Mass Talks 6: Introit, Procession, Incense

In our on-going series of teaching-homilies on the Mass, we now begin a commentary on the rites of the Mass, examining each part, in order to deepen our love and appreciation of the mystery of Christ which the Mass reveals. Today we speak about the very first things: the introit, procession and the use of incense.

The Introit is the first part of the Mass that belongs to what is called the ‘Proper’ of the Mass, that is, to those changeable texts, such as the Readings, that belong to this particular Mass, as opposed to the ‘Ordinary’ Mass texts that are unchanging, such as the “Lord have mercy.” While we have gained a great deal in having the Mass in our own language, there are several instances in which Holy Mass has been has been impoverished through our loss of Latin. Among these is the near extinction of the text of the Introit. This is a verse of a psalm (or some other text) printed in the altar Missal meant to be sung by the choir as the priest enters into the church. (In our Latin Masses here at the Grotto, we have preserved the use of the Introit, as you heard this morning when the men’s choir chanted the Introit Lætetur cor whose text with translation was printed for you on the green handout.) The Introit text lends to the Mass of the day (the ‘Proper’ of the Mass) its identity. This has been nearly obliterated nowadays with the suppression of the Introit. At once time, Catholics understood when someone referred to a “Requiem Mass,” for example, because the word ‘requiem’ was the first word of the Introit for a Mass of the dead. Similarly, we once confidently spoke about Gaudete Sunday in Advent, or Lætare Sunday in Lent (those unique instances when the Mass vestments are rose-colored). The reason for the general loss of the Introit texts was, of course, that these are Latin Gregorian chants. With the dismissal of Latin and its sacred music, the resulting void for the entrance of the priest was compensated by the singing of an entrance hymn. While this may not be all bad, there is a great loss of a Mass formula that has been with the Church for century upon century at least since the time of Saint Gregory the Great, in the 6th century. The Introit is a key to the entire Mass of the day, specifying its particular character, whether of solemnity, or joy, or sorrow, or–in the case of a saint’s day–of some special feature of the saint’s life.

The form of the Introit text is this: there is an antiphon sung to a rich Gregorian melody, followed by a verse of a psalm sung to simpler melodic formula; then the antiphon is repeated. The resulting form then is A,B,A. In the former Tridentine Mass, there was also inserted the Gloria Parti (Glory be to the Father...) text before the reprise of the antiphon. In the so-called low Masses, when there was no singing, the priest merely recited the Introit from the altar. It is one of four chants that belong to the choir along with the Gradual (now usually replaced by the Responsorial Psalm sung after the first Reading), the Offertory chant, and the Communion chant.

I pass on to the Processional of the priest.

The Church has always loved processions. A procession is, practically speaking, a necessity, of course, an orderly way of proceeding from here to there, from the place of vesting to the altar. But this necessity lends the opportunity for not only song, but also, on occasion, for impressive pageantry as well with incense, banners, and rank upon rank of clergy, ministers of the altar and choristers, each dressed in his proper garb. But the Church is not so much interested in impressive display as in expressing by the procession our movement towards God, in ascending unto the Lord’s dwelling place. The Jews of old, when making their way in pilgrimage to the religious capital, Jerusalem, sang Psalms of Ascent while in procession. The idea was to prepare oneself for a worthy entry into the holy place of God’s tabernacle. For example, we read in the psalms, “I rejoiced when they said to me, ‘let us go unto the house of the Lord;’” or this, “Who shall ascend the mountain of the Lord, who shall stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart... O gates, lift up your heads!” Our procession to the altar is symbolical of the movement of the whole Church on earth towards heaven; or of the life of each Christian towards God. It marks a departure from this world to our Creator and it expresses the longing we have to see God face to face.

Processions of the Church are meant to be formalized, orderly and in hierarchical rank. In a procession, the place of dignity is always at the end, not at the beginning. It is led in a noble way by the cross-bearer accompanied by candle-bearers and, in more solemn Masses, by the thurifer or incense bearer.

Mention of the thurifer brings us speak momentarily about the use of incense.

I had already written on this topic for you, but will again summarize here some of the reasons and meanings for this liturgical device. In the Old Testament incense was considered something “holy to the Lord” and was produced and employed according to specific directives of God, written in the Book of Exodus. In front of that secluded inner room of worship, the Holy of Holies, there stood an altar of incense upon which incense was burned every morning and evening. You recall that the three magi offered to Christ incense among their gifts. The burning of this precious and fragrant material in sacred rites contributes to the solemnity of divine worship. Its symbolism has to do with the grains of incense being dissolved by the heat of the coals diffusing a sweet odor that ascends heavenward in clouds that fill the sanctuary and the whole church. This expresses sacrifice (by the consuming of the substance of incense) and prayer accepted by God who receives it on high. Prayer is defined as the surrender of the soul to God, the elevation of mind and spirit to God. If our hearts, like the incense, are afire with divine love, they will be a sweet fragrance to God, arise to Him and be found agreeable to Him. A psalm says, “Let my prayer arise like incense in your sight, O Lord.” The cloud of smoke that results from the burning is also symbolical. It signals the divine Presence. God, you remember, indicated His Presence to the Israelites by a cloud. Contrary to what is often said nowadays, incense is not used for whatever pleasure of olfaction (of the sense of smell) it may happen to give us, but to evince a profound reverence for the divine mysteries that are taking place. In a solemn Mass, all holy things may be venerated by the use of incense: the Blessed Sacrament, the altar, book of the Gospel, relics of saints, sacred images, the priest, servers, and the congregation too. Blest incense is a sacramental of the Church and therefore has spiritual benefits from its sacred use. It has even a power of driving away any evil spirits that may be lurking nearby. Besides at the opening rites, incense may be used for the reading of the Gospel, for the Offertory, for the Consecration and Elevation.

All these opening rites, the Introit, the entrance procession, and the incensing of the altar are designed to envelop us in sacredness so that we can participate in the holy sacrifice with a devout heart. For this reason Holy Mother Church has given them to us and we, in this parish, attempt to make good and abundant use of them for the greater honor and glory of the Divine Majesty.