…why the Bible is divided into chapters and verses?
“Divide et impera” was the motto of Roman authority throughout its existence. This ancient advice, however, applies not only to dividing the empire into regions, the army into phalanxes, or the enemy into factions, but also admirably to daily life: in dividing schedules, distinguishing concepts, delegating tasks…
Incredibly, the golden rule even applies to… the Word of God! It was with this conviction that Stephen Langton, Archbishop of Canterbury and Chancellor of the University of Paris in the early 13th century, divided the books of Holy Scripture into chapters. As a good professor and an even better prelate, he knew that the Bible is the written condensation of the Creator’s Revelation of Himself and that the words it contains, besides being sublime, are very numerous… Accordingly, we need to savour them little by little.
Years passed. The struggles intensified and the Sacred pages became weaponized. At the height of the clash with Protestantism, Robert Estienne brought greater precision and speed to the designation of sacred passages. Supported by the studies of the Dominican Hebraist Sante Pagnini, he published, in 1555, a Bible already divided into verses, just like the ones we have today.
The division into chapters and verses thus results both from the desire to hear the words of Revelation more clearly and from apologetic battles for their correct interpretation. ◊
…the origins of the liturgical use of incense?
In the more solemn liturgical celebrations, incense is commonly used. Placed on the embers of the censer, it spreads its pleasant aroma throughout the sacred space.
In its early days, the Church did not use incense to avoid suspicion of idolatry, as offering it to the gods was common among pagans. In the catacombs, however, Christians began to use it to perfume the area, as the place lacked sufficient ventilation. Finally, around the fourth century, the Church adopted it for major solemnities as a way of paying further homage to the true God.
Today, incense serves not only to add splendour to ceremonies, but also has other significations, such as expressing the act of direct adoration we render to the Blessed Sacrament, or indirect adoration through liturgical objects related to the Redeemer: To express our veneration for the saints through their images; to revere the sacred ministers and even the faithful, by reason of their baptismal dignity. Furthermore, as a sacramental, when blessed, it serves as a vehicle for certain graces related to the Liturgy, protects against the action of the devil, and symbolizes the prayer that ascends to the throne of God.
Among other liturgical acts, it is burned at solemn Masses, during benediction with the Blessed Sacrament and in processions and funerals. ◊
