Continuing my reflection upon candles, the offering of a burning candle before altars and shrines is an act of prayer to God, our Blessed Mother, or the saints. Because the candle signifies our watchfulness, we call it a vigil light. It is also called a votive light because it is our silent intercessor and a prolonging of our prayer. We light a candle to show honor to God. It is a mark of our dedication, of our confidence in his presence and promises. Through our vigil light, we give outward evidence of our spiritual desires. Consequently, as we go about our daily tasks, the candles’ flame continues to express our worship, praise and petition. The lighted candle is not more important than the Mass, the sacraments and our prayers. We do not light candles on the way back from Holy Communion. We do not come into the church, and by dropping coins into the votive rack, seek to be an annoyance to the congregation who are saying public prayers. Neither do we do anything to distract from the Readings that are a part of the Church’s liturgy. The votive candle is not magic. The lighted candle will not take the place of our personal prayer but is a token of our wanting to be in the presence of God while still going about our daily tasks.
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I bought this set of electric candles going on over 4 years ago now. I use them over and over again. I love them because I can have the look of the candles without worrying about my little daughter or the cat knocking them over or burning themselves. The batteries are easy enough to replace. Mine are still in working order and I am going to add another set of 12 to my existing set. I have acquired a few different kinds here and there at a cheaper price but the flicker isn’t quite the same. These have a pretty good imitation of a real candle. You can’t use them in clear containers but they work with everything else. I particularly like them in those holiday red and green or whatever etched votive holders. And the best part is when the holidays are over, no wax to clean up. Just pop them out and put them away. There’s also no scent. Some scents can trigger raging headaches and spoil a great evening for you or your guest so I think that’s great. You can always find a way to add a mild scent to something but when you have half a dozen burning candles it’s hard to find a balance. I give it a 4 out of 5. It’s a great product and is the next best thing to real.