What's the real deal about Votive Candles?

Started by Elizabeth, November 16, 2022, 04:26:07 PM

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Elizabeth

November 16, 2022, 04:26:07 PM
Been meaning to inquire for ages.  I suspect I'm doing it wrong and do not know the correct prayers.
:pray3:

Kaesekopf

#1
November 16, 2022, 06:16:49 PM
I just light a candle and pray to the saint I'm lighting a candle in front of. 

It's not magic, just devotional. 
Wie dein Sonntag, so dein Sterbetag.

I am not altogether on anybody's side, because nobody is altogether on my side.  ~Treebeard, LOTR

Jesus son of David, have mercy on me.

Elizabeth

#2
November 16, 2022, 08:32:55 PM
That may have been a bit insensitive, KK. :baby4:
You know I am not looking for magic.

Kaesekopf

#3
November 16, 2022, 11:10:28 PM
Quote from: Elizabeth on November 16, 2022, 08:32:55 PM
That may have been a bit insensitive, KK. :baby4:
You know I am not looking for magic.
Oh, no.  I'm sorry to have sounded ... Callous.

Just that votive candles don't really have a set formula.  I didn't think you were looking for magic - just that we shouldn't overthink certain things!  :)
Wie dein Sonntag, so dein Sterbetag.

I am not altogether on anybody's side, because nobody is altogether on my side.  ~Treebeard, LOTR

Jesus son of David, have mercy on me.

Acolyte

#4
November 17, 2022, 12:57:14 AM Last Edit: November 17, 2022, 01:02:19 AM by Acolyte
"From the moment we awake in the morning, let us pray continually in the words of holy David: Turn away my eyes, that they may not behold vanity"
St Alphonsus

"I will set my face against you, and you shall fall down before your enemies, and shall be made subject to them that hate you, you shall flee when no man pursueth you"
Leviticus 26:17

"Behold, O God our protector : and look upon the face of Thy Christ" (Ps. 79:20) Here is devotion to the face of Jesus Christ as prophesized by David."
Fr. Lawrence Daniel Carney III

Stubborn

#5
November 17, 2022, 04:28:50 AM
It is a very Catholic thing to light the candle, say some prayers and make requests, the candle you light is a reminder to the saint (or Whomever) and keeps reminding them of your devotion, prayers and intentions as it burns. Also, your prayer / request is repeated over and over until the candle burns out. 

Who can say if these things are in fact true, but I believe them. 
 
Even after a long life of sin, if the Christian receives the Sacrament of the dying with the appropriate dispositions, he will go straight to heaven without having to go to purgatory. - Fr. M. Philipon; This sacrament prepares man for glory immediately, since it is given to those who are departing from this life. - St. Thomas Aquinas; It washes away the sins that remain to be atoned, and the vestiges of sin; it comforts and strengthens the soul of the sick person, arousing in him a great trust and confidence in the divine mercy. Thus strengthened, he bears the hardships and struggles of his illness more easily and resists the temptation of the devil and the heel of the deceiver more readily; and if it be advantageous to the welfare of his soul, he sometimes regains his bodily health. - Council of Trent

drummerboy

#6
November 17, 2022, 11:55:06 AM
I believe it also has Jewish roots.  The light which continues to burn symbolized your continuing prayers
- I'll get with the times when the times are worth getting with

"I like grumpy old cusses.  Hope to live long enough to be one" - John Wayne

Julio

#7
November 18, 2022, 02:22:30 PM
Quote from: Stubborn on November 17, 2022, 04:28:50 AM
It is a very Catholic thing to light the candle, say some prayers and make requests, the candle you light is a reminder to the saint (or Whomever) and keeps reminding them of your devotion, prayers and intentions as it burns. Also, your prayer / request is repeated over and over until the candle burns out. 

Who can say if these things are in fact true, but I believe them. 

I echo this and God bless.

aseeker

#8
November 19, 2022, 05:52:14 PM
My parish uses electronic "candles". It's just not the same. There's a lot of symbolism and meaning in an actual candle and fire.

Acolyte

#9
November 19, 2022, 07:10:58 PM
Quote from: aseeker on November 19, 2022, 05:52:14 PM
My parish uses electronic "candles". It's just not the same. There's a lot of symbolism and meaning in an actual candle and fire.
A small parish where the budget is tight and the donation box isn't covering the cost, it's understandable.
"From the moment we awake in the morning, let us pray continually in the words of holy David: Turn away my eyes, that they may not behold vanity"
St Alphonsus

"I will set my face against you, and you shall fall down before your enemies, and shall be made subject to them that hate you, you shall flee when no man pursueth you"
Leviticus 26:17

"Behold, O God our protector : and look upon the face of Thy Christ" (Ps. 79:20) Here is devotion to the face of Jesus Christ as prophesized by David."
Fr. Lawrence Daniel Carney III

Instaurare omnia

#10
November 19, 2022, 08:04:10 PM
Quote from: Acolyte on November 19, 2022, 07:10:58 PM
Quote from: aseeker on November 19, 2022, 05:52:14 PM
My parish uses electronic "candles". It's just not the same. There's a lot of symbolism and meaning in an actual candle and fire.
A small parish where the budget is tight and the donation box isn't covering the cost, it's understandable.
Possibly fire insurance too in some church buildings, depending on candle adjacencies and such.
Nisi Dominus custodierit civitatem, frustra vigilat qui custodit eam (Psalm 126:2).
Benedicite, montes et colles, Domino: benedicite universa germinantia in terra, Domino (Daniel 3:75-76).
Put not your trust in princes: In the children of men, in whom there is no salvation (Psalm 145:2-3).

aseeker

#11
November 20, 2022, 07:26:29 AM

A small parish where the budget is tight and the donation box isn't covering the cost, it's understandable.
[/quote]
Possibly fire insurance too in some church buildings, depending on candle adjacencies and such.
[/quote]

Umm yes, all of those modern liability concerns. Takes all the fun out of it lol.

Elizabeth

#12
November 20, 2022, 07:52:03 AM
Ah, real candles are a litmus test for me.  When Old St. Marys in DC went to electric candles, I knew it would be taken over.  Same with the Franciscan Monastery.  For me, there is just no excuse.  Candle safety is really no big problem, or if it is it can be easily remedied. 

Lynne

#13
November 29, 2022, 05:14:06 AM
Quote from: Elizabeth on November 20, 2022, 07:52:03 AM
Candle safety is really no big problem, or if it is it can be easily remedied.

Exactly. If they're going to be consistent, i.e. lit candles are dangerous, than they shouldn't have a lit sanctuary candle either.

I have, unfortunately, seen electric versions of those too.

And of course, no church ever burnt down because of an electrical fire...  ::)
In conclusion, I can leave you with no better advice than that given after every sermon by Msgr Vincent Giammarino, who was pastor of St Michael's Church in Atlantic City in the 1950s:

    "My dear good people: Do what you have to do, When you're supposed to do it, The best way you can do it,   For the Love of God. Amen"
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