I remembered! I remembered to get our candles together in a basket and take them to Mass this morning. At this time of year I usually am somewhat low on my stock… note that I took some already burned votives — classy* … but I have the beeswax candles Habou gave me for Christmas, as well as a lot of small votives and those little tapers I got for a quarter at a yard sale. Those are perfect for the tiny Christmas candlesticks…
I asked the priest to bless them after Mass. We don't have the custom here in the celebration of today's feast (the Presentation) to bless them in a procession or anything — do you have that where you live?
The prayer is lovely — the Light that was revealed to Simeon in the Temple — Christ himself — is invoked to bless the lights we light in our homes.
Source of all light,
today you revealed to Simeon
Your light of revelation to the nations.
Bless + these candles and make them holy.
I've been trying in the past few years to use candles more at home. Candles bring a warmth and, of course, a purifying scent into the room in which they're used, but the homemaker has to plan ahead to be able to have them handy at the right time.
File this under “things I wish I had been better at when the kids were little” — just simply having candles on the table and in front of a holy picture or statue and lighting them! And if the candles are blessed, lighting one is a prayer of the whole Church for the home and everyone in it.
The best tapers (other than real beeswax, like those above, which are fabulously long-lasting and have the perfume of heaven) can sometimes, occasionally, increasingly rarely, be found in our Marshalls or T. J. Maxx. They are called Elfa and come in great colors. They burn cleanly with no drips. Any others I've found there have been sub-par. (I also got those sconces at Marshall's in the clearance section. I think they were $7 each. The ones in the dining room too. They are the best touch for adding warmth to the home.)The votives at those stores are usually the best price anywhere.
Another good source for tapers is Trader Joe's. They are a good price, although they are not as large, colorful, or long-lasting as the Elfa ones.
Those large votives in the glass containers (in the first pictures) are long-lasting — they came in amazingly handy during that ice storm, as they are fairly safe. I have been determined ever since to have several in my stock. I get them at our big cheap grocery store in with the Hispanic rice and things.
Do you have a good place to buy your candles?
For more on today's celebration, which has many interwoven devotions in it, go to Catholic Cuisine's post on Candle cake for Candlemas, and Fish Eaters' thorough explanation on the meaning of the Feast of the Purification.
And — today is actually really and truly the last day of Christmas!
*And not really the right thing to do! Unburned candles to be blessed only. Oops.
Anonymous says
do you have a good place to get the beeswax candles?Happy feast day!Betty
Leila says
My mother got me those as a gift at the Cider Mill in Sterling, MA — they are too pricey for me, although they last so long, I wonder how they stack up unit-price-wise to others.. <a href="http://.http://cidermillrunsterling.com/.http://cidermillrunsterling.com/<br />Someday maybe we will make some. Beeswax isn't so expensive to buy in bulk, and maybe someday we'll have our own, as I posted about here: http://thelawlerfamily.blogspot.com/search?q=bees
The Vintage Rose says
I like your blog and how it connects your family. You must have been writing this post while I was reading all your other ones about the laundry. when I came back to the top and clicked on follow it reloaded the page with this post. I like your ideas with candles.
Beth - Soy Candles says
What lovely photographs and thoughts. I love candles so much. The candlestick holder in that one photo is so strikingly colorful and beautiful! Beth
Paula says
We celebrated a 'real' Candlemas service last year. Our Ottawa church has a full procession and the congregation comes up to the Communion rail and receives small blessed dip candles. It was a very beautiful service.