what is the "smoking ball" that the alter boy swings in catholic church?

Question

what is it called, what does it represent?

Answer 1

It is a censer. The smoke represents our prayers rising up to God.

"And another angel came and stood at the altar with a golden censer; and he was given much incense to mingle with the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar before the throne; and the smoke of the incense rose with the prayers of the saints from the hand of the angel before God." -- Revelation 8:3-4

Answer 2

The censer or thurible,which is used for burning incense(a very biblical-both OT and NT-practice), a symbol of prayer,blessing,fumigation,dedication and honor, is used in the other ancient Christian Churches like the Eastern Orthodox ,Assyrian and Oriental Orthodox. The censer is called a kadilo in Slavonic.
Some Protestant "high church" groups also use incense and often more than many Catholics do. The Jewish spice box for fellowship meals is descended from the censer.

Answer 3

It's called a Censor. it contains a small brick of charcoal that's burning as a hot coal. the Priest or clergy puts granular incense on it to create the sweet smelling smoke. Incense is used as a means of spiritual purification of a sacred space. Catholics are NOT the only Religion to use incense in their Religious ceremonies.

Raji the Green Witch

Answer 4

It's a thurible, otherwise known as a censer. It contains resin incense. The person holding it is called the thurifer. It represents prayers rising to heaven.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thurible

Answer 5

smoking ball alter boy swings catholic church

Answer 6

Its technical name is a "thurible," and it's a type of censer for burning incense. Incense represents both purification and the prayers of the faithful, rising to God.

Answer 7

It is called a censer.

Incense has been used to accompany and symbolize prayer in Judaism and Christianity for thousands of years.

In the Old Testament, God mandates the use of incense in Jewish worship:

"For burning incense you shall make an altar of acacia wood, ... "On it Aaron shall burn fragrant incense. Morning after morning, when he prepares the lamps, and again in the evening twilight, when he lights the lamps, he shall burn incense. Throughout your generations this shall be the established incense offering before the LORD. (Exodus 30:1-9)

Aaron makes an offering of incense:

"Thus shall Aaron offer up the bullock, his sin offering, to atone for himself and for his family. When he has slaughtered it, he shall take a censer full of glowing embers from the altar before the LORD, as well as a double handful of finely ground fragrant incense, and bringing them inside the veil, 3 there before the LORD he shall put incense on the fire, so that a cloud of incense may cover the propitiatory over the commandments; else he will die. (Leviticus 16:12-13)

See also Numbers 7:13-17.

And in the New Testament, the Magi bring frankincense, a type of incense, as an offering to Christ himself:

Then they opened their treasures and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. (Matthew 2:11)

John the Baptist's father, Zechariah makes an offering of incense in the Temple sanctuary:

Once when he was serving as priest in his division's turn before God, according to the practice of the priestly service, he was chosen by lot to enter the sanctuary of the Lord to burn incense. Then, when the whole assembly of the people was praying outside at the hour of the incense offering, the angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right of the altar of incense. (Luke 1:8-12)

John describes an angel with a golden censer offering large amounts of incense before the throne of God:

Another angel came and stood at the altar, holding a gold censer. He was given a great quantity of incense to offer, along with the prayers of all the holy ones, on the gold altar that was before the throne. The smoke of the incense along with the prayers of the holy ones went up before God from the hand of the angel. (Revelation 8:3-4)

In modern use, incensing is a symbol of purification and sanctification.

Incense may be used during the Mass during:
+ The entrance procession
+ The beginning of Mass, to incense the altar
+ The procession and proclamation of the Gospel
+ The offertory, to incense the offerings, altar, priest and people
+ The elevation of the Sacred Host and chalice of Precious Blood after the consecration

During funeral Masses, the priest may incense the coffin as a sign
+ Of honor to the body of the deceased which became the temple of the Holy Spirit at Baptism
+ Of the faithful’s prayers for the deceased rising to God

"Let my prayer come like incense before you." (Psalm 141)

With love in Christ.

Answer 8

its called a thurible. its a container that holds a burning piece of charcole that ignites insence for ritual burning.