Straights Answers: Why Do Priests Use Incense?

Catholic Herald ^ | Fr. William Saunders

[NYer]

Try an Orthodox church. You will be pleasantly surprized

The Eastern Catholic Churches also use incense, even at the low masses. In the Maronite Catholic Church, incense is used at various times throughout the Divine Liturgy.

Many Latin Rite Catholics forget that the Eastern Catholic Churches are part of the same Catholic Church. The Holy Father encourages Roman Catholics to attend the liturgy at an Eastern Rite Church. Here is a listing.

EASTERN CATHOLIC LINKS

[RonF]

If you think of the floor of the church as laid out in a crucifix shape, we are singing where the Lord's right hand would have been. There's only 8 of us. There's room for 16 (3 pews, four on the left, two on the right, the pipes of the organ that was installed after this was all set up blocking the bottom pew on the right hand side). The front pew is about 12 feet from the Communion rail (apparently these are gone from a lot of RCC churches now?). Charlie make sure we get our share.

I've been a Cubmaster or Scoutmaster for the last 12 years, so singing in smoke is no biggie for me. But we've got a couple of people with allergies, so they need ventilation. The prevailing wind blows from behind us, into the church, so opening the windows usually fixes things.

[RonF]

And when it comes time for Holy water, our priest has got a good right arm; he gets us pretty good.

[NYer]

Swings that thurifer around, too.

Lol ... reminds me of the altar server at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington DC? He has the step, swing and hand rotation down to a science.

[A.A. Cunningham]

Swings that thurifer around, too.

You mean thurible. The thurifer is the acolyte who carries, or in your case, swings, the thurible.

[AnAmericanMother]

Classic old-fashioned English church layout, with the choir stalls on the left and right (minus space for the organ console and/or pipes.)

My old ECUSA church was built in the early sixties, during the craze for "modern", "relevant" churches - it is so ugly that they don't even have a picture of it up on the internet. They tried to remedy some of the problems with a renovation - it's still ugly but it's better than it was. The choir was moved from out in the congregation (in the back of the nave, near the narthes) to a new space behind the high altar - which is why we got thoroughly smoked and drowned in holy water.

Which reminds me of a tag from Grimm's Fairy Tales - "blessed is he who runs away/ from the holy water's spray."

Thank goodness our new church is a "real" church, with a porch, narthex, nave, transept, etc. No altar rails though.

[kosta50]

The Eastern Catholic Churches also use incense, even at the low masses

I am not sure what "low mass" is. The Orthodox Church uses incense in every Liturgy.

[AskStPhilomena]

You can use all the incense you like.
There's still no salvation outside the Catholic Church.

[katnip]

You can use all the incense you like. There's still no salvation outside the Catholic Church.

What a petty, embarrasing statement from a Roman Catholic.

[AskStPhilomena]

How much more of an embarrassment when the orthodox finally discover the certain truth to that statement!

[katnip]

Yeah, we all want need to have bitter shrunken souls.

[monkfan]

You can use all the incense you like. There's still no salvation outside the Catholic Church.

Why don't you go wax your broomstick or something.

[katnip]

Here's a few Byzantine Catholic churches I found on Long Island:

Church of the Resurrection - Smithtown

http://parishesonline.com/scripts/hostedsites/org.asp?ID=18447

St. Andrew the Apostle - Westbury

http://parishesonline.com/scripts/hostedsites/org.asp?ID=18448

I have no idea what their Liturgy is like, but if it's like Eastern Orthodox, there will always be incense.

[kosta50]

You can use all the incense you like. There's still no salvation outside the Catholic Church.

I feel for you. It must be a horrible feeling to profess such a wonderful faith and have none of its love.

BTW, we Orthodox are as catholic as you Latins only wish you could be, and we hope that you too will one day return to that faith.

But, we also know that God desires to save all men (1 Tim 2:4), as we know that there is but one Mediator between God and men, the man Jesus Christ (1 Tim 2:5), and no other man, no maatter what his honor on earth may be -- do you understand that?

[VermiciousKnid]

Thank you, katnip.

Actually, the Church of the Resurrection is quite close to my house. Closer even than my own RC parish. I have been inside the church once or twice, but have never attended Mass there.

The church is very beautiful, and very exotic. There is color inside EVERYWHERE! And yes, the smell of incense lingers even when no one is there.

One of these days I'm going to go to Mass there and check it out.

Thank you again,
Regards,

[VermiciousKnid]

PS: The Church of the Resurrection is a Byzantine Catholic Church, and it is perfectly OK for me to attend services there.

[MarMema]

Bitter shrunken souls filled with fear.

[Kolokotronis]

As I understand the rules of the Roman Church, its perfectly OK for you to attend an Orthodox Divine Liturgy too as the Roman Chgurch recognizes all of our sacraments as valid, though our rules say you can't receive communion.