Why has the use of incense

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Catholic361

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Why is the use of incense stopped being used in the church? I have only seen it used once and that was was Holy Saturday of 2018. I kinda like the symbolism of it and the smell of it. I know odd right?
 
That’s just silly. I don’t think that they use it all the time
 
My parish uses it at both forms of the Mass on Sunday and certain other days.

Just depends on the parish I suppose.
 
You are lucky kinda would like to see it a little more in the OF mass which is more than i see now which is never i have only seen it on Easter vigil. Kind of sad that part of the mass has gone by the way side up here in the NW United states.
 
In our Parrish they use incense occasionally… And every time I feel dizzy and get a massive headache… So in a way I am glad it is a rare occurence…
 
My parish uses it for every Sunday/Saturday Mass. I wasn’t aware it’s rare
 
In my parish it’s used at funerals and the Easter Vigil.

Our daughter is asthmatic and she couldn’t serve when incense was used due to the concentration of smoke in the sanctuary. On those days we’d sit at the back and that would be enough to prevent an asthma attack. So I’m well aware that it can affect those with breathing issues, but I do think that if the thurifer swung a brand new empty thurible there would still be people coughing.

I generally like incense but some places use blends that smell like pot-pourri and that flowery smell nauseates me the way heavy perfume does.
 
One reason is the good quality incense resin and charcoal is expensive. The more you use it the more you have to buy and when budgets are tight, things have to be sacrificed.
I would much rather my parish forgo incense at every Mass and still be able to have our votive candles or offer Communion under both species.
 
One parish I went to used it every Sunday at two of the mass times. One mass time was incense free. I liked the practice.

Most of the other ones I’ve attended only use it on solemnities.
 
Wesrock said:
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steph03:
Iustinus1:
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Of course, that is nowhere near accurate
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(It’s a joke.)
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OK, sorry … I can be slow sometimes 😉
 
Iustinus1 said:
I’d much prefer incense every mass than having to have the blood of Christ given out. We get it all in the host; body, blood, soul, and divinity.
The Council of Trent said anathema to those who say you need both species(like Luther). I have no idea why this is even a thing now.
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There is what is sufficient and necessary, and then there is a fuller sign. Participation in both species is participation in a fuller sign of the sacrament, of the heavenly banquet, and of the Last Supper.
 
Catholic361 said:
Why is the use of incense stopped being used in the church? I
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Perhaps a parish thing…because “bells and smells” are still part of Sunday, feast day, and solemnity liturgies in my parish (a parish that which traditionalists might be considered too modern).

Rejoice!
 
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At a Newman Center back in the 1970s, an older nun would talk at length about how horrible the old Mass was. She lamented the “distractions” of stained glass images, statues, ringing of bells at the Consecration, incense, and so on. All this she claimed was a turnoff to modern young people.

Then she’d talk in glowing terms of the “New Mass” in which today’s Catholics looked for a multi sensory experience. Thus she was always inserting slideshows, unusual music, dramatic readings during “extra times” such as during and after Communion.

I think opposition to incense, and bells, etc, was part of an effort to get away from the idea of the transcendent, supernatural nature of the Mass. They wanted more of a focus on Mass as source of unity, almost an ice breaker exercise in team building.
 
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A priest at a parish I attended explained that he was taught “if you can see the altar there’s not enough incense.”

It was a bit of a joke, of course, but he was the one who used incense every Sunday at most mass times, and he used a lot (except for one incense free mass time each Sunday).
 
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I don’t know that it has stopped being used… it’s just particular parishes preference… or even different masses. In our parish our 1130 Sunday mass always uses incense and we use it for any sort of formal masses etc. It’s not used on Saturday Vigil mass and I don’t think it’s used at the children’s mass on Sundays (930) but I have not been to that mass in years. I am a fan of incense and bells. We use bells even during the week for Benediction. Ours is not a traditional church either as in the capital T. It is a old and beautiful church though that still does many things the way they’ve been done since it was founded 128yrs ago, so I think that’s why this one mass (out of 3) remains with incense.
Personally I love incense and the bells.
 
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Thrstypirate said:
Because people whine about the smell and cough.
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I know a priest that put a small chunk of dry ice in the thurible instead of incense. There were still people that complained that the “smoke” and smell irritated them.

I know that there are some people that it truly irritates their lungs, but seems there are also some that have a purely psychosomatic reaction.
 
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