Where is Purgatory in Scripture?

Q. What scriptures support the Doctrine of Purgatory?
A. I cannot give any scripture that categorically teaches the Doctrine of Purgatory that would satisfy a sola scriptura Christian. I can show you Scriptures that imply the existence of the doctrine. I can show you writings of the early Church Fathers, written before the Bible was even canonized, that teach the Doctrine of Purgatory. I can show you that the concept, of the need for purification, after death and before attaining Heaven, has roots in the Jewish Faith. Click on this link–>Sola Scriptura & Purgatory Then follow all the links on that page.

If you are able to believe it is possible to sit down, 2000 years after the birth of Jesus and read scripture and interpret it infallibly all by yourself, disregarding historic Christian beliefs in the years immediately following the death of the apostles, you have more faith than I do. But, by what authority can you claim infallibility? Because, if you are convinced that you can interpret scripture without error, even without saying it openly, you must believe you are able to interpret infallibly.

What Scriptures Support Catholic Doctrines?

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Q. What scriptures support Catholic beliefs?
A. You ask for this because youare convinced that the Bible should be the final authority for Christian beliefs. But, think about it. Sola Scriptura would never have caught on if it had not been invented after the invention of the printing press. Before the invention of the printing press one Bible would have cost the equivalent of $25,000 US. At that cost how many of us would own our own Bible?

Besides most people could not even read, until the last century. And even today 20% of the world’s population cannot read.

Would God have made salvation dependent upon reading and owning your own Bible no matter how much it cost for the whole history of Christianity? And what about the 20% of people who still can’t read? Are they just out of luck along with millions of people for the last 2000 years who could not read? Or…did Christ found a Church that read scripture every day at mass and handed down the oral teaching of the Apostles to the faithful? Just like the Catholic Church.

Traditions of Men

Dear Jane,

Let me clear some things up for you.

Jane: You state an oxymoron. Pick one. Base your beliefs on scripture alone or scripture plus man or man’s version of scripture.

BFHU: The Catholic Church does not base her beliefs on any of the above except one: a Divine man, Jesus Christ. Our beliefs are based on the teachings of the Apostles, who received their teachings from Jesus. Jesus never wrote His teachings down. Jesus never instructed the apostles to write anything down let alone to instruct Christians to only base their beliefs upon what they wrote down. The whole world could not contain the books that would be needed as St. John says in Jn.21:25.

Jane:Scripture declares itself an end all be all unit for the purpose of salvation and disregards additions or corrections.

BFHU: Where? I noticed that you have not supplied us with a verse from scripture. You have on your own authority made a statement. But I don’t know you and cannot accept your authority. Sorry.

Jane: So, a posture of scripture plus man’s tradition declares the scripture to be faulty, that it needs man to help it along.

BFHU: Not at all. We do not believe in the “traditions of men” in the sense that they are condemned in Sacred Scripture. When the Catholic Church teaches from TRADITION she means by that “What has been handed down”

Tradition:
a.(among Jews) body of laws and doctrines, or any one of them, held to have been received from Moses and originally handed down orally from generation to generation.
b.(among Christians) a body of teachings, or any one of them, held to have been delivered by Christ and His apostles but not originally committed to writing. (Dictionary.com)

We simply follow St. Paul when he exhorts in his letters:

1 Corinthians 11:2 Now I praise you because you remember me in everything and hold firmly to the traditions, just as I delivered them to you.

2 Thessalonians 3:6 Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep away from every brother who leads an unruly life and not according to the tradition which you received from us.

2 Thessalonians 2:15 So then, brethren, stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught, whether by word of mouth or by letter from us.

Jane: Or, you could just get out the black marker and cross out all the parts you don’t like.

BFHU: We would never do that. All of Sacred Scripture is the infallible word of God. Jane, those who have taught you have failed to teach all of Scripture. When I was a Protestant, dealing with Eternal Security (a Protestant issue) it became clear to me that the Calvinists treated Scripture as if certain passages were highlighted and the rest could be passed over or totally ignored. I was amazed. And yet they still claimed to believe EVERYTHING in Scripture.

