Talks on the Sacramentals, by Msgr Arthur Tonne - Incense

"Let my prayer be directed as incense in thy sight." Psalm 140:2.

Read the Bible, especially the second book called Exodus, and you will find directions from God as to how He wants to be worshipped. In Exodus, Chapter 30, we read, for example, that God commanded the use of incense. The first verse reads:

"Thou shalt make also an altar to burn incense...."

The chapter concludes with these verses:

"And the Lord said to Moses: Take unto thee spices, stacte, and onycha, galbanum of sweet savour, and the clearest frankincense, all shall be of equal weight.

"And thou shalt make incense compounded by the work of the perfumer, well tempered together, and pure, and most worthy of sanctification.

"And when thou hast beaten all into very small powder, thou shalt set of it before the tabernacle of the testimony, in the place where I will appear to thee. Most holy shall this incense be unto you.

"You shall not make such a composition for your own use, because it is holy to the Lord." Exodus, 30:34-37.

Surely what God commanded for divine worship in the Old Law must be pleasing to Him in the New Law. Incense is a material used to produce a fragrance when burned. It is a mixture of spices and gums burned during religious rites to produce a fragrant smoke. These grains of spices are obtained from trees in Eastern and tropical countries. When blessed, incense becomes a sacramental.

The priest sprinkles a few spoonfuls of incense on the burning coals in the censer, the covered metal vessel hanging from chains, which the server swings to and fro. The incense is kept in a boat-shaped vessel, from which it is transferred to the censer with a little spoon. Incense is from the Latin word, 'incensum' which means burnt. Its beautiful meaning is seen in its uses:

1. Incense used at Mass and Benediction represents:

a. Adoration or the worship paid to God alone, present in the Eucharist. The burning of the fragrant spices shows the unimportance of all creatures before their Creator.

b. Prayer, which rises to God like smoke, as the Psalmist sang: "Let my prayer be directed as incense in Thy sight." Psalm 140:2.

c. Grace, which God pours into our souls as incense pours fragrance throughout the church.

2. Mother Church incenses relics, statues and images of the saints:

a. To honor God who crowned the saints in heaven, who worked wonders through them here on earth, who sanctified and glorified their bodies.

b. To show respect and devotion to the special friends and servants of the Almighty.

3. The Church incenses her ministers, her bishops and priests, in order to honor in their person Jesus Christ, whom they represent and with whose sacred character they are clothed.

4. The Church incenses the faithful in order to honor in them the likeness to Christ which was imprinted upon them in Baptism.

5. Mother Church incenses the bodies of the departed:

a. To honor the bodies which were sanctified and made holy by Baptism.

b. To beg God to receive the prayers and petitions we offer for the deceased.

6. The Church directs that five grains of incense, each enclosed in a piece of wax shaped like a nail, be inserted in the Paschal Candle on Holy Saturday in the form of a cross, to represent the five wounds of our Lord.

7. When an altar or an altar-stone is consecrated, grains of incense are burned upon it, and other grains are put into the so- called 'sepulchre' or cavity within the stone where the relics of the saints are preserved.

8. After the very beginning of Mass the altar and priest are incensed. First the celebrant offers the fragrant smoke to the cross, or to the Blessed Sacrament if It is enthroned. He incenses the relics of the saints, and then the entire altar. Lastly the priest himself is incensed by the deacon.

The altar represents the God-man whose divinity was hidden as the altar is hidden by the perfumed clouds. These clouds are today, as they were on Sinai and in the desert, a figure of the glory of the Lord. At the altar the priest is another Christ; his heart should be like a fire burning with love of God. All this is represented by the incensing.

At the Offertory the priest swings the censer over the bread and wine, the things to be sacrificed to Almighty God.

Incense shows forth several things:

1. Its burning represents zeal in the service of the Lord. Think of that as you see the sacred smoke rising in the sanctuary. Recall that you are to give of your time and talent, your service and means to the worship of God. Are you going to let a mere material creature like incense outdo you in divine service? The incense is burnt for the glory of God. How about you?

2. Its fragrance represents virtue, pleasing to God as it always is. How pleasing is your life and your service? Can you feel that your devotion in church, your thoughtfulness of God, your keeping of His law, is of a kind that will please Him?

3. The rising smoke represents prayer:

a. The smoke rising shows that your prayers are rising.

b. The smoke rising reminds you to pray, if you are not praying.

c. The fragrance of the smoke shows that our prayer and service are pleasing to God.

God commanded Moses and His chosen people to use incense. Mother Church uses it in her service. Think of what this sacramental means, and it will be a source of grace and spiritual strength to you. Amen.