Mount Carmel is in Galilee, which is the province where the town of Nazareth was, where Jesus grew up. Mount Carmel is also where the prophet Elijah showed people who did not believe in God how powerful God really is. In the first Book of Kings Elijah built an altar and offers a sacrifice to God, then he poured water over everything and asked God to take the offering. God sent down fire from heaven and burnt everything, even the stones that the altar was made of, even though it was all wet. The power of God was experienced by over 800 people that day. Hundreds of years after Elijah, and after Jesus’ life and death, a group of monks lived on Mount Carmel. They loved Mary so much that they named their group, the friars of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel, this is how the Carmelite order started, which is still around today. This group of monks was not liked because of their faith in God, so they prayed that Mary would help them. On July 16, in the year 1251, Mary appeared to one of the leaders of the monks, St. Simon Stock, and she gave him a brown scapular to wear; promising him that she would take care of all those who wore it. Today people wear a scapular medal or necklace and trust that Mary will protect them too.
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