Three Days of Darkness: when are the candles lit?

[EmilyAlexandra]

Hello,

I have put this in Traditional Catholicism as that is where I saw the topic first covered. Apologies if it belongs elsewhere.

I have to admit, I thought I was reasonably knowledgeable about things like festivals, rites of passage, and other customs and traditions of Christian denominations and world religions, but I had never heard of this and had to Google it.

The thing that isn’t clear to me is when the candles are actually lit. All I can find is that the Three Days of Darkness are usually observed over a Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Is that every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday of the year? Or just one Thursday, Friday, and Saturday per year? Given the timing of the question, I am wondering whether it coincides with the feast of the Assumption. Do people stay with their candles for three days and nights? The candles presumably cannot be left unattended, as that would not seem very safe.

 

[Tis_Bearself]

?

The Three Days of Darkness is not a ritual or an observance that we do every year.

It’s an approved private revelation (which Catholics are NOT required to believe) about a chastisement that’s allegedly going to happen before the end of the world.

Obviously if it actually happened (Big “If”), we’d light the candles when it got dark and we needed the light

Not sure what you are reading but this is really sort of an “advanced fringe Catholicism” topic…it’s not something that regular Catholics need to even think about. Many Catholics don’t even believe in this prophecy, which is okay (it’s not a required belief) and even if it happened, we’d trust in God to provide for our needs, including a need for light.

 

[EmilyAlexandra]

Aha. Thanks. There was a thread on here a day or so ago. Somebody was asking whether it’s okay to light the candles with a lighter (like a cigarette lighter, lighter for a gas cooker, etc, I assume) or whether they had to use special matches that had been blessed.

I misunderstood what this was. I assumed it was like lighting Advent candles, the paschal candle, baptismal candles, candles in front of icons and statues, candles in cemeteries on All Saints’ Day (I know they do this in Poland, not sure about elsewhere). So it’s more a practical thing - you have the candles ready for when the Three Days of Darkness actually happens. It’s not a ritual or ceremonial practice.

 

[Tis_Bearself]

Yes, it’s a practical thing.
With respect to lighting blessed candles in church or in the cemetery or whatever, we light them with whatever matches and lighters we have available/ working. Doesn’t have to be specially blessed.

The people who are concerned about lighting the candle for Three Days of Darkness were concerned because the private revelation seemed to say there would be no other light on the earth other than the blessed candles - so the question was, how does one get the candle lit in the first place. As I said, the Lord will provide. Obviously it is not practical or possible to keep a blessed candle burning 24/7 through all kinds of weather, wind, and wherever you might be, just on the off chance the Three Days of Darkness might pop up.