First things first, the holy water font

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kdkkdt

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Long story short. I was raised in the Catholic Church until age 10 when my family’s life turned upside down. After that I was shuffled around a lot and didn’t return to regular church attendance until I was an adult. As an adult I joined the Wesleyan (Methodist) church, so to put it simply, but hopefully not rudely, I was sprinkled as a baby and dunked as an adult. I have only attended mass a few times in the past 30 years, always with my late father and I admit, more to spend some special time with Dad than for myself.

I am now older and determined to return to the Catholic faith. Where I run into trouble is that I am a very shy person, a little OCD and very afraid of making a little mistake that will mortify me even if others in attendance don’t notice.

This Sunday I will attend mass for the first time by myself, with a little help from a Catholic couple that I met through my husband and I have lots of questions.

Let me start with my first two questions please.

It seems natural and right for me to dip my fingers in the holy water font at the front of the church and make the sign of the cross. Is that okay?

Second, I know that I cannot take communion at this point but I also feel the strong need to get in line for a blessing from the priest. Is that okay? I know about the whole crossing my arms to send a silent signal to the priest thing.

Thanks in advance.
 
kdkkdt said:
Long story short. I was raised in the Catholic Church until age 10 when my family’s life turned upside down. After that I was shuffled around a lot and didn’t return to regular church attendance until I was an adult. As an adult I joined the Wesleyan (Methodist) church, so to put it simply, but hopefully not rudely, I was sprinkled as a baby and dunked as an adult. I have only attended mass a few times in the past 30 years, always with my late father and I admit, more to spend some special time with Dad than for myself.

I am now older and determined to return to the Catholic faith. Where I run into trouble is that I am a very shy person, a little OCD and very afraid of making a little mistake that will mortify me even if others in attendance don’t notice.

This Sunday I will attend mass for the first time by myself, with a little help from a Catholic couple that I met through my husband and I have lots of questions.

Let me start with my first two questions please.

It seems natural and right for me to dip my fingers in the holy water font at the front of the church and make the sign of the cross. Is that okay?

Second, I know that I cannot take communion at this point but I also feel the strong need to get in line for a blessing from the priest. Is that okay? I know about the whole crossing my arms to send a silent signal to the priest thing.

Thanks in advance.
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First, yes.

Second, did you receive your First Communion as a child?
 
Small clarification, Catholic baptism is by pouring or, rarely, by immersion. Sprinkling is a practice of certain Protestant denominations, though its validity is only questionable if they do not use enough water for it to run across the child’s head.
 
kdkkdt said:
Long story short. I was raised in the Catholic Church until age 10 when my family’s life turned upside down. After that I was shuffled around a lot and didn’t return to regular church attendance until I was an adult. As an adult I joined the Wesleyan (Methodist) church, so to put it simply, but hopefully not rudely, I was sprinkled as a baby and dunked as an adult. I have only attended mass a few times in the past 30 years, always with my late father and I admit, more to spend some special time with Dad than for myself.

I am now older and determined to return to the Catholic faith. Where I run into trouble is that I am a very shy person, a little OCD and very afraid of making a little mistake that will mortify me even if others in attendance don’t notice.

This Sunday I will attend mass for the first time by myself, with a little help from a Catholic couple that I met through my husband and I have lots of questions.

Let me start with my first two questions please.

It seems natural and right for me to dip my fingers in the holy water font at the front of the church and make the sign of the cross. Is that okay?

Second, I know that I cannot take communion at this point but I also feel the strong need to get in line for a blessing from the priest. Is that okay? I know about the whole crossing my arms to send a silent signal to the priest thing.

Thanks in advance.
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Yes, both of those things are absolutely okay. Also, if you were baptised in the Catholic Church and received first communion than you are just a confession away from being able to receive communion again. But, I’ll leave that for later discussions. Having said all of that, I have been clinically diagnosed and suffer from general anxiety, social anxiety, depression, and bi-polar disorder, so I can kinda understand where you are coming from. Feel free to PM me anything you want to talk about as it pertains to those things because I have learned to live within the Church while dealing with those issues.

God Bless!!!
 
YoungTradCath said:
First, yes.

Second, did you receive your First Communion as a child?
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No, I did not. Actually as the youngest of six children I was the only one that didn’t. My family was already in the process of falling apart at that point.

