The Hindu practice of Aarti coming to a Mass near you?

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What is going on here in including this in the Mass?

en.wikipedia.org

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Aarti​

Aarti also spelled arti, arati, arathi, aarati, aarthi, aarthy, arthy (In Devanagari: आरती ārtī) is a Hindu religious ritual of worship, a part of puja, in which light (usually from a flame) is offered to one or more deities. Aarti(s) also refers to the songs sung in praise of the deity, when the light is being offered. Aarti is derived from the Sanskrit word आरात्रिक (ArAtrika) which means something that removes rātrī, darkness (or light waved in darkness before an icon). A Marathi language ref...
 
An explanation of what the Hindu practice of Aarti is, how it was performed in the context of the Mass, and for what occasion is also in order.
 
Wikepedia unfortunately, but I am sure the original tweeter and Cardinal Cupich (both linked in the tweet will be contactable)

Aarti is derived from the Sanskrit word आरात्रिक ( ArAtrika ) which means something that removes rātrī , darkness (or light waved in darkness before an icon).[1][2][3] A Marathi language reference says[4] it is also known as Mahaneeranjana (Sanskrit: महानीराञ्जना).[5]

Aarti is said to have descended from the Vedic concept of fire rituals, or homa . In the traditional aarti ceremony, the flower represents the earth (solidity), the water and accompanying handkerchief correspond with the water element (liquidity), the ghee or oil lamp represents the fire component (heat), the peacock fan conveys the precious quality of air (movement), and the yak-tail fan represents the subtle form of ether (space). The incense represents a purified state of mind, and one’s “intelligence” is offered through the adherence to rules of timing and order of offerings. Thus, one’s entire existence and all facets of material creation are symbolically offered to the Lord via the aarti ceremony.[6] The word may also refer to the traditional Hindu devotional song that is sung during the ritual.
 
I don’t know, but the 3 women lifting incense sticks while kneeling before an altar attended by Catholic priests doesn’t look like any mass I have ever seen.

Still, a tweet does not give enough information to know what was really going on.
 
Irishmom2 said:
I don’t know, but the 3 women lifting incense sticks while kneeling before an altar attended by Catholic priests doesn’t look like any mass I have ever seen.

Still, a tweet does not give enough information to know what was really going on.
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From the pose of the priests it appears to be right after the Consecration. I would be interested if anyone can confirm that this is contrary to the GIRM. I suspect that it must be, but I await confirmation.
 
If this is “arati” performed after the Anaphora, then it’s allowed pursuant to the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India getting approval from Rome in 1969 to do it. Apparently there are several other traditional practices that they got permission to have in the Mass. Several web sources discuss this, here is one.

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I have no idea what was going on too.

I’m Indian and at first, I thought it was incense. My grandmother uses similar sticks for her Catholic art too so I wanted to say it’s probably something cultural and it’s similar to the incense used in Mass.

But then I saw the other objects and I’m pretty confused.

Edit: seems like this practice is allowed, from the previous post.
 
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Arati while used in religious contexts in Hinduism is also used in non worship contexts as a sign of respect and honor. This is probably why it was allowed as a practice by the Catholic bishops—because it’s not strictly a Hindu worship practice.
 
It is interesting in the reference I posted that a lot of the Catholics in India don’t want to do the practice because they want to set themselves apart from the Hindus, not seem to be ecumenical with them.

I kind of like the “welcoming Jesus in” idea, although I’m not going to be doing a ritual in front of the altar with a bowl of incense as that’s not my culture.
 
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