First Mass

  • Thread starter Thread starter santiagobundo
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
S

santiagobundo

Guest
I am beginning to take a look at the Catholic Church. It is a long story on how I have gotten to the point of beginning to investigate the faith. My mother’s side of the family is Catholic, but I was raised Protestant by my father. I have never felt that I belonged and I have always wanted to, but never got around to, investigate Catholicism. I now have a child and family of my own and feel stronger than ever that I want to look into this because the call on my heart has been particularly strong in the last year since my daughter was born.

So the reason for writing this post is to ask about requirements for attending my first mass. What to wear??? What should I dress my daughter in? Is there anywhere I can find advice on how the service goes??? Like when do I stand or sit or if I have to join everyone else in the line to receive communion?

I’m nervous, but also excited. If anyone can help answer my questions I would greatly appreciate it. I haven’t told my mother I am going to mass for the first time. I want to do this on my own, and then tell her later of my experience. I’m sure that it will please her. If she lived near me I would simply go to Mass with her and I’m sure she would show me everything.

Thanks.
James
 
James,

Welcome Home. There are no requirements for attending Mass, everyone is welcome. I would suggest you wear nice slacks and shirt. Your daughter can wear whatever is easy for you, I get the impression that she can’t dress herself yet. Many Catholics are very casual in their dress, other men will be wearing suits and ties. As for when to sit, stand, etc., you can do as the others around you do, or just sit, whichever is more comfortable for you. You may not receive communion when the others go forward. Just remain in your seat. There is usually a book in the pew that gives the order of the Mass. It can be difficult to follow at first. I hope this answers your questions.

Vicky
 
You might try watching Mass on EWTN. It probably will be all in English at the Mass you attend, unless you go to an EF Mass, but it should give you some idea of when people will sand, sit, and give responses. If you can look at a daily Missal before you go that will also help. Follow along as best you can and do what the Catholics do! (Except communion, you can’t have that, yet.)
 
This is great to hear. 🙂 How old is your daughter? As for you, just like someone else mentioned, I’d recommend slacks and a nice shirt. Follow everyone else around you and what they are doing. It’s okay if you don’t know the words, you’ll learn them as time goes on. And they do have missals that can help guide you along… I believe it is usually close to the front of the pages. Sit when others take communion - you won’t be the only one sitting I’m sure.

And please let us know how it goes 🙂
 
I googled “Order of the Mass” and found a website that gives you a step by step Order of the Mass. I’m going to study it this week, and I probably won’t feel as anxious when I go to Mass for the first time. Thanks everyone for your replies. My daughter is a year old now and my wife and I have been married for two years. I actually looked up the Catholic Diocese in my local area today and had a very nice conversation with a person there who encouraged me to go to Mass and begin to see how I felt about it. As I stated before my mother is Catholic, but I was not raised as such out of respect for my father and his religion. But about five years ago I was searching for the St. James Prayer. I was born on July 25th and my mother named me after St. James and I vaguely remember her saying a prayer to me when I was little. I found a website called Catholic Online and was reading an article about Saint James. My mother is from Spain and believes that St. James is a very important saint, so I was born on the same day as His patron day and this was very special for her. While I was looking for the prayer that she would say, I saw a tag that said, “Don’t feel like you belong, look towards the Original Faith,” or something of that nature. I could say that is exactly me! I have never felt like I belonged in my father’s protestant faith and have spent years all over and years looking towards the faith of my mother. And now that I have a daughter, I would love nothing more than to invest some time to see if these calls are from God and to see if I have a place where our family belongs. I haven’t told my mother any of this, because I would be afraid if I started to investigate that she would think that I would be baptized and it would hurt her if I didn’t find my place in the Catholic faith. So you can probably see why I am very very nervous for my first Mass…

Thanks,
James
 
Also, my wife wanted to know what she should wear. I forgot to ask.

Thanks,
James
 
Are you going to the cathedral? If so I would wear a dress. If not just slacks, that’s good “middle ground.” Of course you’ll be able to adjust for next time after you see what everyone else has on. If she wears dress slacks, for now, she won’t stand out even if most ladies wear dresses or even if everyone else is wearing jeans!
 
Santiagobundo,
If you’d like, I’d be more than happy to walk you through a Mass online. I’ve done it with several people on here. I have some links to Masses we can watch where you can pause the video, and we could use a chat program like Windows Live Messenger to discuss the different parts and ask questions.

Now, that said… I’m currently in the middle of a move to a new house, and my internet isn’t working very well at all. I’m also finishing up teaching a summer school class (I’m a history professor), so I’m quite busy this week. What I CAN do right now is private message you and go over the outline of the Order of the Mass section by section to give you some better understanding. Then, in a couple weeks, as everything settles down, we could do the chat.

Private message me if you’re interested! 👍
 
As for your wife, dress slacks is always a nice happy medium! Above jeans, but not so fancy as a dress in case the parish is a more “laid back” parish. Unless she likes wearing skirts or dresses… then do that 🙂

And since your daughter is one, dress her in whatever she is most comfortable in.
 
I realize that I’m jumping ahead, but most parishes will be starting RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults) classes soon. Check the bulletin of your parish. You can learn more about Catholasism from the course than you can by simply attending Mass. Signing up does not commit you to converting. It’s something to think about.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top