The Sanctuary Lamp(red cover candle)

Bravo 6 · #1 Jul 26, '12, 7:47 am

If the sanctuary lamp is extinguished,are we only obliged to make a profound bow rather than a genuflection?

Elizium23 · #2 Jul 26, '12, 8:34 am

Generally, if the tabernacle is truly empty, the door will be left open and you can visually verify that there is nobody home. It is uncommon, but not unheard of, for the sanctuary lamp to burn out, especially toward the end of a week when no sacristan has checked it.

If the tabernacle is empty and you are fairly confident, then yes, a profound bow to the altar is in order. The altar is the symbol of Christ in the liturgy and His sacrifice made present for us.

Delaine75 · #3 Jul 26, '12, 9:22 am

I didn't realize it ever had a chance to burn out, lol. One of my RCIA directors told us that it never gets the chance to burn out because someone will always put a new candle in before that has a chance to happen, but I guess it *IS* a possibility!

paperwight66 · #4 Jul 26, '12, 9:28 am

Quote:

Originally Posted by Delaine75

I didn't realize it ever had a chance to burn out, lol. One of my RCIA directors told us that it never gets the chance to burn out because someone will always put a new candle in before that has a chance to happen, but I guess it *IS* a possibility!

Indeed it is, if the parish is tryiing to be economical. Believe me, it can be really difficult to estimate how many more hours the candle will burn for, Yesterday, for instance, I was convinced it would not last overnight, but this morning it was still burning. Last week, OTOH, someone had changed it while there was still a good inch left, which was a waste of money.

It really depends how many people you have dropping in the church (or how many Masses you have) who have access to the sacristy and sanctuary to change it.

Liturgy_Geek · #5 Jul 26, '12, 9:45 am

I am ashamed to say that I let the sanctuary lamp burn out in our diocesan chapel. I was off sick and no one else checked it. I changed it when I got back to work and asked the Lord's forgiveness.

andrewstx · #6 Jul 26, '12, 10:43 am

Quote:

Originally Posted by paperwight66

Indeed it is, if the parish is tryiing to be economical. Believe me, it can be really difficult to estimate how many more hours the candle will burn for, Yesterday, for instance, I was convinced it would not last overnight, but this morning it was still burning. Last week, OTOH, someone had changed it while there was still a good inch left, which was a waste of money.

It really depends how many people you have dropping in the church (or how many Masses you have) who have access to the sacristy and sanctuary to change it.

I think economy is a good reason for letting the lamp burn very low and waiting to replace it.

The candles made of olive oil and beeswax are costly.
I used to have a church supply catalog and those candles ran to $35 and more each, they cannot help but have gone up in price since then.