God’s throne; they remind us, too, of the persecution of the Christians in the first ages of the Church, when they had to hear Mass and receive the Sacraments in dark places, where lights were necessary that priests and people might see.  Again, lights are a beautiful ornament for the altar, and in keeping with holy things.  Lights are a sign of joy:  hence the very old custom of lighting bonfires to express joy.  So we have lights to express our joy at the celebration of the Holy Mass.  Again, if we wish to honor any great person in the Church or State, we illuminate the city for his reception.  So, too, we illuminate our altars and churches for the reception of Our Lord, that we may honor Him when He comes in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, and is present at Benediction.

“Ashes” are placed on our heads by the priest on Ash Wednesday, while he says:  “Remember, man, thou art but dust and unto dust thou shalt return.”  They are a sign of penance, and so we use them at the beginning of Lent.

“Palms,” to remind us of Our Lord’s coming in triumph into Jerusalem, when the people out of respect for Him threw palms, and even their garments, beneath His feet on the way, singing His praises and wishing to make Him king.  Yet these same people only one week later were among those who crucified Him.  Do we not also at times honor Our Lord, call Him our king, and shortly afterwards insult and, as far as we can, injure Him by sin?  Do we not say in the Our Father, “Hallowed, or praised, be His name,” and blaspheme it ourselves?

“Crucifix,” if it has an image of Our Lord upon it; if not it is simply a cross, because crucifix means fixed to the cross.

“Images”—­that is, statues, pictures, etc.

“Rosaries,” called also the beads.  The rosary or beads is a very old and very beautiful form of prayer.  In the beginning pious people, we are told, used to say a certain number of prayers, and keep count of them on a string with knots or beads.  However that may be, the Rosary, as we now have it, comes down to us from St. Dominic.  He instructed the people by it, and converted many heretics.  In the rosary beads here are fifty-three small beads on which we say the “Hail Mary” and six large beads on which we say the “Our Father.”  In saying the Rosary, before saying the “Our Father” on the large beads, we think or meditate for a while on some event in the life of Our Lord, and these events we call Mysteries of the Rosary.  There are fifteen of these events taken in the order in which they occurred in the life of Our Lord; and hence there are fifteen Mysteries in the whole Rosary.  First we have the five Joyful Mysteries. (1) The Annunciation—­that is, the angel Gabriel coming to tell the Blessed Virgin that she is to be the Mother of God. (2) The Visitation, when the Blessed Virgin went to visit her cousin St. Elizabeth—­the mother of St. John the Baptist, who was six months older than Our Lord.  Elizabeth