint Bernard, " there is not among the 
 saints in heaven, one, who feels so much com- 
 passion for our weakness and misery, as the 
 Mother of God. What comfort or consolation 
 could any thing afford us, poor sinners, equal to 
 that we derive from the reflection that Mary is 
 our refuge ? Not only does this most merciful 
 Mother of Carmel, relieve us when we call on 
 her for assistance, but she anticipates ail our 
 wants ; witness her consoling promise made to 
 us,* that " she would, particularly on the Satur- 
 day after their death, pray for the release of her 
 suffering Carmelites, from the flames of purga- 
 tory," 
 
 PRAYER. 
 
 O ! most merciful Mother of Carmel, com- 
 fortess of the afflicted, behold me troubled and 
 afflicted, at the sight of my past sins, and at the 
 prospect of the rigorous judgment I am to un- 
 
 * (Bull of John XXII.) Saratissime ut in Culmine. 
 
139 
 
 dergo after death. The only consolation I de- 
 sire or ask, is — that I may not on that dreadful 
 day be separated for ever from you, O amiable 
 mother, and from my God : obtain for me now 
 pardon of my sins, and assist at the hour of my 
 death ; — do you, O holy Virgin, receive my soul, 
 and present it as one of your favorites to your 
 Son, our Lord Jesus ; then he, for love of you, 
 will not condemn me. 
 
 Comfortess of the afflicted, pray for us. 
 
 Pater and Ave — Glory, fyc. 
 
 SECOND MEDITATION. 
 
 Help of Christians. 
 
 St. John Damascen calls the Blessed Virgin 
 " the help of christians, ever prompt and ready 
 to free them from dangers." " Mary," says 
 St. Cosmas, " is omnipotent in aiding us to over- 
 come sin and hell." Hence St. Bernard ex- 
 claims, " O Mary ! thou art strong in battle, de- 
 fending thy servants against those infernal spi- 
 rits who assail them. Thou art indeed terrible 
 as an army set in array." 
 
 PRAYER. 
 
 O ! Mother of Carmel, had I sought your 
 most powerful aid, when assailed with tempta- 
 tions, I should not have so often fallen a prey 
 to the infernal enemy. You are the " strong 
 
140 
 
 tower of David, built with bulwarks." 1 am 
 now confident that I shall fall no more, for, from 
 this day you shall be my strength. When 
 attacked by temptations, 1 shall fly to you, O 
 holy Virgin ! do you but protect and help me, 
 and I shall be victorious. 
 
 Help of Christians, pray for us. 
 
 Pater and Ave — Glory, fyc. 
 
 THIRD MEDITATION. 
 
 Queen of Martyrs. 
 
 Mary standing at the foot of the cross, on 
 which her adorable Son Jesus, covered with 
 blood, and full of wounds, expired for our sal- 
 vation, suffered more than all the Martyrs that 
 have since been put to death for the faith of 
 Christ. Hence she is styled Queen of Mar- 
 tyrs. No other mother could bear to stand 
 and behold the tortures and agonies of a dear 
 expiring child, to whom she could afford no re- 
 lief : but Mary stands near the cross, until her 
 dearest Jesus, her only Son, is put to death by 
 the most cruel and excruciating torments — Jesus 
 agonizes, and Mary offers his life to his eternal 
 Father for our redemption ; but whilst He dies, 
 She is in agony ; and whilst she offers, the 
 sword of sorrow pierces her maternal heart, and 
 causes more pain than death can inflict. 
 
141 
 
 PRAYER. 
 
 Queen of Martyrs, I beseech you by the in- 
 expressible grief and anguish you suffered at the 
 foot of the cross, to obtain for me sincere sor- 
 row for my sins, joined with an ardent love for 
 my crucified Redeemer ; and I implore you by 
 that sword of grief that pierced your sacred 
 heart, when your son Jesus, bowing down his 
 head, expired, to intercede for me, that I may 
 now die to the world, and after this life, live 
 for ever in the enjoyment of God, world without 
 end. Amen. 
 
 Queen of Martyrs, pray for us. 
 
 Mother and Queen of Carmel, pray for us. 
 Pater and Jive — Glory, fyc. 
 Hymn and Prayer, as in page 114. 
 After Benediction the Te Deum should be sung. 
 
 O. S. C. S. R. E. 
 
 THE END, 
 
j. m. j. 
 
 A PRAITER^^ 
 
 O almighty and eternal God, vouchsafe 
 p to bless and protect my spiritual Father, 
 
 Rev. 
 
 Enable him to perform his duties as a 
 worthy Minister of thy Holy Altar. Pre- 
 serve him, O Lord ; guide him in the 
 paths of virtue ; keep him from the snares 
 of his enemies, both soul and body ; and 
 when that awful moment approaches when 
 summoned to appear before thee, when his 
 soul shall breathe forth its last breath to 
 take its flight to the presence of thy Divine 
 Majesty, to give an account of those souls 
 thou hast placed under his care, my God, 
 may nothing be found wanting on his part ; 
 but as a worthy Minister of thy holy 
 Church, may he be found to have per- 
 formed his duties with humility, docility, 
 and zeal ; and mayest thou reward his 
 labors with eternal joys in thy bosom of 
 glory. Amen, Sweet Jesus, Amen. 
 
 Our Father and Hail Mary, &c. 
 
 Pray for him, O glorious Mother, that 
 he may be made worthy of the promises 
 of Christ. Amen. 
 
Deacidified using the Bookkeeper process. 
 Neutralizing agent. Magnesium Oxide 
 Treatment Date: Dec. 2005 
 
 PreservationTechnologies 
 
 A WORLD LEADER IN PAPER PRESERVATION 
 
 1 1 1 Thomson Park Dnve 
 Cranberry Township, PA 16066 
 (724)779-2111