As i said before:

“The irony is that this Protestant Doctrine of Scripture Alone or Sola Scriptura cannot be found anywhere in Scripture.”

The Stoning of Soraya M movie trailer

Catholics Worship Mary! The Hail Mary Proves it.

Maria; Just check the title of one of “the OFFICIAL prayers of the Church” – HAIL Mary. It made me smile. Will you say that “hailing” is NOT the same as “worshipping”?

BFHU: The word hail simply means greetings. Hailing is absolutely not the same as worshiping. In the USA we play the song Hail to the Chief for the Pres. of the US. Do you think Americans therefore worship the President?
Maria: So assuming that you really are not worshiping Mary, let’s go to “Do we need to ask Mary or the saints to pray for us?”

BFHU: No. It is NOT mandatory.

Maria: The Bible says that it is only Jesus who can bridge the gap between us and God. (1 Timothy 2:5) So, it is clear then that Mary nor any other saints is ‘good’ enough to intercede between us and God. Only God is good enough for that. (Matthew 19:17; Mark 10:18)

BFHU:

James 5:16 pray for one another so that you may be healed The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.

So you reject this Scripture along with Martin Luther? Intercessory prayer IS a form of mediation.

Maria: It is true that the prayer of an righteous person is powerful.
Now the question is “What makes a person righteous?

BFHU: Mary was righteous. Even more so than Abraham.

Prayers to the Dead Are Forbidden in Scripture? WHERE?

ADAM: praying to the dead (saint or not) is forbidden in scripture.

BFHU: Where does scripture actually say that “praying to the dead is forbidden“? Asking a dead person for direction is DIVINATION! This is what is condemned in the Deut. 18 passage. Divination is NOT in any way comparable to the request for intercessory prayer for those who are ALIVE in CHRIST.

ADAM: Stop twisting James 5:16 to make your point. That passage based on its context is clearly speaking of praying for each other (we being alive) and not praying to a dead person to pray for something.

BFHU: I have not twisted James 5:16

16Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.

The members of the Body of Christ, whether in Heaven or on Earth do pray for one another. The Saints in Heaven are righteous. So, their prayers are effective and accomplish much. My interpretation is different than yours . That is all. We, unlike Protestants do not view those who have died in the flesh to be dead and gone but Souls ALIVE IN CHRIST.

ADAM: Praying to (not for) someone is worshiping them! Your actions are ascribing power to that person which they do not posses and that only God possesses. The Bible forbids not only prayer for the dead but also to the dead (regardless if they were saints or not)

BFHU: Praying to someone is NOT worshiping them. We DO NOT ascribe personal power to the Saints but it is rather the power of God and the will of God that determines the answer to our request for intercessory prayer. I

t only seems like we are doing this b/c you have only been taught to pray to the Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Therefore, in your mind and in your experience all of your prayer is directed to deity. But we speak to our fellow Christians in Heaven through prayer and we know the difference between asking them for intercessory prayer and worship of deity. It is extremely uncharitable for Protestants to jump to the conclusion that a Catholic praying in front of a picture or statue of Mary is worshiping her. It only appears so to them b/c they have never experienced the difference between prayer and worship. To them it is all one and the same.

Where does the Bible forbid prayers for the dead? In the Greek Old Testament, from which Jesus quoted and the Apostles received from the Jewish people, there is a commendation of prayers for the dead in:

II Maccabees 12: 42 Turning to supplication, they prayed that the sinful deed might be fully blotted out. The noble Judas warned the soldiers to keep themselves free from sin, for they had seen with their own eyes what had happened because of the sin of those who had fallen.
43 He then took up a collection among all his soldiers, amounting to two thousand silver drachmas, which he sent to Jerusalem to provide for an expiatory sacrifice. In doing this he acted in a very excellent and noble way, inasmuch as he had the resurrection of the dead in view;
44for if he were not expecting the fallen to rise again, it would have been useless and foolish to pray for them in death.
45But if he did this with a view to the splendid reward that awaits those who had gone to rest in godliness, it was a holy and pious thought.
46 Thus he made atonement for the dead that they might be freed from this sin.

