Church smoke legacy

As I headed out of Calle la Mata to drive through Mojácar to celebrate the Eucharist at the Ermita de San Pascual this morning, the road was blocked off by a Guardia Civil patrolman, probably due to a cycle race passing through. I was sent up a side road along which I have walked several times, which leads eventually up to Mojácar Pueblo. There were no deviation signs, to indicate where one might re-join the Paso del Mediteraneo using one of the many side streets, so I dutifully drove half way up to the Pueblo, and then back down into the Playa's commercial hub to get back on the main road. It was only a ten minute delay. There were no further hold-ups, no sign of ciclistas anywhere, but it made a change from routine. 

There were forty in church for our All Saints' Sunday celebration. As is customary on this festival incense was used, one of the few remaining occasions when it is. I suspect it's endured rather then enjoyed by most, but it's a legacy from times past when there was a 'high church' chaplain. I love the use of incense in worship, although the grand formal rituals only work in large liturgical spaces. It's something which needs room, and a small crowded chapel isn't the best place for this. I would prefer to have a small bowl on the floor before the altar, or on the retable behind, underneath the cross, burning gently without being swung around. 

I've seen this work in monasteries, across the religious divide to evoke a scent of the sacred, and it's quite enough. Portable censers were used in outdoor processions of public officials in ancient Rome and were adopted for church processions as state and church officialdom began to blend post-Constantine. The lovely smell matters far more than the delivery ritual, so long as it doesn't make people cough, which it's more likely to do in a confined small space. I restricted incensing to the Offering of the Gifts this morning. No dignified processions are really possible in this space, so I omitted to use incense for the Gospel. Well, it makes sense to me.

During an interregnum, nothing must change. It'll be interesting to see what the newly appointed Chaplain decides to do about this. I hope there is real discussion, and not just a hanging on to legacy customs which don't really work well in the ermita anyway. Afterwards, five of us went to the Kio Ice Cream parlour in town for a drink and a chat before heading home. I cooked myself a tuna steak and green veg for lunch. Then a siesta, then a walk around the charco, with a glorious sunset against a sky with high clouds to take photos of. Then an evening of writing and reflecting before an early bed-time. I need to be sharp and on form, as tomorrow's funeral is early, and I'm never quite feel I'm at my best until after elevenses.