Mass for beginners

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nicnic29

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Help!!! I would love to attend church and I intended on going to mass tomorrow night but im absolutely afraid of offending people if I do something wrong!! Im not a baptised catholic and I was told to just follow everyones lead but I have some questions, 1) am I supposed to make the sign of the cross before I sit, 2) am I meant to not touch the holy water as im not baptised, 3) do I sit anywhere? im just so keen but afraid of upsetting devout church goers and I want to ensure I conduct myself appropriately.

thank you!
 
nicnic29 said:
Help!!! I would love to attend church and I intended on going to mass tomorrow night but im absolutely afraid of offending people if I do something wrong!! Im not a baptised catholic and I was told to just follow everyones lead but I have some questions, 1) am I supposed to make the sign of the cross before I sit, 2) am I meant to not touch the holy water as im not baptised, 3) do I sit anywhere? im just so keen but afraid of upsetting devout church goers and I want to ensure I conduct myself appropriately.

thank you!
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It is true you just follow others. You may take the Holy Water and make the sign of the cross. It is customary to enter the pew with a genuflection and the sign of the cross but not everyone does this anymore:( You may sit anywhere most of the time sometimes they reserved pews for special occasion such as first Communions then the end of the pew is marked. So if the pew isn’t marked you can sit anywhere.
I doubt if you would upset anyone. You are most welcome at any mass.
 
You probably are already aware of this, but just in case… please remember NOT to receive Communion. You may be able to receive a blessing from the priest (cross your arms over your chest when you go up) if it’s offered at that parish, or you can just remain in the pew (and you can do this even if a blessing is offered, if you prefer).

🙂
 
Since you cannot receive Holy Communion, you can stay kneeling in your pew and pray an Act of Spiritual Communion:

My Jesus,
I believe that You
are present in the Most Holy Sacrament.
I love You above all things,
and I desire to receive You into my soul.
Since I cannot at this moment
receive You sacramentally,
come at least spiritually into my heart.
I embrace You as if You were already there
and unite myself wholly to You.
Never permit me to be separated from You.
Amen.
 
Thanks once again, to all of you that have replied! I feel a lot more confident attending now and I cant wait to go to my first mass! Im very excited,

🙂
 
nicnic29 said:
Thanks once again, to all of you that have replied! I feel a lot more confident attending now and I cant wait to go to my first mass! Im very excited,

🙂
Click to expand...
I remember the feeling well! One thing that really helped me is that a deacon gave me a copy of the missalette for personal use. If your church uses them, they sometimes have extra copies they give out for personal use. In the front of the books they have all the responses, prayers, etc…and then they have the readings for each day. I was able to use sticky notes to mark the pages that I knew would be used for quick flipping back and forth…I was also able to go over the readings prior to mass, which helped me concentrate better on them and the homilies. These can also be purchased online. One site is ocp.org/products/TD-P . Your church may also have cards that have the responses and prayers listed on them too. I suggest you get there early so you can get a seat where you will be comfortable and can see what is going on, and pray, and then check out the different books in the pews and familiarize yourself with them. Of course, don’t worry too much about getting everything right…if trying to follow all the responses and prayers and messing with the cards/missals is to difficult…just watch, listen, and take cues from the others for when to kneel, bow, etc. No one should be paying too much attention to you anyways! You will be fine!
 
Go at least 15 minutes prior so you have time to get acclimated before Mass begins.

You can absolutely use the holy water and cross yourself. In the pew should be a book that details the order of the Mass, and the readings for the particular day (I would suggest you peruse through this before Mass begins to you are familiar with the order and are able to experience the Mass instead of just reading a book). Ask the person next to you if you get lost, no one minds helping out to someone who is a little lost.

DON’T go up for Communion. Just stay in the pew (or you can stand up and let the others in your pew get by, and then kneel back down in the pew). Communion is an act of unity for Catholics. It shows an assent to all the Church teaches, and belief and willingness to obey Church teaching. As you haven’t yet learned all this yet, and still need time for discernment and to become Catholic, it is not proper for you to receive Communion…yet. 🙂

Don’t worry about not knowing what is going on, or if you mess up. You will. It is not a big deal. We have all done it. Just try to take everything in. Welcome home!
 
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