tion of
churches, all colors are employed as good taste may dictate. They are
thus properly used "for the glory of God, who created the many hues of
nature and gave to man the power of deriving pleasure from them." {89}
Certain colors, however, are known as "liturgical" or "ecclesiastical"
colors, and are, in accordance with ancient practice, employed for
symbolical purposes about the Altar and chancel of our churches, or the
dress of Ministers, during the different seasons of the Church Year.
They serve to impress upon our minds, through the outward senses,
certain great truths of the Gospel, and give honor and dignity to the
celebration of its sacred mysteries.

The colors most commonly used are white, red, violet, black, and green.

White, signifying purity and joy, is used on the Feasts of the great
mysteries of our Faith and at all seasons relating to our Lord, on days
relating to the Blessed Virgin and to those saints who were not also
martyrs, and on festival occasions, such as Confirmations, Ordinations,
Dedications, Weddings, etc.

Red, the emblem of blood and fire, is used on the Feasts of martyrs,
typifying the blood which was shed for Christ, and at Whitsuntide, when
it tells of the tongues of fire which came upon the Apostles.

Violet, the emblem of penitence, is used in Advent, in the season from
Septuagesima to Lent, in Lent, and also on Ember and Rogation days.

{90}

Black signifies mourning, and is used on Good Friday and at Burials.

Green, the ordinary color of nature, is used on all days which are not
Feasts or Fasts and when no special truth or doctrine is to be
emphasized.

_The Symbolism of Lights._--The symbolic use of lights in divine
worship seems to have been handed on from the Jewish Temple to the
Christian Church. The candles upon the Altar, as in use in many
churches, whether the two Eucharistic lights or the vesper lights, not
only give beauty and festival character to the service, but are an
expressive sign of spiritual gladness and joy, and a symbol, suggested
by His own words, of Christ as the true "light of the world." They
remind us of the gladness and spiritual illumination which the Gospel
brings.

_The Symbolism of Incense._--Where incense is employed as an adjunct of
worship, its symbolism is the same as that which it had in the worship
of the Temple. It is the symbol of prayer, of the intercession of our
great High Priest, and of the prayers of the saints. So the