From a reader:
I had the privilege of attending a wonderful EF Mass for Easter, and on the way back we were engaged in a discussion as to whether whoever is doing the incense is required to try to cause the chain to clink.
Is there a rubric regarding incensing and noise-making? I’d be curious about both forms.
Ah! The really important questions for the future of the New Evangelization! I consider this matter to be right up there with the proper use of the liturgical Berreta.
No, to my knowledge there is no rubric (in either the Ordinary or Extraordinary Form) that speaks to the clinking of the thurible against its chain(s) during incensation.
That said, I recall having read in one liturgical manual or another the author’s snarky comment along the lines that some find the noise pleasant. He, apparently, did not. In fact, sometimes all you get is a grating clack.
If you are the sort of priest or deacon or server who likes to rattle the ol’ chain, as it were, you will know that it is easier to do (or harder to avoid?) depending on the design of the gadget, the quality of its materials, the length and therefore slack of the chains, etc.
Good incensation takes a bit of concentration, attention to detail, and practice. You can’t get in there and lob the flaming gizmo around. People get singed, carpets get burned, fire extinguishers are sought, mothers get angry, hijinx ensues.
It is, i believe in my heart, for this reason that His Hermeneuticalness holds extinguisher drills with his servers. QUAERITUR: Is H.H. notoriously bad at incensation? So the drills would suggest. But I digress.
This is a good opportunity for a WDTPRS poll.
Pick your answer and give your reasons and comments in the combox. Whereas with less important questions, such as the relation of the two natures of Christ or whether Communion in the hand should be abolished, I ask people to refrain from engaging each other directly, since this is of such great significance, since we have to get to the bottom of the question once and for all time, go ahead and duke it out.
UPDATE:
And then there’s this.
[wp_youtube]XpvHaH36anA[/wp_youtube]
And listen to the hijinx of the Parisian Lefebvrites! (tune in at 3:30 especially)
[wp_youtube]mA5BCu2N19I[/wp_youtube]
And on the other side of the Channel
[wp_youtube]Vzq6_IkqWrI[/wp_youtube]
