July 14, 2024

Fifteenth sunday in ordinary time

by Fr. Jonah Teller OP

Dear St. Joseph Parish Family,

Fr. Jonah here, filling in while Fr. Boniface is away. Let’s talk about incense. Why do we use incense at Mass? Psalm 141:2 has us say to God, “Let my prayer arise before you like incense.” Smoke moves upwards. So, seeing the smoke of burning incense emanate from the thurible (that metal thing on a chain that holds the coals and incense), we’re reminded of where our thoughts and prayers are supposed to move during Mass (and at other times, too).

Incense smoke is also entirely responsive to the movement of the air in a space. The slightest breeze will catch and curl incense smoke, shaping it and moving it with the wind. What’s the point here? St. Paul says that “the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words” (Romans 8:26). The Holy Spirit is sometimes likened to the wind. He is the one who teaches us how to pray, who shapes the thoughts of our hearts and directs them to the Father. So incense teaches us that when we pray, we should trust that our thoughts will be directed by the Holy Spirit. So we don’t need to worry.

Finally, incense fills a space with its fragrance. When you walk into a church and smell incense, you are immediately aware of being in a holy place, a place set apart. In Mass, we incense things that are holy: the altar, the Book of the Gospels, the priest, and the whole congregation. We’ve all been made holy, set apart for God, by our Baptism. Incense helps us recognize that in a very tangible way.

Have a good week!

In Christ,
Fr. Jonah, OP