It is a long standing tradition in Catholic, as well as other religious traditions, to light a candle as a physical representation of one's prayers.
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By lighting a votive candle, you offer your prayers to God and join your brethren of the historical Church in an act of petition and thanksgiving. Just as candles are consumed by flames, we offer a piece of ourselves every time we light a candle at the Grotto.
Religious grottoesThey are often used as shrines in which to place statues of saints, particularly the Virgin Mary, in outdoor gardens. Many Roman Catholics visit a grotto where Bernadette Soubirous saw apparitions of Our Lady of Lourdes. Numerous garden shrines are modeled after these apparitions.
grotto, natural or artificial cave used as a decorative feature in 18th-century European gardens. Grottoes derived from natural caves were regarded in antiquity as dwelling places of divinities.