“Until the day grows cool and the shadows flee, I shall go to the mountain of myrrh, to the hill of frankincense.” (Song of Songs 4:6)
“Let my prayer be directed as incense in thy sight; the lifting up of my hands, as evening sacrifice.” (Psalm 140:2)
“[A]nd on entering the house they saw the child with Mary his mother. They prostrated themselves and did him homage. Then they opened their treasures and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.” (Matthew 2:11)
Praise God for incense! This article is a plea for its more frequent use in parish liturgies, especially on Sundays, Solemnities, and significant days in the life of parish families. There is a long tradition of using incense in Roman Catholic worship. The use of incense is biblical and encouraged by the ritual texts of the Roman Rite. The General Instruction of the Roman Missal states the following:
Thurification or incensation is an expression of reverence and of prayer, as is signified in Sacred Scripture.
Incense may be used optionally in any form of Mass:
a) during the Entrance Procession;
b) at the beginning of Mass, to incense the cross and the altar;
c) at the procession before the Gospel and the proclamation of the Gospel itself;
d) after the bread and the chalice have been placed on the altar, to incense the offerings, the cross, and the altar, as well as the Priest and the people;
e) at the elevation of the host and the chalice after the Consecration (n. 276).
Incense is often used during the recessional at Mass. It is utilized during the Liturgy of the Hours, for Exposition and Benediction of the Most Blessed Sacrament, at funerals and for some blessings.
The famed liturgical voice of Romano Guardini expresses some thoughts concerning incense in his classic work “Sacred Signs.” Guardini wrote, “The offering of an incense is a generous and beautiful rite. The bright grains of incense are laid upon the red-hot charcoal, the censer is swung, and the fragrant smoke rises in clouds. In the rhythm and the sweetness there is a musical quality; and like music also is the entire lack of practical utility: it is a prodigal waste of precious material. It is a pouring out of unwithholding love. Prayer is a profound act of worship, that asks neither why nor wherefore. It rises like beauty, like sweetness, like love. The more there is in it of love, the more of sacrifice. And when fire has wholly consumed the sacrifice, a sweet savor ascends.”
The well-regarded liturgist Aiden Kavanagh adds this, “In Christian eucharistic usage, it is effectively used at the beginning of the Service of the Word (during the entry) and at the beginning of the Eucharistic banquet (at the preparation). Different types of incense might enhance various levels of solemnity throughout the year. It might well be omitted on penitential days and occasions, keeping in mind that Sunday is always festal, even during Advent and Lent. There seems to be no good reason to lavish attention on how a given liturgical event is to engage all the human senses except the olfactory. This sense, it has been pointed out, is perhaps the most subtly influential of them all; it continues to function even during sleep.” (Elements of Rite: A Handbook of Liturgical Style)
Consider some of the additional meanings for the use of incense. “Incense is a mark of honor. Thus the censer bearer walks ahead of processions. Incense was put to this use from the remotest antiquity. When the gifts are incensed, the action indicates the honor and dignity which they have by reason of their role in the sacrifice. The altar is incensed next, because it, too, has a great honor and dignity as a symbol of Christ. Then the celebrant is incensed because it is through his priestly power that Christ acts. Then the ministers, because each of them has something to do, and finally the community, because of its dignity, for the members of the community are members of Christ offering with him to God their life and love.” (Paul Bussard from “The Meaning of the Mass,” 1942, in “How Firm a Foundation: Voices of the Early Liturgical Movement”)
Finally, consider the thoughts of the of the holy patron of our seminary. “All that remains is for us to state the necessary conditions to pray well. … I limit myself to mentioning only three. The first is that one be little by humility; the second, that one be great in hope; and the third, that one be grafted onto Jesus Christ crucified. Let us speak of the first, which is nothing other than that spiritual mendicancy of which Our Lord says: Blessed are the medicant [poor beggars] in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven. … In order to pray well, then, we must acknowledge that we are poor, and we must greatly humble ourselves … Let us pass now to hope, which is the second necessary condition for praying well. … Incense is far more appropriate as the symbol of hope, because, being placed upon fire, it always sends its smoke upward; likewise, it is necessary that hope be placed upon charity, otherwise it would no longer be hope, but rather presumption. … Let us come to the third necessary condition … it is necessary to be grafted onto Jesus Christ crucified. Let us remain then at the foot of this Cross, and let us never depart from there, so that we may be saturated with the Blood which flows from it.” (“The Sermons of St. Francis de Sales on Prayer” — Sermon on the Fourth Sunday of Lent)
So let the incense burn in our parish liturgies to increase reverence, promote prayer and worship of Almighty God, learn how to sacrificially live charity, recognize and promote the dignity of others, and hope in the God who IS LOVE present in our midst! (cf. 1 John 4:8)