ADAM: Speaking of worshipping Mary, what about worshipping the Pope? How many Catholics worship the pope and he allows it. He’s referred to by many different names: His Holiness, Holy See, Prince Of Peace, etc, and people bow down to him with his

BFHU: We do not worship the pope. We honor him. Bowing down is not exclusively a sign of worship. It can be. But it depends upon what is in the heart. Did President Obama worship the Arab king last month when he bowed to him? Does bowing or kneeling before the Queen of England make all who do the worshipers of the Queen? They even used to address dignitaries as “Your worship” but it was merely a sign of deep respect not actual WORSHIP as in that reserved for GOD.

ADAM: When the pagans tried to worship Paul the Apostle in Acts, he quickly rebuked them and told them that he was a mere man like they were. Yet I don’t see the pope showing any disapproval when they worship him.

Paul was right to forbid them to worship him. But the pope KNOWS we do not worship him but are merely showing deep respect for the representative of Jesus Christ on Earth in time.

Please believe me when I say I am not making any of this up. I used to view the Catholic Church exactly like you do. We and many, many Protestants are taught things about the Catholic Church that are unfounded lies, half-truths, and assumptions based on nothing but opinion. These have been passed down from one generation to the next for 500 years. Some are almost exact quotes of Martin Luther’s caulmny.

I would recommend my post Necromancy and Prayers to the Saints.

Faith is all We Need?

Ryan: I have to disagree with. If you strip everything away, the one thing that is left at the core is a persons faith in Christ. It’s a yes or no question that is simple enough to get into heaven.

Romans 10:9That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. 11As the Scripture says, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.”

BFHU:

James 2:24 You see that a man is justified by works and NOT BY FAITH ALONE.

This is the only place is scripture that faith and alone appear together.

Once again, this is standard Protestant proof texting to make a point without considering how this verse needs to be in harmony with other verses in scripture. So when we find verses that seem to contradict each other it is our understanding that fabricates the contradiction. Our understanding must be expanded in order to assimilate all of scripture in such a way that contradiction is dissolved.

The Romans passage Ryan quotes is emphasizing a point about Justification. But Salvation is a multifaceted concept. We need to take all of Scripture into account so that we can comprehend all of its many facets. Otherwise our understanding may be accurate up to a point but get the big picture totally wrong.

This reminds me of the six blind men who described an elephant. One man found the tail and said an elephant is like a rope. Another found the leg and said an elephant is like a tree. A third found the trunk and said an elephant is like a snake. A fourth felt the ear and said an elephant is like a fan. The fifth insisted that an elephant is like a wall b/e he felt the side and the sixth, feeling its tusk said that an elephant is like a spear.

Since I was a Protestant for forty years and a diligent Bible student I am convinced that the Catholic Church gives us the big picture, the whole TRUTH. Below is more of the James 2 passage that does not fit well with Protestant Calvinism.

SCRIPTURE:

James 2:14 What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? 15 Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. 16If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? 17In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.18 But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.”
Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.

19You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder (Are the demons saved by Faith alone?) 20You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless[d]? 21Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. 23And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend. 24You see that a person is justified by what he does and NOT by faith alone.

RYAN: I understand how you can justify doing works. Any Christian should not only feel obligated to do works, but should be actively participating in them to strengthen their walk with Christ and encourage and lead others. But I believe that we disagree in the fact that works can save a person from hell. If there is anything more that one must do besides believe in Christ and His resurrection, it completely takes away the purpose of Christ. Why would he come to save us if we can do it ourselves through works?

Eph 2:8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9not by works, so that no one can boast. 10For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

BFHU: James clearly says that we are NOT justified by faith alone. Jesus alone has atoned for the eternal consequences of our sin.

Ryan: But I believe that we disagree in the fact that works can save a person from hell.

BFHU: We DO NOT believe that our works save us. Christ saves us by his death and resurrection. The concept that Catholics believe they must work their way to Heaven is not true at all. So, we do agree on this after all.

