Saturday in purgatory? Haffert Nihil Obstat: Arthur J. Scanlan, S. T. D., Censor Librorum * Imprimatur: Francis J. Spellman, Archbishop of New York February 13, 1943 Copyright, 1943, by John Mathias Haffert Printed in the U. S. A. By the Garden State Publishing Company, Sea Isle City, N. J. Saturday in purgatory? BY JOHN M. HAFFERT THE SCAPULAR PRESS 338 East 29 Street New York, N. Y. Osaddisd THE INNER COURT Purgatory! Eye has not seen nor ear heard the tremendous suffering that word implies. Some theologians are of the opinion that the worst pain we could possibly suffer on earth—utter moral abandon- ment while the body be tortured by the most diaboli- cal cruelties—cannot be compared to the least of the purgatorial pains. Saint Mary Magdalen de Pazzi tells us that “the pains suffered by all the martyrs are as a pleasant garden in comparison with the suf- ferings of the souls in purgatory.” Saint Cyril said that, as for himself, he would rather suffer all the pains that have beset man from the time of Adam together with all that will beset him until the end of the world, rather than spend one day in purgatory. For since nothing impure can enter Heaven, one must go to purgatory and, there, only tremendous suffering can satisfy the temporal punishment due offenses against an Infinite Goodness. Saint Bridget beheld a soul in purgatory tortured inexplicably for having been vain and having thought more of frivolous diversion than of things spiritual. Saint Mary Magdalen de Pazzi reports that a saintly religious was detained sixteen days in purgatory for three trifling faults and that she would have been there longer had it not been that she had been very faithful to her rule. A certain layman, although he was a good Christian, was fifty-nine years in purga- tory because of his love of comfort ; another, thirty- five years for the same reason; a third, who was too 5 fond of gambling, was in purgatory for sixty-four years. And Saint Augustine says that the torments of purgatory surpass all that a man can suffer on earth. FEAR There is no man who can contemplate the fact of Purgatory, then his own conscience, and not tremble with anxiety. First there is the fact that Purgatory, regardless of its halo of being an ante- court of Heaven, is a chamber in which man expi- ates sins against an Almighty and Infinitely Good God. Second, the torture of this purification, and of delay from the eternal possession of God, may go on until the day of Judgment! As a matter of fact, some private revelations witness that many souls are in Purgatory until the day of Judgment; Saint Rob- ert Bellarmine, a Doctor of the Church, says : “There is absolutely no doubt that the pains of Purgatory in some cases endure for entire centuries.” God knows that the souls in Purgatory will love Him, with a perfect love, for all Eternity; it is only His Justice which prevents him from releasing all these souls from their sufferings. Since He is in- finitely Holy, He could not permit anything impure to enter into His Kingdom. Our Lady and the Saints share God’s longing for the release of the souls in Purgatory, but they, too, respect His Justice, and pray for these souls with respect to the good deeds and devotion of these souls on earth. 6 IT SHALL BE OPENED The Offertory of a special Mass for the Feast of Our Lady of the Scapular . . . July the sixteenth . . . is from the forty-sixth chapter of Ezechiel: “The gate of the inner court that looketh to the east shall be shut the six days, but on the Sabbath day it shall be opened.” These mysterious words, at the Offertory of the Mass of Our Lady of the Scapular, allude to an even more mysterious privilege ... a privilege now known all the world over as “The Sabbatine Privilege,” and which might be worded according to that verse from Ezechiel: “The gate of Heaven, which looks towards Purgatory, shall not be shut longer than six days against Scapular-wearers, who have in life ob- served chastity according to their state while prac- ticing a prescribed daily work; for, on the first Sat- urday after their death, it shall be opened.” This privilege, so far as can be ascertained, was conferred by Our Lady Herself during an appari- tion to Pope John XXII, on March 3rd, 1322. It has been ratified by many Pontiffs and ex- plained by an official rescript of the Holy See. THE SABBATINE PRIVILEGE Those of us on earth who are enrolled in the Brown Scapular, and wear it perseveringly, are special children of Mary. The Brown Scapular, like an army uniform, is a symbol of membership . . . membership in what Saint Alphonsus Liguouri 7 called “The Family of