Mary knows the pain of our hearts
The Blessed Mother fully understands the burdens and wounds that weigh upon families and communities. She knows the anguish of parents watching children drift away from the faith. She knows the sorrow of those who suffer illnesses, both physical and emotional. She knows how those most in need of conversion are often closed off and resistant to every attempt to reach them. For this reason she provides us with instruments of grace that allow her maternal love to work where we feel powerless.
The apparition of the Green Scapular
On September 8, 1840, the Feast of Mary’s Nativity, the Virgin appeared in Paris to Sister Justine Bisqueyburu of the Daughters of Charity, the same congregation to which St. Catherine Labouré belonged – who had received the Miraculous Medal only ten years earlier. This time, Mary brought another spiritual tool: the Green Scapular.
In the vision, Mary held her burning Heart in her right hand and a small fabric image in her left. This was not a traditional scapular with two panels, but a single cloth image. On one side, Mary presented her Heart aflame with love. On the reverse was her Heart pierced by a sword, radiating light, surmounted by a cross, and surrounded by the prayer:
An inner voice explained that God wished to establish throughout the world a tender devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Mary promised that graces of conversion and healing would be poured out upon those who invoked her with this prayer and carried the Green Scapular.
How to use the Green Scapular?
- Blessing: the scapular should be blessed by a priest. No special enrollment ceremony is required.
- Wearing: the person seeking grace should carry it and daily recite the prayer: “Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us now and at the hour of our death.”
- Intercession: if someone refuses or is unable to wear it, the scapular may be discreetly placed among their belongings, in their home, or at their workplace, while prayers are offered in their name.
- Substitution: if the individual does not pray the prayer, another person may recite it on their behalf. Mary assured that her grace would still act.
Miracles and graces associated with the devotion
Since its revelation, the Green Scapular has been linked with countless testimonies of conversions and healings:
- Physical healings at the edge of death, where medicine had no hope left.
- Deliverance for those in suicidal despair or deep emotional crisis.
- Conversions – both gradual and sudden returns to faith and the sacraments.
- Wisdom and clarity in toxic relationships or dangerous decisions.
There are even stories of people who did not know they had been given the Green Scapular – slipped quietly into their clothing or belongings by a loving family member – who nonetheless experienced profound conversion. Mary truly is a Wise Mother, able to reach hearts in hidden ways.
September – the month of Our Lady of Sorrows
The Green Scapular naturally connects to the devotion the Church especially remembers in September: the Seven Sorrows of Mary. On September 15, the day after the Exaltation of the Cross, we commemorate Mary at the foot of the Cross, united to the passion of her Son. This devotion helps us realize that Mary accompanies us in suffering and never abandons her children.
Praying to the Immaculate Heart of Mary through the Green Scapular becomes a September invitation to entrust all the sorrows of our families and communities to her. Just as the ladybug’s seven spots recall the Seven Sorrows, the Green Scapular provides a concrete prayer for healing and conversion.
September Marian devotions in parishes
Throughout September, the faithful gather for:
- Devotions to Our Lady of Sorrows – meditations on the Seven Sorrows.
- Novena to Our Lady around her Nativity (September 8).
- Chaplet of the Seven Sorrows prayed individually or communally.
- Prayers with the Green Scapular – intercessions for conversion and healing.
Practical guidance for the faithful
If you desire to benefit from Mary’s September graces:
- Bring a Green Scapular to be blessed by a priest.
- Offer the prayer to the Immaculate Heart of Mary for a loved one who has left the faith.
- Live September 15, the Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows, with a resolution to unite your own trials with Mary’s sufferings.
- Begin the practice of the Chaplet of the Seven Sorrows – pray it at least weekly as a way to remain close to Mary’s heart.
Mary as a safe refuge
September shows us Mary not only as the Mother of consolation but as the Mother of hope. When we cannot reach the heart of someone we love, she can. When our arguments fail, her Immaculate Heart finds a way. When pain overwhelms, devotion to her Sorrows teaches us that suffering is not the end, but the road to resurrection.
The Green Scapular remains a special instrument of rescue in Mary’s hands – silent, discreet, yet powerful. Therefore, the Church encourages us to entrust ourselves anew to the Immaculate Heart of Mary in September, bringing before her every person in need of light, healing, and a return to God.
Polish Parish in Peterborough
