Its about the incense

  • Thread starter Thread starter Helen31
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
H

Helen31

Guest
Please forgive me if I put this thread in the wrong forum, but I gotta know… I have a good idea of why we as Catholics use the incense, but why does it make me feel so good?😃 I wish they used it everyday!
 
Helen31 said:
Please forgive me if I put this thread in the wrong forum, but I gotta know… I have a good idea of why we as Catholics use the incense, but why does it make me feel so good?😃 I wish they used it everyday!
Click to expand...
It makes me cough and sneeze. 😦
 
Nothing like a ridiculously smoking thurible overloaded with frankincense!
 
I love the incense! The more the better. I grew up in Southern Baptist mission churches, all of which were very small, and usually in temporary buildings or tents (family of missionaries). No incense in those places, and many could have used it.

I never even smelled incense until I was in my 30’s. I understand if a body grew up with it, and doesn’t care for the smoke or the smell, but from my point of view, it only adds to the majesty of the experience.
 
I grew up with it for high Mass, during my pre-Vatican II childhood. I attend a TLM parish, and am privileged to smell it every week.

To me, it smells like Heaven will smell–holy, holy, holy!

:highprayer:
 
Helen31 said:
Please forgive me if I put this thread in the wrong forum, but I gotta know… I have a good idea of why we as Catholics use the incense, but why does it make me feel so good? I wish they used it everyday!
Click to expand...
That’s why. The use of incense brings another of your senses (smell) into the process of adoring God.
 
Peggy_in_Burien said:
I grew up with it for high Mass, during my pre-Vatican II childhood. I attend a TLM parish, and am privileged to smell it every week.

To me, it smells like Heaven will smell–holy, holy, holy!

:highprayer:
Click to expand...
I smelled it at Byzantine Divine Liturgies. When I smell it, I feel like I’m back in the Byzantine Empire! 🙂 I’ve heard that Western incense is more smoke and less smell, and Byzantine incense is more smell and less smoke. 🙂
 
I LOVE incense. One of my favorite smells. It’s a shame that it isn’t used much in most OF Masses even though they can use it quite a bit.
 
I loooooove the incense although it behooves me to sit nearer the back when the thurible is in use, as my reactive airway does not love it in the same way. I would love to see it used more often, though.
 
We use incense at some of our Masses. We used to have sweet smelling stuff, but then we acquired a former Anglican priest who thought we should use something more meaningful.
I’m not sure whether the supply he got in was flavoured with myrrh or old car tyres, but the congregation and especially the altar servers hate the stuff. So I now buy in my own supply of pure frankincense from an eBay shop. I don’t know what else they supply, but when it arrives, the packaging has a distinctly herbal smell.:eek:

Originally frankincense was used by Arabian bee-keepers because the smoke calms the bees. It became popular among religions with animal sacrifices because it kept the flies away and masked the smell. It was also used to keep the congregation smelling sweet. So it’s early use was as a fly-spray, air-freshener and deodorant. That story amuses young thurifers. The Church’s version is that the rising smoke represents our prayers rising to heaven. However, when the priest incenses the altar, then the deacon goes on to incense the priest and congregation, you get an idea of how it all started.

If you want to see purposeful incensing, you need to attend midday Mass at St James’s Cathedral in Santiago de Compostella.
 
Helen31 said:
Please forgive me if I put this thread in the wrong forum, but I gotta know… I have a good idea of why we as Catholics use the incense, but why does it make me feel so good?😃 I wish they used it everyday!
Click to expand...
I like incense. Unfortunately, my asthma hates it. I like that lingering smell in church when incense has been used earlier.
 
bben15 said:
I smelled it at Byzantine Divine Liturgies. When I smell it, I feel like I’m back in the Byzantine Empire! 🙂 I’ve heard that Western incense is more smoke and less smell, and Byzantine incense is more smell and less smoke. 🙂
Click to expand...
That is because Latin incense commonly uses sawdust as a filler whereas eastern incense will be, for example, made of resin and rose petals.
 
I always dread having to wash my cassock and surplice, and having them come out smelling like fresh cotton. After a few weeks of Masses, when the smell of the incense is really worked into the fabric, it seems when it’s not there something is…*lacking.
 