Mary.” Those who wear it constantly tell Mary that they believe in Her, that they want Her to protect them, and they offer Her the homage of wearing Her badge. Our Lady, beholding the cause of most sins and knowing the source of greatest merit, could not bear to see souls, and least of all Her special children, tumbling by the thousands, every day, into the abyss of Purgatory. Therefore She obtained from Her Divine Son the Sabbatine Privilege: That whoso- ever should (while affiliated to Her through the Scapular) observe chastity and say the Little Office daily, would be liberated from Purgatory on the first Saturday after death. With Saint Bonaventure, we hear Her saying in the words of Holy Scripture: “I have penetrated, the depths of the abyss, that is, the depths of Purgatory, to help those holy souls ” Saint Bernardine said, before Our Lady established the Sabbatine Privilege, that Our Lady always liber- ated Her special devotees from the torments of Purgatory in shortened time, and Saint Denis the Carthusian and Saint Peter Damian had written that on the feasts of the Assumption, Christmas, and Easter: “Our Lady descends into Purgatory and takes many souls from it.” Now Our Lady has declared that She will not wait for the great Feasts to liberate Her devotees of the Scapular. Offering up Her own merits and appeasing the Justice of God with Her own prayer, provided Her devotees have observed chastity and recited the Office daily, She assures their complete purification by the first Saturday after death and, on that day, She will escort them to eternal bliss. 8 Pierced with the realization of the value of this Privilege, as death approached him, the saintly Pope Leo XIII exclaimed: “Let us now make a no- vena to Our Lady of the Scapular and I shall be ready to die!” And the great Pontiff of World War I, Pope Benedict XV, appealed to the seminarians of Rome: “Let all of you have a common language and a common armor: the language, the sentences of the Gospel; the armor, the Scapular of Mary which you all ought to wear . . . which enjoys the singular privilege of protection EVEN AFTER DEATH!” THE “IMPOSSIBLE” PRIVILEGE In the Sabbatine Bull . . . issued by Pope John XXII to promulgate the Sabbatine Privilege which, His Holiness said, had been made known to him in an apparition from Our Lady ... we read: “I, THE MOTHER OF GRACE, SHALL DESCEND INTO PURGATORY ON THE SATURDAY AFTER THEIR DEATH AND WHOMSOEVER I SHALL FIND IN PURGATORY I SHALL FREE ...” There are difficulties which make that promise seem impossible. For instance, how could Our Lady descend into Purgatory? And, is it just that some souls, who possibly led mediocre lives, should be freed from Purgatory within a few days after death? Actually, the promise is far from impossible, be- cause Our Lady probably meant that She descends 9 into Purgatory only in a moral manner, and as for justice: have not all Catholics the right to obtain this privilege? Certainly persons who do not live up to the conditions, availing themselves of the Privilege now, could hardly feel unjustly treated when, finding themselves detained in Purgatory, they see those who did avail themselves of the Privilege released. Some people say that there is no time in Purga- tory, and hence Our Lady could not promise purifi- cation within so and so many days. But the answer is that there must be time in Purgatory, or else a great many Saints and Doctors of the Church have been deceived not only in their own reasoning but in various private revelations; and the Church her- self has been deceived in saying, in an official re- script of the Holy Office. “That the Blessed Virgin will assist by Her continual intercession, by Her pious suffrages and merits, and also by Her special protection after their death, PARTICULARLY ON SATURDAY (which day has been dedicated to the most holy Virgin by the Church ) , the souls of those brethren and members of the Scapular Con- fraternity who depart this life in charity and who whilst living on earth have worn the Habit, have observed chastity according to their state of life, and have recited the Little Office ...” HOW DOES THE PRIVILEGE WORK? Our Lord said: “Lay up to yourselves treasures in Heaven, where neither the rust nor moth doth 10 consume, and where thieves do not break through and steal.” (Matt, vi, 20.) One who fulfills the three conditions laid down by Our Lady for the Sabbatine Privilege is doing just this: Laying up treasures in Heaven and, in particular, meriting special intercession on the part of God’s Mother for the time he is in Purgatory. The heavenly treasures acquired in