That’s the little heap of cotton that was drenched in the “Oil of the Sick” (Oleum infirmorum), taken out of the “stock” used uncountable times this past year for the Last Rites. I’m sure the CDC would have comments to make about that. I’d have plenty of commentary to make right back at them. At any rate, I had to top off the “stock” many times.
The old cotton and oil is burned every year after the Chrism Mass, when new cotton and newly blessed Oil of the Sick is placed in the “stock.” That little fire, on tinfoil, is in the chapel of the rectory. The painting of Jesus is by a one-time parishioner just to the side of the Altar of Sacrifice. The subsequent dust gets washed down the Sacrarium.
Meanwhile, the containers of oil (oil of the sick, oil of catechumens, and the Sacred Chrism) from the Chrism Mass the previous year were poured out over the wood for the Easter fire at Easter Vigil, and the little plastic containers were thrown in as well. We didn’t have an explosively large Easter fire this year, just bigger than most I’ve ever seen anywhere, and very “solid” for a fire, meaning big chunks of wood burning really well.
Prepper idea: The prepper idea useful for, say, starting a campfire in wet conditions, is to use a fire starter made up of a cotton ball with a glop of petroleum jelly, neatly wrapped in tinfoil until ready for use. Scrape some magnesium on top of that, spark it, and place the whole thing under the bits of kindling that you have. It burns and burns with a sturdy flame. Easy. Efficient. That would get, for instance, my homemade rocket stove flaming up in no time, every time.
ARISE! LET US BE GOING! 
Thanks for a great tip.
That’s a good tip for an emergency. We had a lake house when I was growing, up which was waaaay out of the city limits, so I had the opportunity to build and start many fires – year-round. We all got good at building and starting a camp fire with one and only one match. using any kind of chemical starter was considered cheating, as was the use of any kind of paper. Yes, wet conditions were a huge challenge, but it taught us patience and preparation. We always set aside kindling both fine and coarse that we could use at a moments notice. For all the fires, though, it never occurred to us to build a rocket stove because our fires were for sitting around and for warmth, not for cooking, although we did roast a few dogs and s’mores for variety.
One of my brothers liked using big dried leaves and would scour the area for for them. I liked tiny twigs and dried pine needles. Wind – oh my goodness -wind! Wind turned out to be a friend and an enemy that kept you on your toes!
But we still needed that match! We never learned to start a fire without one.