A Treasure To Be Shared

Many parishes might only see a thurifer during Holy Week or on the occasional Sunday. To have incense during a Sunday Mass and on high holy days is - or should be - a normal thing. If you're a member of a traditional community, it's likely that you are more than familiar with the thurifer and boat bearer. In Ordinariate communities, incense is as common as the air we breathe. Who is this mysterious person who appears on rare occasions to fumigate the nave and sanctuary of the church?  The thurifer is an essential liturgical minister responsible for carrying the thurible and facilitating the use of incense, which is a symbol of prayer and reverence within the Mass. A thurifer is a person who carries the thurible, a vessel used for burning incense during liturgical ceremonies in the Catholic Church. The role of the thurifer is significant in various parts of the Mass, particularly during processions and the incensation of the altar, offerings, and the congregation. During the Ent...

The Priest, Deacon, and Subdeacon being vested, the blessing of the Incense to be used in the procession takes place, immediately before leaving the sacristy. The celebrant receives the spoon from the Deacon, who says, “Be pleased, reverend father, to give a blessing;” he then takes incense from the navicula or incense-boat (held by the Deacon, who receives it from the Thurifer,) and puts it on the burning charcoal in three several portions, each time sprinkling it in the form of a cross. Then in accordance with the Deacon’s prayer, he blesses the incense with his right hand, saying, “Be thou blessed by Him in whose honour thou art to be burned.” The thurible is held by the Thurifer whilst the incense is put in. "When a thurible does not contain incense which has been blessed, he will hold it in his left hand and the boat in his right; but when it does contain incense which has been blessed, vice versa. During the more ceremonial parts of the function, such a...