Incense and Asthma Don't Mix! A Sad Easter...

[sjays]

did you sit near the altar? Knowing yourself that you have Asthma, maybe next time sit more in the back at Masses where there is a strong possibility that incense will be used.
At least in the back, you might have more air and nearer a door to be able to step out if needed.

 

[chefmomster2]

Thanks for your suggestions, Rowbar. I have tried that, but the amount of incense makes it fully encompass all of the congregation. Especially when Fr. goes around the church with the incense and up and down every aisle in our semicircular church. I do leave as inconspicuously as I can. But it saddens me greatly.

 

[chefmomster2]

I’m so sorry. We didn’t have any incense today. Are you in an area where you can shop around a little for a church that doesn’t use incense on Easter Sunday?

Edited to add - any parish big enough to have overflow Mass on Easter Sunday might be a good option too. Mass loses a little something in the school cafeteria with no music, but there probably wouldn’t be incense either.

Thanks for offering your ideas.

There area 5 parishes in my area. They are run by the same pastor with three other priests. They plan the liturgies at each of the 5 to follow a similar program. I have tried one other which is huge with a ceiling at least 30 feet high. My theory was that the smoke would rise. It does, but not enough unfortunately.

 

[chefmomster2]

Maybe it needs to be noted in the bulletin when incense is going to be used at a mass so people know ahead.

Great idea! I’ll have to check.

 

[chefmomster2]

Your health is most important and God knows that. But I see your pain and frustration I too have asthma, it is a scary condition.

Thank you for your kind words.

 

[DAML72]

Great idea! I’ll have to check.

Perhaps if you made this suggestion to the Pastor, he might take it upon himself to make sure there are some services that are incense-free. It’s worth a shot. There seems to be an element of pastoral discretion involved. At our parish, incense was used heavily on Holy Thursday, and I would imagine it was also used at the Easter Vigil. We went to the third service on Sunday, and it didn’t seem like there was any trace of incense having been used at the earlier services. I can’t help but wonder if our Pastor didn’t make the decision not to use incense Easter morning because of the crowds and the possibility of people being bothered by it. As it was, we had someone that needed medical attention.

 

[babochka]

My husband and I arrived early for Mass this morning. Many people were there. The weather was gorgeous and the church looked beautiful. As it began our young priest led us in a wonderful and exultant Alleluia. The choir has never sounded so lovely. They chimed the church bell. The readers were inspired! It had to be one of the best liturgies I ever attended until…

The incense.

I have asthma. I figured they would use it today, so I came prepared. I used my inhaler before we had breakfast and I brought it with me in my purse. I was ok with the entrance procession with incense. I had to use my inhaler after Fr. blessed(?) the altar space with generously re-stoked incense. I was wheezing and coughing by the end of the Gospel. The incense had again been re-stoked and it was swung by an altar server during the entire Gospel reading. I had to leave at that point. I sat in my car, read the Gospel again and prayed while I waited for my husband.

I can’t overstate the extent of my disappointment at having to leave this morning. I was unable to receive communion or to experience the remainder of the gorgeous service. I still feel very sad about it. I am not opposed to incense. I do understand its symbolism in the liturgy. But for me, it means I cannot participate in the Mass. It makes me want to cry!

(Please don’t misunderstand. I am so VERY VERY happy about Easter. Today is a blessed day!)

Thanks for letting me vent!

I’m sorry that your reaction to the incense was so bad that you had to leave the church. I’d have been devastated as well. Perhaps you could research asthma-friendly incense and make some suggestions to the pastor. But, it might be that incense is a trigger for you, and there is nothing that can be done. It is a difficult cross to bear and thankfully, it is generally used in most Latin-rite parishes a few times each year.

In the Byzantine Catholic Church, we use copious amounts of incense, probably 20x what you would find in the most heavily incensed Latin-rite Mass. Our church building is pretty small; the maximum capacity is 120 or so. My mom sits in the front and the incense rarely bothers her. My friend’s 10 year-old son has severe asthma; he is hospitalized fairly regularly because of it. He did have to stop serving the Divine Liturgy, because it was difficult for him being in clouds of smoke in the sanctuary, but now they enter after the incensation of the church (the priest walks around the entire church and incenses it), and they towards the back, which seems to have solved most of the problem for him. Still, he does occasionally have problems, particularly when there are other triggers present in his environment. In those cases, he sits in the narthex or the cry room. It is frustrating for everyone, but mothers young children are used to spending half their time out of the church, anyway.

