Question About Candles?

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lucien123

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I’m Quite familiar with the votive candles used at church etc, but my question here is about vigil candles.

I wouldnt know much about them except that they burn for 6 days or something like that. My question is, Would it be alright for me to Use one of those candles in place of a small votive candle? (At home of course - I wouldnt light a big candle like that in church

I dont plan on making this a habit, after all it’s risky and costly, but I’m in a bit of a situation, and I would like to pray and having a candle that can last me a few days during this time is a nice thought.

So is it alright to to this? Can I just walk into a sotre, buy a huge candle, bring it home, light it and pray? Also I’ve heard of patron saint candles, are these maybe more suited for my purpose?

Please advise,
Thanks
Lucien
 
If a store sells candles, you can certainly buy one, light it, and pray.

Do NOT leave it burning unattended and especially all night while you sleep, though. That is a fire hazard. Extinguish the candle when you leave the house or go to bed - that is just common sense.
 
Please remember:
A candle must be blessed by a priest to have any sacramental or spiritual value.
Of course most priests are only too willing to bless your supply of candles.
This was usually done on Candlemas Day.

The same applies to all devotional objects. To have spiritual power and be pleasing to God they must be blessed by a priest.
 
tobbias88 said:
Please remember:
A candle must be blessed by a priest to have any sacramental or spiritual value.
Of course most priests are only too willing to bless your supply of candles.
This was usually done on Candlemas Day.

The same applies to all devotional objects. To have spiritual power and be pleasing to God they must be blessed by a priest.
Click to expand...
Hmmmm… not so sure about that. Our parish gets then delivered every couple of months by a church suppies firm, and I put them out as needed, They are certainly not blessed as we go along, although a token few are put out on the table with the other candles for Candlemas.

In any event, it is our prayers that have ‘spiritual power’. A candle is an inanimate object, not magic.
 
Then why bother with any sacramentals? - holy water, scapulars, medals, rosary beads? Are they all just medieval nonsense?

Catholic catechism:the sacramentals excite pious dispositions, by means of which the faithful may obtain grace. It is not the sacramental itself that gives grace, but the devotion, love of God, or sorrow for sin that it inspires, and the prayers of the Church that render sacramentals efficacious against evil.

As far as I know all need to be blessed; otherwise they are just New Age trumpery.
 
OK, so anybody can use candles either blessed or unblessed in their prayer life. There are no rules about it. Please be careful in leaving them lit and unattended, though - I suppose if you take all the right precautions, you could leave it burning unattended if there is no danger of fire.

Sacramentals are useful and important - having a blessed candle and using it brings an indulgence and grace from God through the blessing of the priest upon it. A person also has to be in a state of grace and properly disposed - must have faith and be prayerfully “engaged” when using it - to derive all the benefits that the blessing has (from the Church through the priest’s blessing upon it) objectively conferred upon the sacramental.

However, since part of the purpose of sacramentals is to excite religious devotion in somebody’s soul, prayerfully using even an unblessed candle also has some value.

As for me, I prefer to have them blessed.
 
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