How to burn prayer candles?

[VirgenDeProvidencia]

Hello!
I recently purchased a sacred heart jesus candle.
However, i am new to Catholic practices, so how do i use it in worship?
Can i use it as a Novena?
Thanks!

 

[midori]

The light is a symbol of our prayer entering into the light of God.

We light the candle, say our prayer, and continue on with our day. But the candle continues to burn, and is sort of symbolic of our prayer/petition remaining in God’s presence, even when we’re going about our daily responsibilities.

In general, you don’t blow out a prayer candle-- you allow it to continue to burn until it extinguishes itself naturally. However, you do have to practice safety with candles. Don’t let them burn unsupervised, or near flammable objects. And some of the grocery store votives have a problem where the glass gets too hot and will shatter, so be super-careful with them.

 

[po18guy]

Practically speaking the simple burning of a candle reminds us that Christ is the light of the world. The flame may be seen as representing the Holy Spirit’s flame of love; it may signify the rising of prayer from your heart to heaven; it may be used to accompany you in any type of prayer. The uses of a candle, as long as they are oriented to God, are virtually endless. They are not, however, a substitute for prayer. They are in addition to, or an assistance with prayer.

When you develop the regular use of candles, their light takes on a new significance, a new beauty, a new depth of your relationship with God.

 

[LilyM]

The light is a symbol of our prayer entering into the light of God.

We light the candle, say our prayer, and continue on with our day. But the candle continues to burn, and is sort of symbolic of our prayer/petition remaining in God’s presence, even when we’re going about our daily responsibilities.

In general, you don’t blow out a prayer candle-- you allow it to continue to burn until it extinguishes itself naturally. However, you do have to practice safety with candles. Don’t let them burn unsupervised, or near flammable objects. And some of the grocery store votives have a problem where the glass gets too hot and will shatter, so be super-careful with them.

Why not blow the candle out? Churches have candles burning on the altar during Mass, they are always lit shortly before Mass and blown out shortly afterwards (at least in my experience).

 

[midori]

Altar candles =/= votive candles. One’s liturgical, one’s a private devotion.

So a better comparison would be with the rows of votive candles in a church off to the side. You make a donation, you light a candle for your intention. No one goes through and snuffs them when the church gets locked up— they’re left to extinguish naturally.

You can blow the candle out for safety, sure. No one wants to be in danger of a house fire.

 

[Tis_Bearself]

I recently purchased a sacred heart jesus candle.
However, i am new to Catholic practices, so how do i use it in worship?
Can i use it as a Novena?

If you purchased the candle at the store and took it home to use, I would recommend that you only light it when you are around to watch it. Don’t leave it burning when you’re not there or not in the room. It is okay to light it for a while while you are there and praying, and then blow it out, and light it again at a later time when you wish to pray again. Jesus is fine with that.

The best way to use it would be to light it when you are planning to pray or meditate on the Sacred Heart, and say your prayers or do your meditation with the candle burning there with you. Then when you’re finished, blow it out. When you are ready to pray again, then light it again.

You can certainly use it for a novena. Just light it every day and say prayers, for nine days in a row. Then you’ve done a novena. You can also do this for longer than 9 days if you like, or just keep going until you have used up all the candle.

Devotion to the Sacred Heart is a wonderful practice and it’s nice that you are planning to do this. Jesus said he would bless every home where a picture of His Sacred Heart was displayed and honored. I presume your candle has a picture of the Sacred Heart on it so you are honoring him by using the candle. You might also consider getting a little picture of the Sacred Heart for your wall.

 

[IAmBlessed2]

I light mine every time I use the rosary, prayer,Bible study