Sandalwood Incense | Catholic Mass Incense

Sandalwood Incense | Catholic Mass Incense

Sandalwood incense, most of the aromatic incense used in churches and brotherly processions of Holy Week , have a common origin. Aromatic incense, sandalwood incense, rose incense,..., are the mixture of the resin of a tree, known as olibanum incense or olibanum incense, and other tree resins (for example sandalwood incense) or natural oils ( for example rose incense).

In this post on our blog of religious articles we try to delve into the origin, composition and properties of sandalwood incense. Perhaps what you are looking for in buying sandalwood incense for liturgical or brotherhood use in our online store.

Sandalwood incense properties

Sandalwood incense is one of the most popular incenses, both as liturgical incense and as cofrade incense . Sandalwood incense is usually used both in celebrations in the Church and during the brotherhood processions of Holy Week.

Sandalwood incense is made by combining two resins. On the one hand, the original resin of the incense, known as Olíbano incense or Olíbano incense . On the other hand, the resin of the sandalwood tree.

Sandalwood incense is born from the combination of these two resins, an incense highly appreciated for its penetrating and pleasant aroma.

Properties of sandalwood resin

The first component of sandalwood incense is sandalwood resin.

Sandalwood resin gives incense the aromatic properties that characterize it. The aroma of sandalwood incense is very pleasant and relaxing.

The resin is extracted from the sandalwood tree. Tree from which sandalwood incense is named.

The sandalwood tree, the origin of sandalwood incense

The sandalwood tree is the plant from which the resin is extracted which, mixed with frankincense, will produce sandalwood incense.

The sandalwood tree is a small tree, reaching maximum heights of 9 m. The sandalwood tree has evergreen leaves and small flowers. Its wood is brown. The characteristic feature of the sandalwood tree is the aroma that its wood gives off.

The sandalwood tree is native to the Indian subcontinent. It usually grows and is cultivated in dry areas, with sandy soils.

The sandalwood tree needs quite specific conditions for its growth. This has made it difficult to cultivate the sandalwood tree in remote regions of India.

The great world demand for sandalwood incense, added to the difficulties of its cultivation, have caused a significant decrease in sandalwood trees in India. This situation has led the Indian government to enact laws to ensure sustainable cultivation of the sandalwood tree.

Manufacture of sandalwood incense

The process for obtaining sandalwood incense is different from the process for obtaining frankincense.

Sandalwood incense does not come from the resin of the sandalwood tree, but is in the wood of the plant. More specifically, sandalwood incense is made from the heartwood and roots of the sandalwood tree. The heartwood of the sandalwood tree is the inner part of the trunk.

The process of obtaining sandalwood incense requires the tree to be uprooted. According to some studies, it is estimated that a sandalwood tree could be uprooted after 15 years. Currently Hindu law requires manufacturers to wait 30 years before uprooting sandalwood trees.

Once the sandalwood tree is uprooted, the heartwood and roots are crushed. An aromatic paste is generated from this process. The next step is to mix the sandalwood paste with water and other components to produce sandalwood incense.

Olíbano incense properties

Frankincense or Olibanum incense is known as frankincense, frankincense or "true" incense . Frankincense incense receives this name because it is historically considered to be the original incense, the first incense used by man to aromatize the environment through its combustion.

From the combination of Frankincense incense with other aromatic resins and/or aromatic oils, the wide variety of incense for the Church that can currently be purchased in the Brabander Religious Articles online store (rose incense, sandalwood incense, etc…) is generated.

Incense, etymology

The word incense is believed to have a double origin:

• The word incense has a Latin origin. Incense comes from the name "incensum", which derives from the verb "ignitere" whose meaning is to burn.
• Incense is also associated with an Arab origin. Especially linked with the identification of frankincense and frankincense. The word incense comes from the Arabic name al-lubán which means "milk". Clear allusion to the appearance of the resin that comes out of the Olibano. Milky colored resin.

Frankincense, the Boswellia trees

Olíbano incense or Olíbano incense is extracted from two trees of the Boswellia family, Boswellia thurifera or Boswellia sacra. This family of trees is also called the Olibanum tree or Olibanum tree, after which frankincense is named.

