Midnight mass for a non-catholic/church goer

[cnicole1935]

My boyfriend of 3 years asked me to attend midnight mass with him tomorrow night for the first time. I do believe in God and practice my faith at home and have gone to church before but never attended a Catholic church or mass. I would love to go but also worry about being out of place and not knowing what is next or honestly what I’m supposed to be doing. We’ve briefly talked about his religion but not often so I don’t know much. Any advice on how to do my best to fit in and follow along with out embarrassment? or even a run down of a Catholic Christmas midnight mass? Thank you in advance! Just not sure where to start getting involved in his Religion and I feel like this is a good opportunity.

 

[jvickers]

Welcome to the forum, @cnicole1935!

I’ve not been to a midnight mass before, but I imagine it will be similar to a standard mass. My advice is to try to follow what others are doing in terms of standing, sitting, and kneeling. I’ve never seen this done in unison in a parish, so don’t be concerned about being a tad behind.

During the receiving of Holy Communion, you won’t be able to receive since you’re not a confirmed Catholic. Do, though, as your boyfriend if the priest blesses people. If he does, then you can follow everyone and receive a blessing. Cross your arms across your chest in an X. That way, the priest will know to bless you. If the priest doesn’t give blessings (or if your boyfriend doesn’t know), it’s perfectly fine to sit back in the pew while people receive Communion. When your boyfriend returns, resume kneeling. You’ll usually kneel until the priest sits down, though in some parishes, I’ve seen people back in the pew again once everyone has received.

Sing the hymns if you like. They are beautiful, and you’ll fit right in. You might not know the prayers, but don’t worry about that. Just stand or kneel quietly (following the others).

I’m sure others will have good advice or correct me if I’ve misspoken.

Most of all, enjoy Mass. It’s a beautiful celebration of our Lord and Savior!

 

[Tis_Bearself]

I would love to go but also worry about being out of place and not knowing what is next or honestly what I’m supposed to be doing.

Don’t worry. There will be dozens of other people there who don’t have a clue either. Some of them will even be Catholics who haven’t been to church in a really long time.

Just do what your boyfriend does. Nobody is looking to see if you make a mistake. Nobody at Catholic Mass, especially the huge ones like Midnight Mass, cares. Just go.

One caveat: Do not receive Holy Communion; that is restricted to Catholics in a state of grace. I would frankly recommend that you not even try to go up for a blessing at Communion time because Midnight Mass is usually very crowded and somewhat hectic getting everyone up to Communion and there is potential for a lot of things going haywire. Everyone gets blessed at the end of the Mass anyway so you will not be short a blessing if you don’t go up.

 

[Mtatum1958]

@cnicole1935 don’t worry. Come and enjoy the beauty and tradition. The vast majority of those attending will be focusing on the Mass. those that aren’t, are not worth the worry. It sounds like your boyfriend care enough to want to share this time with you. If there are missals in the pews, he can show you in order for you to follow the order more easily.