striving for the Sabbatine Privilege are tremendous, because the three conditions of the Privilege are tremendously efficacious. First, proper Scapular enrollment and subsequent wearing of the Scapular is the practice of a PER- SEVERING TRUE DEVOTION TO THE BLESSED VIRGIN: a devotion of homage, con- fidence, and love. Satan was once forced to cry out that three of the things he most fears are the invocation of the name of Jesus, the invocation of the name of Mary, and the persevered-in wearing of the Brown Scapular. This devotion of homage, confidence and love, as professed in the wearing of the Scapular, is one of the oldest, the most highly indulgenced, and most miraculous of all devotions to God’s Mother . . . and one of the only two de- votions in Her honor commemorated by the Church with a Universal Feast. With regard to the second condition . . . chastity according to one’s state . . . much can be said, be- cause so many sins are of the flesh. A Saint said that were there no sixth commandment, there might be no hell. Consequently, is not one who is careful about chastity usually pleasing to God, and thereby laying up immeasurable eternal merit? 11 Thirdly, the persevered-in practice of some pious work EVERY DAY, particularly if it is the volun- tary recitation of the Canonical Office or of the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin, is a source of eternal merit on two scores: (a) because it is a virtuous act which will become a virtuous habit; (b) because it bears indulgences attached to that act by Holy Mother Church. SAINT-IN-TIME PRIVILEGE It is not far wrong to say that one who faithfully fulfills the three sanctifying conditions of the Sabba- tine Privilege . . . not one of which is difficult . . . will die a saintly death. Indeed, Saint Alphonsus Liguouri suggests that one who fulfiills these condi- tions, and does just a little more, will not go to Purgatory at all! Commenting on this observation made by Saint Alphonsus, the present writer said elsewhere (Mary in Her Scapular Promise, pg. 82) : “After the death of Saint Alphonsus, there was a clamor for his can- onization. When his body was solemnly exhumed, upon removal of the inner coffin covering his re- mains, a most remarkable sight met the eyes of the examiners: there, in the coffin, where the body and episcopal robes had decomposed, the Scapular lay incorrupt. Was it Mary’s testimony to that most unusual statement, in Saint Alphonsus’ famous book The Glories of Mary, concerning the Sabbatine Privilege of Her Scapular?” Saint Teresa of Avila was astonished at seeing a certain Carmelite carried straight to Heaven with- 12 out even going to Purgatory, and she was given to understand that he, although seemingly of ordinary sanctity, had been faithful to his rule and avoided Purgatory because of Bulls granted to the Carmelite Order. (Wearing the Scapular implies membership in, or affiliation to, the Carmelite Order.) An edifying incident occurred some years ago when, despite the opinion of her doctor that she should die on Wednesday, a certain lady earnestly protested that ever since she had sought the Sabba- tine Privilege she had begged Mary not to let her die until Saturday, and she felt certain that she would not die until that day. To the doctor’s sur- prise, she did not. Saint John of the Cross died in 1591 saying: “The Mother of God and of Carmel hastens to Purgatory with grace, on Saturday, and delivers those souls who have worn Her Scapular. Blessed be such a Lady who wills that, on this day of Sat- urday, I shall depart from this life !” Saint Alphon- sus asked: “Can we not hope for the same grace if we also do a little more than Mary asked?” And Our Lady came in person to the deathbed of Saint Alphonsus, to bear his beloved soul straight to Her Divine Son. And, as has been said, although all else perished in his tomb, Mary’s Scapular remained incorrupt ... The Sabbatine Privilege has also been called the “Saint-in-Time” Privilege . . . the Privilege of hav- ing a rule of life from Our Lady Herself, lightened by Her all-powerful prayer, to enable us to become very pure in God’s eyes before death. 