I am writing to see if anyone else from a parish, etc. that has Eucharistic adoration might have some helpful (name removed by moderator)ut to share.
We used to have perpetual adoration here but were forced to cut back due to not enough people to fill the hours.
Consequently, now exposition ceases at midnight.
We’ve run into trouble when people extinguish the candles - there has been soot damage to the altar cloth.
If anyone has any suggestions regarding this, or things you’ve found helpful, I would be interested to hear your thoughts.
Thank you.
Sister:
I use squares of plexiglass that I place over the altar cloth but under each of the candelabra.
The plexiglass, since it is transparent, is minimally distracting. It is more substantial than sheets of regular plastic, which can melt if hit by liquid hot wax.
The plexiglass prevents any wax from dripping on to the altar cloth and the soot that lands on it is easily remedied…unlike if it lands on cloth. It can be cleaned by several methods, including using hot – but not boiling – water, should there by an accident that involves a significant amount of liquid wax splatter, for example.
This memorably happened to me when the glass follower on one of the candles cracked because the wick was not centered in the candle and the flame came into direct contact with the glass follower, which broke, and caused the liquid wax to cascade down…with a significant amount ending up on the plexiglass but not, thankfully, reaching beyond the edge of the plexiglass to find the altar cloth.
For that reason, you would want to measure beyond the width and depth of the reach of the candelabra with a margin large enough so you have a necessary cushion to account for drippings that can travel, especially if your candles are affected by the blowing air of either an air conditioner, fan, or the air current of forced air heating.
This was a trick my venerable pastor taught me before I was ordained, actually before I entered seminary even, and it has really served me well over these many years. I have used it wherever I have gone – to my satisfaction and the relief of the sacristans.
Using a candle snuffer
carefully and delicately applied is also important…placing it over the candle and holding it in place until the candle wick is
completely extinguished.
If the use of a snuffer is causing wax to drip, it means that the person using it is applying too heavy of a hand and is pressing down on the follower with the snuffer rather than holding the snuffer over the follower but not touching the follower. Resting the snuffer on the follower is displacing the follower because the wax has been liquefied and the follower will move easily. This will indeed result in wax dripping. It can also cause the follower to sit improperly and, if crooked enough, actually bring the follower into direct contact with the flame the next time the candle is lit.
There are so many details that a sacristan has to give instruction about on these sorts of matters! They are important, however, as the altar linens are so expensive, one wants to preserve them in use as long as possible. Even the candle followers are expensive and one wants to avoid needless breakage.
If, by chance, you are using seven day sanctuary lamps, rather than the bell shaped snuffer, you can use a square of metal placed over the jar holding the candle and leaving it there until the oxygen is exhausted and the candle is extinguished
The young servers, I found, would want to pass the snuffer from candle to candle too quickly, which can leave a still smouldering wick that emits embers as well as soot. [It is the flying embers that can become airborne and cause the soot you are finding as well as potentially scorching the linen.]
The young, especially, can also want to speed up the process by simply blowing out the candles which, depending upon how hard they blow, can send soot and wax flying through the air. The adults tend to be, if not more patient, at least more attentive to instruction when they are made to understand what can be the consequence of “haste that makes waste.”
I hope something of this advice might be a help to you and your community.
God bless you!
Don Ruggero
