Part II to follow.
The good old says. Not as much quite and a lot more fuss in Catholic Churches today, ans the little red light is often ignored if it is there at all.
I wish that was what you saw in a Catholic church nowadays! That said, this is a great article, and in some churches, you still do see this.
I live in St. Augustine, FL where we have an absolutely gorgeous cathedral. I am one of the docents and once or twice a week, I spend the afternoon in the Cathedral giving tours. It's amazing how much people love to hear about our history (Church history), the significance of different things in the building, and the significance of Catholic practices.
I had a group of Protestants come in and they asked me why people were lighting candles. I explained to them that it was a sign of your prayer and a sign of your honor for that saint, because it was also an offering, and dated back to the practice of people in the Old Testament who would offer oil for the lamps in the Temple. Then they asked me about the statue of the "beautiful lady." I told them that was Our Lady, Mary, the mother of Our Lord, and they all nodded and drifted away.
About 10 minutes later, I saw them all standing at the candle rack in front of Our Lady, lighting candles!
Ping for education!
Thanks for posting this. The essay itself is "cleansing." Especially considering the fact that I couldn't get to sleep last night because I kept thinking of the letter I want to write to Bishop Hubbard. ;)
Another good work by the Society is the book This Is The Faith. It's back in print - a good, thorough, plain language explanation of Catholic doctrine.