Ryan: If there is anything more that one must do besides believe in Christ and His resurrection,

BFHU:We believe that our works help to purify us and help us to become more Holy by the grace of God. But we do not believe that our works are able to make God indebted to us and obligated to save us. NO. It is all of grace. The Protestant concept of Sanctification is very close to the Catholic idea of the necessity of Good works.

Ryan: it completely takes away the purpose of Christ. Why would he come to save us if we can do it ourselves through works?

BFHU:You have been taught to believe a false dichotomy. The fact that there is more that we must do does not in any way take away the purpose of Christ. He DID have to save us. We cannot do it ourselves. So, once again we agree that we are unable to save ourselves. But that does not mean we DO nothing.

Could David have defeated Goliath without God? Did David do it by himself? What would have happened if David did not DO anything?

The Israelites were saved from the angel of death in Egypt. How? By the grace of God. But what happened to those who did NOT DO anything? did not kill and eat a lamb and put its blood on the doorpost. Just like eating a lamb and putting blood on the doorpost is not a cause and effect slam dunk way of warding off the angel of death in general, their action DID effect their salvation by the command and grace of God.

Christ has done all that is necessary to offer salvation to ALL MEN. But not all men will be saved. Why? Because not all men will DO & Be what they must in order to access this great gift of salvation.

Colossians 1:24 Now I rejoice in what was suffered for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church.

God does His part and we have our part to do.

Did the Catholic Church Change?

Q. I had a discussion yesterday with a Protestant friend of mine and I was maintaining my belief that the Catholic Church has not changed its doctrine. But he mentioned that ST Irenaeus was clearly for the doctrine of election and so was the Catholic Church and this doctrine changed years after to what we believe today that Jesus died for everyone.

A. The fact that a Saint, even one as great as St. Irenaeus, taught something does not mean their teaching was infallible or that it is what the Church taught. Besides this,all kinds of heresies were taught for centuries by Catholic Heretics. But these were opposed by the Pope and the Magesterium. Ask your friend for the citation or where it can be found that the Church taught limited atonement, predestination and/or the doctrine of election. I do not believe she will be able to prove it.
The Sacred Scripture:

I Tim 2:3 This is good, and pleases God our Savior, 4 who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. 5For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all men—the testimony given in its proper time.

So Timothy either lied, or this scripture is not infallible, or God was impotent to do His part to atone for all men. None of these are good choices.

The Catholic Church has always taught that NOT everyone will BE saved but as far as I know it has never taught that Christ died only for the elect. So, I would love to have your friend try to prove the contention that the Church has changed her doctrines.

Q. My friend was very clear that since the doctrine of the Catholic Church changed, that its not the same Catholic Church that I believe in. I had no answer to this and I really hope that I do find the answer

A. The Catholic Church has NOT changed. Our understanding of the teaching of the apostles has deepened and developed over the centuries. Just like an acorn planted in the earth grows into a giant tree. It did not become a different tree but the giant oak looks very different than an acorn. The Catholic Church never changed. Your friend contends that it has. He says he has proof that is has but this proof needs to be presented so that we can all judge for ourselves. We cannot just take his word for it.

Election/Chosen, Predestination, Limited Atonement

Q. My Protestant friend showed me Romans 9 for the doctrine of election and it was very convincing. I myself have noticed a lot of places in the bible where the word choosing or chosen is mentioned in the New Testament. I would really appreciate it if you could please help me out.

A. Yes, Romans 9 is very convincing when you just read it with their interpretation in mind. But if their interpretation is correct: that God has chosen only some to be saved THEN:-This Creates arrogance in those convinced that they are God’s chosen ones, even though they have NO
OBJECTIVE PROOF
-Negates the doctrine of free will and makes those chosen mere puppets of God the book of Timothy is not infallible scripture
-All the hundreds of warnings in scripture not to fall away are a joke and totally unnecessary
-All of the IF passages in scripture are meaningless

These are MAJOR and SERIOUS problems. Roman 9 CANNOT contradict other scripture. If it seems to, then it is the INTERPRETATION that is wrong. The proper interpretation does not jump out at you but St. Paul wrote Romans and other books where he must have contradicted himself if the Calvinists have the correct interpretation.

