Mass Question

[iseekanswers]

Hello all!

I’m new to the site (and to the Catholic faith in general). I am attending an Episcopal Church right now, but I am finding myself drawn more and more to the Catholic faith. Can anyone tell me, if I were to attend a Mass, what could I expect? I know that I wouldn’t be able to partake of the Eucharist, but are there any other things that I should know before I go? I’d be attending alone, and guess I’m just sort of nervous about “messing up” somehow.

Thanks in advance! God bless!

 

[LittleHannah]

You can participate in the prayers of the Holy Mass, but you can’t go to Holy Communion. God comes down upon the Altar during consecration. Thats what you should expect. I hope you will consider converting to the Church. God bless

 

[grandfather]

Hello all!

I’m new to the site (and to the Catholic faith in general). I am attending an Episcopal Church right now, but I am finding myself drawn more and more to the Catholic faith. Can anyone tell me, if I were to attend a Mass, what could I expect? I know that I wouldn’t be able to partake of the Eucharist, but are there any other things that I should know before I go? I’d be attending alone, and guess I’m just sort of nervous about “messing up” somehow.

Thanks in advance! God bless!

There is nothing to be nervouse about. Get there a few minutes early. Find a place to sit that allows you to see the altar. There will probably be a missal of some kind in the pew and you can try to follow the prayers. If you can’t manage that it is not a problem. Just watch and listen and pray any way that makes you comfortable.

You could also do a search online for Catholic Mass and read through the prayers from start to finish if you would like more preparation, but it is not necessary.

 

[lutherlic]

Please, come! Don’t feel nervous. We have lots of converts (including me) and we all remember being in your shoes.

FWIW - I touched on this in a blog piece called In a strange land (in your case, you find the Mass more familiar than most Protestants however)

 

[svid2]

You may cross yourself with Holy Water (no, it won’t burn you) and genuflect before entering the pew - it’s fun!

Maybe get there early and meet the priest!

 

[PacoG]

Don’t present yourself for Communion. And even if you are urged, don’t go up in the Communion line for a blessing.

Instead, remain in your pew and pray an Act of Spiritual Communion. Here is one. Print it and take it with you.

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.

 

[Sacred_Heart_1]

Hello all!

I’m new to the site (and to the Catholic faith in general). I am attending an Episcopal Church right now, but I am finding myself drawn more and more to the Catholic faith. Can anyone tell me, if I were to attend a Mass, what could I expect? I know that I wouldn’t be able to partake of the Eucharist, but are there any other things that I should know before I go? I’d be attending alone, and guess I’m just sort of nervous about “messing up” somehow.

Thanks in advance! God bless!

If you’re nervous about fitting in don’t be. I don’t fit in, I mess up in Church all the time and I was born Catholic. You don’t even have to participate fully. Just get a sense of what the mass is about. The mass could be quite impressive if you get into the Spirit of it.

 

[paperwight66]

I ‘host’ non-Catholics when they visit our parish as part of Christian Unity week, and have observed the following things that sometimes take them by surprise.

When the priest says ‘Let us pray’, it does not mean sink to your knees - be pepared, it usually is a cue to stand up!

Converesly, , when a hymn is announced, we quite often sing them sitting down if already sitting.

The doxology at the end of the Our Father (Lord’s prayer) = for thine is the kingdom etc. - sometimes non-RCs aren’t aware that we stop the OF after ‘Deliver us from evil’ while the priest says a prayer, then continue with the Doxology.

The Sign of Peace comes at a different point to what you are used to. We say ‘Peace be with you’ and shake hands with those in your bench, then usually those in front and those behind, but stop when another prayer starts!

Going for a blessing when everyone else receives Communion? leave that for now- - it’s very contentious.

Welcome - PM me if you would like more info.

 

[Thomas31]

Don’t present yourself for Communion. And even if you are urged, don’t go up in the Communion line for a blessing.

Instead, remain in your pew and pray an Act of Spiritual Communion. Here is one. Print it and take it with you.

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.

Why couldnt he go up in the communion line to recieve only a blessing? I dont think there is anything wrong with that. I went to a catholic funeral and the priest told the people there that if you were not catholic you were welcome to cross your arms over your chest when you came up in the communion line and he would give you a blessing

 

[iseekanswers]

You can participate in the prayers of the Holy Mass, but you can’t go to Holy Communion. God comes down upon the Altar during consecration. Thats what you should expect. I hope you will consider converting to the Church. God bless

I am definitely attending with an open mind and heart - if I get the feeling that God wants me to be there, I will follow His will! Thank you so much for your (name removed by moderator)ut!

 

[iseekanswers]

There is nothing to be nervouse about. Get there a few minutes early. Find a place to sit that allows you to see the altar. There will probably be a missal of some kind in the pew and you can try to follow the prayers. If you can’t manage that it is not a problem. Just watch and listen and pray any way that makes you comfortable.

You could also do a search online for Catholic Mass and read through the prayers from start to finish if you would like more preparation, but it is not necessary.

I am definitely going to look for the prayers online - I always feel more secure when I’m more prepared!

Thank you so much for answering - after reading all of these responses, I’m feeling much better about attending!

 

[iseekanswers]

Please, come! Don’t feel nervous. We have lots of converts (including me) and we all remember being in your shoes.

