Our Lady of Mount Carmel
Our Lady of Mount Carmel is the patroness of the Carmelite order. Her Spanish name is Nuestra Señora del Carmen, which we have heard people in Mexico shorten to "La Carmen." The Spanish name is, of course, the origin of the popular given name Carmen.
She is typically portrayed in a brown Carmelite habit under a white cloak, with a golden crown shaped more or less as shown at left. She invariably carryies the Christ Child, who usually wears a similar crown.
Tradition in the Carmelite order has it that the Virgin gave the brown scapular to St. Simon Stock Thus many images show her with the scapular hanging from her hand.
Feast day: July 16
At left above, painting at the Santa Barbara Mission, California
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Many years ago I was at the Santa Barbara Mission. It is so quaint and holy! The church is made entirely out of wood as well as the benches. I remember the whole church as being very narrow where only about 20 people at the most could sit for Mass. This picture, I believe, was on one of the walls, I think where the altar is. You can smell the muskiness and oldness of the place. There is a tiny cemetary right outside the church, and the dates were around the 1800's and less. Great climate there too, and heavenly breezes from the ocean. I was enrolled in the brown scapular around twenty years ago by an old monsignor who said the whole thing in Latin. Yes, it was in the Novus Ordo but I didn't know any better back then. I still have many of those here around the house. Of course, my favorite one is the Franciscan scapular. Now if we can just get the Dominicans and Franciscans back together again!
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