How do i push myself to go to mass on Sunday?

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estevansilva

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hi, i am 15 years old and i have not confessed in almost a year and haven’t been to church in a couple months. my parents have given me the will to decide whether or not i want to go to church (they forced me and my siblings when we were small). i talk to God every single day and i talk to my saint every day but i really don’t feel the urge to go to church at all. everytime i go to church i feel a little creeped out because everyone in my church sounds so synchronized. i get so bored at church, probably the only time i payed attention at church was when i was doing my first communion (which i did when i was 11). can somebody give me some tips? thank you for your time and god bless!!!
 
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Hi Estevan,

Try and think of going to Church as visiting your best friend (which Jesus is). When participating in the Mass, think of it as celebrating His resurrection. Think of this as doing something special for your Friend. Give this a try and see if it works for you.

Remember, Jesus wants you to see you.
 
First thing I would do is go to Confession. The graces you’ll receive from this sacrament will help you.

Next, include in your daily prayers a plea to develop love of the Mass. Be patient, it won’t happen overnight, but God loves you and your saint is watching over you so you can trust that they will help you grow in faith. In the meantime, persevere.

Whenever possible, go to Mass with someone you love.

And don’t worry, what you feel is so common. When I was 15, church was the most boring thing on the planet. Now, almost 10 years later, I go everyday because I want to. I got up early and spent a good hour freeing my car from a thick layer of ice in order to get there this morning. I would’ve walked if it got to be too late. The only difference between me 10 years ago and me now is God’s grace.

So that’s my recommendation, prayer and perseverance 🙂
 
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Just push yourself weekly and talk to Him. He’s gonna meet you. It will feel “forced” for a while, but in time, you will find yourself excited and looking forward to going to mass.

Some folks here will probably disagree with me but if there’s a Life Teen/Youth mass - - try attending that. The Homilies are usually tailored to younger folks.

Join Youth Group so you can understand the meaning behind what you are doing, and hopefully find peers and mentors who will help you go thru this experience.
 
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estevansilva said:
everytime i go to church i feel a little creeped out because everyone in my church sounds so synchronized
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What does that mean? It is a community celebration, and it is supposed to be synchronized! What is creepy?

It sounds like you don’t feel like you are in synch with/part of the community, so maybe doing some things outside of Mass would help you appreciate the beauty of worshiping together with people you know?

For me, appreciating the Mass better (I had the same experience as you when I was a child) was based in my relationship with God. I could not enjoy the Mass until I could experience it as an encounter with God.

It has helped me to read the daily readings on my own, and listen to some good homilists (I still cringe at really bad preaching). I went to a Mass last week at a parish I have not been to in years. The Homily was all about why it is important to give to the Annual Catholic Appeal. I do not find my faith much enriched by such things, so it helps me more to listen to a solid reflection on the readings. There are a lot of good ones on the internet.
 
If you fall in love with the Mass and begin to really understand what is happening there in each part, you won’t have to push yourself to go most of the time. We all have times where we are tired or busy and think how easy it would be to just skip it but then when we remember what it means to go (and what it means to choose not to go - sin), then that usually overcomes any temptations against it.

Here is a link to an awesome youtube video by Fr. Mike Schmitz that is not only entertaining to watch but can help you turn your heart to have a true love of the Mass.

 
Do you realize what is happening at Mass? That Jesus is present truly in the Eucharist?

Mass is really interesting.
First we go in, and then after the priest’s procession in to start the mass, there is the penetentiary rite, in which your venial sins are forgiven. Don’t just sit back and watch, but participate and pray.
Then, we also sing praises to Christ the King.
We say a Creed attesting to our Faith.
We read some parts of the Bible.
We hear a sermon about the Bible passages we just read, there are some prayer intentions.
Then there’s a great thing that happens. Jesus Christ becomes present in the Eucharist, and God is there. You, provided you’re in the state of Grace, then get to take the Eucharist after the Consecration and some prayers are said. You take Christ within you, quite literally. A source of much grace.
Then it soon ends with a few words and a blessing.

It isn’t boring at all! We speak in unison as we are unified, and lift up our prayers together instead of separately.
You go to Mass for a few reasons. You give yourself to God, you obtain graces, you pray with others, and you can serve as a good example to others.

It is grave matter to miss mass without good reason. Look not into motivation but into discipline. God bless
 
Sweetheart, it’s a pattern, you develop. Set clock for confession and mass and just go!! Not b/c you are forced to but b/c you want to. Jesus is your friend. Don’t you like to visit friends every so often? After 6 mo or sooner, you’ll have your pattern. You’d miss Jesus, if you didn’t go. Communion strengthens your spirit. Who wins if you don’t go? God or Satan??? Where do you get strong in your faith=church. God loves you
Growing up is hard to do. This is one of steps of growing up. When you’re a parent, are you going to church and bringing your children to church? Start thinking now:”How do I teach my kids to love God and want to go to church? If you figure it out here, text it for others to learn.
In Christ’s love
Tweedlealice
 
It’s interesting that you said the only time you paid attention in mass was when you were making your first communion. Pope St. John Paul II said that the Eucharist (communion) is both the source and the summit of the Catholic faith. So, you paid attention at the very right, most perfect time. Give yourself credit for that.

