Incense used in Introductory Rite cleanses sanctuary of leftover spiritual energy?

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flatlanderjenn

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Hello!

Our parish is doing Bishop Robert Barrons bible study on The Mass and beginngin on the bottom of page 26 it reads:

“Within the Catholic Mass there are multiple points of ablution that occur throughout the liturgy, each taking a different form.”

At the top of page 27 it continues:

“The first actually happens with the CASTING FORTH OF INCENSE, which not only lifts our prayer to heaven, and momentarily veils our perception, but CLEANSES THE AREA of what has come before - ANY LEFTOVER ACCRUAL OF SPIRITUAL ENERGY that may be lingering in our worship space from previous prayers, activities, or irreverences.”

Emphasis mine

First, I have NEVER heard this before.

Second, is this true? If so, please give me catechism references or GIRM reference or something authoritatives that says this.

Third, how do I explain to an ignorant Catholic the difference between her (pagan/neo-pagan/new-age) practice of smudging with sage and this?

Thanks!

Jennifer
 
Perhaps, when you read “cleanses the area of what has come before- any leftover accrual of spiritual energy that may be lingering”, you think, “sanctification and purification”, it sounds more in line. We hear “sanctification and purification” and don’t raise an eyebrow, but if we start getting into definitions, and define purification as something that “cleanses from leftover energy”-- which is a perfectly valid interpretation-- we start worrying about sounding too New Age-y. Because incense does have a thousands-of-year-old history of being associated with pagan worship. So we’re happy with it in our context, but we worry when our context sounds like what “other” people do.

So if we leave it at a vague “sanctification and purification”, we don’t worry about the mechanics of how, exactly, it sanctifies or purifies-- and we leave that up to God, because we know incense, on its own, is just a thing and can’t do much of anything, except make us sneeze. 😛
 
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midori said:
So if we leave it at a vague “sanctification and purification”, we don’t worry about the mechanics of how, exactly, it sanctifies or purifies-- and we leave that up to God, because we know incense, on its own, is just a thing and can’t do much of anything, except make us sneeze. 😛
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And when you do sneeze - I’ll say “God Bless you” and then the incense has served it’s purpose 😉
 
Once upon a time, there was an order of exorcists among the minor orders of the Church. A thurifer would always be an exorcist for this very reason: blessed incense, and the holy water a thurifer always ministers as well, are powerful sacramentals to cleanse places and even persons from any forces that might be attempting to take hold of them. It holds to the same principle of the baptismal exorcism; we are purifying this place or this person from any dark forces that may wish to claim its rights there before performing the sacred rites.
 
First off, incense should not be making anybody sneeze if it is pure frankincense, or if nobody is using fake charcoal, lighter fluid, or charcoal imbued with chemicals. Breathing pure frankincense is a soothing throat remedy, remarkably free of particulates. It does physically clear the air in some ways.

Incense represents our prayers, which are pleasing to the Lord and hateful to demons. Burning it constitutes an offering. Some of the Church’s blessings on incense do make it a sacramental and call upon it to have protective and identifying qualities, and many of the Mass prayers ask for God to help make the priest as pleasing to the Lord as incense.

So yeah, I think Fr. Barron did not explain it very well.
 
flatlanderjenn said:
Third, how do I explain to an ignorant Catholic the difference between her (pagan/neo-pagan/new-age) practice of smudging with sage and this?
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Same way you do for any similar resemblances…the new age practice is a pale ineffective imitation of the true and proper liturgical practice of the Catholic Church
 
There is an article at Holy Smoke - The Use of Incense in the Catholic Church which includes:

“Incense smoke symbolically purifies all that it touches. This is best illustrated by the richly symbolic practice in the Chaldean Rite of the Catholic Church. Those preparing to receive Holy Communion during the Holy Qurbono (Chaldean sacrificial liturgy) first purify their hands by holding them in smoke just above a bowl of burning incense. Similarly in the Maronite Rite of the Catholic Church, as they are being purified prior to liturgical use, the liturgical vessels — chalice, diskos (similar to the paten), and its asterisk (star) cover — are all inverted over the burning incense to catch the fragrant smoke.”

(Matthew D. Herrera, Holy Smoke – The Use of Incense in the Catholic Church, in Adoremus Bulletin, Online edition, February 2012, Vol. XVII, No. 10)
 
From “The Mass: an historical, theological, and pastoral survey” by Josef A. Jungmann, S.J. translated by Julian Fernandes, S.J., Liturgical Press, © 1976, ISBN 0814608876 page 162. This is from Part III The Liturgical Form, Chapter II The Introductory Rites, Section 1: Entrance Ritual, Opening Prayers and Incensing:

“The incensing ritual in a variety of forms is common to all Eastern liturgies. The altar, the sanctuary, the nave, the congregation, the clergy are incensed in turn, to the accompaniment of appropriate prayers. In the Byzantine and Maronite liturgies the accompanying prayer is Psalm 50, the “Miserere.” From this we may gather the function of incensing for these liturgies: the blessed smoke is intended to signify and awaken sentiments of purification and sanctification. The exact parallel to this in the West is the custom, familiar since the eighth/ninth centuries, of beginning the Sunday Eucharistic service with the sprinkling of holy water on the people to the accompaniment of the initial verse of the same Psalm 50 and the verse “Asperge me.”

