What excitement we had at Mass yesterday! At the recessional, priest, acolyte, and thurifer headed down the aisle, singing, along with the little congregation, "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen," led as usual by the acolyte, who has the strongest voice.

The thurifer, a seminarian whose identity I won't publish, is, along with the priest, a great enthusiast for incense, and fills the church with great clouds of it. And he also swings the thurible with enthusiasm: with so much enthusiasm yesterday that as he recessed down the aisle he was whirling it in a great circle.  Perhaps you've seen this done--apparently it is a permissible maneuver. I was unable to locate a YouTube video, but it involves swinging the thurible not just in a low arc but in a full vertical circle.

The thurible being made of heavy brass, this puts a good bit of strain on the apparatus. It came apart. The lower half of the thurible parted company with the chain. It flew down the aisle, trailing hot coals and burning incense. Priest, acolyte, and thurifer, in full vestments, and still attempting to sing, scrambled to put out the little fires now smoldering up and down the carpeted aisle.  I really tried to get through to the last "comfort and joy," but I was just laughing too hard.

Tragically, there is no video of this event. Only a few blackened holes in the carpet remain by way of physical evidence that it occurred. But we have our memories.