FWIW - I touched on this in a blog piece called In a strange land (in your case, you find the Mass more familiar than most Protestants however)

Thank you for responding! This seems like a wonderful blog that will be very useful to me!

 

[iseekanswers]

You may cross yourself with Holy Water (no, it won’t burn you) and genuflect before entering the pew - it’s fun!

Maybe get there early and meet the priest!

Great advice! Thank you so much!

 

[iseekanswers]

Don’t present yourself for Communion. And even if you are urged, don’t go up in the Communion line for a blessing.

Instead, remain in your pew and pray an Act of Spiritual Communion. Here is one. Print it and take it with you.

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.

VERY good to know, thank you! I will be taking this prayer with me on Sunday!

 

[iseekanswers]

If you’re nervous about fitting in don’t be. I don’t fit in, I mess up in Church all the time and I was born Catholic. You don’t even have to participate fully. Just get a sense of what the mass is about. The mass could be quite impressive if you get into the Spirit of it.

Good to know that it’s okay if I’m lagging behind a bit or miss a cue - which, regardless of how much of preparation I do, is more than likely going to happen! I’m really looking forward to getting the feel of the Mass in general - my family has literally NO Catholics, and my parents forbade me to even date a Catholic boy before I left the house. I’m wondering what I missed out on growing up!

 

[iseekanswers]

I ‘host’ non-Catholics when they visit our parish as part of Christian Unity week, and have observed the following things that sometimes take them by surprise.

When the priest says ‘Let us pray’, it does not mean sink to your knees - be pepared, it usually is a cue to stand up!

Converesly, , when a hymn is announced, we quite often sing them sitting down if already sitting.

The doxology at the end of the Our Father (Lord’s prayer) = for thine is the kingdom etc. - sometimes non-RCs aren’t aware that we stop the OF after ‘Deliver us from evil’ while the priest says a prayer, then continue with the Doxology.

The Sign of Peace comes at a different point to what you are used to. We say ‘Peace be with you’ and shake hands with those in your bench, then usually those in front and those behind, but stop when another prayer starts!

Going for a blessing when everyone else receives Communion? leave that for now- - it’s very contentious.

Welcome - PM me if you would like more info.

Thank you so much, paperweight66! This is all extremely helpful information! I would have almost certainly stood up to sing whilst everyone else sat!

 

[sungirl]

Hello all!

I’m new to the site (and to the Catholic faith in general). I am attending an Episcopal Church right now, but I am finding myself drawn more and more to the Catholic faith. Can anyone tell me, if I were to attend a Mass, what could I expect? I know that I wouldn’t be able to partake of the Eucharist, but are there any other things that I should know before I go? I’d be attending alone, and guess I’m just sort of nervous about “messing up” somehow.

Thanks in advance! God bless!

Hi! I used to be an Episcopalian, and I found the overall structure of the Catholic service to be very familiar. The main differences that tripped me up were as follows. 1) There is no bulletin with the order of the service; everything you need is in the misssalette in the pew, but you need to find it for yourself. The main liturgy parts are in the front of the missalettes we use and then the readings are in a different place (indicated by date). I suggest you try to get there a few minutes early so that you can find the places in the missalette you’ll need. 2) For the Lord’s Prayer (Our Father), some parishes hold hands and move to the center of the church. The first parish I went to did that and it really confused me. There’s no good way to opt out, so be prepared to move toward the aisle if everybody else starts to. 3) Because there are different opinions about blessings, I always just stayed in the pew. I didn’t use the kneeler until everybody else was back in the pew, though, so that I wasn’t in other people’s way.

I hope this helps, and I pray you have a wonderful time at Mass!

 

[PacoG]

Why couldnt he go up in the communion line to recieve only a blessing? I dont think there is anything wrong with that. I went to a catholic funeral and the priest told the people there that if you were not catholic you were welcome to cross your arms over your chest when you came up in the communion line and he would give you a blessing

1. The traditional thing to do for people who cannot receive Holy Communion is to stay in the pew and pray an Act of Spiritual Communion.
2. Everyone receives a blessing at the close of the Mass. It’s redundant.
3. There is a letter from the Congregation for Divine Worship (and it has been posted on these boards) that says otherwise. Receiving a blessing in the Communion line is not an authorized liturgical practice. The Communion line is for those receiving communion. There is a sticky on this in this forum.

 

[trigod]

You should go to Mass and be open to the Holy Spirit. Let Him guide you and you will have nothing to be afraid of Just be there and listen

 

[iseekanswers]

Hi! I used to be an Episcopalian, and I found the overall structure of the Catholic service to be very familiar. The main differences that tripped me up were as follows. 1) There is no bulletin with the order of the service; everything you need is in the misssalette in the pew, but you need to find it for yourself. The main liturgy parts are in the front of the missalettes we use and then the readings are in a different place (indicated by date). I suggest you try to get there a few minutes early so that you can find the places in the missalette you’ll need. 2) For the Lord’s Prayer (Our Father), some parishes hold hands and move to the center of the church. The first parish I went to did that and it really confused me. There’s no good way to opt out, so be prepared to move toward the aisle if everybody else starts to. 3) Because there are different opinions about blessings, I always just stayed in the pew. I didn’t use the kneeler until everybody else was back in the pew, though, so that I wasn’t in other people’s way.

I hope this helps, and I pray you have a wonderful time at Mass!

This very much does help! Thank you so very much! I’m really looking forward to attending!