The Candle Indicator
So we’ve all heard of the “Lipstick Index”: good economy, slump in lipstick sales—bad economy lipstick sales are up. Small luxuries take the place of bigger ones. We are told sale of lipstick and cosmetics has an inverse correlation with the strength of an economy. And as the economic horizon looks ever darker, we hear a lot more about what the New York Times has called “that frivolous financial barometer that says cosmetics sales rise in direct relation to free-falling finances”.
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Now it would be interesting to know if people who don’t attend Mass are popping in to light a candle?The Catholic version of the Lipstick Index is far less frivolous though no less interesting. The parish priest made a canny observation. He said that people had become less generous with collection money as they started feeling the pinch, but that he had a booming trade in votive candles. “People put less into the collection, but I’ve noticed that they are lighting a lot more candles.”
I’ve actually noticed that recently - more votive candles are being lit. I always light one each week, and usually only 1/2 of the top row is lit (we have 2 rows of about 8-10 candles, plus larger ones). Now, both rows are nearly lit.from The Catholic Herald (UK):
Now it would be interesting to know if people who don’t attend Mass are popping in to light a candle?
The ones in front of our statue of Mary are only large candles (there’s usually flowers there most of the time). But, they’re always lit.Well, that’s interesting. I go in mid-afternoon to our chapel to say the Rosary and whereas people used to stop in, I’ve noticed that everybody’s lighting candles now, esp. in front of the statue of Mary (poor Joseph, but he’s not too far behind.) Now that you mention it, we’re probably all out of jobs and that’s how we can be there at that time of day!