The Catholic bulletin., 1921-08-13
THE INcEnsINe OF THE ALTAR.


altar and kissed the relics of the saints
contained in the altar stone, the priest
proceeds with the incensation, ii 1t be
Solemn High Mass.
Tie use of incense in sacred cere-,
monies dates back to the Old Testa-
ment when God Himself directed now
il was to be mixed, and where, when
and how often it should be burned.
EXODUS XXX.) In the New Testa-
ment the three wise men were the first
to use incense in the service of the
Lord The scripture says that bowling
down, they adored the infant Savior
and offered Him gold, incense and
myrrh.' The early Christians used 1t
in the catacombs, in their professions
and at the altar. st. Ambrose, living
in the year 397, speaks of its use at
the Mass when he says: May we also
when incensing the altar and when
offering the Holy Sacrifice have an
angel at our side The use of incense
in the Latin rite reached its highest
development in the middle ages. 1t
has always been used more extensively
in the Greek and Slavonian rites than
in the Latin
A Symbol of Sacrifice.
The burning incense is, in the first
place, symbol of sacrifice; for as
incense is consumed in the fire, so
should mans entire faculties be con-
sumed in the fire of divine love. In
the second place, incense, with it's
cloud of smoke that arises heaven
ward, symbolizes prayer. 1t reminds
us that our prayers ought to ascend
to heaven as the clouds of incense rise
in the air. Hence the Royal Prophet
beautifully says: Let my prayer be
directed as incense in Thy sight, O
Lord psalm CXLII) Thirdly, the
odor of incense is a symbol of divine
grace. For, just as our prayers anG
sacrifices ascend to God like the
smoke of burning incense, so their
agreeable spiritual odor draws down
His blessings upon us. Hence the
church at the Offertory of Solemn
High Mass in incensing the bread and
wine: May this incense which Thou
and may Thy mercy descend upon u.s.
Fourthly, the Odor of incense also
symbolizes the effect of Gods grace,
namely, sanctity and holiness, which
dwells in Christ in its fulness and is
derived from Him to us, the members
of His mystic body. Such is the teach
ing of ST Paul 1I Cor. II, 15): We
h. ,11 rsr,@ 4
...~-r~ 80 y slts Furthers Symbolism. :.
In this instruction we speak of the
first mcensation at a Solemn High
Mass Having put incense into the
censer, the priest blesses it, saying:
'Mayest thou be blessed by Him in
whose honor thou shalt be burned He
then incenses the cross, the whole
altar around about, the relics of the
saints and last of all he himself is
incensed by the deacon Of the Mass.
The purpose of this incensation is to
call to the attention of the people
from the very beginning of the Mass
the fact that the sacrifice once offered
on the cross is about to be renewed; !;
that the altar is Christ Himself, whom
ST. John saw standing before the
the offerings of the faithful are conse-
Grated to God the Father Ordination
of subdeacOn); that the saints are the
golden girdle with which Christ is
surrounded in glory; that the priest
is the visible representative of the
Great High Priest. The incensation,
inasmuch as it is directed to Christ,
whom cross, altar and priest call to
our minds, is an act of alteration. In
asmuch as it is directed to the relics
of the saints, to the priests, to the
altar and to the cross, it donates our
respect and yeneration for these on
account of their association with
Christ. The clouds of incense en-
veloping priests, altar and sanctuary
: vividly recall the scenes enacted upon
the heavenly altar as described in the
Apocalypse (VIH, 81 They also
symbolic the presence of God, who
dwelt in the cloud over the tabernacle
during the wanderings of the children
of Israel in the desert Exodus XII
32), and who took up His abode in the
cloud that filled Solomon's temple
on the day of it's dedication. MI
Paral, v, ~, 14.) They remind u:
that the Christian altar is the true
Holy of Holes prefgured by that o
the ancient temple into which th'
high priest entered once a year
filling it with the vapors of his smok
ing censor (LeT XVI, IL, 13, an,
Heb. IX.) Finally, they are
a symbol of the species, or appear
ance, of bread and wine which cove
as with veil the real presence o
the body and blood, soul and divinit,
of Jesus Christ upon the altar.
The Introit..
After the. incensing of the altar a
Solemn High Mass, the priest goes 3
s the missal on the epistle side and
making the sign of the cross, read
the Introit, or entrance of the Mass
1t is SO called because it was former
ly sung by the choir. while the cele
sbrant and his assistants went to tn
altar, and is now sung during tn
preparatory prayers at the foot of tn
altar. The Introit is usually take
from the psalms, sometimes fror
other parts of the scriptures, an
occasionally is composed by th
church herself TT sounds the ke,