And the smoke of the incense rose with the prayers of the saints

Today Zenit's liturgical column dealt with the subject of incensation and it made interesting reading in terms of a comparison between the Latin and Novus Ordo mass. Essentially nothing has changed in terms of the rubrics for incensation, which is why the current Ceremonial of Bishops contains several footnotes from the 1886 Ceremonial on the manner of approaching the bishop and holding the thurible. The only differences are the absence of any reference to a deacon or subdeacon, omission of a blessing over the incense and three double swings to the faithful. Concerning the incensing of the faithful, the change from single to double swings results from the emphasis on the presence of Christ in the assembly.