*REVISED* Incense Frequency poll

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how long are the chains? this is very intriguing to me

Edit I googled it… they seem so much more manageable than the 2.5/3 foot long Latin rite thuribles/censers
 
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Ours only uses it at funerals. I like the smell and would be happy if it was used more often, but so many parishioners complained that the pastor stopped using it except for funerals. I was talking to him about it one day (actually, I was caring for the flower after a funeral and the sacristy smelled like incense and I commented how I loved the scent) and he did say that he actually liked using incense during Mass, but that the change in practice had been prompted by the response from parishioners, not by him.
 
I remember reading an anecdote somewhere about a priest who would use incense, and people in the pews would cough. So one day, he started swinging his thurible-- and the coughing starts-- and he turns around and opens it up to show that it’s empty. “I don’t ever want to hear those coughs again.”

😛
 
midori said:
I remember reading an anecdote somewhere about a priest who would use incense, and people in the pews would cough. So one day, he started swinging his thurible-- and the coughing starts
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That happened in my parish in 2000. The thurible wasn’t empty though – it had dry ice and water in it. When he was done “incensing” the altar before Mass, he poured the contents of the thurible into a styrofoam cup and left it on the edge of the ambo where it continued to “smoke” away until Mass began.

He never said a word and it kept the anti-incense control freaks from protesting for a good 5 years…
 
Maximilian75 said:
how long are the chains? this is very intriguing to me

Edit I googled it… they seem so much more manageable than the 2.5/3 foot long Latin rite thuribles/censers
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This Russian Orthodox bishop provides a good example. The Eastern technique is much more natural and fluid. It’s not a big, clumsy event:
 
How clever!
I was wondering how someone would pull a stunt like that— the smoke for the incense is such a visible thing. But the dry ice was a very clever touch!
 
My church barely uses it, I wish we could use it at least on Sundays. I have, on the rare occasions of it being used, heard the coughing start up right away so… 😦
 
Every Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, I prefer incense.

Notice that incense attracts more worshippers than nonsense. (Looking at all of you, Fr FeelGoods)
 
What bugs me are the anti-incensers who pretty much claim that nothing is lost if incense is not used.

Not only is such a mindset terribly selfish, it’s also dead wrong.

There are reasons why incense is still used after 2K years at places like St. Peter’s Basilica by the Pope.
 
It is not always selfishness.
I suffer from terrible allergy-induced asthma.
Depending on the type of incense, I can be in a full-blown attack in minutes, the kind that require epinephrine and immediate medical care.

I have purchased a good quality incense that doesn’t bother me, that my Pastor uses. He is grateful to not have the expense, most of the complainers stopped complaining and we now is incense a little more often.
 
CilladeRoma said:
It is not always selfishness.
I suffer from terrible allergy-induced asthma.
Depending on the type of incense, I can be in a full-blown attack in minutes, the kind that require epinephrine and immediate medical care.

I have purchased a good quality incense that doesn’t bother me, that my Pastor uses. He is grateful to not have the expense, most of the complainers stopped complaining and we now is incense a little more often.
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There’s an element in the “fine” incense that makes my asthma worse, ironically. Like you, exposure is an ER trip.

The other thing is people with COPD can’t deal with it no matter the type. @oralabora said it best when he was speaking about pastoral care. A good pastor is going to do what it takes within the rules of the church to ensure people can make it to Mass. End of story.
 
CilladeRoma said:
It is not always selfishness.

I suffer from terrible allergy-induced asthma.
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It’s ALWAYS a matter of selfishness when someone claims that nothing is lost if incense is not used.

Something is indeed lost.

There are a number of measures that can be taken by those that suffer allergies. The default in all cases need not be getting rid of incense.

I will give you a prime example. A great deal of incense is used in a fairly confined space in my Eastern Catholic parish, each and every Sunday. At least three folks (one an MD himself) suffer from emphysema. Rather than demand that no incense be used, they use medication to help them deal with the incense smoke. All take a tablet before Divine Liturgy. In one case you can actually smell one person’s inhaler, should he need to use it.

It’s nice to see them making an effort on their own rather than employing fake coughing and demands that no incense be used.
 
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Is it possible to quantify what is lost? Just curious, since I honestly don’t know.

Blessings,
Stephie
 
CilladeRoma said:
It is not always selfishness.

I suffer from terrible allergy-induced asthma.

Depending on the type of incense, I can be in a full-blown attack in minutes, the kind that require epinephrine and immediate medical care.

I have purchased a good quality incense that doesn’t bother me, that my Pastor uses. He is grateful to not have the expense, most of the complainers stopped complaining and we now is incense a little more often.
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That’s another measure that can be taken. Again, it’s wonderful when alternatives can be found rather than simply getting rid of incense.
 
I love the incense used in the church,but I feel deeply for those with allergies and respiratory problems,my own son included .
 
I agree that there may be other options.
However, the decision should lie with the Pastor.
And what of it is the priest who has the problem.
I think it would be selfish of the parishioners who demand incense, especially if the Priest has issues.

Sometimes we can always have things the way we want them. Sometimes we have to do what is best, even if it is for a small minority.

Incense is a wonderful thing but it is not essential to the Mass.
 
StephieNorthCo said:
Is it possible to quantify what is lost? Just curious, since I honestly don’t know.
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“Quantify”? No. But qualities can certainly be listed.
  • First, some simply like the smell of incense.
  • In more focused words, we (should) worship with all of our senses if possible. Like it or not, for millions, they equate the smell of incense to the celebration of the Mass – in other words to wondrous things.
  • Using incense in the Church supports a tradition that is as old as the Church itself. It allows us to better understand what attending Mass was like centuries ago.
  • It provides a visual depiction of our prayers ascending to heaven along with the smoke. In the Catholics East there is a wonderful chant that goes: “Let my prayers ascend to You (God) like incense, and the lifting up of my hands, like an evening sacrifice.” (Psalm 141:2)
  • Burning incense which costs $$$ is itself, a sacrifice, an offering to God.
  • Burning incense adds both a mystical and solemn quality to the celebration.
  • Incense smoke is symbolic of sanctification and purification. In some EC churches, incense smoke is used to purify sacred vessels and the priest’s hands before their use.
Those are just off the top of my head. I am sure there are more.
 
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CilladeRoma said:
I agree that there may be other options.

However, the decision should lie with the Pastor.

And what of it is the priest who has the problem.

I think it would be selfish of the parishioners who demand incense, especially if the Priest has issues.
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That’s an interesting question. In Eastern Catholicism and Orthodoxy, I’m fairly sure a man would be rejected for seminary if he could not tolerate incense smoke.

I do think it would be selfish for a priest to ban all incense use if he had medication options that would at least allow it to be used a funerals and major feasts.

We use a “special brand” of incense at Christmas and sometimes at Easter. I told the priest it gives me a splitting headache – just in conversation, I was not trying to get the incense changed. He said to take a Benadryl before Divine Liturgy. I tried that and it works 100% I also have done it when MCing a big funeral Mass (about the only place we use incense anymore) where too much can give me a runny nose. Again, for me, Benadryl (actually the generic Diphenhydramine) works 100%.
 
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Ok, yes. There are options.
But not every option works for everyone.
I can’t take Benadryl. It knocks me out. I would be sound asleep 20 minutes after taking it, that would not be ideal.
Sometimes we just have to accept that what we want just isn’t going to happen. Incense or no, Mass is still Mass.
 
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