13 CONDITIONS OF THE SABBATINE PRIVILEGE CONSIDERED IN PARTICULAR 1. Wearing the Scapular The devotion of the Brown Scapular began when, on July 16, 1251, the Mother of God appeared to Saint Simon Stock, then General of the Carmelite Order, and said: “Receive, my beloved son, this Habit; whosoever dies clothed in this shall not suf- fer eternal fire!” Since the time of the apparition, the Scapular Confraternity is said to have grown to be the largest society in the world after the complete Church itself. Approximately 200,000,000 Catholics wear the Scapular today, and many of them strive for the Sabbatine Privilege which, promulgated for Scap- ular-wearers by Pope John XXII, on March 3, 1322, has since been officially ratified by Popes Alex- ander V, Nicholas V, Sixtus IV, Clement VII, Paul III, Saint Pius V, Clement VIII, Leo XI, Paul V, Urban VIII, Alexander VII, Benedict XIV, Pius VI, Pius X, Benedict IV, Pius XI. Proper wearing of the Scapular, besides being an Assurance of Salvation and the prime vehicle of the Sabbatine Privilege, is the most indulgenced of all devotions to Our Lady, with the sole exception of the Rosary (for the recitation of which, before the Blessed Sacrament, one can repeatedly gain a plen- ary indulgence). Moreover, it has been acclaimed the most miraculous of all devotions, and the devo- tion most pleasing to Our Lady, according to the words of Blessed Claude de la Colombiere, S. J. : 14 “I would reproach myself were I to weaken your confidence in other devotions to Our Lady, all of which cannot fail to touch Her maternal Heart; but if Our Lady is propitious to those who practice other devotions, how much more propitious must She not be to those who wear Her holy Scapular.” To wear the Scapular properly, three things are necessary: (1) Official enrollment in the Scapular by a duly authorized priest; (2) the use of a Scapu- lar that is rectangular, and made of brown, woven wool; (3) the wearing of the Scapular over the shoulders, with one panel in front and the other in back. 2. Chastity According to One’s State Our Lady has enjoined upon those who wish As- surance of Liberation from Purgatory by the first Saturday after death, after the prime condition of being a Scapular-wearing member of the Scapular Confraternity, a condition to which every man is already bound: observance of chastity according to one’s state. “According to one’s state” differentiates between single chastity and marital chastity. A single person is bound to complete abstinence from voluntary sexual pleasure. A married person is bound to abstinence from sexual pleasure, except that pleasure which is in accord with the laws of wedlock. Several theologians are of the opinion that an occasional sin does not destroy one’s chances to ob- 1'5 tain the Sabbatine Privilege but that, from the mo- ment one has firm purpose of never sinning again, the Privilege begins anew. Even when there is question of a habit of sin, at the moment when the habit is rejected, and a firm purpose of amendment is made, one’s right to the Privilege may renew itself. Thus if one strives to be pure of heart, taking nor- mal, healthy precautions and avoiding the occasions of sin, thereby showing a practical fear of offending God, then even though human nature should fail, one would begin to merit the Sabbatine Privilege from the moment of perfect contrition or confession. 3. The Third Condition The proper wearing of the Scapular, and observ- ance of chastity according to one’s state, are un- changeable requirements for obtaining the Sabba- tine Privilege. However, the only remaining condi- tion . . . mentioned earlier in this writing as the recitation of the Office ... is subject to change. It can be changed by a priest with the proper faculty (a special faculty obtained from the Carmelite Order or from other proper Ecclesiastical Authority ) into some other pious work. It changes automati- cally into abstinence from flesh meat on Wed- nesdays and Saturdays for those who cannot read. It seems that most people today obtain permission, from a priest with the faculty, to substitute seven Paters, Aves, and Glorias for the recitation of the Office. Many, however, do say the Office, and some abstain from meat on Wednesdays and Saturdays. 16 Therefore, let us consider each of these acts . . . . Office, Abstinence, and Seven Paters, etc. ... in their turn. The Office In making Her third condition for the Sabbatine Privilege, Our Lady asked that the Office be said and that fasting be substituted for the Office only if one could not read. Therefore the recitation of the Office is the most desirable practice in fulfill- ment of the third condition. "The Office” means either the Canonical hours, the daily recitation of which is prescribed for priests under pain of mortal sin, or the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin. It is this latter which will interest the present reader, since those who recite the Can- onical hours are undoubtedly well acquainted with the power and beauty of that prayer. The recitation of the Tittle Office of the Blessed