This Isn't Mormon Underwear

Quick Quiz: Christian, what item can you carry that will guarantee salvation? The correct answer, for those of you playing along at home, is "Nothing"

Pictured here is a Brown Scapular, also known as Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. According to the Vatican, the Brown Scapular is defined as "an external sign of the filial relationship established between the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother and Queen of Mount Carmel, and the faithful who entrust themselves totally to her protection, who have recourse to her maternal intercession, who are mindful of the primacy of the spiritual life and the need for prayer."

A scapular is an evolved smock. In the past it was as large as a nightshirt but now they have become small squares of colored wool held together with colored bits of yarn and they're worn around the neck so one of the squares is on your chest and one is on your back. Once you get a scapular it must be blessed by a priest, but some scapulars must be blessed by an authorized priest. According to catholiccompany.com:

Should you remove the scapular for any period of time you are no longer eligible for its associated blessings, however, as soon as you resume wearing the scapular you are reinvested in its indulgences.  Should your scapular wear out, you may replace it with an unblessed scapular, as the indulgences are invested in the devotion of the wearer, not the object.  

Indulgences - for those of you that haven't experienced the Catholic church, an indulgence is  a promise by the catholic church to let you out of purgatory early. Indulgences are generally available in return for monetary bribes to the church, however Pope Francis has promised indulgences to anyone that likes him on facebook.

There are different scapulars and each one comes with its own blessings and some with special promises. For example the Red Scapular, the Scapular of the Passion: a Sister of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul claims that Jesus appeared to her in a vision and promised to all who wear the red scapular on every Friday he would grant a great increase of faith, hope and charity.

Then there's the Scapular of Conversion AKA the green scapular. In 1840 Sister Justine Bisqueyburu of the Daughters of Charity in Paris claims that Mary appeared to her and invented the green scapular. This hunk of cloth carries promises of strengthening faith, protection against Satan, a happy death for Catholics and especially for the conversion of those outside of the church. The green scapular can be worn or carried by the faithful or given to an unbeliever in hopes of their conversion. Those who wear the scapular of Conversion have to say the following prayer daily, “Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us now and at the hour of our death.” Here's the freaky part: if someone decide to give you a green scapular (as a non catholic you're considered a nonbeliever) they may pray the prayer on your "behalf" and hide the scapular somewhere near you if you do not wish to accept it. That's seriously weirder than Mormonism's baptism of the dead.

However the Cohiba, the Monte Cristo of the scapular world is the brown scapular, the Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. According to St. Simon Stock, Mary appeared to him (she sure gets around for a dead lady) and gave him the brown scapular saying "...whoever dies in this garment, will not suffer everlasting fire.  It is the sign of salvation, a safeguard in dangers, a pledge of peace and of the covenant." She also promised to pray for anyone in Purgatory, who in earthly life wear the brown scapular in good faith, are "chaste according to their position in life", depart earthly life in charity and daily recite the Divine Office (the official set of prayers "marking the hours of each day and sanctifying the day with prayer") or the Little Office (with permission of your confessor, as it is a shorter version of the Divine Office) or pray the rosary. 

Sadly our Catholic brothers and sisters are taken in by this idolatrous dogma. How many are traversing this sin filled world putting their faith in a scrap of brown wool and prayers to a dead woman? These delusions are egged on by popes, such as Pope John XXII who said  “We learned that our Lady Mary wished to make it known to all that on the Saturday after their death, she would deliver from Purgatory all who wore the Carmelites scapular” and Pope Paul V who said  “We may piously believe that the Blessed Virgin comforts the members of the Scapular Confraternity in Purgatory with maternal love and that she soon delivers them,” the next Saturday, “by her intercession and takes them to heaven. 

It’s important for us, Lord, to be discerning, discriminating, understanding the truth, because we have such a critical mandate to proclaim this truth, to deliver souls who are in bondage to Satan’s kingdom. O Lord, how the god of this world has blinded the minds of Roman Catholics all over the world who worship a non-entity, who worship demons impersonating a goddess.  

It’s a grief that they’ve named her after the mother of our Lord.  It would be a horror to her if she ever knew it.  It’s good that she’s never known it, never heard a prayer from anybody, never come back to this world, never appeared, never spoken, never seen anything, but is lost in the wonder, love and praise of heavenly glory.  Would be horrified to the worst degree if she thought someone was worshiping her.  

Father, not for her sake is this sad, but for the sake of those who are caught in this satanic deception and who turn from Christ to another god; from the true gospel to another gospel and are accursed.  Help us, Lord, to be bold, and loving, and gracious, and clear in the proclamation of this truth, that these souls may be delivered and liberated.  And we know it can’t happen until they know the truth, and so we have to tell them the truth.  Give us opportunity to do that with frankness and with love, that You might truly deliver those who are in bondage, damning bondage, to this idolatry.  In Christ’s name.  Amen. - John MacArthur, April 16, 2006