Incense

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I was wondering how many forum members use incense in the home when praying and how do you go about using it. I have been thinking about adding it to my prayer life. Thanks

Bruce
 
bjcsfo said:
I was wondering how many forum members use incense in the home when praying and how do you go about using it. I have been thinking about adding it to my prayer life. Thanks

Bruce
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Oooh.

I do. I have this Byzantine incense I got from Greece when I visited there last year. Not knowing when I’ll be there again, I ensured I got at least a couple of years’ worth.

Since I pray the Liturgy of the Hours, I burn incense on Sundays, Solemnities and more important Feasts. I do so using a thick glass pillar candle holder and quick-lite charcoal. I ignite the charcoal before I begin and just let it smolder. By the time I get to the Canticle of Zechariah or Canticle of Mary, I recite the antiphon, then spoon a small amount (four or five small grains, or one or two large ones) onto the charcoal before launching into the Canticle itself.

I do not burn the incense on regular weekdays, so as to keep the more important days “special”.
 
You can find the special charcoal at Amazon. Very inexpensive.
 
How long does the charcoal last and can you reuse it or does it burn out?
 
bjcsfo said:
How long does the charcoal last and can you reuse it or does it burn out?
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It burns out, but it does burn for a long time. There are different sizes. I have several packages. They look like a roll of Lifesavers ™.
 
bjcsfo said:
How long does the charcoal last and can you reuse it or does it burn out?
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It’s a one-time use; the charcoal is useless ash by the time it cools.

What I do is break up each charcoal tablet into quarters and use those. Since I pray alone and there’s no need to choke up the house (which is small relative to a church), it would be a waste of charcoal to burn really few grains at a time.
 
Thanks for the info, I have just ordered an incense starter set from Legacy Icons. Can’t wait to get started.:highprayer:
 
I like the smell, but it makes my eyes itch and burn! Several people near me at Easter mass had the same problem…I think they overfilled the thurible 😦
 
Real frankincense burns with very little in the way of particulates, and it’s a natural painkiller as well as helping one’s breathing.

So… why does incense bother so many people now, when it never bothered anybody in the past? Why do people complain about coughing or about burning eyes, when that never used to be a problem?

Because lighter fluid and quick-lighting charcoal do contain a lot of irritating substances. So do a lot of cheap, fake forms of incense.

If your parish incense is bugging you, look into what they are using. It’s a pain in the butt to use real charcoal, but it’s a lot safer and more pleasant for the people in the pews.
 
I don’t currently but am considering buying some. We always use incense at Mass in the Ordinariate, so it is a definite part of my spiritual life. I’m trying to figure out what the best way to use incense in a home setting is. Is a charcoal burner necessary? Has anyone use candle incense burners which some sites are advertising? how about incense sticks?
 
I use Damascus Rose incense, not overpowering. It can be purchased from Leaflet Missal Company.
 
I might do so, if a) I didn’t live with others who were allergic and b) I could get a smaller, cheaper version of the censer used at Santiago de Compostela. :)🙂

ICXC NIKA
 
My favorite prayer is the rosary. I have a home alter complete with crucifix, candles and an incense burner. On Sundays I put new candles up and burn incense. Also I do new candles and incense on solemnities too. I don’t do incense on the other days, just candles.
 
When praying the Maronite breviary, the Prayers of the Faithful, I use an incense stick on Fridays, Sundays and on feasts. This week, the first week of Easter, everyday.

I was motivated to add incense to my private praying of the hours because the offering of incense is mentioned throughout the breviary, as is customary in the liturgies of morning or evening prayer. It just feels right and proper.

Christos anesti!
 
Augustine said:
I was motivated to add incense to my private praying of the hours because the offering of incense is mentioned throughout the breviary, as is customary in the liturgies of morning or evening prayer. It just feels right and proper.
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I suppose that is a nice act of piety, however if one carefully reads the hoosoyo (and knows its historical development) only a priest can make the proper offering of incense hence why the priest must be the one to burn the incense, not the deacons (even if they are the ones who will actually shake the censer), and why very often the hoosoye implore God to make the priests like Aaron and Phineas in their incense offerings. I highly recommend the book Scenting Salvation by Susan Harvey and West Syrian Liturgical Theology by Baby Varghese for the theology of the priestly offering of incense within the Syriac tradition. To paraphrase Harvey, it is the quintessential of the whole burnt offering.

For this reason, I do not offer incense because I cannot.
 
MorEphrem said:
I suppose that is a nice act of piety, however… For this reason, I do not offer incense because I cannot.
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Look, I light the incense before beginning the office, not at the moment of the Hoosoyo, much less try to bless it as if an offering. I am not trying to perform a mock liturgical act, just an act proper to a layman in the privacy of his home.

Christos anasti!
 
Incense burning by laymen seem to be more practiced by pious Byzatines and Latins, Syriacs may use it with the blessing of a bishop or at least priest but it’s pretty individual. Also, the censor with bells may not be shaken. An immobile censor cup isn’t unheard of, however rare.
 
Augustine said:
Look, I light the incense before beginning the office
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I didn’t say anything was wrong, I said it was a nice act of piety and as a conjunction only priests actually offer incense (there’s a distinct parallelism between the Christian priestly offering of incense and the Levitical offering - there isn’t really a theology of lay sacrifice). Cf. SyroMalankara’s post.

No need to be defensive - I didn’t accuse you of any impropriety.
 
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