"My little brown scapular"

Here’s how a conversation went at work the other day:

“So, Steve, do you wear that all the time?”

“Yes, I do.”

“You never take it off?”

“Only when I shower because, when it gets wet, it starts to fray, then I have to buy a new one.”

“What is it for?”

“It reminds me that I have a very special woman in Heaven interceding for me and that I should remember to pray the rosary every day.”

“Oh. OK, cool!”

There’s actually quite a bit more to wearing a brown scapular.

When Pope John Paul II was shot and operated on in 1981, he told doctors not to remove the brown scapular he was wearing. [The brown scapular is] One of the two "most recommended" devotions of the Church ... (Inside the Vatican, July 10, 2001)
Here is a picture of Karol Wojtyla (the future Pope John Paul II) wearing his brown scapular just before World War II broke out.

It is a devotional sign signifying three elements strictly joined: first, belonging to a religious family particularly devoted to Mary—especially dear to Mary—the Carmelite Order; second, consecration to Mary, devotion to and trust in her Immaculate Heart; And third an incitement to become like Mary by imitating her virtues, above all her humility, chastity, and spirit of prayer.

My mother “enrolled” me in the Brown Scapular when I was a child, as she did with all of her kids. For years I had no idea why I wore the scapular, so I stopped wearing it. I picked it back up again about 5 or 6 years ago after reading about the devotion and deciding it was something I would like to work on—especially the “humility” part. I don’t do as well as I should in this regard, but the scapular does help to remind me to “tone it down” a bit when I get “too big for my britches”.

What is the second “most recommended” devotion of the Church I mentioned above? The Most Holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary! I look forward to saying the rosary each day. Next to the Mass, it’s the best way for me to reflect on Jesus Christ and His life and the great gift of salvation that He bought for me with His death on the Cross.