I suppose part of it is simple habit, though I think another part of it is confusion over the difference between the altar, tabernacle, and the Blessed Sacrament. Before the reintroduction of free standing altars in parish churches, there wasn't particularly a great need to differentiate between those things in the minds of the people. However, with the movement of the tabernacle away from the altar, possibly in another room altogether, I believe the people were never taught the different ways both of those things are important.
The tabernacle, of course, has a great importance since it is where the Blessed Sacrament is housed in churches. The faithful can come before it to pray in the presence of the Lord. Numerous documents have been written on the importance and great benefit of having the tabernacle in the center of the sanctuary of the church. However, a tabernacle is not necessary for a church.
The altar is what makes a church, a church. It is the location from which all the Sacraments flow, since it is from the altar that the Blessed Sacrament, the source of all the other Sacraments, becomes present on our earth. The altar is the place where the greatest act man can participate in occurs. The altar of every church becomes the altar of Calvary. It has a dignity all its own, which does not diminish the dignity of the tabernacle, but the two rather enhance each other through their unique connections to the Holy Eucharist.
It is for this reason then, that the altar is central focus of the Mass. At all times, the altar, which represents Christ, is paid the reverence of a profound bow. However, the order of hierarchy is always observed in the Church. Reverence is given to the greatest first, and then in diminishing order. Therefore, if the altar and tabernacle are within the same sanctuary, when the priest and ministers approach the altar for Mass, they first pay reverence to Jesus, truly present in the Eucharist, asking Him to bless the work they are about to undertake. From then, the altar becomes the focal point.
I wish to now look specifically at the reverencing and incensation of the altar at the beginning of Mass. The priest kisses the altar, and a kiss has always been at the heart of greetings in the Roman Church. It is maintained today outside of the Liturgy in many cultures; when they greet each other, they do so with a kiss on the cheek. The kiss is a sign of peace and affection. Obviously also there are varying degrees of affection; the way you kiss your mother is not the way you kiss your spouse.
Traditionally the pope would give a kiss to all the things representing Christ at the beginning of the Liturgy, the sacred ministers, the book of the Gospels, and the altar. In the Middle Ages, the crucifix for Mass was also reverenced, as having a profound connection to Mass, as it is a visible reminder of what is actually happening mystically. However, in order to lessen distractions from the essence of the Liturgy, all kisses were suppressed except for the original kissing of the altar.
There are so many different symbolisms we can draw from this kiss, that I will limit myself to the four I feel best capture the heart of the rite. The first is that from ancient times, even in Pagan cultures, a temple or image of a god was greeted with a kiss, as the sign of spiritual affection. As often happened, this civic and pagan concept was Christianized, and thus, found its way into the Sacred Liturgy. However, there is a higher element than spiritual affection in the priest and deacon's kiss of the altar. As Scripture says, "What nation ever had their gods as near to them as our God is to us (Deuteronomy 4:7)?" We love the Lord in a real and true relationship. Our affection for Him is not just as a god, but as a friend, brother, and father. Therefore, the kiss holds so much more meaning, which leads me into my second reason.
A thought once related to me by a priest, is the intimacy of the Mass. Our God comes to us. We are made one with Him by partaking of the Holy Eucharist. As St. Athanasius said, "God became man, so that man might become God." There is never a time we are so close to God on this earth, than right after we have worthily received Him in Communion. The connection I wish to emphasize here, is how this union parallels the union of a couple in Holy Matrimony, and their union is shown in the marital act. And as the priest pointed out, he imagines that generally involves kissing. The kiss of the altar then, is also an intimate kiss of love for the union with our Lord about to be obtained.
But there is an important aspect of the Mass I cannot overlook, and that is the aspect of reparation. The Sacrifice of the Cross was offered in reparation for the sins of men. The kiss of the altar also is one of reparation. The Passion of our Lord began with a kiss in the betrayal of Judas. The Mass, in which we recall the Passion and Death of the Lord, also begins with a kiss, though not one of betrayal, but of reparation.
This kiss lastly is made to all of the Church Triumphant, as the Jungmann notes in his The Mass of the Roman Rite. Since it became common by the Middle Ages to have a martyr placed within or under the altar, the kissing of the altar was not only a tribute to Christ, but to the martyr and all the saints through him. Nowadays, the Church allows for any saint to be placed within the altar, not just martyrs, but I believe this even more strengthens the symbolism. There can even be the relics of multiple saints in the altar; I know of an altar with around 30.
The altar, then, is not only the altar of Calvary, but it also becomes the altar in Heaven, spoken of in the Book of Revelation, from which the prayers of the saints ascend to God as incense (Revelation 8:3-4). It is evident that the incensation of the altar at the beginning of Mass is meant to symbolize this.
While incense was forbidden in the early Church, due to its use by the pagans, it quickly made its way back into the Liturgy, even before the end of Paganism, due to its presence in Holy Scripture, and the way it lends itself to liturgical functions. Incense itself has often been a representation of divinity. It is the reason frankincense was given to Jesus by the Magi; "Incense doth a god disclose (Prudentius, "Earth Has Many A Noble City")."
Within the Extraordinary Form, there are no prayers accompanying the incensation of the altar at this point, besides the blessing of the incense - "Be blessed by him in whose honor thou art burnt." For this then, I would hold the incensing of the altar is meant, not only to add solemnity, but is the final preparation for the Mass proper to begin. As the incense envelopes the altar in a mystical cloud, so we are drawn into the Mystery, and as the incense ascends upwards, our particular prayers ascend united with all the prayers of the Church.
All historical information taken from:
Rev. Joseph A. Jungmann, S.J. The Mass of the Roman Rite: Its Origins and Development. Volume 1. Part III: Greetings. Kissing the Altar, 311-317, and The Incensing of the Altar, 317-320. Translated by Rev. Francis A. Brunner, C.SS.R. (Christian Classics: Notre Dame, Indiana, 1951).
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