The blessing of the Scapular and the admitting of a candidate:
The Abbot or his Deputy, vested in a surplice and stole, stands before the altar with the Candidate kneeling before him on the altar step, the latter's hands humbly joined together.
The Abbot or his Deputy asks:
What do you Ask?
The Candidate Responds:
The mercy of God, Reverend Father, and the society of your Holy Order.
The Abbot, or the priest delegated by him, may then give a short exhortation on the rule and spirit of the Order. He then says the following prayers:
Our help is in the name of the Lord
Candidate's Response:
Who made heaven and earth.
Celebrant's Verse:
Show us Your mercy, O Lord.
Candidate Response:
And grant us Your salvation.
Celebrant's Verse:
O Lord, hear my prayer.
Candidate Response:
And let my cry come unto You
Celebrant's Verse:
The Lord be with you
Candidate Response:
And also with you.
The celebrant then says:
Let us pray. O Almighty Father, and everlasting God, who did will that Your only Son should clothe Himself with the garment of our mortality, we beseech You to let the immense blessing of Your mercy be bestowed on this garment which the Holy Fathers have appointed to be worn by those who renounce the world in token of innocence and humility, and to vouchsafe to bless it so that Your servant who shall be clothed with it may be worthy to put on Our Lord Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with You, world without end,
Candidate Response:
Amen.
The celebrant then says:
Let us pray. Almighty, everlasting God, loving and merciful, Who grants pardon and mercy to sinners who ask for mercy, we beseech Your immense clemency that You would be pleased to bless and sanctify this scapular that, whoever wearing it shall implore Your mercy, may obtain of Your grace the forgiveness of all his sins. Through Jesus Christ Our Lord.
The Abbot or his Deputy then sprinkles the Scapular with holy water and vests the postulant or Candidate, still kneeling, with the blessed Scapular, saying:
Receive, Brother (or Sister) the white scapular in order that you may clothe yourself with a greater increase of God's grace and that you may be worthy to walk in white with the Lamb, who lives and reigns with God the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit, world without end.
Candidate Response:
Amen.
Celebrant's Verse:
Save Your servant.
Candidate Response:
Who puts his (her) trust in You, O my God.
Celebrant's Verse:
Be unto him (her), O Lord, a tower of strength.
Candidate Response:
From the face of the enemy.
Celebrant's Verse:
O Lord, hear my prayer.
Candidate Response:
And let my cry come unto You.
Celebrant's Verse:
The Lord be with you.
Candidate Response:
And also with you.
The celebrant then says:
Let us pray. Hear, O Lord, our supplication and vouchsafe to bless this Your servant whom we have vested in Your Name with the scapular of our Order, that through Your grace he (or she) may persevere in devotion in Your Church, and obtain eternal life. Through Christ Our Lord,
Candidate Response:
Amen.
The celebrant then says:
Let us pray. Stretch forth, O Lord, unto this, Your servant, the right hand of Your heavenly help, that he (she/they) may seek you with his (her/their) whole heart, and obtain what he (she/they) rightly ask(s). Through Christ Our Lord.
Candidate Response:
Amen.
After this, the Abbot or his Deputy, sprinkles the postulant or candidate with holy water, and as a symbol of peace, gives him (her/them) his stole to kiss. After each has kissed the stole, he says to each person individually:
I declare that, through the bounty of the Apostolic See, you can gain all the indulgences granted to our Holy Order, and I make you, during your lifetime, and after your death, a partaker of all the sacrifices and prayers that are offered up, and other spiritual good works, which, through the grace of God, are performed in our Order. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Candidate Response:
Amen.
Celebrant's Verse:
Our help is in the name of the Lord.
Candidate Response:
Who made heaven and earth.
With the celebrant leading, all will say aloud:
Hail Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy, hail our life, our sweetness and our hope. To you do we cry, poor banished children of Eve. To you do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this vale of tears. Turn then, most gracious advocate, your eyes of mercy towards us; and after this, our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of your womb, Jesus. O clement, O loving, O sweet virgin Mary.
Amen.
All being finished, the Candidate(s) will rise from the altar step, take one step directly backward (to allow room), genuflect, and turn to exit the Church (usually by the gospel-side door).
Immediately after this Investiture ceremony, the name of the "Frater (Soror) ad succurendum," that is, of the new Brother or Sister, is recorded in the Register of the members of the Third Order.
This is the conclusion of the Investiture ceremony as conducted at St. Michael's Abbey, Orange, California, U.S.A.
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