Word: beeswax
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Dates: during 1930-1939
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...shrines throughout the Roman Catholic world, millions of silent, smoky candles burn out their brief lives. In sum they make a mighty flame of devotion. Singly, each is to some inarticulate worshipper a symbol of prayer, sacrifice, joy or sorrow. Compounded not of tears or smiles but of beeswax, tallow, paraffin, a candle is a concrete thing. It costs money. Traditional practice in Europe (and lately in some U. S. dioceses) is to set a box of candles by every shrine, let the faithful help themselves and leave a small offering in return. Last week this practice was banned...
...candles in church is older than the church itself. Liturgical candles are traditionally of beeswax, for bees were once supposed to be virgin. The great paschal candle typifies Christ's flesh, its wick His soul, its flame the all-absorbing Divinity. On Candlemas Day (Feast of the Purification, Feb. 2) there is a special ceremony for blessing candles. A burning candle is placed in the hand of a person at baptism, and as Death comes...
Prof. Colin Garfield Fink (Columbia University, Electrochemistry) announced last week that he would treat the declining stones?cleansing them to remove bacteria, giving an alkaline bath to immunize them from free salts and acids in the air, filling pores and chinks with melted paraffin and beeswax. This operation will hereafter be needed every few years...