Have you ever watched a deacon lift the censer before the Gospel and wondered how the little coal inside got so bright, so quickly, and stayed that way for the whole service?
The secret is not mystical. It is a small black disc, lit with a little patience long before anyone arrives. In our sacristies, we say the censing begins an hour before the Liturgy, with the charcoal.
Nobody prints holy cards of charcoal. It has no feast day and no troparion. Yet without it, the sweetest Athonite incense sits in its box as a handful of quiet resin.
The old Psalm we sing at Vespers says, "Let my prayer be set forth before Thee as incense" (Psalm 140:2). The grains carry the fragrance, but it is the coal that lifts the prayer. Good charcoal is the quiet servant that makes the offering rise.
Three Kings is a well-known Dutch brand of self-lighting charcoal tablets, used in churches around the world for generations. Each tablet is pressed from carbon and a little saltpetre, which is why it sparks when it meets a flame.
Our box holds ten tablets, which is enough for ten evenings of prayer or several feast days. One tablet will usually burn long enough to cense a whole home and keep the fragrance rising through a good part of your prayers.
Many people feel nervous the first time. Do not be. A few quiet minutes and a good habit are all you need.
Put a thin layer of clean sand or ash in the bottom of your censer or charcoal burner. This protects the metal and keeps the heat even.
Using tongs, hold the tablet at its edge over a candle or lighter. When the sparks start running across it, set it on the sand with its flat side up. Never hold it with bare fingers.
This is the step most beginners skip, and it is the most important. Let the coal glow until the surface turns a soft grey-white. It usually takes three to five minutes. Only then is it ready to receive incense.
Two or three grains of resin are plenty. If you pile on too much, the coal will smother and the smoke will turn heavy and bitter.
Cense the icons first, then the rooms of the house, then those who live there. A short prayer is perfect: "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on us."
I have lit thousands of these tablets over the years, and I have come to think the process itself teaches something. You cannot hurry the ash. You cannot light the coal and rush to the incense. It must glow first, quietly, until it is ready.
Our souls are much the same. We often want to leap straight into prayer, but a little preparation changes everything. We settle our breathing, turn off the phone, light a candle, and let the heart become still. Then the prayer, like the incense, rises more easily.
Even Saint Paul, writing about Christ, speaks of "a sweetsmelling savour" offered to God (Ephesians 5:2). Our small offering at home echoes that language, in the humblest way.
Why won't my charcoal stay lit?
Usually it is damp, or it was covered with incense before the ash formed. Let it glow until it turns grey-white, and add only a few grains.
Can I use this charcoal with any incense?
Yes. It works with Athonite grain incense and other resin incense meant for a censer. Do not use it with incense sticks.
How long does one tablet last?
A tablet will usually burn for a good while, long enough for a home censing and an evening of prayer.
Ready to cense your home? Order your Three Kings charcoal here, and add a box of Mount Athos incense to go with it. Shipping is free on orders over $70.
God bless you and your household. — Father Thomas
