3 minute read
Votive Candles Offer Simple, But Powerful Opportunity For Prayer
The act of lighting a votive candle and saying a prayer is a simple, but powerful way to engage in our faith. And, thanks to the efforts of several St. Andrew parishioners, we now have this means of prayerful devotion after they took the steps to make it possible.
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For Kathi Gill and Connie Bremmer, their efforts began in 2011 when they realized they missed having votive candles in St. Andrew.
“We started to talk to Father about it and we got his permission [to pursue it],” Kathi says. “We went before the Council of Catholic Women and Connie did a presentation.”
There was some caution expressed at first, with questions of security for the donation box and the cleaning of the glass votive cups. But the council agreed to purchase the candle stand, votive glasses and candles.
“There was concern about the work to keep the votive glasses clean, so I volunteered to do it,” Kathi says. “I did it for about five years, and I gathered the money from the donation box and turned it over to the church secretary.”
After a time, however, the task became even larger, so the Council of Catholic Women have members taking care of the candle stand in rotation. Until the pandemic closed many things down, Kathi and her husband were driving to St. Paul to purchase the candles to save on shipping. Now, however, the candles are ordered by mail.
Having the votive candles in our church means a great deal to Kathi.
“It draws me to the church,” she says. “I find it a very comforting devotion. I’ve read that the light is to remind us of the Light of Christ in the world. It has special meaning, and it provides a way of offering prayers up. When you have friends or family asking for your prayers, a lot of people will say ‘I’ll light a candle for you.’ It’s consoling, as well. It has seemed to be popular [at St. Andrew] from the start.”
Lighting candles during prayer has been a lifelong practice for Kathi.
“I grew up with votives in my home parish,” she says. “I went to Catholic school and my mother used candles for special intentions. The nuns taught us about it. It was something I missed here when there weren’t candles.”
Prayer, of course, has figured strongly in Kathi’s life, as well.
“This goes back to my childhood,” she says. “I was raised in a Catholic home with a strong emphasis on praying. The one thing I heard a great amount was the little phrase, ‘Pray without ceasing’ from First Thessalonians. It became our family motto. If we had a problem, my mother would say ‘pray without ceasing.’ We carried that on. My sister found a large plaque [with that saying] and gave it to her. All three of us had it in our home, and we’re teaching this to our own children.”
The Council of Catholic Women have truly taken on the work to maintain the votives. Nancy St. Sauver takes care of cleaning the glass votive cups when they are empty and making sure the stand is filled with candles. Kim Rupp, the CCW treasurer, empties the donation box.
“It’s quite a group effort to start, and maintaining it is a big effort,” Kathi says.
All women of St. Andrew’s are automatically members of the Council of Catholic Women.