This conflict was very foundational in my losing faith in Protestantism and entering the Catholic Church.

My husband, who is still Protestant wrote a two volume book refuting Calvinism. It goes against so many scriptures you have no idea. Do not let the fact that your friend can recite verses from memory intimidate you. I am sure your friend is a lovely person and very sincere but he has been deceived.

Earlier in Romans St Paul says,

Romans 2:6-11
6God “will give to each person according to what he has done.”

(This contradicts the doctrine of FAITH ALONE. How can this be reconciled to the arbitrarieness of God the way your friend interprets Romans 9 Written by the SAME PERSON To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. Who gets eternal life? Those who do GOOD not those who are chosen puppets unable to fall away. )

8But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger. 9There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile; 10but glory, honor and peace for everyone who does good: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. 11For God does not show favoritism

That contradicts Calvin’s interpretation of Romans 9

I wanted to start with something by the very same author, St Paul in Romans 2 that contradict Calvinism. This is a huge topic. Now I will comment on Romans 9.

Romans 9:11 or though the twins were not yet born and had not done anything good or bad, so that (Z)God’s purpose according to His choice would stand, not because of works but because of Him who calls,

(We Catholics too beleive that salvation is by the grace of God. It is not b/c of works of the Law. Paul uses this example b/c it was 400 years before the giving of the Law to Moses Paul is emphasizing here that works of the Law do not indebt God to the person. The Lord freely chooses to be merciful. He is sovereign and cannot be coerced by the works of man. Paul cannot be saying here either that good works do not matter b/c he would be contradicting what he said in Romans 2 above and James 2 also, “Faith without works is dead” )

12it was said to her, “(AA)THE OLDER WILL SERVE THE YOUNGER.” 13Just as it is written, “(AB)JACOB I LOVED, BUT ESAU I HATED.”

(If this is taken literally it contradicts John 3:16 For God so loved the world. And I John 4:7 God is Love Who does God hate? those who do evil. God does not just choose to hate some people for no reason. By His foreknowledge He Knew what Esau would do. A God who loves and hates individuals for absolutely no reason is NOT the God of Sacred Scripture. This scripture does not reveal why God hated Esau. It is Protestant interpretation to say that it was just arbitrary b/c God decided before time to send Esau to Hell along with everyone else He arbitrarily chose NOT to elect.

14What shall we say then? There is no injustice with God, is there? May it never be! 15For He says to Moses, I WILL HAVE MERCY ON WHOM I HAVE MERCY, AND I WILL HAVE COMPASSION ON WHOM I HAVE COMPASSION.” 16So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy. 17For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “FOR THIS VERY PURPOSE I RAISED YOU UP, TO DEMONSTRATE MY POWER IN YOU, AND THAT MY NAME MIGHT BE PROCLAIMED THROUGHOUT THE WHOLE EARTH.” 18 So then He has mercy on whom He desires, and He (hardens whom He desires. 19 You will say to me then, “(AL)Why does He still find fault? For who resists His will?”

( Much can be said here but it is extremely important to read this account in Exodus where Pharoah hardens his own heart in Ex. 5-9 three times before God confirms him in this hardened state. This was not as arbitrary as it sounds in Romans. And of course Paul KNEW the scriptures backwards and forwards. But Peter warns in :

II Pet 3:15-16 “just as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given him, wrote to you, 16as also in all his letters, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which the untaught and unstable distort, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction.

Romans 9:20 On the contrary, who are you, O man, who answers back to God? The thing molded will not say to the molder, “Why did you make me like this,” will it? 21Or does not the potter have a right over the clay, to make from the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for common use? 22What if God, (BFHU:this is hypothetical, it is NOT a dogmatic statement of how God works) although willing to demonstrate His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction? 23And He did so to make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy, which He prepared beforehand for glory, 24even us, whom He also called, not from among Jews only, but also from among Gentiles.

