By Alex J. Nagem © April 12, 2025
I was grocery shopping at Kroger’s the other day when I noticed a young boy walking with his parents. I’m not good at guessing ages, but he looked to be under the age of six. He wore red goggles over his eyes. He ran toward the refrigerated counter, grabbed the side of the counter, and jumped up to look inside. As he jumped, he made a whooshing sound, the one you hear when a superhero in the movies begins to fly. His parents told him to be careful as he almost collided with the cart I was pushing. I asked which superhero he is today. His mom said only he knows, but the goggles never leave his head. For some reason, I could relate to this little boy and understand the meaning of wanting to wear the goggles. We all have “red goggles” that have meaning that only we comprehend. I keep an elongated egg-shaped rock on my desk at home. There is nothing special about this tan rock with light brown veins that would make someone understand its meaning. For me, it is a reminder of a summer job I had while I was in college. I worked with a landscaping crew one summer. The last job of the day before I started classes the following week was to unload three tons of stone from a dump truck. What made this particular job so hard was unloading the stone by hand. The stone was shoveled into a wheelbarrow then dumped around the landscape of a pool fifty feet away. I had to do both. After the truck was empty and the last load was spread evenly on the ground, I was loading the wheelbarrow and shovel into the bed of the truck when I noticed a rock that had missed its mark in the wheelbarrow. I placed the rock in my pocket as a reminder of a job unloading stone that I did not want to do again. Blisters had formed on the palms of my hands, though I was wearing leather work gloves. The foreman noticed me pick up the rock. Instead of telling me to place the rock on the landscape, Jim smiled and said he understood why I wanted a keepsake.
The more I read about the Mass, the life of Christ, and our Catholic faith, the more I understand what I see at each Mass service I attend that has gone unnoticed. It would be easy to write about the symbolism of the Crucifix hanging on the Cathedral wall or the marble altar we see before us. I would hope by now, with our years of Christian education and beliefs, we would understand the meaning of each. The one religious symbol that provides light, which we see but may not truly understand the meaning of, is the candle. The play on words in the last sentence centers on the word “light.” The obvious meaning, of course, is that the candle’s flame is a symbol of Jesus, who came to enlighten the world about God and what we need to do to have a place in Heaven. That is an easy one for all to understand. I know the main ingredient of an altar candle is beeswax. That was told to me as a young altar boy by Fr. Kirwin, as was the meaning of the flame. The beeswax candle burns clean. There is no noxious smell or smoke from its flame. There are additional meanings behind the use of beeswax that goes unknown to most. St. John Chrysostom wrote about the symbol of the bee in the Catholic faith. “The bee is more honored than other animals, not because it labors, but because it labors for others” (12th Homily). So, I realized that the bees, much like the clergy and religious men and women in the Church, work unceasingly for the common good of the hive and obey their superiors and, above all, their queen, without question. The symbolism of bees also signifies how the Church generates her spiritual fruits, as bees are virginal and do not engage in sexual contact. As the Church gives grace through the purity of her divine Sacraments, so the bees provide us with honey and wax by the labor of their pure bodies. This is why their wax, considered the fruit of a virgin labor, is worthy to burn in the candles on the altar at the offering of the Holy Sacrifice.” The altar candle is a symbol of Jesus Christ. The beeswax symbolizes his virgin birth and body, the wick his soul, and the flame his divinity. Now, if you are reading this in church before the Celebration of the Mass, you are probably looking at the altar candles in a new light. I apologize for the pun. It was too easy not to pass up.
There are many symbols in our Cathedral that we may notice with each visit but may not fully grasp their meaning. We can observe the meaning of our faith outside a church as well. The rock on my desk, while symbolizing a job that left blisters on my hands, could also serve as a reminder that marriage, as well as our Christian beliefs, need a strong foundation to survive. The rain may also symbolize a cleansing, as in baptism. The rain provides nourishment for growth and quenches thirst, just as Scripture does. It all depends on how we perceive the world around us. For me, as I have written many times, I leave it all to the early mornings of prayer and readings, wandering thoughts, and a couple of strong cups of coffee. May you see and understand the Peace of Christ in each of your days.
You are remembered in my prayers, as I hope I am remembered in yours.
“Vocatus Atque Non Vocatus, Deus Aderit”
Alex J. Nagem
© March 7, 2017 Rev