CONVERTS: First reactions to the Mass?

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From what I’ve read on the forums some people love it immediately while others feel out of place. I kind of felt out of place at first b/c I didn’t really know what was going on and what was going to happen next. It didn’t take long for it to click. Now I see the beauty of the Mass. It’s a prayer.

When I walk in my church I feel the presence of God. I’ve never felt that in any other church I’ve attended.

Give it time. It’s all foreign to you right now.

God Bless your spiritual journey.
What you said! Definitely my experience walking into a Catholic church—God is HERE. I’ve never felt that in all the Protestant churches I’ve ever been to. My sisters, I just found out, actually went to their first Catholic Masses in Latin and eventhough they only understood the homily—they just knew that it was home, it was where God is. We were all drawn not just by the reverence and presence of God, but the teachings matched what we had been taught at home.
 
Hi all,
So I’m still pretty new around here on the forums, and I joined after deciding to seriously consider converting to Catholicism from my Mainline Protestant denomination (Disciples of Christ). At any rate, I’ve noticed a lot of people who have joined the RCC talk about how the Mass is part of what really drew them in. However, after attending a couple of Mass’ at two different parishes (one a…“regular” western parish, the other the Principal Church of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter a.k.a. the Episcopalian Ordinariate) and my reactions to the Mass have been very mixed.

[So, are these feelings normal for someone in my shoes? Does EVERYONE love the Mass the first time they attend? Did it take anyone of you a while to “get used to it” or “learn to love it”? How seriously should I take these initial feelings, impressions, and reactions?
I will the experience of a convert named Scott Hahn…star.ucl.ac.uk/~vgg/rc/aplgtc/hahn/m1/Mod1.html

The second thing that happened was when I quietly slipped into the basement chapel down at Marquette, Gesu. They were having a noon Mass and I had never gone to Mass before. I slipped in. I sat down in the back pew. I didn’t kneel. I didn’t genuflect, I wouldn’t stand. I was an observer; I was there to watch. But I was surprised when 40, 50, 60, 80, or 100 ordinary folk just walked in off the street for midday Mass, ordinary folk who just came in, genuflected, knelt and prayed. Then a bell rang and they all stood up and Mass began. I had never seen it before.

The Liturgy of the Word was so rich, not only the Scripture readings. They read more Scripture, I thought, in a weekday Mass than we read in a Sunday service. But their prayers were soaked with Biblical language and phrases from Isaiah and Ezekiel. I sat there saying, "Man, stop the show, let me explain your prayers. That’s Zechariah; that’s Ezekiel. Wow! It’s like the Bible coming to life and dancing out on the center stage and saying, “This is where I belong.”

Then the Liturgy of the Eucharist began. I watched and listened as the priest pronounced the words of consecration and elevated the host. And I confess, the last drop of doubt drained away at that moment. I looked and said, “My Lord and my God.” As the people began going forward to receive communion, I literally began to drool, “Lord, I want you. I want communion more fully with you. You’ve come into my heart. You’re my personal Savior and Lord, but now I think You want to come onto my tongue and into my stomach, and into my body as well as my soul until this communion is complete.”

And as soon as it began, it was over. People stuck around for a minute or two for thanksgiving and then left. And eventually, I just walked out and wondered, what have I done? But the next day I was back, and the next, and the next. I couldn’t tell a soul. I couldn’t tell my wife. But in two or three weeks I was hooked. I was head over heels in love with Christ and His Real Presence in the Blessed Sacrament. It became the source and the summit and the climax of each day, and I still couldn’t tell anybody.
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I was raised in an Evangelical demonination where only the preacher prayed aloud, extempore and even supplying his own Aymen. I hated it especially the fourty five minute sermons and long “altar calls” in an altar less church. Sometimes the altar calls would last an hour themselves with people squatting around what was really a bench crying and cryiing.

I was very relieved to go to mass where everyone prayed aloud in the same words and it was reverent and not folksy.

I had been to Episcopal and Lutheran churches before where they said ahmen. I was surprised when Catholics said aymen just like the Baptists and Campbellites.
I thought ‘aymen’ was how all Americans said it? We generally stick to ‘Ahmen’ over here.

I find liturgical worship infinitely preferable. If God made order in the universe, why would he make chaos in the Church?
 