Yes the Mass is synchronized. We say the same prayers at the same time, in unison. It is called communal worship. Imagine the mess mass would be if everybody made up their own prayers, their own responses, it would be chaotic. So it is “normal” to think it is a bit synchronized. Suggest you investigate further the why of the mass and you might find a deeper and more intriguing aspect to it.

Shalom
 
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Try sitting closer to the front - sometimes it helps with focus and concentration.
 
Learn more about the Eucharist and you will look forward to receiving this gift at Mass. It is the true body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, not just a symbol, but the real thing. There are some books and other information out there on the miracles of the Eucharist. These have happened throughout the ages and many shrines have been built around them. It’s an incredible thing and it is there to increase the faith of those that may benefit from it. These experiences are all unique, but in general the host begins to bleed in front of one, or many people.

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Love.

Love the Lord. As you grow older, you will realize that loving does not only mean feeling nice things all the time. It requires sacrifices. It sometimes means doing things that you may not feel like doing. For example, your parents’ jobs may sometimes get tiring and difficult but they sacrifice because they love you.

Although Jesus was God, he left the comfort of heaven and became man because of his love for you. Not only that, but he suffered a lot and endured a painful death on the Cross as a sacrifice for our sins so that we may be able to go to heaven. This is the same sacrifice that we remember during Holy Mass. Also, it is through the sacrament of Holy Communion that we most effectively obtain the graces of Jesus’ sacrifice. The Holy Mass is the highest form of prayer because it is there that we have the very sacrifice of Christ. When the priest consecrates the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ and says “This is My Body,” “This is the chalice of My Blood,” the bread and wine truly becomes Christ’s body and blood. Jesus is actually there at the altar. It is as if you were there in Mount Calvary in front of Jesus’ cross when he was crucified.

Go to Mass not because you want to be entertained. Go there because you want to show Jesus that his love means a lot to you. Go there because you want to receive the gifts of his love. Go there because you want to love him back.

In your prayers, ask God that we may love him more him more as we ought to.
 
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BarreandBark said:
Some folks here will probably disagree with me but if there’s a Life Teen/Youth mass - - try attending that. The Homilies are usually tailored to younger folks.
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I think this is a good idea too. The church I attend that has Lifeteen/ Youth Mass usually has some kind of a program with food, social time, and a discussion scheduled just after the Mass. That would be something to look forward to that probably wouldn’t be boring.

Also, I agree that many teenagers find Mass boring and a waste of their time. I wasn’t exactly thrilled about it when I was a tween and a teen. (We didn’t have anything like Lifeteen or a youth group then, so there was no social hour to look forward to either.) It’s best when parents just make the kids go at that age because it develops a habit, and about 10 years down the road you’ll start appreciating the Mass more, but if you don’t develop the habit and drop out of going, you’ll never reach the “appreciation” part.
 
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we go because Jesus died to save us from our sin. he deserves at least one hour of our time each week. which is really not asking a lot.

others have given good suggestions so far. try to read up on the mas, learn what it’s really about. it helps if you understand what is going on. I was in your position once too, mainly because I didn’t really know anything about the faith and didn’t get why we were doing it
 
You can learn a lot by going to Church. Studying what the Catholic Church teaches will show you what is true and what is hollow and a bunch of smoke in this life. It’s good to know what truly matters in life and what you need to avoid in this world to actually be happy and hopeful in this life.

There is one very cool young poster on this forum who is a year younger than you are. 🙂 I’m sure she could tell you why the Catholic Church really is pretty cool. There are other wise teens here, too, that can encourage you.

Start reading the gospels at home: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. I think you will find them pretty interesting.
 
Ditto what everyone else said, especially learn to “fall in love” with Jesus in the mass. It is a delight to have you here, asking advice about how to appreciate the mass. Welcome!
 
tweedlealice said:
Not b/c you are forced to but b/c you want to.
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And I would add, force yourself to go, even when you don’t feel like it or want to go. It is a spiritual discipline that will bear much fruit. You can sit apart by yourself if you want to, or sit in a different place from your family.
Kei said:
Look not into motivation but into discipline.
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This is a good point. Sometimes we force ourselves to do things that we are not motivated to do, like brush our teeth, exercise, do homework, bathe, clean the room, etc. Spiritual disciplines are not different. We do them because they are good for us. When we engage ourselves in them, we will be changed, whether we feel like it, or not.
joey said:
Learn more about the Eucharist and you will look forward to receiving this gift at Mass. It is the true body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, not just a symbol, but the real thing.
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I recommend Scott Hahn, the fourth cup.


Understanding the history and meaning of the Mass brings a great deal more engagement. At least, it did for me.
 
Try going to the vigil Mass on Saturday once. That’s my preferred church-going time, and it makes it a lot easier on me. Maybe changing that up will help you out a bit.
 
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