On the Meaning of the Liturgical Items – Flowers, Candles, Incense - Octave Day Of The Nativity (2024-01-01)

Introduction

Last time, I spoke about the altar and its liturgical significance. The altar represents Our Lord Jesus Christ. As it is on the altar that the sacrifice is offered to God, so it is in the human body and soul of Jesus Christ that God the Son offers Himself as a sacrifice to God the Father. As the altar is the sacred place where man meet with God, so Jesus Christ is the unique Mediator who unites God and man. As the altar is the place where man offers his sacrifices to God, so it is through, with and in Jesus Christ that we offer all things to God. It is because the altar represents Jesus Christ that it must be made of stone, that it is covered with 3 altar cloths, that it is adorned, and that the priest kisses it, incenses it and touches it during Mass. 

Our Lord Jesus Christ is the center of all the creation. Everything in the world and in the Church converges on Him. Everything in the liturgy represents or leads to Jesus Christ. Today, I would like to continue showing you this reality by talking about the symbolic meaning of the flowers, luminaries and incense.

1. The flowers

First, a few words about the flowers. We put flowers on the altar, except in times of penance or mourning. The first reason is simply to decorate the altar. The altar represents Jesus Christ. Anything that makes the altar beautiful is for the purpose of signifying the beauty and glory of Jesus. Flowers play this role wonderfully well. Remember what Our Lord Jesus said about the beauty of lilies: "Consider the lilies... I say to you, not even Solomon in all his glory was clothed like one of these” (Lk 12:27).

There is a second reason for putting flowers on the altar: to symbolize Heaven. Indeed, when God created Adam and Eve, He placed them in a garden of happiness called " Paradise". By analogy, we call Heaven, the place of eternal happiness, "Paradise" or the garden of Heaven. But what makes a garden be special are its flowers. The flowers on the altar therefore symbolize Paradise, that is, the Heaven where Jesus is, where Jesus leads us. By the way, it is for the same reason that Catholics like to put flowers in their cemeteries: doing so, they express their hope in eternal life in Heaven.

2. Luminaries

Let us consider now the lights of the altar, that is the candles and the sanctuary lamp. The sanctuary lamp is the little light indicating the presence of the Holy Eucharist in the tabernacle. 

The presence of candles at Mass recalls the days of the catacombs. When Christians had to hide in the underground cemeteries of Rome, they used to light on torches and candles in order to celebrate Holy Mass.

But of course, candles are not just a reminder of the past. They also carry a symbolic meaning. The lights, like the altar, represent Our Lord Jesus Christ. Indeed, Jesus said: "I am the Light of the world" (Jn 9:5) and also: "I am come to cast fire on the earth, and what will I, but that it be kindled?" (Lk 12:49). The flame that produces light and warmth represents Jesus' Divinity. In the Old Testament, God manifested Himself several times under the form of fire: for example, to Moses in the burning bush, or to the Hebrews during the Exodus in the pillar of fire that guided them. As fire is immaterial, illuminating and warming, so God is a pure Spirit, He illuminates our minds with truth and warms our hearts with charity. The fire of the candle symbolizes the Divinity of Jesus; the white wax of the candle symbolizes the pure and delicate humanity of Our Lord. It is interesting to note that in the Middle Ages, the Blessed Virgin was given the lovely name of Mystical Bee. As the bee lives among flowers and feeds on their nectar, so the Blessed Virgin lived in Nazareth, which means "flower", and fed spiritually on the word of God; as the bee produces wax, so the Blessed Virgin conceived the most pure body of Our Lord Jesus; as the bee produces honey, so Our Lady gave us Jesus, meek and merciful.

Now let us talk about the sanctuary lamp. Traditionally, this lamp is fueled by olive oil. This oil also represents Our Lord Jesus. St. Bernard explains it this way: "Oil enlightens, nourishes and strengthens. But is not Jesus, in the Gospel, light for our minds; in the Eucharist, food for our souls; by his graces, medicine for our hearts?” On the other hand, as the oil that enlightens, nourishes and strengthens is made from crushed and pressed olives, so Our Lord Jesus became our light, our nourishment and our strength by being crushed by His Passion.

Let us now consider the number of lights. They are 7 at the maximum: 6 candles and the sanctuary lamp. What does this mean? In his vision of the Apocalypse, St John saw 7 golden candlesticks, and he was given this explanation: "the seven candlesticks are the seven Churches" (Rev 1:20). So, through the 7 lights on the altar, the Church symbolizes all the peoples who believe in Our Lord Jesus.

Finally, let us consider the meaning of the 2 candles lit during Low Mass. Pope Innocent III explained that these two candles signify the Jewish people and the Gentiles, the Old and the New Testaments. Between the candles is the Crucifix. This means that Jesus unites together Jews and Gentiles who believe in Him; that Jesus and His work of Redemption are the center of the Old and New Testaments.

3. Incense

Finally, let us consider the meaning of incense. The fragrant smoke of incense rising to heaven symbolizes man's prayer to God, prayer of adoration, thanksgiving, forgiveness and petition. Since all prayers are ultimately addressed to God the source of all goods, incense is offered only to God. During Mass, we offer incense to Our Lord Jesus, who is God. The altar is incensed because it represents Our Lord Jesus. The Gospel is incensed because it is the word of Jesus Christ. The priest is incensed because he is the minister of Jesus Christ. The Mass servers and the faithful are incensed because they are members of the Mystical Body of Christ through Baptism and the Holy Eucharist. 

According to the Fathers of the Church, the thurible itself represents Our Lord Jesus. The thurible pierced with holes represents Jesus pierced by nails and torn by the blows during His Passion; the fire in the thurible represents Jesus’ Divinity, as we have already explained; the smoke from the incense represents Jesus' prayer to His Father, especially during His Passion.

The incense smoke rising from the thurible forms like a tiny cloud. This small cloud recalls something which happens in the life of the Prophet Elijah. At that time, the land of Israel was devastated by a long drought as a punishment for the people’s sins. Elijah summoned the priests of the idol Baal to Mount Carmel and proved in front of the people the falsity and wickedness of their religion. All these priests were killed in punishment for their idolatry and lies. After this, Elijah prayed to God to send rain. A small cloud as big as the palm of a hand rose from the sea. In no time at all, this small cloud swelled until it covered the sky, and an abundant rain showered the whole country. This is an image of what happens at Mass. The little cloud of incense, that is, Christ's prayer, rises from the altar to God, and in return God pours out a great abundance of graces on the whole world.

Conclusion

Dear Faithful, in conclusion I would simply like to remind you that we preserve and defend the traditional liturgy of the Mass, not out of nostalgia for the past, but because this traditional liturgy expresses marvelously well our Catholic Faith, and nourishes our Faith efficiently. All things that the new liturgy of the Mass does not do.

fr. E. Demornex