I will the experience of a convert named Scott Hahn…star.ucl.ac.uk/~vgg/rc/aplgtc/hahn/m1/Mod1.html

The second thing that happened was when I quietly slipped into the basement chapel down at Marquette, Gesu. They were having a noon Mass and I had never gone to Mass before. I slipped in. I sat down in the back pew. I didn’t kneel. I didn’t genuflect, I wouldn’t stand. I was an observer; I was there to watch. But I was surprised when 40, 50, 60, 80, or 100 ordinary folk just walked in off the street for midday Mass, ordinary folk who just came in, genuflected, knelt and prayed. Then a bell rang and they all stood up and Mass began. I had never seen it before.

The Liturgy of the Word was so rich, not only the Scripture readings. They read more Scripture, I thought, in a weekday Mass than we read in a Sunday service. But their prayers were soaked with Biblical language and phrases from Isaiah and Ezekiel. I sat there saying, "Man, stop the show, let me explain your prayers. That’s Zechariah; that’s Ezekiel. Wow! It’s like the Bible coming to life and dancing out on the center stage and saying, “This is where I belong.”

Then the Liturgy of the Eucharist began. I watched and listened as the priest pronounced the words of consecration and elevated the host. And I confess, the last drop of doubt drained away at that moment. I looked and said, “My Lord and my God.” As the people began going forward to receive communion, I literally began to drool, “Lord, I want you. I want communion more fully with you. You’ve come into my heart. You’re my personal Savior and Lord, but now I think You want to come onto my tongue and into my stomach, and into my body as well as my soul until this communion is complete.”

And as soon as it began, it was over. People stuck around for a minute or two for thanksgiving and then left. And eventually, I just walked out and wondered, what have I done? But the next day I was back, and the next, and the next. I couldn’t tell a soul. I couldn’t tell my wife. But in two or three weeks I was hooked. I was head over heels in love with Christ and His Real Presence in the Blessed Sacrament. It became the source and the summit and the climax of each day, and I still couldn’t tell anybody.
WOW! Now THAT is a conversion! Yet some conversions and growth in faith are not that dramatic but nonetheless move us forward as well. So many ways we come to Christ.
 
I know that people from the outside feel that Mass is something “boring and repetitive”, but this is how I’m going to put it to you. Lets suppose, that you were alive back when our Lord Jesus Christ was alive. Do you think that when he would spoke to people and crowds, do you think that it was him preaching loudly, or was he more somber about? More than likely he was somber about the way he preached and thought the disciples, and those who heard him.

I’m in no way saying that the way other churches do it wrong bc at the end of the day God will be who judges them, not me. But if we think about it, if we were to hear God we wouldn’t want to interrupt him by saying, amen or alleluya, we would be quiet trying to listen to what he had to said.

In a way that’s how mass, especially when the father reads the homily, how everyone stands, bc it’s God himself whose speaking to us.
 
it was amazing…and peaceful…and right.

Everything that was done was based on Scripture. I had never experienced that before.

There is no other church like it…
 
Yes, Mass is quite different than a protestant worship service. I could see how some would be put off or think it “weird”.
The first time I went to Mass, I went with the mindset of allowing my heart to open and experience it, not worry about keeping up or saying the right things. I didn’t even kneel.
Now on my 3rd Mass, I was happy to throw myself down and even delighted in prayer when my legs starting shaking and getting stiff.
 
I had been to Episcopal and Lutheran churches before where they said ahmen. I was surprised when Catholics said aymen just like the Baptists and Campbellites.
For the record, we prefer to be simply called Christians, Disciples, or other such names taken directly from the New Testament- not Campbellites. We are followers of Jesus Christ, not Thomas and Alexander Campbell (regardless of how important these men were in the history of my denomination and other related denominations). If you want to refer to the denominations that grew out of the Campbell-Stone Restoration Movement, it would be better to use that full term or better yet to refer specifically to that denomination or local church (i.e. Disciples of Christ, United Church of Christ, or Church of Christ) rather than using the term “Campbellite” or “Campbellism” in the same way someone might use the terms “Lutheran” or “Calvinist”. The entire point of “Campbellism” was to be non-sectarian and promote Christian unity. While I recognize that we are divided today (albiet to a certain extent are are actually much closer to each other than some might think, the DoC and UCC are in full communion with each other), still, “we do protest against christening the gospel of Jesus and the Christian religion, by the name of any mortal man (Alexander Campbell)"- so it is not fitting to use Campbell’s name to describe our “sect” when this was the precise antithesis of his own beliefs and really, the entire movement. I’m not offended nor do I wish to single anyone out and make a big deal out of something that truly, isn’t that big of a deal; I just thought I’d offer that as a general piece of information for anyone engaging in ecumenical dialogues 👍