Virgin requires from a half hour to three-quarters of an hour a day. Contrary to popular belief, it is not difficult to say and requires no special training; the Office is divided according to three seasons of the year, and most Office books have the prayers of each season so numbered that one need but follow the numbers, depending on whether he is saying the Office in the first, second, or third season. All the prayers follow one after the other, with the seasonal prayers numbered I, II and III. The only other observation that need be made is that the prayers of Matins are subdivided so that only part of them need be said on Sunday, Monday and Thursday, an- 17 other part on Tuesday and Friday, and the third part on Wednesday and Saturday; this is plainly marked in most Office books. A little patience in looking over the Office book will reveal that it has no mighty mystery. The first and foremost observation to be made about the Office is that IT IS THE OFFICIAL PRAYER OF THE CHURCH. The prayers of the Office are almost exclusively from Holy Scripture and express, therefore, acts of praise, love, adoration, contrition, confidence, and so on, that were inspired by God Himself for man’s recitation. Thus these words cannot fail to please God, because He gave them for our use through His official work of revelation, Sacred Scripture. It is not possible to appreciate the psalms of the Office fully. Most persons who say the Office never touch its depths of comfort and Divine Praise. One derives as much from it as one brings to it. Few who merely recite the Office as a chore will ever persevere; and few who carefully recite it as the official prayer of the Church, the expressions of which were inspired by God for our use in adoring Him, will ever let a day go by without pouring its incense before the Eternal Throne . . . for oneself and for the world. Abstinence Those who cannot read, according to Our Lady’s own words, must (in lieu of reciting the Office) ab- stain from flesh meat on Wednesdays and Saturdays, 18 unless Christmas should fall on one of these days, and they must adhere to the fasts of the Church. If this abstinence is too difficult, any confessor can substitute some other pious work. The person reading these lines is, by that very fact of his being able to read, not at all affected by this condition of abstinence. However, in view of what is to follow, an important observation may be made. The alternate conditions, which Our Lady has made to Her assurance of liberation from Purgatory on the first Saturday after death, both call for persevering regularity. The recitation of the Office is a daily obligation, and the substitute . . . absti- nence ... is called for on two definite days each week. Therefore, both of the conditions . . . the original and the substitute . . . have that point in common. The Rosary, or Seven Paters, Aves, and Glorias The extant copy of the Sabbatine Bull, which is the only historical document which gives the exact words of Our Lady in defining the Sabbatine Priv- ilege, tells us that Our Lady mentioned the Office as conditional for obtaining the Privilege thus: “It is true that you brothers and sisters (of the Order of Carmel) are bound to recite the Canonical Hours, as it behooveth according to the Rule given by Al- bert.” Then Our Lady added: “Those who are ignorant must lead a life of fasting on those days on which Holy Church doth so ordain and, unless through some necessity they be involved in some 19 difficulty, they must abstain from flesh meat on Wednesday and Saturday, except on the Nativity.” At the time of this apparition, only a comparative few of the world’s citizens knew how to read, and most of those who knew how to read were the priests and monks, who were bound, by their station, to recite the Office. Therefore, the Church has modified the conditions of reciting the Office in these modern times. She has given power to priests, upon request, officially to authorize—at their own discretion—any prayers or pious work in place of the recitation of the Office. The first observation to be made is that a priest must have the faculty to authorize a practice that will substitute for the Office. Secondly, once a priest has this faculty, he can substitute, at his discretion, ANY GOOD WORK HE CHOOSES. Some confessors ask their clients whether absti- nence from meat is possible on Wednesdays and Saturdays, if the Little Office is too difficult. Some confessors request their clients to say the Rosary daily, some request a periodic alms-giving and so on. The most usual request, however, is for the reci- tation of seven Our Fathers, Hail Marys, and Glor- ias. As a matter of fact, there are countless people who have come to believe that these prayers are a requisite for practicing the Scapular Devotion itself and even a Scapular chapelet has gradually de- veloped. In various countries of the world, there are several quasi-official forms of the “Seven Paters, Aves, and Glorias of the Scapular !” 