My intention is to start all over from the beginning, attend the adult catechism classes, etc.,
 
kdkkdt said:
It seems natural and right for me to dip my fingers in the holy water font at the front of the church and make the sign of the cross. Is that okay?
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Yes, it is certainly fine to make the sign of the cross and use holy water.
kdkkdt said:
Second, I know that I cannot take communion at this point but I also feel the strong need to get in line for a blessing from the priest. Is that okay? I know about the whole crossing my arms to send a silent signal to the priest thing.
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The Church asks those not receiving Communion to stay in the pew. Everyone receives a blessing after Communion. The Communion line is not for blessings. It is for Communion.

I suggest you remain in your pew.

Since this is not a universal or approved practice in the Church, if you intend to do so you should approach the pastor before Mass and ask him if it is appropriate. The priest can also give you a blessing after mass.
 
kdkkdt said:
Long story short. I was raised in the Catholic Church until age 10 when my family’s life turned upside down. After that I was shuffled around a lot and didn’t return to regular church attendance until I was an adult. As an adult I joined the Wesleyan (Methodist) church, so to put it simply, but hopefully not rudely, I was sprinkled as a baby and dunked as an adult. I have only attended mass a few times in the past 30 years, always with my late father and I admit, more to spend some special time with Dad than for myself.

I am now older and determined to return to the Catholic faith. Where I run into trouble is that I am a very shy person, a little OCD and very afraid of making a little mistake that will mortify me even if others in attendance don’t notice.

This Sunday I will attend mass for the first time by myself, with a little help from a Catholic couple that I met through my husband and I have lots of questions.

Let me start with my first two questions please.

It seems natural and right for me to dip my fingers in the holy water font at the front of the church and make the sign of the cross. Is that okay?

Second, I know that I cannot take communion at this point but I also feel the strong need to get in line for a blessing from the priest. Is that okay? I know about the whole crossing my arms to send a silent signal to the priest thing.

Thanks in advance.
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On your first question yes,
On you second question, yes, if it is the practice of the church you are attending, most do.
There will be those on this post that will tell you not to, ignore them.
It sounds like you stopped your religious formation very young, you need to contact the Faith Formation office of the church to enroll in RCIA. This will teach you the Catechism of the church so you won’t have to worry about making mistakes.

Welcome home, Deacon Frank
 
To answer your questions:

  1. *]Yes, you can go bless yourself with the Holy Water in the font.
    *]No, you should not receive a blessing in the Communion Line. The Congregation for Divine Worship specified this in Protocol No. 930/08/L.

    The reason for this stance is that the Communion Rite is for Communion, not blessings. I would encourage you, however, to ask Father for a blessing after Mass, has ended, if you so chose to.

    Here is the text of Protocol No. 930/08/L:
    1. The liturgical blessing of the Holy Mass is properly given to each and to all at the conclusion of the Mass, just a few moments subsequent to the distribution of Holy Communion.
      “2. Lay people, within the context of Holy Mass, are unable to confer blessings. These blessings, rather, are the competence of the priest (cf. Ecclesia de Mysterio, Notitiae 34 (15 Aug. 1997), art. 6, § 2; Canon 1169, § 2; and Roman Ritual De Benedictionibus (1985), n. 18).
      “3. Furthermore, the laying on of a hand or hands — which has its own sacramental significance, inappropriate here — by those distributing Holy Communion, in substitution for its reception, is to be explicitly discouraged.
      “4. The Apostolic Exhortation Familiaris Consortio n. 84, ‘forbids any pastor, for whatever reason or pretext even of a pastoral nature, to perform ceremonies of any kind for divorced people who remarry’. To be feared is that any form of blessing in substitution for communion would give the impression that the divorced and remarried have been returned, in some sense, to the status of Catholics in good standing.
      “5. In a similar way, for others who are not to be admitted to Holy Communion in accord with the norm of law, the Church’s discipline has already made clear that they should not approach Holy Communion nor receive a blessing. This would include non-Catholics and those envisaged in can. 915 (i.e., those under the penalty of excommunication or interdict, and others who obstinately persist in manifest grave sin).”
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    If you were baptized, you can get into the RCIA process. You should be receive Communion within a year or so.
 
