I used to burn incense for days that resulted to burns on the face of my attacker. I cannot explain why that happened but I'm happy with the results of using incense to fight witchcraft and evil spirits. I use the same kind that the Catholic church burns during Mass. This kind of incense is available in religious supply stores that comes with a special charcoal. It is very easy to use and inexpensive.
Incense is an aromatic substance which is obtained from certain resinous trees and largely employed for purposes of religious worship. The word is also used to signify the smoke or perfume arising from incense when burned.
Incense has been employed in worship by Christians since antiquity by the Roman Catholic Church and some Anglican and Lutheran Churches. The practice is probably rooted in the earlier traditions of Judaism in the time of the Second Temple. The smoke of burning incense is interpreted by the Roman Catholic Church and Eastern Christian churches as a symbol of the prayer of the faithful rising to heaven. This symbolism is seen in Psalm 141:2, "Let my prayer be directed as incense in thy sight: the lifting up of my hands, as evening sacrifice." Incense is often used as part of a purification ritual. In the Revelation of John, incense symbolises the prayers of the saints in heaven - the "golden bowl full of incense" are "the prayers of the saints" which infuse upwards towards the altar of God.
In ancient times incense was furnished by two trees, the Boswellia sacra of Arabia Felix, and the Boswellia papyrifera of India, both of which belong to the Terebinthian family. Mention is made of it in Numbers 7:14; Deuteronomy 33:10, etc. It was procured from the bark much as gum is obtained at present. To enhance the fragrance and produce a thicker smoke various foreign elements were added. These ingredients generally numbered four, but sometimes as many as thirteen, and the task of blending them in due proportion was assigned under the Old-Law ordinances to particular families (Canticles 3:6).
Incense used at the Divine Services represents:
a. Adoration or the worship paid to God alone, present in the Eucharist. The burning of the fragrant spices shows the unimportance of all creatures before their Creator.
b. Prayer, which rises to God like smoke.
c. Grace, which God pours into our souls as incense pours fragrance throughout the Church.
The Church incenses relics, ikons and Holy things:
a. To honor God who crowned the saints in heaven, who worked wonders through them here on earth, who sanctified and glorified their bodies.
b. To show respect and devotion to the special friends and servants of the Almighty. The Church incenses her ministers, her bishops and priests, in order to honor in their person Jesus Christ, whom they represent and with whose sacred character they are clothed.
The Church incenses the faithful in order to honor in them the likeness to Christ which was imprinted upon them in Baptism . . . to show them forth as the temples of the Holy Spirit. At the censing of the parishioners make the sign of the cross upon their bodies in respect to this meaning.
The Church incenses the bodies of the departed to honor the bodies which were sanctified and made holy by Baptism, and to beg God to receive the prayers and petitions we offer for the repose of the soul of the departed in the Faith.
Incense shows forth several things:
Its burning represents zeal in the service of the Lord. Think of that as you see the sacred smoke rising in the Sanctuary. Recall that you are to give of your time and talent, your service and means to the worship of God. Are you going to let a mere material creature like incense outdo you in divine service?
The incense is burnt for the glory of God. How about you? Its fragrance represents virtue, pleasing to God as it always is. How pleasing is your life and your service? Can you feel that your devotion in Church, your thoughtfulness of God, your keeping of His law, is of a kind that will please Him?
The rising smoke represents prayer and shows that your prayers are rising too. The smoke reminds you to pray, if you are not praying. The fragrance of the smoke shows that our prayer and service are pleasing to God. God commanded Moses and His chosen people to use incense.
The Church uses it in her service. Think of what all this means and it will be a source of grace and spiritual strength to you.
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