Boswellia sacra is the tree that serves as the main source of Frankincense Frankincense. Boswellia sacra, also known as the frankincense tree , is grown primarily in Somalia, Ethiopia, Yemen, and Oman in Northeast Africa and the southern Arabian Peninsula.

Boswellia sacra adapts exceptionally to dry and rocky terrain.

Frankincense, resin extraction

The Frankincense tree, or Frankincense tree , is a generally short tree. The incense tree has an extraordinary resistance in the absence of water and humidity.

For the extraction of frankincense, the most popular process is through incisions in the frankincense tree. The collectors make a series of carefully measured incisions so as not to damage the plant. Through these incisions sprouts the white resin of the frankincense tree.

The resin, under the effect of the sun, solidifies. Once the resin of the incense tree is compact, it is collected. The solid resin is often referred to as a resinoid.

The resinoid is subjected to different processes that will result in what is known as Frankincense Frankincense, or Frankincense Frankincense.

Sandalwood incense in the Catholic Church

The use of sandalwood incense, and other aromatic incense, in the liturgical celebrations of the Catholic Church have their origin in the Bible.

The burning of incense and the smoke that is released are linked to the prayers of Catholics. The prayers ascend towards the sky, towards God, as does the smoke of incense when it is burned.

In the Holy Scriptures there are numerous references to the use of incense during liturgical celebrations. We are going to classify these references to incense according to its appearance in the Old Testament or the New Testament.

Sandalwood incense in the Catholic Church, Old Testament

In Exodus 29 and 30, God gives Moses a series of instructions to carry out. Among these instructions, God tells Moses that he must build an altar of acacia wood covered with gold. The altar will serve to burn incense:

The altar of incense

30 You will also make an altar to burn incense; of acacia wood you will make it. 2 Its length shall be a cubit, and its width a cubit; it shall be square, and its height two cubits; and its horns will be part of it. 3 And you shall overlay it with pure gold, its covering, its surrounding walls, and its horns; and you shall make a border of gold around it.

In Exodus 30:7 God continues to give instructions to Moses on how the priests should act:

7 And Aaron shall burn fragrant incense on him; every morning when he gets the lamps ready he will burn it. 8 And when Aaron lights the lamps in the evening, he will burn the incense; perpetual rite before the Lord throughout your generations. 9 You shall not offer strange incense on it, nor a burnt offering, nor an offering; nor shall you pour a libation on it.

In Psalms 141:2 you can read the comparison of the smoke generated by the incense and the prayers of the faithful:

Let my prayer rise before you like incense, The gift of my hands like the evening offering.

Finally, we can also read about incense in the Old Testament in Leviticus 16, 12-13:

12 And he shall take a censer full of burning coals from on the altar that is before the Lord, and two handfuls of ground aromatic incense, and carry it behind the veil. 13 He will put the incense on the fire before the Lord, so that the cloud of incense covers the mercy seat that is on the ark of the testimony, lest Aaron die.

Sandalwood incense in the Catholic Church, New Testament

Also in the New Testament reference is made to aromatic incense.

Perhaps the best known reference to incense is the moment of the Adoration of the Magi to the Child Jesus in the Portal of Bethlehem. The Magi, knowing the birth of the Child Jesus, traveled to prostrate themselves before Him and worship Him.

Each of the three wise men brought a present with which to entertain the Child Jesus. The three gifts were gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Matthew 2:11:

And entering the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and prostrating themselves, they adored him; and opening their treasures, they offered him gifts: gold, and frankincense and myrrh.

Also in the New Testament we can read about the comparison of the smoke of burning incense and prayers. In the Apocalypse of Saint John (8:3-5) it can be read:

the seventh seal

1 When he opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. 2 And I saw the seven angels standing before God; and they were given seven trumpets. 3 Another angel then came and stood before the altar with a golden censer; and much incense was given to him to add to the prayers of all the saints, on the golden altar that was before the throne. 4 And from the angel's hand the smoke of the incense with the prayers of the saints rose to the presence of God. 5 And the angel took the censer, and filled it with fire from the altar, and cast it to the earth, and there were thunders, and voices, and lightning, and an earthquake.