 

[EmeraldOak]

Maybe it needs to be noted in the bulletin when incense is going to be used at a mass so people know ahead.

This is a great idea

 

[EmeraldOak]

Thanks for your suggestion. I did that once at this church. Unfortunately some of our parents use the cry room as a play room. You could barely hear over the giggles, screams, running and jumping! Oh well! That’s an issue for another day.

That is unfortunate.

 

[jediliz]

I feel bad for you - I don’t have asthma and luckily my parish rarely uses incense on Easter Sunday, but Incense DOES bother me (makes it hard for me to breathe sometimes)…which is why I didn’t go to Holy Thursday Mass this year because of the incense they use during the procession at the end of Mass (to the altar of Repose).

Sitting in the back is a good idea, unless the cloud of incense is so bad that it drifts to the back.

 

[Gorgias]

Thanks for your suggestion. I did that once at this church. Unfortunately some of our parents use the cry room as a play room. You could barely hear over the giggles, screams, running and jumping! Oh well! That’s an issue for another day.

Hmm… so let me make sure I understand: for you, yesterday, it was better to sit in your car, devastated, than to sit in the cry room, distracted? It was preferable to miss receiving the Eucharist than to listen to the sounds of children playing?

 

[Irishgal49]

My husband and I arrived early for Mass this morning. Many people were there. The weather was gorgeous and the church looked beautiful. As it began our young priest led us in a wonderful and exultant Alleluia. The choir has never sounded so lovely. They chimed the church bell. The readers were inspired! It had to be one of the best liturgies I ever attended until…

The incense.

I have asthma. I figured they would use it today, so I came prepared. I used my inhaler before we had breakfast and I brought it with me in my purse. I was ok with the entrance procession with incense. I had to use my inhaler after Fr. blessed(?) the altar space with generously re-stoked incense. I was wheezing and coughing by the end of the Gospel. The incense had again been re-stoked and it was swung by an altar server during the entire Gospel reading. I had to leave at that point. I sat in my car, read the Gospel again and prayed while I waited for my husband.

I can’t overstate the extent of my disappointment at having to leave this morning. I was unable to receive communion or to experience the remainder of the gorgeous service. I still feel very sad about it. I am not opposed to incense. I do understand its symbolism in the liturgy. But for me, it means I cannot participate in the Mass. It makes me want to cry!

(Please don’t misunderstand. I am so VERY VERY happy about Easter. Today is a blessed day!)

Thanks for letting me vent!

So sorry you had that experience. I will trade you. We used so little I am convinced the priest is having it deducted from his paycheck. I think maybe he is sensitive too. I was just kidding but it can cause serious breathing problems for people. I have asthma but I sit where it doesn’t reach me.

 

[savedbygrace71]

Hmm… so let me make sure I understand: for you, yesterday, it was better to sit in your car, devastated, than to sit in the cry room, distracted? It was preferable to miss receiving the Eucharist than to listen to the sounds of children playing?

It’s possible that yesterday, having needed her inhaler three times, she wasn’t feeling well enough to be anywhere! The albuterol makes one very shaky. Normally our asthma doctor says, at the third episode in one day you need to either use the nebulizer or come in for a check and breathing treatment. Once the lungs get inflamed it’s tough to calm them down again.

 

[1ke]

did you sit near the altar? Knowing yourself that you have Asthma, maybe next time sit more in the back at Masses where there is a strong possibility that incense will be used.
At least in the back, you might have more air and nearer a door to be able to step out if needed.

That does not matter. One of our parishioners has bad asthma and whenever there is incense she sits in the very back, I mean not even in the back pew, but in the narthex.

She has her inhaler at the ready. Many times she has to use her inhaler and leave. In addition the incense gives her a migraine.

And, we are not in a parish where the priest goes heavy on the incense. It is just that bad for some people.