Back to the topic at hand- I guess the thing was that I was just surprised that many people had a much more positive, emotional, and spiritually rich experience at Mass than I did- I wanted to see if I was alone in this, or if sometimes you have to “learn to love” it, or wait for God to change your heart in His own perfect time. :confused:
 
Personally, I was lost and confused. Took quite a while to understand what was going on, and how everything made sense.

Once you understand the Mass more, it will start to make sense. Similar to a play, the Mass has parts, and has reasons for things being in the place that they are, and why they are ordered the way they are.

Also, it can seem “boring” or repetitive, but it also protects you in another way. You are guaranteed to worship just as it was handed to the Apostles. Consider the writing of Justin Martyr who wrote in about AD155:

*But we, after we have thus washed him who has been convinced and has assented to our teaching, bring him to the place where those who are called brethren are assembled, in order that we may offer hearty prayers in common for ourselves and for the baptized person, and for all others in every place, that we may be counted worthy, now that we have learned the truth, by our works also to be found good citizens and keepers of the commandments, so that we may be saved with an everlasting salvation. Having ended the prayers, we salute one another with a kiss. There is then brought to the president of the brethren bread and a cup of wine mixed with water; and he taking them, gives praise and glory to the Father of the universe, through the name of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, and offers thanks at considerable length for our being counted worthy to receive these things at His hands. And when he has concluded the prayers and thanksgivings, all the people present express their assent by saying Amen. This word Amen answers in the Hebrew language to γένοιτο [so be it]. And when the president has given thanks, and all the people have expressed their assent, those who are called by us deacons give to each of those present to partake of the bread and wine mixed with water over which the thanksgiving was pronounced, and to those who are absent they carry away a portion.

And this food is called among us Εὐχαριστία [the Eucharist], of which no one is allowed to partake but the man who believes that the things which we teach are true, and who has been washed with the washing that is for the remission of sins, and unto regeneration, and who is so living as Christ has enjoined. For not as common bread and common drink do we receive these; but in like manner as Jesus Christ our Savior, having been made flesh by the Word of God, had both flesh and blood for our salvation, so likewise have we been taught that the food which is blessed by the prayer of His word, and from which our blood and flesh by transmutation are nourished, is the flesh and blood of that Jesus who was made flesh. For the apostles, in the memoirs composed by them, which are called Gospels, have thus delivered unto us what was enjoined upon them; that Jesus took bread, and when He had given thanks, said, This do in remembrance of Me, [Luke 22:19] this is My body; and that, after the same manner, having taken the cup and given thanks, He said, This is My blood; and gave it to them alone.
And we afterwards continually remind each other of these things. And the wealthy among us help the needy; and we always keep together; and for all things wherewith we are supplied, we bless the Maker of all through His Son Jesus Christ, and through the Holy Ghost. And on the day called Sunday, all who live in cities or in the country gather together to one place, and the memoirs of the apostles or the writings of the prophets are read, as long as time permits; then, when the reader has ceased, the president verbally instructs, and exhorts to the imitation of these good things. Then we all rise together and pray, and, as we before said, when our prayer is ended, bread and wine and water are brought, and the president in like manner offers prayers and thanksgivings, according to his ability, and the people assent, saying Amen; and there is a distribution to each, and a participation of that over which thanks have been given, and to those who are absent a portion is sent by the deacons. And they who are well to do, and willing, give what each thinks fit; and what is collected is deposited with the president, who succors the orphans and widows and those who, through sickness or any other cause, are in want, and those who are in bonds and the strangers sojourning among us, and in a word takes care of all who are in need. But Sunday is the day on which we all hold our common assembly, because it is the first day on which God, having wrought a change in the darkness and matter, made the world; and Jesus Christ our Saviour on the same day rose from the dead. For He was crucified on the day before that of Saturn (Saturday); and on the day after that of Saturn, which is the day of the Sun, having appeared to His apostles and disciples, He taught them these things, which we have submitted to you also for your consideration. [St. Justin Martyr, The First Apology, 65-67**
 
