Carmelite Feast

Saint Simon Stock, an Englishman who lived in the 13th century, was an early Prior of the Carmelite religious order. Little is known about his life with any historical certainty. The Blessed Virgin Mary is traditionally said to have appeared to him and given him the Carmelite habit, the Brown Scapular.  Thus, popular devotion to Saint Simon Stock is usually associated with devotion to Our Lady of Mount Carmel.

Saint Simon was born in England and became an early leader of the Order soon after it migrated to that country. Historical evidence about Saint Simon's life comes primarily from medieval catalogues of saints and of Carmelite priors general, which are not consistent with one another in their details. The earliest of these describe Saint Simon as someone known for holiness during his life, and miracles attested to this after his death. He is said to have died in Bordeaux on May 16, though the year is not documented. The surname "Stock" appears in some documents but not in others, and is related to a story that the Saint lived for a time in a hollow tree ("stock" meant tree trunk) before the arrival of the Carmelites in England, in keeping with prophetic tradition. 

He is believed to have lived at Aylesford in Kent, a place that hosted in 1247 the first general chapter of the Carmelite Order held outside the Holy Land, and where there is still a monastery of Carmelite friars. Saint Simon was probably the fifth or sixth prior general of the Carmelites (historical evidence suggests perhaps from about 1256-1266). During his service, the order spread widely in southern and western Europe, especially in England. Stock is credited with founding houses in the university cities of that era, as in 1248 at Cambridge, in 1253 at Oxford, in 1260 at Paris and Bologna. This action was important for both the growth of the institution and for the training of its younger members. He died in Bordeaux, France, where he was buried. 

The first reading from Paul’s letter to the Ephesians (6:10-13, 18) reminds us that we must rely on God and not our own strength and that we should “Pray all the time, asking for what you need”. The Gospel from John (15:9-17) reminds us of Christ’s words “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you.  Remain in my love.”