Thomas Merton once wrote that "there is no member of the Church who does not owe something to Carmel," and nowhere is this more true than in relation to Mary, the mother of Jesus. Since its thirteenth century beginnings, the Carmelite family has honored Mary as Patroness, Mother, Sister, Most Pure Virgin, and "Lady of the Place," a gentle presence always surrounding the followers of her Son. The Brown Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel has become one of the most popular Catholic Marian devotions, and Carmel’s holy men and women have profoundly enlivened the Church with their Marian perspectives.
The opening presentation by Mary Hines provides an general overview of the current state of Marian studies. Two articles by Christopher O’Donnell, O.Carm., outline the medieval background and main themes in the Carmelite approach to Mary. Noted Mariologist Eamon Carroll, O.Carm., reviews the contributions of the great Carmelite Mariologists of the Middle Ages, including John Baconthorpe and Arnold Bostius. Authors Redemptus Mary Valabek, O.Carm., Jerome Lantry, O.C.D., and Dianne M. Traflet discuss Marian themes in the works of Bl. Titus Brandsma, St. Thérèse of Lisieux, and St. Edith Stein, respectively. James J. Boyce, O.Carm., analyzes the place of Mary in the medieval Carmelite liturgy, and David Blanchard, O.Carm., explores the contemporary significance of the scapular from an anthropological perspective.