The Use of Incense

Why do we use incense at church?  The simplest answer is, “Because God likes it.”  It was His idea, really, and when He gave the instructions for the Tabernacle to Moses on top of Mount Sinai, He spent a lot of time talking about incense in the Tabernacle, to be offered every morning and evening (Ex. 30:1-8). When King Solomon was explaining his plans to build the Temple in Jerusalem, the first thing he mentioned was that it would be for the burning of incense before God (2 Chr 2:4). The burning of incense was a beautiful part of the worship of God throughout the Old Testament.
 
This practice of burning incense continued into the New Testament.  In the first chapter of the Gospel According to Luke, Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist, is chosen to burn incense in the Temple, and the angel Gabriel appeared to him and foretold the birth of John the Baptist beside the altar of incense (Lk 1:8-11).  And at the Nativity of Our Lord, one of the three gifts the Wise Men offered to the Lord was incense (Mt. 2:11).  The entire life of our Lord was a fragrant offering pleasing to God the Father, and most especially the way He gave Himself up for us in love as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God (Eph 5:2).
 
The Lord’s offering of Himself as a fragrant sacrifice on the cross for us was foreshadowed by the Old Testament offerings which also included incense (Lev 2:1; 24:7). The incense gave the offerings a sweet fragrance and also ascended representing the prayers of those making the offerings.  In the Mass, incense can be used during the Entrance Procession, at the beginning of Mass where the priest incenses the cross and altar, at the proclamation of the Gospel, and incensing the offerings of bread and wine as well as the altar, the cross, the priest and the people at the beginning of the Liturgy of the Eucharist.
 
Another time where incense is used in church in connection with Our Lord’s sacrifice and the Blessed Sacrament is during Eucharistic Exposition and Benediction where the burning of incense is joined to singing of eucharistic hymns and our prayers and adoration of the Blessed Sacrament ascend to God with a sweet fragrance like the incense.
 
Incense is also used at the Final Commendation during a funeral while we not only indicate the sanctity of the body, but we also pray that the soul of the departed may ascend, like the incense, and be greeted by the choirs of angels to lead them to Paradise.
 
Incense is a sacramental, and the priest blesses the incense as it is placed on the coals.  The smoke obscures our sense of sight and adds an appreciation of the true mystery involved in the worship of God and our sanctification.  It also pleasantly engages our sense of smell, along with our other senses involved in worship.  As the incense is consumed and ascends as smoke, it reminds us that our own earthly life will also be consumed, and we hope to ascend to heaven having joined ourselves throughout our life to the fragrant sacrifice of our Lord.
 
The last mention of incense in Scripture is in the final book, Revelation, and John’s vision included an angel mingling incense with the prayers of the saints, and the smoke of the incense rising before God with the prayers of the saints (Rev. 8:3-4).  When we see the smoke of the incense at church rising up, it should remind us to pray together with all the saints standing before God.