20 The value of these prayers . . . the Our Father, the Hail Mary, and the Gloria ... is, as everyone knows, beyond estimation. Of all individual prayers, they are the most excellent. Depending on the season of the year, it is recom- mended that one meditate, while saying these prayers, on the seven sorrows, or the seven joys, of the Blessed Virgin. The prayers can easily be counted on one’s rosary beads, using the crucifix and the succeeding beads up to and including the medal at the joining of the decades. However, these are the same prayers that make up the Rosary . . . and the Rosary is highly indul- genced and more highly recommended by celestial favors and papal enthusiasm than the devotion of the seven Paters, Aves, and Glorias. A client for the Sabbatine Privilege could hardly do better, there- fore, than ask his confessor’s permission to say the Rosary daily . . . should the Little Office be too much. Daily Mass, when possible, would be the finest substitute of all, since it even far excels the Office. WILL YOU BE A “SABBATINER”? Pope Pius XI, in a letter commemorating the sixth centennial of the Sabbatine Bull (March 3rd, 1922), expressed the opinion that all the faithful should wear the Scapular because of the Sabbatine Priv- ilege, and he expressed the belief that this Privilege is even more valuable than the more famous Scapu- lar Promise: “Whosoever dies in this shall not suf- fer eternal fire!” 2f There are many, however, who do not even strive for the Privilege. “Although many wear my Scapular,” Our Lady complained to the Ven. Dominic of Jesus and Mary, “only a few fulfill the conditions for the Sabbatine Privilege.” Similarly, at her death the saintly Car- melite, Frances of the Blessed Sacrament, ex- claimed: “There are only a few who receive the Privilege because only a few fulfill the conditions.” This is pitiable, as most of us will realize only too well the very moment after our brief life-span is over. “Is it true that wearers of the Scapular are ac- tually freed from Purgatory on the Saturday after their deaths?” was one of the questions put to her father by Sister Seraphina, in the celebrated com- munications with his suffering soul which caused in- ternational comment. “Yes,” was the self-regretful answer, “when they have truly fulfilled all the ob- ligations.” And these obligations are not difficult. Indeed, the wearing of the Scapular is so easy and brings so many blessings that most Catholics wear it anyway; we are already bound to chastity, and the Church has made the third condition flexible to suit our necessity. So any person who would not become a “Sabba- tiner” . . . certain of liberation from Purgatory on the first Saturday after death! ... is utterly to be reproached, especially by himself. And even to procrastinate a single day is folly. “Blessed are those servants,” Our Lord said, “whom the Lord when He 22 cometh shall find watching. Be you then also ready : for at what hour you think not, the Son of man will come.” (Luke xii, 37.) Every Catholic should strive for this Privilege . . . the Privilege of being sure that, by the first Sat- urday after death, he shall be in Heaven. And we should persuade those dear to us to wear the Scapu- lar and fulfill the other two conditions for the Privi- lege, so that we might remember with joy those words addressed to Venerable Francis Yepes by Our Lady Herself : “The soul of your wife has been lib- erated, after only three days of torment, on this day of Saturday, and is now in Heaven.” “Whomsoever I shall find in Purgatory (who have worn the Scapular and fulfilled the conditions) ... on the first Saturday after death I shall free.’’ 23 Questions Frequently Asked 1 ) Do I have to recite the Little Office to obtain the Sabbatine Privilege? Ans. No, provided you are dispensed from the Office by a duly authorized priest. 2) How do I know whether a priest is duly authorized to dispense me? Ans. Ask any priest whether he has the faculty to commute the conditions of the Sabbatine Privi- lege. If he does not have the faculty, you can always write to the Carmelite Fathers requesting the dis- pensation. In this case, however, you should en- close some offering, as the Fathers could not be expected to answer nationwide correspondence and bear, at the same time, the cost of these answers. See question ten, below. 