Q: Why is incense used all the time at some churches and only on certain occasions at other churches?
Carol Chalkey Steinbock
Saint Mary Catholic Church, Ardmore
A: Incense has been used in religious worship since before Christ. The Levitical priests in the Old Testament would offer incense offerings.
In the Catholic and Orthodox churches incense has been used for centuries to represent our prayers rising to heaven and to add solemnity to worship. Prior to the Second Vatican Council and in the Extraordinary Form of the Mass, incense would be used always at the “High” or most solemn Mass on Sundays and Holy Days. After the Second Vatican Council it fell out of disuse in some places as there really is no “High” Mass anymore, as many parts of the Mass are now sung at all Sunday Masses.
It is really up to each parish and pastor to decide when to use incense or not.
There are certain Masses such as Funeral Masses and Holy Thursday and Easter Vigil, where it is required, but on most Sundays it is optional. As a child at Christ the King Catholic Church, incense was always used at the 10 a.m. Mass where the choir sang. I have always used incense at the Mass where the choir sings each Sunday and at all Masses on Feast Days and Holy days.
The reality is that some people like it and some will start coughing the minute they see the thurible come down the aisle. However, I think many people agree that it adds a certain solemnity to the Mass and is still a beautiful symbol of our prayers rising to God.
Father Richard Stansberry
The Cathedral of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Oklahoma City
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