May I add a little to what BlestOne has described so well about mass?
- The blessing with Holy Water is not an empty ritual. It is done to remember our baptism and the vows that we took (basically belief in the Apostles Creed and renouncing of Satan). As an ex-evangelical Protestant, I think this is really cool! After I was baptized as a Baptist, I never thought about it again. Some people criticize Catholics becaue they are baptized when they are babies and therefore don’t remember it. That’s not true! Catholics remember their baptism everytime they bless themselves with Holy Water.
- The genuflecting is also not just an empty ritual. Catholics believe that the Lord Jesus Christ is truly present in the Blessed Sacrament in the Tabernacle. We are not kneeling for the Church or the Priest or statues or idols. We are kneeling before Jesus, our Lord and King. I want to mention that many people who cannot kneel due to physical limitations will do a profound bow instead.
One more thing–the order of the mass is somewhere in the missal. This will help you find the responses and read along. It’s better than standing there feeling left out. The Bible readings are also in the missal, so if you bring your Bible, you can look them up and follow along. Some churches announce the hymns and some have some kind of magnetic board with the hymns posted. Our parish actually has a digital display, but sometimes the organist/pianist forgets to change the display!
Oh–be prepared for an hour or less! That is such a shock if you come out of evangelical churches where the sermon alone is usually at least 45 minutes, and the praise and worship time can last twenty minutes!