3) Do I have to abstain from meat on Wednes- days and Saturdays? Ans. Only if you cannot read are you obliged to abstain from meat on Wednesdays and Saturdays . . . in which case, this abstinence takes the place of recitation of the Office. Moreover, one who cannot read may be dispensed from this abstinence by any confessor. 4 ) If I commit a mortal sin against chastity, will I lose the Privilege? Ans. Not if you return to the State of Grace, 25 abjuring your sin and continuing to fulfill the other two conditions of the Privilege. 5) Is the Sabbatine Privilege attached to the Scapular Medal? Ans. Yes, but we should not use the medal in place of the cloth Scapular unless there is some good reason for doing so. 6) Are there any indulgences attached to the Sabbatine Privilege? Ans. Yes. The Sabbatine Privilege in itself is an indulgence par excellence, but there are many, many further indulgences to be gained through the con- ditions attached to the Privilege. For instance, one hundred days’ indulgence is attached to every good work performed by a Scapular wearer. An indul- gence of three hundred days is attached to abstinence from meat on Wednesdays and Saturdays, each time. Many indulgences, some plenary, are attached to the recitation of the Office. There are also indul- gences attached to the recitation of the Paters, Aves and Glorias. The indulgences attached to the Scap- ular (a list several pages long) may be found in the book, Mary in Her Scapular Promise, published by the Scapular Press. 7 ) If a duly authorized priest tells me that I may substitute the recitation of seven Paters, Aves and Glorias for the Office, is this all I must do to obtain the Sabbatine Privilege? Ans. Yes, provided you wear the Scapular and observe chastity according to your state. 26 8 ) Can conditions for the Sabbatine Privilege be changed, by an authorized priest, for an entire group? Ans. Since the Roman decrees are not explicit on this point, the answer to this question is doubt- ful. Hence, for safety, the conditions should be changed only for individuals. However, a priest before a group, with the names of the persons in the group before him, might dispense them, saying: “I dispense each one here from the recitation of the Office, and I prescribe such and such a substitute,” thus dispensing each individual in the group almost by name. 9) What is the Sabbatine Society? Ans. This is not a society, properly speaking. It is, somewhat like the Legion of Decency, a legion of those who pledge to fulfill the conditions of the Sab- batine Privilege. Anyone striving for the privilege is, therefore, automatically a member of this “pledge” society and, to encourage others, it is asked that everyone striving for the privilege in the United States and Canada will notify, by letter or postcard, the Carmelite National Shrine of Our Lady of the Scapular, 338 East 29 Street, New York City, in order that a count may be kept of those striving for the privilege. All persons who send 10c with their pledge receive a “Sabbatiner’s” card, and a copy of this brochure. 10) Must a person, who is already bound to re- cite the Divine Office, do anything else to obtain the Sabbatine Privilege? 27 Ans. No, provided he wears the Scapular and observes chastity. He need but express his intention to gain the Privilege by the conditions which he is already fulfilling. 11) I am a Third Order member, observing chastity according to my state and reciting the Office daily. Do I obtain the Privilege simply by wear- ing the Scapular and making the intention to gain the Privilege by the conditions I am already ful- filling? Ans. Yes. 12) If I should begin to fulfill the conditions for the Sabbatine Privilege only a few days before death, would I still obtain the Privilege? Ans. Yes. 13) If I occasionally omit one or more of the conditions, will I obtain the Privilege? Ans. This will depend on the time and frequency of the omissions and upon the disposition with which they are made. Occasional forgetfulness would not destroy one’s right to the Privilege, es- pecially in the event of an earnest will to obtain the Privilege by fulfilling all three conditions. A wilful or semi-wilful carelessness in fulfilling the conditions, with more than occasional omissions, would jeopar- dize one’s right to the Privilege. In a word: An earnest person may feel secure ; a careless one should beware. 