My mother made an altar on top of the refrigerator. She put a statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus there and her “Madonna of the Kitchen,” who wore an apron and held a loaf of freshly baked bread. Mom never baked bread but always wore an apron and spent most of her time in the kitchen. I keep one of her favorite aprons hanging on my kitchen door. It’s covered with one of her favorite flowers: the bleeding heart. I never use this apron because it’s a work of art and an icon.

My mother put a candle on the refrigerator, too, in a holder that looked like a stained-glass window. She lit that candle during fierce thunderstorms, snowstorms, and the hurricanes that frequented Connecticut in late summers. She lit it whenever we kids were sick or traveled or took big exams. I counted on that candle and the blessings that came to me because of my mother’s faith in it as a sign of her faith in the grace of God.

Candles for All Occasions

I continue to light candles during storms and sicknesses. I light them for people who have died. I light them on the dinner table for special occasions. All Advent I light purple ones, and at Christmas I fill my urban hermitage with red ones. When I lived in gray rainy Ireland, I often burned candles all day until the sun came out again, usually days later!

We put candles on birthday cakes and light them on our altars when we meditate to focus our attention. Lovers put them in the bedroom to help create a more romantic mood. Others light them in their windows to bring beloved travelers safely home. Candles chase away the darkness, bring us comfort in times of trouble, danger, worry and fear. They help us relax and bring us peace and joy with their perfume and glowing softness. And they have deep religious meaning.

Candles Around the Globe

In the Jewish tradition, Shabbat begins as the mother of the family lights the sacred candles. Hanukkah is known as the Festival of Lights with candles brightening each evening for eight days in early winter. Indian peoples celebrate Diwali for five days in early autumn, celebrating the victory of light over darkness, good over evil, and knowledge over ignorance. Buddhists light candles in their shrines.

In our Roman Catholic tradition, we give children a white candle at Baptism as a sign of their new life in Christ, the Light of the world. We put candles around the caskets of our dearly departed loved ones. On the feast of St. Blaise on February 3, we bless our throats in between two candles because this saint saved a young lad from choking on a fish bone. And at Easter we celebrate the Risen Christ with a special and very tall Paschal Candle. We mark it with his five wounds and inscribe the numerals of the current year on it because “his are the seasons and the ages.”

The celebrant sings Lumen Christi, “Light of Christ,” raising the candle and the pitch of his voice each time, and we respond Deo gratias, “Thanks be to God.” (The Latin is so much more beautiful than the English.) As the procession moves through the church, we continue to light each other’s candles, and by the end, everyone is holding a burning taper. It’s one of my favorite moments in the whole liturgical year. As Kahlil Gibran wisely said, “A candle loses nothing of its light when lighting another.” A metaphor for our lives!

Devotional Candles

Growing up, I loved going into churches to light a candle: the smaller ones burning for one day, the larger ones for a whole week. (They were special and cost a whole dollar!) My mother taught me not only to kneel and  “say a little prayer” when I lit the candle but to do it “for an intention” – for someone who was sick or dying or troubled in some way. Whenever I see a bank of candles anywhere, I light one for some intention. I find candles in more places than Catholic churches and love how people everywhere around the world light them as signs of their devotion. As the smoke rises into the air, we feel our prayers carried into “heaven,” whatever we mean by that word.

In my tradition, we bless candles on February 2, the feast of the Presentation, when Jesus, the “Light of the World,” was first presented publicly in the Temple. The day came to be known as “Candlemas.” No need to go to church for this. I’ve created a simple blessing you can do in your own home with family and friends.

A Candle Blessing

Leader: Light the candles! They have more right to exist than all the darkness.  (Karl Rahner S.J.)

All:  Candles of joy, despite all sadness,
Candles of hope, where despair keeps watch,
Candles of courage for fears ever present,
Candles of peace for tempest-tossed days,
Candles of grace to ease heavy burdens,
Candles of love to inspire all our living,
Candles to burn the year long.   (Howard Thurman)

Leader:  Maker of the universe, Source of All Light, Spirit of All That Is, bless these candles. (Incense the candles or sprinkle with water or flower petals.) May we who use them to bring light out of darkness come with joy to the Light that shines forever.

All: May these candles light our way through the dark until the dawn comes and the morning star rises in our hearts.

Reading: A Reading from the Prophet Isaiah

The people that walked in darkness has seen a great light; on those who live in a land of deep shadow a light has shone. You have made their gladness greater, you have made their joy increase; they rejoice in your presence as they rejoice at harvest time…. Rise up in splendor, your light has come. No more shall the sun be your light by day, nor the moon enlighten you by night. The Lord God shall be your everlasting light, and you shall be radiant at what you see.

All: I have seen the Morning Star, upon the distant horizon.
All the shadows of the dark, cannot keep the sun from rising.
(Tom Renaud)