Sandalwood incense in the Cathocli Church | Mass incensing

Incense, the act of burning incense and spreading aroma , is widely used today. An aromatic incense, such as sandalwood incense or rose incense, is often used during incensing.

The origin of the use of incense during liturgical celebrations in the Church is difficult to determine. It is believed that during the first centuries of the existence of the Catholic Church, incense was not used during Mass.

It is not until the seventh century when there is the first clear reference to the use of incense during a celebration in the Church. At that time, incense is linked with Good Friday.

In subsequent centuries, the documentation of the time tells us about the different moments in which incense is burned in the Church: the incensing of the Blessed Sacrament, the incensing of the priest and his assistants, etc...

Currently, in the Catholic Church incense is used more or less voluntarily. A series of moments have been determined in the Liturgy in which the incense should be burned. The document where all this information is collected is the “Ceremoniale episcoporum”.

In article 84 it states that the burning of incense, that is, the rite of incensing, shows prayer and reverence for God. Reference is made in this article to Psalms 141:2 and the Apocalypse of Saint John 8:3.

Article 85 of the "Ceremoniale episcoporum" explains the type of incense that should be burned at Mass. The incense that is placed in the censer to be burned must be pure incense with a pleasant aroma. If any other ingredient is added to enhance the aroma, it must be taken into account that the percentage of incense in the mixture must be much higher.

Article 86 tells us about incensing during the Bishop's seasonal Mass. It also clarifies that in other types of Masses, the use of aromatic incense will be done when it is considered "opportune".

Aromatic incense can also be burned, as we read in article 87, solemn blessings of a Church or an altar, in the consecration of the Sacred Chrism , in the exhibitions and processions of the Blessed Sacrament and in the obsequies for the deceased.

Article 88 and 89 refer to the burning of incense at other times such as Palm Sunday, Mass at the Lord's Supper, Easter Vigil, Lauds and Solemn Vespers, etc...

In all of these incense burning incense is used in a censer. The smoke of the incense spreads its aroma. In addition to this modality, in the Catholic Church we also use unburned incense. The best example of this use of incense is the incense grains or nails that are placed in the Paschal Candles for the Easter Vigil celebration.

There are five grains or nails of incense and they represent the five wounds that Christ suffered on the Cross: a nail of incense represents the wound of the right foot, a nail of incense represents the wound of the left foot, a nail of incense represents the wound of the right hand, a nail of incense represents the wound in the left hand and a nail of incense represents the wound in the side caused by the spear.

Sandalwood incense, Easter brotherhood incense for Holy Week

If there is an aroma that is unequivocally identified with Holy Week, with the brotherhood world and with processions, it is the aroma of incense.

The incense during the brotherhood processions in Holy Week accentuates its meaning of union with God, of approaching God. During the celebration of Holy Week we commemorate the Passion, Death and Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The Brotherhoods and Brotherhoods, the brotherhoods, the Nazarenes, the faithful go out in procession accompanied by the Pasos de Semana Santa. The figures and images that represent the last days of Christ are, perhaps, the most important part of the Holy Week celebration. Every year, during the processions, we remember how Jesus gave his life for the forgiveness of our sins.

During the celebration of Holy Week, the burning of incense, as we can read in articles 88 and 89 of the "Ceremoniale episcoporum" has a special role in two moments: during the celebration of Holy Mass and during the processions.

Sandalwood incense in Holy Week Masses

Holy Week is full of transcendental moments. From Palm Sunday the celebrations of Masses and other events take place uninterruptedly. Sandalwood incense, or incense of any other aroma, has a great relevance in many of these celebrations.

The burning of incense during Holy Thursday Masses and celebrations plays a particularly prominent role. Very important on Holy Thursday is the Chrism Mass. Chrism Mass is usually celebrated on Holy Thursday, but may be moved up a day or two for practical reasons.

The Chrism Mass is a celebration that takes place once a year. The Chrism Mass is presided over by the Bishop of each Diocese and is usually celebrated in the Cathedral. It is during the Chrism Mass when the Holy Chrism and the other Sacred Oils are consecrated. Incense is burned after the Bishop's blessing. The smoke and aroma of sandalwood incense accompanies the Bishop and the procession that carries the Holy Oils to the sacristy.

