Q: For the Rite of Baptism at the Easter Vigil, while the priest blesses the water, I immerse the Paschal candle into the water three times as directed by the rubrics.
As a young altar boy (pre-Vatican II), I can remember the priest doing this. After that, he would tilt the candle and allow the melted wax to drip into the font. Why did we stop doing this? I admit that it is rather graphic!
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A: The priest used to pour wax into the water, but that custom was removed in the 1955 reforms of Holy Week. Many changes took place then and in the postconciliar reform to simplify the liturgy, often without explanation. (He also used to add the oil of exorcism and chrism to the water, as I note in my book Glory in the Cross.)
So, not sure why, except maybe to keep the focus on the primary symbols of fire and water.