Going to mass after many many years

  • Thread starter Thread starter Sarah1115
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
S

Sarah1115

Guest
I was born a Catholic but have not been to mass in over 20 years. Can someone please tell me in detail what I do when I go in please?

Is there a place where I can print out the responses that are said in mass ?

Do I bless myself (make the sign of the cross with Holy water) before I go in the chapel?

Do I genuflect towards the pew or to the alter & do I make the sign of the cross before or after I do that?

I won’t be receiving communion since I haven’t yet been to confession so what do I need to do when everyone else goes up to receive it?

Do I bless myself with Holy water on my way out?

I’m sorry for so many questions but I don’t want to do anything improper if I can help it. I don’t have any Catholic friends here to go with me or help me with these questions. Thank you.
 
Bless yourself with the holy water as you enter the church.
Before you enter your pew and sit, genuflect toward the tabernacle (contains the Blessed Sacrament)
Just follow what everyone else is doing and listen. No need for you to worry about responses at this point. Just observe, listen, and take it all in. In time, you will remember, but right now you need to just take it all in and let His spirit take you where He wants. If you are flipping through a book trying to keep up, you will miss so much of it!

Then talk to a priest about getting back to confession, so that you can recieve the sacraments!

Welcome Home!
 
Sarah1115 said:
Is there a place where I can print out the responses that are said in mass ?
Click to expand...
They should be provided by ushers or on a desk at the entrance.
Do I bless myself (make the sign of the cross with Holy water) before I go in the chapel?
Click to expand...
Yes, as a reminder of your baptismal vows.
Do I genuflect towards the pew or to the alter & do I make the sign of the cross before or after I do that?
Click to expand...
You genuflect towards Our Lord in the tabernacle (which is sadly all too often no longer located in the centrally in many church buildings). The sign of the cross is optional. I only do so when Our Lord is exposed.
I won’t be receiving communion since I haven’t yet been to confession so what do I need to do when everyone else goes up to receive it?
Click to expand...
Sit at the end of the pew so you can get up easily and allow others to file through.
Do I bless myself with Holy water on my way out?
Click to expand...
Yes.
 
first of all, a very warm welcome home!

As the above poster says, bless yourself with holy water on the way in, genuflect towards the tabernacle before you take your seat. You don’t have to make the sign of the Cross at that point, although people often do (I don’t, as I’m holding onto a walking stick as well as my bag!).

As to responses, don’t worry too much, as we are all learning new responses as we have a new translation coming into force. So when the priest says “The Lord be with you” we are now saying “And with your spirit” instead of “and also with you”.

When everyone goes up for Communion you can remain in your seat (really, no one will give you a second glance) or you may go up with your arms crossed across your chest and receive a blessing, it’s up to you. Before I became a Catholic I tended to stay in my seat as that felt less awkward.

On leaving church you may bless yourself with holy water again, but that is optional.

Have a talk with your parish priest about confession as soon as you can, and, once again, welcome home!
 
Sarah, good for you. I too have returned after over 30 years. I agree completely with the advice from Big_feet. Unfortunately, I waited about a year before I received the Sacrament of Reconciliation. It was the best thing I could have done - only wish I had done it much sooner! There are many graces obtained by the sacraments and the sacramentals (for example, holy water is a sacramental). I wish you a clear path with guidance from the Holy Spirit as you make your journey. Welcome home!
 
I really have nothing to add that hasn’t been said already except welcome home!
 
Sarah1115 said:
I was born a Catholic but have not been to mass in over 20 years. Can someone please tell me in detail what I do when I go in please?

Is there a place where I can print out the responses that are said in mass ?

Do I bless myself (make the sign of the cross with Holy water) before I go in the chapel?

Do I genuflect towards the pew or to the alter & do I make the sign of the cross before or after I do that?

I won’t be receiving communion since I haven’t yet been to confession so what do I need to do when everyone else goes up to receive it?

Do I bless myself with Holy water on my way out?

I’m sorry for so many questions but I don’t want to do anything improper if I can help it. I don’t have any Catholic friends here to go with me or help me with these questions. Thank you.
Click to expand...
Welcome home!

There’s an excellent guide to the mass that you can print out, called “why do catholics bounce on one knee?” It can be found here:

issuu.com/styleinc/docs/why_do_catholics_bounce_on_one_knee

This is a copy that is SUPPOSED to be put into booklet form, so it doesn’t make sense if you just try to print it out and read it straight though! (also, in a little under a month, it will no longer be valid because the translation of the mass is changing!) It will provide you all the basics of the order of mass as it pertains to you.
 
First, good for you!

I’m in the same boat – I’d been away for almost 40 years and am slowly working my way back.

My only piece of advice is to sit toward the back – you want to have people in front of you so you can copy what they do!

👍
 
Thank you all for your replies 🙂 I am feeling a lot more comfortable about going back after reading all the support from you all 🙂 Thank you also for that booklet. I’m going to print that out. May God bless you all for your kindness 🙂
 
That document referred to you is fine and dandy, but there is going to be a new translation of the missal (the book the priest uses to celebrate mass) soon. So, much of the stuff in that document is changing. Some of the changes are big, some are small. The new missal will be implemented on November 27. Right now, most parishes are using some stuff from the old translation and some stuff from the new translation. It will be confusing for a while.

This document:
catholic-doc.org/divineworship/Ordo%20Missae%20Color.pdf
contains the new translation stuff. It would be good to get used to this version, because it’s going to be used in entirety pretty soon.
 
Langdell said:
My only piece of advice is to sit toward the back – you want to have people in front of you so you can copy what they do!

👍
Click to expand...
Smart strategery for not just those who have been away for a long time, but totally new people as well as older people who might be having a little problem remembering.
 
That’s great, Sarah, welcome home! :extrahappy: I will pray tonight’s Rosary for you. The other posters gave you good advice. I was gone for about 16 years myself when I was called back.

Some parishes have missalettes that contain the Order of Mass, with the proper responses. If yours doesn’t, you could also buy a copy of Magnificat at your local Catholic bookstore or online. Some churches might have them as well. It contains the Order of Mass in the middle, in addition to each day’s prayers, readings, and meditations for when you’re at home, if that’s something you’re also interested in. It’s a few bucks a copy, and pocket-sized.

We’re all getting to know the new translation of the Missal, so you might want to also get the Magnificat Roman Missal Companion, so you can read over the new responses and be ready for Advent. We’ll be using that translation going forward.
 
Thank you YoungTradCath for that. I’ll print that out too. And Bearer thank you too 🙂 I will definitely check out Magnificat . You all are so sweet :blessyou:
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top