Also during Holy Thursday every Holy Week the Mass of the Lord's Supper is celebrated. Mass of great importance that is celebrated during the afternoon of Holy Thursday. The Mass of the Lord's Supper does not have a fixed time, and is usually celebrated during the time when the most faithful can attend the Church. During the Mass of the Lord's Supper, the Easter Triduum begins. In the Catholic Church at this Mass we celebrate the establishment of the Sacrament of the Eucharist. Christ during the Last Supper gave us the gift of the Eucharist, offering us his Body and his Blood for the forgiveness of sins.

The incense is placed in the censer and will be lit once the Eucharist is over. Once the Communion is celebrated, a procession will begin that will carry the Blessed Sacrament through the Church to its reserved place. It is important that the Blessed Sacrament be kept in an urn or in a Tabernacle. It will remain in this place until the Friday Mass of the Lord's Passion.

Sandalwood incense, Easter brotherhood incense in Holy Week processions

The steps of Holy Week are the great protagonists of Holy Week. During this special time, the streets of our cities are filled with costaleros, cofrades, Nazarenes and a long etcetera of Catholic people.

The Holy Week processions are one of the most emotional and exciting moments of the celebrations that take place throughout the Liturgical Year. The streets overflow with Christian emotion, with Catholic feeling.

Sandalwood incense, or other aromatic incense, is a fundamental element to create the right atmosphere during Holy Week processions. For a long time, the processions of Brotherhoods and Brotherhoods have been identified with the pleasant smell of incense and the beautiful color of the smoke that comes out of the censer.

Buy sandalwood incense for non-liturgical or Easter uses

Sandalwood incense has been created for use as Church incense or as cofrade incense . According to statistics, 90% of the sandalwood incense we sell is bought by priests for liturgical use or by brotherhoods to burn during processions.

The remaining 10% of sandalwood incense purchases are made by individual buyers. People who enjoy the smell of sandalwood incense in their homes .

In Religious Articles Brabander we have had the opportunity to speak with some of these buyers. He tells us that they deeply enjoy the smell of sandalwood incense. On many occasions they burn sandalwood incense while listening to Holy Week processions. This combination makes them transport themselves to the processions of Holy Week, it makes them remember the passage of the images and figures of Holy Week during the processions.

Are you one of those who enjoys the smell of sandalwood incense? Do you like to put on processional marches while the aroma of sandalwood incense surrounds you? If the answer is yes, we want to give you a series of tips to fully enjoy sandalwood incense.

Burn sandalwood incense at home

1. We recommend you read the entry we made about charcoal to burn incense . It is a basic guide on how to easily light charcoal to burn sandalwood incense. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact Religious Articles Brabander.

2. Be careful when handling charcoal, especially once it's lit. If it comes into contact with your skin, it could cause burns.

3. It is not necessary, but if you want to burn sandalwood incense in the best conditions, we recommend you buy a series of products. These items will make it easy for you to enjoy the aroma of sandalwood incense. We recommend you:

   1. Buy a box of self-igniting charcoal for incense.

   2. Buy a domestic censer.

   3. Buy some charcoal .

   4. Buy a metal teaspoon for incense.

4. Take into account the dimensions of the place where you are going to burn the sandalwood incense. It is recommended that once you have the coal lit, you slowly add the sandalwood incense with the teaspoon. This will allow you to gauge the amount of smoke being generated. Adding a lot of sandalwood incense early on could cause too much smoke.

5. Once the first teaspoon of sandalwood incense has been consumed, before adding the second, try to clean the remains of incense from the charcoal tablet. You can use the spoon itself or blow lightly.

6. If you want to burn sandalwood incense in your car, be very careful. Carbon is a glowing element and could be dangerous. It is recommended to use the censer to burn sandalwood incense. Do not light the incense with the car running, it could be a risk. Keep in mind that the car's cabin is very small, use small amounts of sandalwood incense.

7. The charcoal tablets have been manufactured to ignite quickly and autonomously. Do not use other types of substances to start the ignition (alcohol, etc…)

8. Sandalwood incense is one of the best known in the world, but there is a wide variety of incense: citronella incense, myrrh incense, rose incense, Vatican scented Three Kings incense scented incense, Pontifical scented incense, etc… We invite you to discover them in our online store.