This passage v. 22-24 is VERY important b/c of the Greek used. It can be translated as you see above which dovetails with the Calvinist view that God arbitrarily elected some for Heaven and some for Hell. However, these verses can also be translated differently and in a way that aligns with the rest of scripture and Catholic teaching.

vessels of wrath prepared for destruction-

Consider this. Vines Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words-the word translated “prepared” (other translations are made, fitted etc.) is the Greek word KATARTIZO.

KATARTIZO–to make fit, to equip,prepare…in Romans 9:22 it is in the Middle Voice which signifies that those referred to fitted themselves for destruction (as illustrated in the case of Pharaoh who hardened his own heart first is accurately presented in the R.V. in the first part of the series of incidents in the Exodus narrative, which records Pharaoh’s doings: only after repeated and persistent obstinancy on his part is it recorded that God hardened his heart). -Vines p 106 under “Fitted”

Interpreting these verses that the vessel “fitted themselves” for wrath or glory removes completely the idea that God was arbitrary. But this is diametrically opposed to the Calvinist doctrines of Predestination, Limited atonement etc. and other Protestant beliefs in Faith Alone, Grace Alone.

These verses and the goal of this chapter is to get it through to the Jews that God loves the Gentiles too. He wanted to have mercy on them as well. And by His sovreignty He could and would have mercy on them as well.

Why Does the Catholic Church Use Incense?

This answer from EWTN’s Fr Saunders. Has been edited here for brevity.

Q. Why do priests use incense at Mass? Where does it come from?

The use of incense in the ancient world was common, especially in religious rites where it was used to keep demons away. In Judaism, incense was included in the thanksgiving offerings of oil, rain, fruits, wine (cf. Numbers 7:13-17). The Lord instructed Moses to build a golden altar for the burning of incense (cf. Exodus 30:1-10), which was placed in front of the veil to the entrance of the meeting tent where the ark of the covenant was kept.

We do not know exactly when the use of incense was introduced into our Mass or other liturgical rites. At the time of the early Church, the Jews continued to use incense in their own Temple rituals, so it would be safe to conclude that the Christians would have adapted its usage for their own rituals

The purpose of incensing and the symbolic value of the smoke is that of purification and sanctification. For example, in the Eastern Rites at the beginning of Mass, the altar and sanctuary area were incensed while Psalm 50, the “Miserere,” was chanted invoking the mercy of God. The smoke symbolizes the prayers of the faithful drifting up to heaven: the Psalmist prays, “Let my prayer come like incense before you; the lifting up of my hands, like the evening sacrifice” (Psalm 141). Incense also creates the ambiance of heaven: The Book of Revelation describes the heavenly worship as follows: “Another angel came in holding a censer of gold. He took his place at the altar of incense and was given large amounts of incense to deposit on the altar of gold in front of the throne, together with the prayers of all God’s holy ones. From the angel’s hand, the smoke of the incense went up before God, and with it the prayers of God’s people.”

Q. Why do we use incense at some Mass’s and not at others?

It is optional.

In the General Instruction of the Roman Missal incense may be used during the entrance procession; at the beginning of Mass, to incense the altar; at the procession and proclamation of the Gospel; at the offertory, to incense the offerings, altar, priest and people; and at the elevation of the Sacred Host and chalice of Precious Blood after the consecration. The priest may also incense the Crucifix and the Paschal Candle. During funeral Masses, the priest at the final commendation may incense the coffin, both as a sign of honor to the body of the deceased which became the temple of the Holy Spirit at Baptism and as a sign of the faithful’s prayers for the deceased rising to God.

The usage of incense adds a sense of solemnity and mystery to the Mass. The visual imagery of the smoke and the smell remind us of the transcendence of the Mass which links heaven with earth, and allow us to enter into the presence of God.

Fr. Saunders is president of Notre Dame Institute and associate pastor of Queen of Apostles Parish, both in Alexandria.