28 jBobena drapers in honor of Our Lady of the Scapular of Mount Carmel OPENING PRAYER Priest and People (Kneeling) : “O most holy Mother of Mount Carmel,/ thou who,/ when asked by a saint to grant privileges to a few,/ didst grant an assurance of salvation to the entire world,/ be- hold us, thy children,/ kneeling at thy feet. We glory, dearest Mother,/ in wearing thy holy Habit,/ that Habit which makes us members of thy family on earth,/ that Habit through which/ by honoring thee,/ we shall have thine all-powerful protection in life,/ at death,/ and even after death. Look down pityingly, O Virgin of a Happy Death,/ on all those now in their agony!/ Look down graciously, O Virgin of Wonders,/ on all those in need of succor!/ Look down mercifully, O sweetest of Mothers,/ on all those who have not the security/ of being numbered amongst thy chil- dren!/ Look down tenderly, O Queen of Purga- tory,/ on the poor souls!” PRAYER OF PETITION (The prayer used by St. Simon Stock when he received the Scapular from the Queen of Heaven. ) Priest and People: “O beautiful Flower of Carmel,/ most fruitful vine,/ splendor of heaven,/ holy and singular,/ who brought forth the Son of 29 God, still ever remaining a pure virgin,/ assist us in our necessity./ O Star of the Sea, help and pro- tect us!/ Show us that thou art our Mother!” (Here pause and privately name your special inten- tions. ) Priest: “O Mary, conceived without sin!” People: “Pray for us who have recourse to thee.” “Mother, Glory of Carmel!” “Patroness of all who wear the Scapular!” “Hope of all who wear the Scapular !” “St. Joseph, Chaste Spouse of Mary!” “St. Simon Stock!” “Pray for us.” “Pray for us.” “Pray for us.” “Pray for us.” “Pray for us.” PRAYER OF SCAPULAR DEVOTEES Priest and People: “O most blessed and im- maculate Virgin,/ Ornament and Splendor of Car- mel,/ thou who regardest with an eye of special kindness/ those who wear thy blessed Habit,/ look down also benignly upon us/ and cover us with the mantle of thy special protection./ Strengthen our weakness with thy power,/ enlighten the darkness of our minds with thy wisdom;/ increase in us faith, hope, and charity./ Adorn our souls with such graces and virtues/ as will ever be pleasing to thy divine Son and to thee./ Assist us in life,/ and console us in death,/ with thy most amiable pres- ence,/ and present us to the most august Trinity/ as thy devoted servants and children;/ that we may eternally bless and praise thee in paradise./ Amen.” 30 Mary in Her Scapular Promise by John Mathias Haffert Preface by Msgr. Fulton J. Sheen, D. D. Here is the book that explains a Promise of Salvation. We know of no one who has read it without astonishment and enlightenment. On page after page the reader discovers a Mar- ian love he never before experienced, and learns a doctrine so extraordinary that he can scarcely dare believe it . . . yet is soon convinced. Monsignor Fulton J. Sheen called it “Masterly.” The Sign said significantly: “So clear that the skeptic must be convinced, and the good Catholic amazed.” Out of death, through a pain-wracked world, across a conquered continent, comes CL Jjdistic fiwnL Jthmvc by Mother Agnes of Jesus, D. C. (Living Sister of Saint Therese) This book is being acclaimed as “The companion to the Autobiography of Saint Therese.” It is a letter written early in 1940 by a living sister of Saint Therese, upon the death of another sister of the Saint, while Hitler was invading France. It is a book of twentieth century holiness, as simple and fresh as May flowers, and as modern and direct1 as the newest and swiftest fighting plane. The Sign calls it: “A mighty message.” THE SCAPULAR PRESS 338 East 29 Street New York City 16 From A Morning Prayer By John Mathias Haffert (168 pages, deluxe) $2.00 John Haffert gave you Mary in Her Scapular Promise and A Letter From Lisieux, now he gives you a bold, autobiographical challenge: From A Morning Prayer. Someone said of this book, after reading the manuscript, that it was dynamite. By that he meant that the book appeared to him to be so spiritually frank that he hardly knew how, in the hands of a wide variety of readers, it would explode. This book is the dramatic presentation of the author’s own life, with details so extraordinary that we fear to describe them out of their setting. Catholic Action says: “Packed with interest . . . something bound to happen every minute.” Review for Religious says: “Mr. Haffert, who might well be named Nathanael, makes Mary very real and very near. A zeal such as his is con- tagious.” The Scapular Press is dedicated to the propagation of literature about the Blessed Virgin, and proceeds are used for this purpose. Sales office: 338 East 29 Street, New York City 16