As I was Serving last night, Our thrurifer stood next to me and I could taste the incense right till i went to sleep. sometimes that bothers me but last night it didnt.🤷

I can’t smell it on my gowns when I put them on etc and only wash them about 3 times a year on and off unless I really have got wax on them.

When my platelets were down the other year I remember coming home one Sunday and I showered straight away as couldn’t get rid of the stink of incense. That time I could feel it in my hair and smell it on my clothes and I guess it was thru platelets being down and my nose being sensitive.

When I first started serving again I was serving every week and after a time it was beginning to do my chest in on sunday evenings. then I had a confession with this priest of which my penance was to rejoin the choir - too and do both. That was actually a blessing in disguise for me as I no longer get sore chest sunday evenings now it alternate weeks. I have mentioned that to this priest. I am very mildly asmathic so was suprised at the sore chest feeling. But all gone now I am serving fortnightly and last night didn’t affect me even though our temporary thruifer was stood on my side. I had more to worry about with the rubbish maths exam I had sat yesterday morning and in all fairness I have well and truelly failed. If I have passed I will sign up for creativity because that be how I have passed thru sheer creativeness. I really don’t feel like i have passed at all 😊
 
I love the incense but have had a problem with coughing and sneezing, until we got a new priest and now it doesn’t cause any problems for me.
 
Incense??? What’s that??? :confused:

Sorry, the local parish only uses incense in maybe two masses a year (not two days, two masses) so I’m always confused (and jealous) when I hear others speak of incense. I think the package of charcoal blocks dates to the 90’s. 😉
 
Me too. I love love love incense. I tip my hat to parishes that use incense frequently.

In my territorial parish we use incense fairly often but not every Sunday. (I’m not sure about my secondary parish since I don’t go there all that often.) Last Tuesday my priest and I were knocking back a few at my place (I had a visiting priest from my secondary parish over for dinner and Fr. B dropped by to say howdy) and he mentioned he wasn’t sure if we would have incense for Assumption. :eek: Long story short, ultimately he was able to pull it off. If it hadn’t been possible, something would definitely have been missing for me.

That said, The non-Catholic Husband has trouble singing when incense is in use. He chokes. I have had a lifetime of singing through incense smoke, so I know how to do it without hacking and coughing. He’ll learn 😉
 
I LOVE incense. I dunno why.

Unfortunately…my parish only smells it on Holy Thursday and at the Easter Vigil!

This is why we need the Extraordinary Form 😃 wake up and smell the incense!
 
jimrob said:
We use incense at some of our Masses. We used to have sweet smelling stuff, but then we acquired a former Anglican priest who thought we should use something more meaningful.
I’m not sure whether the supply he got in was flavoured with myrrh or old car tyres, but the congregation and especially the altar servers hate the stuff. So I now buy in my own supply of pure frankincense from an eBay shop. I don’t know what else they supply, but when it arrives, the packaging has a distinctly herbal smell.:eek:

Originally frankincense was used by Arabian bee-keepers because the smoke calms the bees. It became popular among religions with animal sacrifices because it kept the flies away and masked the smell. It was also used to keep the congregation smelling sweet. So it’s early use was as a fly-spray, air-freshener and deodorant. That story amuses young thurifers. The Church’s version is that the rising smoke represents our prayers rising to heaven. However, when the priest incenses the altar, then the deacon goes on to incense the priest and congregation, you get an idea of how it all started.

If you want to see purposeful incensing, you need to attend midday Mass at St James’s Cathedral in Santiago de Compostella.
Click to expand...
WRONG! It’s sad to see myths like this being circulated as if they were fact… 😦

Incense (Frankincense, Myrrh, etc.) was far, far too valuable to be routinely used to keep bees tranquil (most smoke will do that anyway) and as a deodorant. It was used because it smells good, because it engages our senses and because it was so expensive – it was considered a very important offering far back into Judaic times.

The infamous use of incense to mask unwashed pilgrims makes for cute stories but it’s by no means why incense is part of Catholic liturgies.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top