{"id":726,"date":"2018-08-30T16:31:32","date_gmt":"2018-08-30T14:31:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.holyart.it\/com\/?p=726"},"modified":"2019-04-01T17:53:32","modified_gmt":"2019-04-01T15:53:32","slug":"liturgical-candles-important","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.holyart.it\/com\/church-supplies\/liturgical-candles-important\/","title":{"rendered":"Liturgical candles: when and why they are important"},"content":{"rendered":"

Light has always had a very deep and essential meaning for men. There is no religion that hasn\u2019t made it a key element in its mythology, no civilization that hasn\u2019t celebrated it as an assimilable, if not overlapping, element to the very concept of life. The reasons are obvious, and certainly deserve a more in-depth discussion.<\/p>\n

We need to consider a particular kind of ‘light’ associated with religion, spirituality. We\u2019re talking about liturgical candles.<\/p>\n

Candles<\/a><\/strong>, since their creation, have appeared in the rites and ceremonies of many religions.<\/p>\n

For example, in the Jewish religion, the lighting of candles on a Friday evening, to celebrate the beginning of Shabbat, or the Hanukkah Festival, the Festival of Lights, during which a candle is lit every night for eight consecutive days to commemorate consecration of a new altar in the Temple of Jerusalem after the freedom conquered from the Hellenic invaders. The Jews still have a custom of lighting a candle that lasts 24 hours to mark the anniversary of a loved one\u2019s death.<\/p>\n

Christianity has adorned candles and their light with an even more significant importance.<\/p>\n

“And God said: Fiat lux!, Let there be light. \u00a0And there was light.<\/em>“(Gen 1,3).<\/p>\n

This is one of the first things we read in the Bible, the creation of light by God the Father. This was his first gift for the world that He is creating, the first visible manifestation of His Will, of His Essence, for where there is God there can no longer be darkness. And that\u2019s not all. It is light that allows us to see, to see the magnificence of the world created by God. Without light the Creation itself would have no reason to exist, it would lose much of its immense greatness. A world that cannot be admired does not exist.<\/p>\n

From this moment on, then, from this first spark arising from an act of love and will, the idea of \u200b\u200bGod is constantly connected to that of light. A light that illuminates, warms, vivifies, nourishes and ‘infects’, improving the colours that are exposed, wrapped and fed by it.<\/p>\n

Liturgical candles<\/a><\/strong> are linked to this idea of \u200b\u200bGod being understood as light, and above all of Jesus as the Light of God. In fact, Jesus is repeatedly defined in the Scriptures as the “light that enlightens the world”.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn him was life; and the life was the light of men. The light shone in the darkness, and the darkness has not overwhelmed it\u201d<\/em> (John 1: 4-5)<\/p>\n

“The true light that enlightens every man was coming into the world<\/em>“(John 1: 9)<\/p>\n

Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.\u201d<\/em> (John 8:12)<\/p>\n

The light in this case has an exquisitely spiritual value, of guidance in the darkness, of knowledge of God who, through His Son, descended on us, opening our eyes and making us worthy of His presence, and of His consideration.<\/p>\n

Again, it was Jesus himself who told his disciples: \u201cI am the true light\u201d<\/em> and later: “You are the light of the world … your light must shine before men so that they may see your good works and glorify the Father who is in heaven!” <\/em>(Matt. 5:16).<\/p>\n

It is therefore normal that in churches, candles are placed on the altar, or near the tabernacle, and are the protagonists of rites and celebrations.<\/p>\n

Not only that, the church uses candles in almost all the sacraments, from baptism to anointing, as irreplaceable symbolic elements.<\/p>\n

We want to try to understand and identify the various liturgical candles, to discover their meaning and their importance in the area of \u200b\u200bthe sacred rites.<\/p>\n

Candle of baptism or baptismal candle<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Baptism is the first sacrament imparted to the new Christian. Usually this happens when it is still a new-born, if it belongs to a religious family, but it can be celebrated at any age. It is fundamental and indispensable, because it is through this that Original Sin is washed away from the soul, making us pure and ready to welcome God into our lives.<\/p>\n

\"baptismal
Baptismal candle in box<\/a><\/strong>