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Light the candle, calling the person’s
name aloud three times as you do so.
Then say the following:
“In the Name of the Father, the Son,
and the Holy Spirit, as this candle
melts, so does your heart melt for me;
you will show me the milk of human
kindness.”
Allow the candle to burn as you recite
Psalm IV. Here is that Psalm, from the
Douay-Rheims Bible:
When I called upon Him,
The God of my justice heard me;
When I was in distress,
Thou hast enlarged me.
Have mercy on me, and hear my prayer.
Oh ye sons of men, how long will you be dull of heart?
Why do you love vanity, and seek after lying?
Know ye also that the Lord hath made
His holy one wonderful:
The Lord will hear me when I shall cry to Him.
Be angry, and sin not:
The things you say in your hearts,
Be sorry for them upon your beds.
Offer up the sacrifice of justice,
And trust in the Lord:
Many say, who sheweth us good things?
The Light of Thy Countenance, O Lord,
Is signed upon us:
Thou hast given gladness in my heart.
By the fruit of their corn, their wine, and their oil, they are multiplied.
In peace in the selfsame I will sleep, and I will rest:
For Thou, O Lord, singularly hast settled me in hope.
Pray Psalm IV to soften their hard hearts
Allow the candle to burn itself out. If using tapers, prepare a new candle.
You have a choice to keep a candle burning continuously until improvement
is obvious, to burn it every day for one hour at the same time, or to burn it
for one hour at a time every Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. Whatever choice
of timing you make, be sure to call the person’s name aloud and to recite
Psalm IV on either a daily basis, or each time you re-light the candle. This
will continue to spiritually encourage that individual to behave kindly.
