Going to My First Mass in the Extraordinary Form

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I am planning on going to my first Mass in the Extraordinary form.

How should I prepare?
 
Take a rosary. Enjoy the atmosphere. Pray well. Follow what the others do, and learn the line “et cum spiritu tuo” (and with your spirit).

Many feel a little “lost” initially because it is a bit different and you can’t really find your place to catch up. But it is beautiful.
 
I hope it’s a solemn high Mass, I cried tears throughout. Brought back memories from childhood kneeling with my mom.

Just enjoy the glimspe of heaven.
 
The most important preparations are interior. Reflect on the sacrifice of the Mass, be sure to be in the state of grace so you can receive communion. Don’t worry about following every detail in the missal, your participation is based on your interior union with the priest’s actions. Don’t worry about the responses, the altar boys and/or choir pronounce the words and you respond interiorly in your dialogue with God. Don’t worry about postures, just follow along and know that if anyone sees you struggling, they will be very edified to see that you’re learning something new. Also you “say” Amen at communion by opening your mouth to receive Our Lord in the sacrament, you don’t pronounce the word out loud…could end up biting the Priests hand if you do that!

If you do have a Missal, I encourage you to read the prayers at the foot of be altar at the beginning of Mass and then at the very end read the Last Gospel. The tradition of praying these prayers in the liturgy was given to us by the Saints many centuries ago and they are extremely beautiful. Also, for many centuries Our Lady has helped Catholics prepare interiorly for Holy Communion with the Holy Rosary, so you could also follow the wisdom of our ancestors and silently pray your rosary in the time leading up to Holy Communion, that way when you receive Jesus, His Mother will be in your heart ready to great him.

Because there are no strict rubrics that the faithful have to follow (responses, postures, etc.) there is no wrong way to assist that the Extraordinary Form. If you get nervous or anything (I did my first time, just because it was something different) just pray “Jesus, I love you, I know you’re here and I’m a little freaked out, help me out!”
 
I agree with the previous poster, I also recommend using the Missal, sometimes the Church may have one in the pew or at the back entrance. It probably will take a little time to get the hang of using the Missal and keeping up but it will be worth it.
 
Perhaps the best way to prepare is to have a look in the missal, to see how all the parts seamlessly flow from one another. you can look up the readings for the day so you know what to expect.

Thing is, when people first start attending, they are normally lost and flip the missal back and forth trying to follow. It really isn’t difficult once you figure it out, but it can be a frustrating experience the first time. My advice would be to just relax and soak it all in.
 
As others have mentioned, consider a missal. Until then, take a look here. (By the way, the missal you see offered on that page is a darn good one…and as good as any!) But mostly, when you get there, try your best to free your mind of any distractions. And then, just enjoy the most beautiful experience this side of heaven!

Peace, Mark
 
CatholicMedic said:
I am planning on going to my first Mass in the Extraordinary form.

How should I prepare?
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Hello,

Find a missal and look through it. Be aware of what Mass will be said (i.e., Second Sunday after Epiphany or whatever).

Some of the Mass will be familiar (oh, I know what this is) but other parts will not (what’s he doing now?). Be aware that much of what the priest says will not be audible to you. The priest may be saying something silently, along with the server, while the choir is singing. You might not know what you should pay attention to. That is why looking through the missal beforehand is good. In the moment, you will probably not be able to know what the priest or choir is saying.

Maybe watch a few such Masses online. There might even be some that have some commentary along with them.

Dan
 
Is it a Low Mass or a High Mass? (you may or may not know that yet if you have never been, but the Mass schedule should say…)

I would look over the readings, and the division of the Mass in a missal. Read over all the things in the margins of the missal…it gives you a ton of information about what is going on.

(if you have one, I think I’m assuming something here that might not be so. I know I didn’t own a Missal until I’d been going for awhile. But, I guess if you have a friend’s that you could borrow)

If it is a High Mass, the Epistle and the Gospel will be sung in Latin, then they will go back and read it in English. So don’t worry too much about keeping up. If it is Low Mass, that will not happen, so either way, it will be good if you have read the readings prior to going. In Low Mass, everything will be silent.

