How Catholics Light A Votive Candle

The vessel of the Oil of the Sick. The Oil of the Sick is pure olive oil used in the sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick. The priest anoints by tracing a cross on the forehead and hands of the sick person. The Catechism, paragraph 1513, says the oil is pressed from olives or from other plants and duly blessed. A person lighting a candle does not use this oil. The icon only points to the sacrament the Church keeps for the sick.

The red candle cup. A candle lit for the dead stands for our prayer for loved ones who have died, and recalls the light of Christ in this life and the next. The article on the Archdiocese of Huế site states that this is not superstition or ancestor worship. The Vietnamese prayer here is the entrance antiphon of 2 November as given by the bishops' Sacred Music Commission. The English line is the library's rendering of it. The red glass cup is a common form of votive candle. The library has found no source giving the red colour a doctrinal meaning.

Bread and chalice. The Catechism, paragraph 1328, explains that the sacrament is called Eucharist because it is an action of thanksgiving to God. The word comes from the Greek verb eucharistein. Bread and the chalice of wine are the two things used at Mass. A person lighting a candle in thanks is not celebrating Mass. The icon only recalls that for Catholics the greatest thanksgiving is the Mass.

The dove with an olive branch. An article on early Christian symbols on the Vietnamese bishops' site says the dove stands for peace, and in Genesis is the messenger bringing new hope to humankind. The Catholic Encyclopedia adds that in ancient Christian art a dove bearing an olive branch signifies the peace of the departed soul. The icon draws Noah's bird as a sign of peace.

A house with a cross. The Catechism, paragraph 1656, takes up an old expression: the believing family is the Ecclesia domestica, the domestic church. The Vietnamese bishops' text on family prayer says that praying in the family is an excellent way to express and strengthen faith. The house with a plain cross is the library's own drawing of that idea, not a liturgical object.

The bowl of ashes. On Ash Wednesday the priest places ashes and says: Repent, and believe in the Gospel, or: Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return. The ashes are burned from the branches given out on Palm Sunday of the year before. Ashes are a sign of penitence and of mortality. The English wording of the two formulas is the customary one. The library read them in Vietnamese on the bishops' site.

The sheaf of wheat. The prayer comes from Matthew 9:37-38: The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few, so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest. Catholics use these words when praying for more priests, religious and people who give themselves to service. The sheaf is the library's own drawing of the Gospel verse.

The Rosary beads. The Rosary is prayed on beads: it opens with the Sign of the Cross and the Apostles' Creed, then five decades, each with one Our Father and ten Hail Marys. An article on the Vietnamese bishops' site calls it the prayer of every believer. Fr. Saunders writes that a person lighting a candle may ask a saint to pray with them and for them to the Lord. A real rosary carries a crucifix and many more beads. The icon is simplified and uses a plain cross.

The crossed keys. Each month the Pope proposes a prayer intention, spread through the Pope's Worldwide Prayer Network. The Vietnamese bishops' site publishes the full list for 2026. The intention for October 2026 is for mental health ministry. The crossed gold and silver keys belong to the coat of arms of the Holy See and come from the keys given to the Apostle Peter by Christ.