That’s a very interesting quote. I’m glad to read in some of these responses that not everyone’s immediate reaction is joy, belief, and peace. Don’t get me wrong- I hope everyone experiences these things when they come to worship God (very much including myself! If you wouldn’t mind, pray for me that I do find these things in the Catholic Mass.), but knowing that others struggled to accept the Mass gives me hope that maybe I can some day too find the happiness, deep spirituality, assurance of the Divine Presence in the Eucharist and liturgy, peace, etc. that some people received right off the bat.

Also, at second Mass I went to (once again this was the Anglican Orderinariate one) they took up a second collection after Holy Communion (this time passing around black bags instead of baskets), what was that about? At both the other Mass and…every other church I’ve ever been in, there’s typically only one collection. Was this a special collection as a sacrifice for the dead or something?
 
MattofTexas;10242928 said:

collection after Holy Communion (this time passing around black bags instead of baskets), what was that about? At both the other Mass and…every other church I’ve ever been in, there’s typically only one collection. Was this a special collection as a sacrifice for the dead or something?

I haven’t seen that done yet. We have 2nd collections on occasion, but they have been done in the same manner as the 1st. If you have a bulletin from that Mass it should be listed. Ours always does. The also announce at the Mass that there will be a 2nd collection and what it is for.
 
When I was an Evangelical Protestant I attended a Mass for the first time as an adult. I loved it.😃 It was focused on God and it wasn’t an attempt to entertain me. I could feel the presence of God. I discovered my Evangelical church had been “borrowing” parts of the liturgy :eek: for their service. I still love attending Mass and I also now attend Daily Mass several times a week.🙂

But at first I couldn’t follow along or even cross myself fast enough. I wish I had just sat behind someone who know what they were doing and tried to copy them. It took me over a year to get everything down pretty well. I still stumble once in awhile.
 
Maybe where you live. 😉

Our church is full to the brim for two out of the three Sunday Masses, even the third one is about 1/2 full. (the church holds about 700-900 depending on whether the side chapels are put to use)

The same is true of the other 3 RC churches within 5 miles of us. I don’t want to get into a contest about it, but you cannot judge the numnbers of the RC church in the UK by the sadly falling numbers in the C of E.

And sure, numbers are variable world-wide, but the last figures I read reported that the RCC is growing not shrinking. 😃
The RC numbers are being boosted by the massive numbers of Poles and Eastern Europeans coming into this country thanks to our membership of the European Union. Eventually they will take stock of the state Britain is in and stop coming.

I repeat my statement. Every single person I know who went to an RC school bar those I have met at university - very few - do not practise their faith.
 
The RC numbers are being boosted by the massive numbers of Poles and Eastern Europeans coming into this country thanks to our membership of the European Union. Eventually they will take stock of the state Britain is in and stop coming.

I repeat my statement. Every single person I know who went to an RC school bar those I have met at university - very few - do not practise their faith.
You should get out more.

Here, the masses are full and confession lines long. You can go to a Catholic Church any time of the day and you will likely see at least one person in a pew praying.
 
You should get out more.

Here, the masses are full and confession lines long. You can go to a Catholic Church any time of the day and you will likely see at least one person in a pew praying.
Tex,

You are exactly right. My favorite church downtown Chicago is St Peter’s. Now there is more than one church downtown, including Holy Name Cathedral. But I love St. Peter’s. Here is a link…

stpetersloop.org/service_sched.shtml

Couple of observations:
  • The church is open from 5:30am - 7pm for anyone to enter and pray. I commonly find a dozen people in the church praying at any one time.
  • There are 7 Masses every day during the week starting at 6:15am (12 Masses on Ash Wednesday, see note below)
  • Confession is available all day long, 7:30am - 6pm.
I went there for Ash Wednesday a few years back and there were four priests administering Ashes and the lines for each priest were about 15 people deep.** 35,000 people come through this one church for Ashes on Ash Wednesday. **You can read about it below.

stpetersloop.org/libraries/3/LegPDF2011-03.pdf

I love this church. I always feel the Holy Spirit when I am there and the sense of community is awesome. If you are ever downtown Chicago…

Thumbnail pic is representative of people praying as I’ve seen it…only a partial view of the interior seating though.