 

[chefmomster2]

So sorry you had that experience. I will trade you. We used so little I am convinced the priest is having it deducted from his paycheck.

 

[chefmomster2]

It’s possible that yesterday, having needed her inhaler three times, she wasn’t feeling well enough to be anywhere! The albuterol makes one very shaky. Normally our asthma doctor says, at the third episode in one day you need to either use the nebulizer or come in for a check and breathing treatment. Once the lungs get inflamed it’s tough to calm them down again.

Thanks for understanding!

 

[chefmomster2]

That does not matter. One of our parishioners has bad asthma and whenever there is incense she sits in the very back, I mean not even in the back pew, but in the narthex.

She has her inhaler at the ready. Many times she has to use her inhaler and leave. In addition the incense gives her a migraine.

And, we are not in a parish where the priest goes heavy on the incense. It is just that bad for some people.

Absolutely! Unfortunately there is no sound in the narthex, plus the smoke was so intense that even with the doors closed it got to be too much in there once the attack took hold.

 

[chefmomster2]

Hmm… so let me make sure I understand: for you, yesterday, it was better to sit in your car, devastated, than to sit in the cry room, distracted? It was preferable to miss receiving the Eucharist than to listen to the sounds of children playing?

If you read my text you can read how devestated I was at having to choose that option. Obviously I did so because I had no other choice. My attack was too acute to remain in the church. It was medically necessary to leave the building and get out in the fresh air.

BTW, returning was not an option. (As reported by my husband.) It would have caused the attack to recur especially since incense was used during the entire length of the consecration and while Fr. traveled up and back down each of 6 aisles and around the outer edge of the church towards the end of the Mass. (The Church holds anout 250 people.) This was after the incensing of the church during the entrance, before the first reading, and during the entire Gospel- far more than I had ever seen in any church I’ve visited.

I am happy for you that you do not suffer from this condition.

 

[Cat]

When you go to a theater–professional–IF a strobe light will be used during the production, there are signs placed in prominent places before patrons enter the theater to be seated. These signs says something to the effect of: “During the production of (Name of show), a strobe light will be used.”

This information is also placed in the Playbill, usually in large print and in a prominent place.

These signs and notes are made because strobe lights trigger seizures in some people, and the theater is kind and polite enough to let everyone know so that those who may be affected adversely by the strobe light will have the option of asking for a refund and leaving the building.

It seems to me that if a secular, worldly organization, a “theater” even, a place that occasionally shows plays that are anti-Christ and anti-religion and even anti-goodness–if this place can be considerate enough of patrons and guests to post these warning notices, then surely, SURELY, a church, THE Church of Jesus Christ, the gathering place for those who have made the decision to be the disciples of Jesus even to the point of giving our lives for our brothers and sisters, can show the same kind, polite consideration for the people who enter the building.

Right?

It’s even easier nowadays, as many parishes have an email registry of their parishioners, and send out emails and even Tweets about the schedules in the parish. So it would be so easy to send out reminders of which Masses will include incense and which will not. That way, the incense lovers and those who are affected adversely by incense will be able to plan their schedules.

Or get the children to make signs up in their art classes in the parish school or in some of the parish homeschool families… “Incense will be used in today’s 9:30 a.m. Mass.” The children would probably be thrilled to help the parish out in this way.

Jesus said that they will know we are Christians by the LOVE that we demonstrate for each other.

We know a family where the child (5th grade) DIED of an asthma attack. If this ever happens in any church in the U.S., that church and indeed, all the churches in that denomination will be featured on every secular television news show and in every secular print media in the U.S., and it will not be good. We need to be pro-active and start using our noodles and making those signs before something awful happens.

 

[johnmann]

Incense at Mass making you sick? (Cue clip of woman coughing lungs out at Mass) Tired of the mess of traditional thuribles? (Cue altarboy fumbling with coals). Introducing the iThurible ™: The world’s first water vapor thurible. Hypoallergenic. Environmentally friendly. Easy to use. Just plug in the charging station, load the iThurible with water, and within seconds you’re ready to incense. (Cue priest saying robotically, “I can’t believe how easy it is. Thanks iThurible!”)