FAB said:
On your first question yes,
On you second question, yes, if it is the practice of the church you are attending, most do.
There will be those on this post that will tell you not to, ignore them.
It sounds like you stopped your religious formation very young, you need to contact the Faith Formation office of the church to enroll in RCIA. This will teach you the Catechism of the church so you won’t have to worry about making mistakes.

Welcome home, Deacon Frank
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The church I will be attending is a very small one and has just two masses a week in English. I have already inquired about the RCIA through the new friend I mentioned earlier and it turns out her husband teaches the classes, which will hopefully go even further towards making the transition an easier one for me. 🙂
 
FAB said:
In truth, except for bloggers on this site, this is ignored for pastoral reasons and properly so.
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I certainly wouldn’t want to see a priest turn away someone who presented themselves in the communion line for a blessing. On the other hand, when someone who isn’t doing so asks whether it’s appropriate, there’s certainly nothing wrong with showing them the official response on the question.
 
FAB said:
In truth, except for bloggers on this site, this is ignored for pastoral reasons and properly so.
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Your opinion only.

I know priests who do not give “blessings” in the communion line.

The OP should talk to the pastor about it. She is already nervous about going to Mass, so better to consult the local pastor.
 
I would suggest to the OP to set up an appointment with the priest just to introduce himself and ask the priest the protocol at the parish for going up in the communion line for a blessing.
 
kdkkdt said:
The church I will be attending is a very small one and has just two masses a week in English. I have already inquired about the RCIA through the new friend I mentioned earlier and it turns out her husband teaches the classes, which will hopefully go even further towards making the transition an easier one for me. 🙂
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If you are uncomfortable asking the priest, ask this friend or her husband about getting in the communion line for a blessing. They will know what is acceptable at the parish.
 
1ke said:
Your opinion only.

I know priests who do not give “blessings” in the communion line.

The OP should talk to the pastor about it. She is already nervous about going to Mass, so better to consult the local pastor.
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Not opinion, fact. All the priest I know, work with and have known give blessings, my ordinary gives blessings, I give blessings.
 
agnes_therese said:
I certainly wouldn’t want to see a priest turn away someone who presented themselves in the communion line for a blessing. On the other hand, when someone who isn’t doing so asks whether it’s appropriate, there’s certainly nothing wrong with showing them the official response on the question.
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FAB said:
In truth, except for bloggers on this site, this is ignored for pastoral reasons and properly so.
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I agree that this is a difficult concept to institute pastorally, and it would require much catechesis.
However, we are discussing this from a more academic standpoint, since none of us are directly responsible for the pastoral care of the person.
 
agnes_therese said:
I certainly wouldn’t want to see a priest turn away someone who presented themselves in the communion line for a blessing. On the other hand, when someone who isn’t doing so asks whether it’s appropriate, there’s certainly nothing wrong with showing them the official response on the question.
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It may be an official response, but wihout any enforcement.
I prefer to give her the pastoral reponse.
Once she is in RCIA it is a mute point since she will be dismissed for study after the homily.
 
L_Marshall said:
I agree that this is a difficult concept to institute pastorally, and it would require much catechesis.
However, we are discussing this from a more academic standpoint, since none of us are directly responsible for the pastoral care of the person.
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discussing it as academic then the decision to be able to give a blessing is up to the local ordinary, in most cases he more than lickly leaves the decision up to his priest.
Which is the reason I instructed her to follow the practice of the parish she is attending and listen to that pastor, not the voices here.
The person who is directly involved in her pastoral care.
 
1ke said:
Yes, it is certainly fine to make the sign of the cross and use holy water.

**The Church asks those not receiving Communion to stay in the pew. Everyone receives a blessing after Communion. The Communion line is not for blessings. It is for Communion.

I suggest you remain in your pew**.

Since this is not a universal or approved practice in the Church, if you intend to do so you should approach the pastor before Mass and ask him if it is appropriate. The priest can also give you a blessing after mass.
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I understand where you are coming from in your recommendation, but I think it is highly specific to the parish. Our priest specifically recommends that those not receiving communion get in line and receive a blessing. He makes a very strong point of it. So, I would think this advice to be correct in some circumstances, but you definitely cannot say, “The Church asks those not receiving to stay in their pews.” When I have been in several Churches where this is not the case. I agree with your recommendation to talk to the pastor of the parish.

We also have a response on this thread from a deacon who says it is appropriate. No offense, but I usually go with the ordained.
 
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