🙂
 
Tex,

You are exactly right. My favorite church downtown Chicago is St Peter’s. Now there is more than one church downtown, including Holy Name Cathedral. But I love St. Peter’s. Here is a link…

stpetersloop.org/service_sched.shtml

Couple of observations:
  • The church is open from 5:30am - 7pm for anyone to enter and pray. I commonly find a dozen people in the church praying at any one time.
  • There are 7 Masses every day during the week starting at 6:15am (12 Masses on Ash Wednesday, see note below)
  • Confession is available all day long, 7:30am - 6pm.
I went there for Ash Wednesday a few years back and there were four priests administering Ashes and the lines for each priest were about 15 people deep.** 35,000 people come through this one church for Ashes on Ash Wednesday. **You can read about it below.

stpetersloop.org/libraries/3/LegPDF2011-03.pdf

I love this church. I always feel the Holy Spirit when I am there and the sense of community is awesome. If you are ever downtown Chicago…

Thumbnail pic is representative of people praying as I’ve seen it…only a partial view of the interior seating though.

🙂
Yes, he’s so right. Remind me what part of England this Downtown Chicago is in?
 
I thought ‘aymen’ was how all Americans said it? We generally stick to ‘Ahmen’ over here.

I find liturgical worship infinitely preferable. If God made order in the universe, why would he make chaos in the Church?
Actually in the US main line Protestants will for the most part say ahmen, while fundamentalists and most Catholics will say aymen for some reason.

There are some traditionalist Catholics that are going back to Ahmen.

I was raised fundamentalist myself and left as soon as I moved away from my parents, first to Anglicanism and then to Catholicism.

It just shocked me to hear aymen said just like the fundamentalists in the Catholic church to say the least.
 
For the record, we prefer to be simply called Christians, Disciples, or other such names taken directly from the New Testament- not Campbellites. We are followers of Jesus Christ, not Thomas and Alexander Campbell (regardless of how important these men were in the history of my denomination and other related denominations). If you want to refer to the denominations that grew out of the Campbell-Stone Restoration Movement, it would be better to use that full term or better yet to refer specifically to that denomination or local church (i.e. Disciples of Christ, United Church of Christ, or Church of Christ) rather than using the term “Campbellite” or “Campbellism” in the same way someone might use the terms “Lutheran” or “Calvinist”. The entire point of “Campbellism” was to be non-sectarian and promote Christian unity. While I recognize that we are divided today (albiet to a certain extent are are actually much closer to each other than some might think, the DoC and UCC are in full communion with each other), still, “we do protest against christening the gospel of Jesus and the Christian religion, by the name of any mortal man (Alexander Campbell)"- so it is not fitting to use Campbell’s name to describe our “sect” when this was the precise antithesis of his own beliefs and really, the entire movement. I’m not offended nor do I wish to single anyone out and make a big deal out of something that truly, isn’t that big of a deal; I just thought I’d offer that as a general piece of information for anyone engaging in ecumenical dialogues 👍

Back to the topic at hand- I guess the thing was that I was just surprised that many people had a much more positive, emotional, and spiritually rich experience at Mass than I did- I wanted to see if I was alone in this, or if sometimes you have to “learn to love” it, or wait for God to change your heart in His own perfect time. :confused:
I was speaking of the so called one and only “churches of Christ”, and not the Disciples for whom I have the highest respect. They prefer to call themselves “Christians” and they think themselves as being the only Christians in the world.

Those"campbellites" have no interest in ecumenism, their idea of ecumenism is everyone converting to them and having one church that way.

I was raised in that “undenominational” denomination and for them I have zero respect. And none for their bible worshipping Idolatry.

My childhood preacher actually called the bible “God” in every sermon.
 
I was 12 when I attended my first Mass. I had been to almost every religion you can imagine. When I sat in the pew at the Sunday Mass, it felt as if I had finally arrived home. I never felt God more present in any church (because Christ is actually present ;)) than I did at the Catholic Mass. I wish you that same feeling and pray God will show you the way on your journey. Mine took many years but I would do it all again. It is such a blessing to have the feeling that God is present each and every Sunday!
 
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