In pre-Christian times incense and incensing had primarily an apotropaic significance, i.e., it was supposed to have the power to keep demons away. Whatever vestige of superstition survived in the popular mind at the time incensing was introduced into the liturgy, the significance the Church conferred on it is conveyed unmistakably in the words of the accompanying prayer for God’s grace to purify us.”
 
No, this was a holdover from the Middle Ages. Churches in the early church era were large open areas, almost like a market. There might be hundreds of people packed into the space. During this time, the people would frequently sing Psalms awaiting the entrance of the Bishop or priest. In order to let the people know to make way for the entering minister, they began using an acolyte who would swing a censor of incense. The smell alerted them that there was an important change in the service. The same thing would happen when the would bring in a large animal skin of wine for the eucharist.
 
I think it is fair to say that the books of the Roman Rite have the use of incense as sign of veneration and rising prayer and not purification. For example:

The Rite of Funerals has:

“10. After the funeral Mass the rite of final commendation and farewell is celebrated.

The meaning of the rite does not signify a kind of purification of the deceased; that is what the eucharistic sacrifice accomplishes. Rather it stands as a farewell …

Also to be seen as signs of farewell are the sprinkling with holy water, a reminder that through baptism the person was marked for eternal life, and the incensation, signifying respect for the body as the temple of the Holy Spirit.”

[Excerpt from the English translation of the Rite of Funerals, 15 August 1969, from “Documents on the Liturgy 1963-1979”, page 1070 © 1982, International Commission on English in the Liturgy Corporation. All rights reserved.]
 
Hodos said:
No, this was a holdover from the Middle Ages.
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It was clearly noted as Eastern by @ JohnLilburne.

Ancient Eastern usage was not influenced by the westgern medieval period (which starts centuries later, anyway).
 
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midori said:
We hear “sanctification and purification” and don’t raise an eyebrow, but if we start getting into definitions, and define purification as something that “cleanses from leftover energy”-- which is a perfectly valid interpretation-- we start worrying about sounding too New Age-y.
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You are absolutely right!
midori said:
incense, on its own, is just a thing and can’t do much of anything
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Yes, this is what I was thinking, too, but it SEEMS the book it saying the incense has an actual power. It’s God doing the purifying, not the incense so maybe I was reading it wrong.

Thanks!!!
 
bardegaulois said:
we are purifying this place or this person from any dark forces
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Dark forces meaning demons? Because negative spiritual energy isn’t a real thing,right? I never considered demons could enter a sanctuary. It confuses me that in the bible study it reads “accrual of spiritual energy…prayers, activities or irreverences.” So…does that mean our prayers and sins and whatever else I can’t think of is actual “energy” that can linger around? See, it sounds new-agey!
 
Mintaka said:
Incense represents our prayers
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Yes, and I don’t like that the book/bible study reads incense, “lifts our prayer to heaven.” As if our prayer is pushed to heaven by incense. =/ Maybe I’m being too picky.
 
Mintaka said:
Some of the Church’s blessings on incense do make it a sacramental and call upon it to have protective and identifying qualities,
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YES! This is what I need to remember! I wish Fr Barron had stated that!!
 
– At least Barron’s spelling-defector didn’t change “purifying” to “identifying”. (Argh… I try to check this stuff before posting, and more of it appears!)

– There is a difference between the nave of a church and the sanctuary…

– In general, any consecrated holy ground is “safe”. There are many old teachings by the Fathers of the Church that say that good angels constantly surround a church whenever the Eucharist is present, and of course a church is not only full of sacramentals and sitting on holy ground, but is itself consecrated.

OTOH, if a human being is being bothered by demonic influence of some kind, it’s not necessarily going to stop as soon as they cross the church threshold. If I can’t come into your house, but I can still yell at you from outside or call you on the phone, I can still make trouble. (So you use more sacramentals, which is like slamming down the phone!)

Under extreme conditions, or if a church has been desecrated, it is possible for demonic activity to take place inside a church. But it is very unusual; and any demon is at an extreme disadvantage. A demon would probably try to do something showy to hide that; but it knows it is only allowed to do stuff like that, so that it can be defeated more thoroughly, to God’s glory.

– Also, yes, there is a pretty universal connection between “extremely good smell” and “holy, pure, and pleasing to God.” Part of this is that it is possible to have all different kinds of sensory religious experiences, including supernatural experiences of good or evil smells that do not exist on Earth. There are a few “earthy” or “sharp chemical” smells which are seen as driving away evil (like asafoetida); but generally people see supernatural evil as associated with foul smells like sulfur and rotting things, and as hating all really good smells, like incense.

– It should also be remembered that burning things, or subjecting things to hot smoke, used to be part of sanitary and medical practice. You could destroy lice eggs by passing a shirt close to a candle flame or fire, because low heat would pop them open and kill them. Some germs and bugs can be destroyed by heating up a room above room temperature, and many insects flee smoke. Smoke destroys bad smells, gets rid of nasty dampness, and airs things out.

So there is a basic similarity between washing with water and passing things through smoke. Sacramentals and liturgical actions usually exploit a similarity between natural and supernatural things.
 
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