www.byzcath.org Forums News & Events Church News Incense is bad for you ????????????

kl,

Smoking doesn't.

-uc

There's an anecdote about a priest that purposely did not light the charcoal in the kadillo nor put in any incense. When he began the great incensation at the beginning of the Liturgy people began to hack and cough. (true story) Can you say Pavlov?

On the other hand as someone who handles the stuff regularly, I have noticed that some incense suppliers add wood to the resins. Some of the stuff I've seen is nothing more than coated or treated wood particles. We have exclusively been using the resin incense which leaves a pleasant fragrance, nice smoke, and no coughing.

(Fr Dcn) John

I empathize with those who have breathing problems. I visit a man each Sunday morning before Liturgy who is tethered to a 40 foot tube attached to his oxygen bottle. For him, breathing is the ultimate struggle. I remind him the Christ died of slow asphyxiation on the Cross and that his suffering can be nailed to the Cross and have eternal benefit for himself, and others, if he just asks the Lord to accept his patient suffering.

On the other hand, I can't remember anything in my life that someone somewhere hasn't warned me about that can cause me severe damage. My physician warns me that breathing formaldehyde fumes will wreak my lungs, but I have worked in the stuff to make a living. For that matter, I think it's worse walking down the street in a major city when there is a "parking Lot" situation--traffic jam--and the exhaust gets really heavy.

That's why whenever I hear a warning like this I just ask the Lord to give me what He knows I need for as long as He knows I need it and then takes me where He wants me to be when He decides it's time for me to be somewhere than here.

Let my prayer arise in Thy sight as the incense and let the lifting up of my hands be an evening sacrifice. Hear us, O Lord.

In Christ,

BOB

Fr. Deacon John,

My husband says the same thing. He tries to shake any foreign substance off of it, especially the powders. When it is removed from that substance, it burns much cleaner and easier.

Dear Friends,

I think that people with breathing problems probably got them from our generally polluted environment - rather than from incense.

In fact, we know that St Paissy Velichkovsky, the teacher of the Jesus Prayer mentioned in the Philokalia, ordered sweet incense to be burned in his monastery's hospital as a way of lifting people's spirits etc.

Other cultures also "swear" by incense.

I know my long-suffering wife can't take the incense in Church.

But her problems originated with a smoking father in the first instance.

There are also people, few but there are, who are sensitive to bread and must receive dispensations to NOT go to Communion . . .

Alex

If I'm not mistaken frankincense has medicinal properties as well. Now I'm not sure how that works... I don't remember if you are supposed to burn it, chew it or smoke it, but i read it somewhere.
Lauro

Dear Lauro,

And what have you been smoking?

Alex

Dear Alex,
Thank God that I've stopped smoking since March. That's 5 months already. To be honest with you what helped me out was the "Jesus Prayer". But when I go to church I try to get as close to the kadylnetsia as possible.
Lauro

Dear Lauro,

As you know, the censor represents the Mother of God herself with the "Burning Charcoal" her Divine Son.

Whenever we see the priest censing the people in Church, we should always say the prayer:

"Your Good Spirit shall lead me in an upright way!"

It is also good to have a hand censor at home and to use it during services in our Home Church, including censing our children before they go to bed etc.

And electrical lights are never to be used before icons but beeswax candles or oil lamps together with the burning of incense - all acceptable forms of sacrifice and prayer before the Throne of Almighty God!

Alex

OH
That's completely new to me - it makes sense. I have always been taught that the smoke rising from the incense is to remind us that like the smoke our prayers also rise to Heaven

Yes those horrid little electrical lights - you know the ones - drop a coin in and pretend you have lit a candle -- aaaaaaaaaargh can't stand 'em and we have just got some new, very ornate, ones placed in front of the Statue of Our Lady of Lourdes [ and folk have just noticed for the first time that Her Rosary has 6 decades ] Frankly I think they should be banned - but I suppose where the Church is open all day that burning candles are possibly a fire hazard

Anhelyna

I once asked a very devout priest about this, because he had just installed these electrical candles, and that's exactly right. He told me that if it were up to him, he would have the real ones, because he didn't think it was really that much of a fire hazard.

But because of fire laws in our area, he had to choose between having the real candles, or having the church open all the time. He decided it was better to have the church open. Too bad we have to make that kind of choice!

Dear Anhelyna,

Just a point about Our Lady of Lourdes.

Although a statue was chosen to depict her in the Grotto, in fact there is a Byzantine miraculous icon in France in the Archdiocese of which Chartres is a part - I forget the name, but have it at home - that St Bernadette formally identified as being "the closest representation of the way our Lady appeared in the Grotto."

The icon is very Byzantine and beautiful - but the local Latin Church authorities chose to ignore St Bernadette's testimony and erected a statue in the Grotto - a statue that Bernadette actually resented as having no similarity to the Lady she saw there.

Alex

Dear Anhelyna, in the Mediterranean cultures historically (on a more practical note), incense was often also used as a communal deodorant since, well, in warm climates without much bathing, I'll say no more....

But the annoying factor is that it doesn't stop lowlife breaking open the cache for the money - the reason we have to have the new set of lights

Now they are going to try to re-position the CCTV cameras , which are at present focused on the Sanctuary [ and before you wonder yes there is an extremely effective alarm system there too ]


Anhelyna

You mean, besides the angels?