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The Green Scapular (Our Lady’s Sacramental Especially for Conversion)

by Sister Mary Agatha, CMRI

Originally published in The Reign of Mary, No. 126 (Spring 2007)

After the Rosary, the Brown Scapular, and the Miraculous Medal, there is yet another gift that our Blessed Mother gave to her children which it would do well for Catholics to be familiar with and to use often. Commonly known as the Green Scapular, this sacramental was given to the world through the instrumentality of Sister Justine Bisqueyburu.

A Daughter of Charity like St. Catherine Laboure, to whom Our Lady entrusted the Miraculous Medal only ten years earlier, Sister Justine was on her entrance retreat for her novitiate when the Blessed Virgin first appeared to her on January 28, 1840. She was dressed in a mantle of very light blue over a white dress which reached to her bare feet. She wore no veil on her head, and her long hair hung loose about her shoulders. In her hands she held a heart from which burst forth brilliant flames. The young Sister, who understood that this was Mary’s Immaculate Heart, was so struck with the beauty and majesty of the sight that she nearly cried out. During the course of her novitiate, she saw the same vision several more times. Since Our Lady said nothing, this extraordinary grace seemed to have no other purpose than to increase her own love and devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

After completing her novitiate, Sister Justine was assigned to teach in a school in Blangy, a town in northern France. There, on the feast of Nativity of the Blessed Virgin, she saw Our Lady again. She appeared much the same as she had in the earlier visions, but this time she held her heart in her right hand, while in her left hand she held a kind of scapular or cloth badge. On one side of the badge was depicted the Blessed Virgin as she had appeared to Sister Justine previously; on the back was, in the Sister’s words, “a heart all ablaze with rays more dazzling than the sun, and as transparent as crystal.” The heart, which was pierced by a sword and surmounted by a golden cross, was surrounded by an oval inscription of the words, “Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us now and at the hour of our death. Amen.” Sister Justine understood that this scapular was to be a means of grace for the conversion of souls, especially unbelievers, and to obtain for them good deaths; copies of it were to be made as soon as possible and they were to be distributed with confidence.

The young Sister, fearing that her imagination was deceiving her, wrote to her superior about the vision; after it was repeated two more times, she confided it to her spiritual director. As in the case of the Miraculous Medal, it was some time before Our Lady’s wishes were carried out. When the first scapulars were finally made, they were distributed tentatively and without much confidence. During the year 1846, the Blessed Virgin repeatedly expressed her displeasure at both the delays and the lack of confidence with which these first scapulars were given out.

In a letter to her superior urging that action be taken in the matter, Sister Justine again emphasized that the scapulars were to be distributed with confidence:

“…It is absolutely necessary that Father Aladel attend to the scapular, that he should disseminate it and do so with confidence. …May I entreat him to do this, not for my sake, but I ask him in the name of Mary to do it for these poor souls who die without knowing the true religion; yes, if it be given with confidence, there will be a great number of conversions.”

Later Sister Justine explained that Our Lady had revealed that great graces would be attached to the use of the Green Scapular, but that these graces would depend on the confidence with which it is used.

Once production of the scapulars began in earnest and the Sisters began distributing them, a number of questions arose. Did the scapular need a special blessing? Was it necessary to become enrolled in the Green Scapular? Were there obligations attached to its use?

Since only the Blessed Virgin herself could answer these questions, Father Aladel ordered Sister Justine to ask Our Lady for the answers.

The Blessed Virgin told the young Sister that this scapular was not, like other scapulars, the habit of a confraternity, for it consists merely of two holy pictures on a single piece of cloth and hanging by a string. No special formula is needed to bless it, therefore, nor is any special ceremony needed to begin using it. It requires only a simple blessing by a priest. We may give Green Scapulars to souls who need the grace of conversion, asking them to wear them or carry them in their purses or wallets. If a person is not willing to accept one, a Green Scapular may even be hidden in their clothing, beds, room, or office. All that is required is that the prayer that surrounds the image of the Immaculate Heart should be recited every day for the one to whom the scapular is given. If the person is not willing to say it himself, we should say it in his place. Finally, the Green Scapular must be used with confidence. Our Lady emphasized that the graces she will grant through the Green Scapular will be in proportion to the confidence with which it is used.

With these questions settled, the Sisters distributed the scapulars with greater confidence and began to see remarkable results. Reports of the conversions of hardened sinners and fallen-away Catholics poured in, and there were even a number of cures from physical ailments.

As the devotion of the Green Scapular spread beyond France, it became necessary to obtain the approbation of the Pope. To this end, Fr. Borgogno, Procurator General of the Congregation of the Mission at the Holy See, spoke to Pope Pius IX about its origin and the great graces of conversion brought about by means of it. The Holy Father readily gave full permission for the Daughters of Charity to make and distribute Green Scapulars. In fact, he gave his approval for this particular Marian sacramental twice— once in 1863 and again in 1870.

It is noteworthy that the Green Scapular, which is also known as the Badge of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, came as a prelude to Fatima, where Our Lady announced that “To save souls from hell, God wishes to establish in the world devotion to my Immaculate Heart.” Clearly, then, this sacramental can be a means of implementing the Fatima message by practicing devotion to the Immaculate Heart with confidence, particularly by praying and working for the conversion of sinners. “So many souls go to hell because there is no one to pray and sacrifice for them.”

For a century and a half, our Blessed Mother has been granting great graces by means of this little green badge, and it is doubtless that her favors have not ceased in recent years, when the need for conversions is greater than ever. Persons on the verge of suicide have found hope and the strength to change their lives, fallen-away Catholics have returned to the sacraments, atheists have found their way to the Faith, and persons involved in immoral relationships have left their companions and amended their lives. There have been more subtle graces too — for example, workplaces changing for the better in such areas as charity, modesty, and purity in speech and behavior. In all these cases, it was confidence in our Blessed Mother that allowed her to be so generous with her graces. Let us, then, be sure to keep a few Green Scapulars with us at all times, and be alert for opportunities to give them to souls who stand in need of conversion or other special graces. Since Our Lady promised that a great number of conversions would take place if only it is used with confidence, can we afford to neglect any opportunity to use this powerful sacramental for the conversion and salvation of souls?

Sources

The Green Scapular and Its Favors, Marie Edouard Mott, C.M., Marian Center, Emmitsburg, MD: 1942.
A Handbook of Catholic Sacramentals, Ann Ball, Our Sunday Visitor, Huntington, IN: 1991.
Recent Apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Stephen Breen, J.S. Paluch Co., Inc., Chicago, IL: 1953.