Nudism on the Paschal Candle
At the Church of St. Mary Magdalene in Altötting, Germany, a Paschal Candle was displayed in 2007 depicting a naked couple jumping to join a Risen Christ who soars upward through a rainbow. This church is under the control of the Capucins, and Altötting is called the German Lourdes, the principal Marian center of pilgrimage in Germany.
Besides the lack of theological precision which seems to confuse the Resurrection of Our Lord with His Ascension, one cannot ignore the immorality and scandal the candle represents. Indeed, the symbolism suggests that the naked couple, representing humankind, is now free of the bonds of sin. Hardly a censure of nudism. Also the ascension of Christ through a rainbow may well be interpreted as an approval of homosexual love.
In the Catholic Paschal Candle, whose flame represents the passage of Jesus Christ from death to life through the Resurrection, the Cross is always the central symbol, see below. During the vigil of Easter, the priest embeds five grains of incense in the Cross, representing the five wounds of Christ (one in each hand, one for the two feet, one in the heart and one in the head for the crown of thorns). The incense is usually inside small balls with nails, which are placed on the Cross where each wound was made. Also the Greek letters Alpha and Omega symbolize the Incarnate Word, present in History from its beginning to its end, according to the Apocalypse.
The Paschal Candle is lit at Masses during the Easter season - until the Ascension. Throughout the year it is also lit when a person receives Baptism or Extreme Unction.
The paschal candle showed above has no Cross or symbols of the five wounds. It is another expression of how the Conciliar Church destroys the traditions of the Catholic Church.
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