2nd Sunday of Ordinary time 2026 Year A

Simple Catholic Devotions

John 1:29-34. Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.

I want to bring to your attention, within the mystery of the Church, two very beautiful ways of bringing our intentions to the heart of Christ: which are Mass intentions and the lighting of candles. Both are simple gestures. Both are ancient.

When a Mass is offered for someone, living or deceased, it is not a polite mention or a symbolic gesture. It is the Church saying: “Lord in this sacrifice, remember this person in a special way.” The Mass is not one prayer among many. It is the sacrifice of Christ Himself made present to us under the sacramental veil. So when we ask for a Mass intention we are placing someone directly at the foot of the Cross, where Christ pours out His mercy, His healing, His forgiveness, His blessings.

Christ receives Mass intentions with the same love with which He, from the Cross: -received the good thief on the cross, -looked upon His mother and His disciple, prayed for His enemies, “Father, forgive them.”

The tradition of having a Mass offered for someone is one of the oldest and most beautiful practices in the Church, and it’s deeply tied to how Catholics understand the Eucharist, the Communion of Saints, and the mystery of Christ’s sacrifice. It dates from the earliest centuries practiced universally both in the East and the West. Christians offered Masses for: the living (for blessings, healing, conversion, thanksgiving); the dead (for purification and their journey toward the vision of God). This is the first way to bring our prayers to the Heart of Jesus.

And then there is the other gesture, quiet, humble, almost hidden. The lighting of a candle. People sometimes ask, “Father, why light a candle? Why not just say a prayer and go home?”

Because a candle is a prayer made visible. A candle is a small proclamation of faith: “Lord, I entrust this to You.” When you leave the church, the candle remains. It burns in your place. It keeps your intention before God. In fact if you go to Lourdes you will see candles burning for weeks and months.

Where did the tradition come from? Originally Catholic candle-lighting grows directly out of Jewish worship: We see this in Scripture where lamps were kept burning before the Ark. The early Christians inherited this tradition and so we see it in the early church where lamps and candles were used: at the tombs of martyrs, during prayer vigils, in the catacombs and in the liturgy.

What does lighting a candle mean?

The Church has never treated lighting a candle as a magical act. It’s a sacramental gesture, a physical sign that expresses faith and prayer.

Does lighting a candle “add” anything to our prayer?

Not in a mechanical way, a candle is a candle and physically it just burns away. However spiritually the candle is a sacramental, a blessed object for pious devotion. It does not cause grace in us but opens our hearts to receive grace and connects our prayers to the Church’s prayer. Lighting a candle is like placing your intention into the stream of the Church’s ongoing worship. It’s not “more powerful” than prayer. It’s prayer expressed, embodied, and extended through a candle.

Though the church has not taught this, there are some pious beliefs that think that an angel prays with our lighted candle. Medieval Christians loved to picture angels carrying prayers upward like incense. Candles were often placed near shrines of saints and angels, so people naturally connected the two. In the book of Revelation 8, an angel offers incense “with the prayers of the saints.” People extended this imagery to candles.

Mass intentions and candles are not superstitions. They are not transactions. They are not attempts to “get God’s attention.” They are expressions of trust founded in the faith passed down to us from the early Church. They are ways of saying: “Lord, I believe You hear me.”; “Lord, I believe You care.”; “I place my intentions and worry before you, oh God.”

And they remind us that prayer is not something we do alone. The Church prays with us. The saints pray with us. Christ Himself prays for us. These are acts of faith and trust. They are traditions I would encourage you to carry and pass on, for they help us in our journey of faith.