The thing is, just ENJOY the Mass! Watch the Mass and take it all in! It is really beautiful and if you spend your whole time flipping through books (some parishes will have a red Mass book you can follow along the basic parts with), you will miss the whole thing!

Enjoy! And post a follow up! 🙂 God Bless!
 
Oh, if you don’t have a missal, you can always use an app! Laudate has the Latin Mass - no flipping pages, it flows as the Mass flows. That will be a great way to read the Mass before you go!
 
I know I am double posting, but I’ve really enjoyed reading the advice everyone has gave. It’s all quite excellent.

There is a treasure of information available on the Traditional Mass and you could probably spend a lifetime studying and learning about the Mass, This is a great thing!

But ultimately the beauty of the Traditional Mass is not reserved for those who have the time and ability to study the Missal. For centuries, Catholics who could not read or write were fed by this Mass. That is the beauty of it, you do not have to be a scholar to understand its concepts. You simply guide your soul to the foot of the cross and dispose yourself interiorly to receive as many graces as possible, and God and your guardian angel will take care of the rest.

Of course, Saints (Including Pope St. Pius X) and the future saints on this thread agree that following the words of the Missal is extremely edifying, but you are free to lift your soul to God at the Traditional Mass without doing so. You aren’t graded by how well you kept up, and you aren’t required to try to keep up.

I like to think of it this way:
-Where am I? (At Mass)
-What is being done here? (The One-and-For-All Sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross)
-Who does all the work? (God the Holy Trinity, with some help from his priest)
-Who is the Priest talking to? (God)
-Who is in the tabernacle? (Jesus)
-Who will I receive at communion? (Jesus)
-Who will stand with me here, at the foot of the cross? (Our Blessed Mother)

If you remember those things, you aren’t “lost” even if you have no idea what page to turn to in the Missal, or if you haven’t even opened a Missal!
 
ChurchSoldier said:
Take a rosary. Enjoy the atmosphere. Pray well. Follow what the others do, and learn the line “et cum spiritu tuo” (and with your spirit).

Many feel a little “lost” initially because it is a bit different and you can’t really find your place to catch up. But it is beautiful.
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A rosary? For later, after Mass, or what? As a spiritual prep before Mass?
 
LordHaveMercy said:
You simply guide your soul to the foot of the cross and dispose yourself interiorly to receive as many graces as possible, and God and your guardian angel will take care of the rest.

Of course, Saints (Including Pope St. Pius X) and the future saints on this thread agree that following the words of the Missal is extremely edifying, but you are free to lift your soul to God at the Traditional Mass without doing so. You aren’t graded by how well you kept up, and you aren’t required to try to keep up.
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Yeah, all that 🙂 Beautifully stated!
 
pianistclare said:
A rosary? For later, after Mass, or what? As a spiritual prep before Mass?
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Our parish leads a rosary before Mass ~ perhaps others do as well? And many people pray the rosary after their Thanksgiving prayers after Mass. Never a bad idea to have a rosary at Mass. Or, if it is a Low Mass, the OP can pray a decade or 2 during parts where they are not quite sure what is going on or how to follow along.
 
Shea96 said:
Our parish leads a rosary before Mass ~ perhaps others do as well? And many people pray the rosary after their Thanksgiving prayers after Mass. Never a bad idea to have a rosary at Mass. Or, if it is a Low Mass, the OP can pray a decade or 2 during parts where they are not quite sure what is going on or how to follow along.
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Of course, my OF parish has done the same for decades.
It just sounded like the poster made it sound like one “needed” one for the EF.
Big difference.
 
I’m going to have to agree with Clare on this one.

While it’s okay to bring rosaries to the TLM, it must be remembered that the TLM is more about contemplative prayer than vocal prayer. As one Pope said, “Pray the Mass.” This is done by watching and experiencing the Holy Sacrifice being made. It’s not the “participation” that most are used to but it is participation nevertheless.
 
Not all repeat the readings in the vernacular so keep those particular pages indicated. 🙂
 
Thanks for all of the (name removed by moderator)ut.

I have a copy of the 1962 Missal. I got at a used books sale years ago.

Is that the one I need?
 
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