Asking to attend Mass with a Catholic?

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Will it be appropriate for me to give a small offering during Mass (is that done in the Catholic Church during the service…it is at my church)?
 
wantingtoknow said:
Will it be appropriate for me to give a small offering during Mass (is that done in the Catholic Church during the service…it is at my church)?
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Certainly. If you plan to attend regularly, you can even sign up for envelopes. In Canada, this would allow you to receive a tax receipt at the end of the year to deduct a percentage of your donation from your tax bill. (I don’t know how it works in the USA.)
 
jmcrae said:
Certainly. If you plan to attend regularly, you can even sign up for envelopes. In Canada, this would allow you to receive a tax receipt at the end of the year to deduct a percentage of your donation from your tax bill. (I don’t know how it works in the USA.)
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Well, I’m not old enough to file taxes yet, so I guess I don’t have to worry about that. 😃 But I will definitely give offering.
 
wantingtoknow said:
Will it be appropriate for me to give a small offering during Mass (is that done in the Catholic Church during the service…it is at my church)?
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Yes, if you’d like to, though as a visitor it would not be inappropriate if you didn’t. As you may know, the Mass is, broadly speaking, split up into two parts: the Liturgy of the Word, which includes Bible readings and the homily, and the Liturgy of the Eucharist, which includes Communion. In between these (technically part of the Lit. of the Eucharist) is the Offertory. In most parishes, at this time someone will take the bread and wine which are to be consecrated up to the priest, and also a collection will be taken. (There may also be a hymn sung by the congregation, or by the choir if there is one.) They can take the collection in several ways: they may pass a basket around, or ushers may come to each pew with a sort of basket-on-a-pole for you to put the donation into, or in one parish I’ve attended the ushers will stand in the aisles with collection baskets and if you have a donation you get up and walk over.
 
wantingtoknow said:
Will it be appropriate for me to give a small offering during Mass (is that done in the Catholic Church during the service…it is at my church)?
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If you want to you can, but don’t feel you have to. Envelopes are for parishioners who are in a position (they are employed) to support their parish. Since you mention you are 16, I assume you are in school.
 
I think I have made an important step forward.

Tonight, I brought up the subject of attending a Catholic college, and it allowed me to ask my friend about her church. I never had to blatantly ask…we just talked about our churches and what went on, and she told me that Mass isn’t what most non-Catholics think. So I told her I’d like to see sometime, and she invited me to go with her in the near future (after school lets out because I am swamped with schoolwork right now…).

I feel so much better now! Maybe this really is where I belong! I am so happy!👍
 
wantingtoknow said:
I think I have made an important step forward.

Tonight, I brought up the subject of attending a Catholic college, and it allowed me to ask my friend about her church. I never had to blatantly ask…we just talked about our churches and what went on, and she told me that Mass isn’t what most non-Catholics think. So I told her I’d like to see sometime, and she invited me to go with her in the near future (after school lets out because I am swamped with schoolwork right now…).

I feel so much better now! Maybe this really is where I belong! I am so happy!👍
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Wonderful!! 👍
 
Beyond books you can probably use Google, (since you are 16 I assume you are more internet savvy than I), to find some videos of Masses. Search Novus Ordo Mass video and I would think plenty of choices would pop up. If you want to see a Latin Mass search TLM Mass or Extraordinory Form Mass. I assume your friend attends Novus Ordo so that would be the best place to start. This may help calm some of your nerves.

Praying for you in your journey. I waited until I was 32 to join the church, wish I would have done so at your age.

Dominus Vobiscum (Latin for: The Lord Be With You)
 
lboecker said:
Beyond books you can probably use Google, (since you are 16 I assume you are more internet savvy than I), to find some videos of Masses. Search Novus Ordo Mass video and I would think plenty of choices would pop up. If you want to see a Latin Mass search TLM Mass or Extraordinory Form Mass. I assume your friend attends Novus Ordo so that would be the best place to start. This may help calm some of your nerves.

Praying for you in your journey. I waited until I was 32 to join the church, wish I would have done so at your age.

Dominus Vobiscum (Latin for: The Lord Be With You)
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I’ll see what I can find, thank you! Beyond that, I suppose I’ll just have to follow what my friend does! I know it will all work out well. 🙂
 
This is so wonderful. God loves you.
wantingtoknow said:
I’m not sure I know how to explain why I want to explore/convert to Catholicism. What I mean is, I feel like I am being drawn toward it by a power I am not in control of. It makes me feel emotional…it’s a feeling I’ve never had before. It’s strong.

But I don’t know the facts. I don’t really know what Catholic belief entails. So I am afraid someone will ask, “What do you believe about Catholicism that makes you want to convert?” I don’t think I could answer that question, and that it would cause me to seem to be acting blindly and without thinking.
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I have never heard any Catholics ask another Catholic what about the belief that made them consider converting. I think I heard a similar question at one point in my life but it was in a totally different context. So you will never have to worry about this question from left field. The truth is many Catholics do not know details about Catholicism that they can explain to another, but they can still be good Catholics by trusting the God and His Church in their lives.
As for a good book to read. I heard many people on the radio praise Dr. Scott Hahn’s The Lamb’s Supper. This is a short and easy to read book for Catholics and non-Catholics alike that explains Mass in biblical terms. It’s a great book to have at home because you can read it over and over and learn more and more since it takes its content from the Scriptures – and it’s impossible to exhaust the teachings form the Scriptures.
Inside the church that you will attend for Mass, they will have Missals. These give you the instructions on how to celebrate Mass. The mechanics are really straight forward, but the meaning can be deep. Grab a Missal if you want to be more prepared at Mass or just not worry about it until you have some questions. In addition, parishes can often give extras of their Missals away if you tell their office that you are interested in getting one. The Missals are cheap paperback books, usually in a drag color =). I think they cost parishes $1-2 dollars to get so parish can give them away unless they are swamped.
May God bless you and bless all of us to seek Him fully and be held in His arms all through eternity.
 
I have gotten so much wonderful, informative help here. Thank you so much, all of you.

I will be spending my time between now and my first Mass reading my Bible, the Catechism, and anything else I can.

I know I am on the right path.
 
Sounds like the holy spirit is calling you home to rome.👍
I’ll pray for the holy spirit to guide.

jg
 
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