Our most beautiful liturgical celebrations are multi-sensory. They create a sense of wonder and awe, majesty and beauty. The power of the sacred can transform us whenever we open the door to its glory.
Human minds and hearts are stimulated by the sounds, sights, and fragrances of liturgical seasons, which combine to create powerful, lasting impressions of the rich and abundant graces unique to each of the seasons. Built of Living Stones.
Our faith life is enriched in so many creative ways, all of which are intended to help us reach the Divine. Liturgy sanctifies us through earthly things such as water, bread and wine, oil, light, fragrance and colour. The Church recognises that as humans, we need help in gaining a sense of the sacred and so it is through our senses, that a tangible connection with God is made.
The Catechism says: ‘God speaks to us through the visible creation. The material cosmos is presented to our intelligences so that we can read there, traces of our creator. Light and darkness, wind and fire, water and earth, the tree and its fruit speak of God and symbolise both His greatness and His nearness’ (CCC 1147).
This is particularly true during Holy Week when sensory symbolism is most prominent and powerful. The Liturgies of Holy Week serve to magnify our invitation into a deeper understanding of the Paschal Mystery through our senses and then continually through the year. God’s praise and our sanctification is carried out through signs and symbols perceptible to the senses.
Familiarity and routine have a way of numbing us to our rituals and surroundings and so it is good to take a fresh look at all the ways in which we can grow closer to God through a fuller understanding of how the liturgy works. The more we understand, the deeper and more meaningful our experience will be.
‘Let my prayers rise before you like incense.’
Incense is used to bless and to sanctify, to symbolise our prayers rising to God, and to make God’s presence tangible amongst us. It is uniquely effective in that we see its smoke rising, smell its aroma, even hear the chink of the chains and no words of explanation are needed. It adds a splendour and solemnity that lifts the soul and brings us a step closer to experiencing heaven.
Incense has been a part of worship for thousands of years. God commanded Moses to make incense part of the Tabernacle ritual. In the Old Testament it was used to atone for sins, and even to cover the unpleasant smells of temple sacrifice. In the New Testament, its use is more familiar to us; first as a fragrant offering, indicating the Child Jesus as a King. Then in the Book of Revelation it is used to create a sense of the sacred; a foretaste of the heavenly kingdom.
The Church has used incense from the earliest centuries. In the 4th century, Egeria wrote that at morning prayer, ‘After three psalms and prayers, they take the censers into the cave of the Anastasis so that the whole basilica is filled with the smell.’ Given that there is clearly more than one censer, there must have been vast clouds of aromatic incense giving glory to God at the beginning of the Lord’s Day. The practice of incensing the Book of the Gospels is surprisingly late, appearing in the 11th century.
Focusing on the occasions incense is used during Mass might be a fresh way of reflecting on what is holy: the cross and the altar, the book of Gospels, the Gifts of Bread and Wine, the priest, the people and the Consecration. The Catechism reminds us that the intention is to ‘nourish the faith of the believers.’ We are incensed because we are made holy by our baptism, as members of the Mystical Body.
Incense isn’t an option, it is necessary. It helps us enter into the presence of God.
For from the rising of the sun to its setting my name will be great among the nations, and in every place, incense will be offered to my name, and a pure offering. For my name will be great among the nations, says the Lord of hosts. Malachi 1:1
Taste and see that the Lord is good. Psalm 34
It seems a little undignified to talk about the taste of the host but the Church tells us, ‘it is required that the material used for the Eucharistic Celebration truly have the appearance of food.’
The Fraction Rite becomes a more powerful action when the faithful can see one large altar bread being broken. In the Early Church, bread and wine for Eucharist came from the domestic kitchen. Baskets of leaven loaves were unmistakeable signs of sustaining food. Over time, it became traditional for monasteries to provide bread for Eucharist. After the Great Schism in the 11th century, Rome used only unleavened bread, partly to distinguish itself from the Eastern Church and because numbers of people receiving communion had fallen dramatically since most felt unworthy to receive it. So single hosts became more practical. Religious communities also perfected the art of winemaking, which was useful for Eucharist, but didn’t benefit ordinary people.
Recently, Pope Francis invited us to, ‘return to the taste of bread to remember that while this earthly existence of ours is being consumed, the Eucharist anticipates the promise of resurrection and guides us towards the new life that conquers death.’ We need to be able to see, taste, even smell the bread and the wine we drink at the Eucharistic table and feel that we are being spiritually nourished and transformed.
Arts, by their very nature, are oriented toward the infinite beauty of God which they attempt in some way to portray by the work of human hands; they achieve their purpose of responding to God’s praise and glory. Sacrosanctum Concillium 122
In Holy Week especially, the actions of the priest, processions and carefully choreographed movement of servers and lay ministers, are all meant to be watched. (This is especially true of the washing of the feet which is supposed to be a re-enactment and not open to symbolic alteration). These actions add meaning and sacredness in and of the moment. Every gesture and movement matters.
Our surroundings too, should speak of holiness and prepare the worshipper for an encounter with God. Cluttered, untidy surroundings can be distracting. So let’s take a fresh look at our own churches and the beauty they offer. Vestments, processional cross, stained glass, carvings, mosaics, statues, stone and marble carvings, paintings, all adorn the house of God and offer praise to Him, reaching out and beyond all our words.
Since art is revelatory, a gift from God, a truly beautiful object stretches ‘beyond what the senses perceive and, reaching beneath reality’s surface, strives to interpret its hidden mystery.’ Built of living Stones.
He touched my mouth with it and said, ‘Behold, this has touched your lips; and your iniquity is taken away and your sin is forgiven.’ Isaiah 6:7. Jesus knew the importance of touch. He ministered and healed by touching people which in turn gave the message that the most excluded and outcast in society were loved and valued.
Using holy water, sharing a sign of peace, holding a palm or candle and venerating the cross are all aspects of human touch that enrich our faith and remind us of God’s divinity. The most important touch might come at the end of Mass when people greet each other. A handshake and a friendly word can change someone’s day.
Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God. John 8:47
It’s very easy to hear but not always to listen. It is important for lectors to know that they are the mouthpiece of God, not just the readers from a special book. Training and a good sound system are essential. During Mass, we participate by listening to the words of the priest; they aren’t his private prayer. We also hear and can be moved by beautiful music, the chains of the thurible, the resonance of a gong and the church bells.
We also hear each other: as part of the Mystical Body we share liturgy as a communal act. There are also times when we should hear nothing. Silence is an integral part of liturgy: during the Penitential Rite, the invitations to pray, before and after the readings, after the Homily and after Communion.
Our liturgical celebrations ought to be multi-sensory. They should create a sense of wonder and awe, majesty, beauty and sacredness. Liturgies which do this will engage more people. The Church asks that the faithful are instructed about the Mass so that that we are completely aware when we take part, that we don’t just observe what is going on, that we take part fully and consciously. Engaging all the senses might require effort and formation; it might require us to take a fresh look at our church surroundings and our liturgies, and to allow them to change us or inspire and move us. Or even to change those aspects that we can in order to be more inspired in our worship and prayer.
Questions for School and Parish Discussions
Do our liturgies reach all the senses?
Does the bread and wine we use taste authentic?
Is our church beautiful? What can we do to make it more beautiful?
Do we invest in art and music?
Do we use incense?
Do we provide for those whose senses are impaired?
Further Reading
Letter of Pope John Paul II to Artists. (1999).
Built of Living Stones: Art, Architecture, and Worship. USCCB.
The Place of Worship. Veritas.
