Mind wandering during Mass

[Callum]

I particularly have this problem during the canon - it’s a really awful feeling to have knelt through the consecration of the host only to be thinking about where to go for lunch or something you read earlier.

My advice is to silently mouth along with the words of the eucharastic prayer from “on the night he was betrayed…” to* “…in memory of me”* as this really helps me focus on the importance of the prayer.

Hope this help!

 

[W_Moses]

I have heard of a lot of people whose minds wander during meditation. The advice I have read about that might apply here. They have advised that you acknowledge the thought and then bring yourself back to what you are trying to focus on. If you concentrate on getting rid of the thoughts they tend to keep fighting for your attention - kind of like a child when you are on the phone. Acknowledging and then turning back to the prayer of the Mass seems to work better.

I agree on the benefits of meditation in regards to what the Asians call “Monkey Mind.”
If one can comfortably recall a short phrase, or even a single word returning you to the “Present,” it can help in fighting a wondering mind.

I am not certain if a mind can be completely under our control, when by it’s very nature is ego centered. The wondering mind discipline is only equal in relation to ego discipline.
This obviously is a Grace we pray for, because attempting it on our own,( at least in my case) has zero results.
The Jesus prayer has been taught for centuries as a way of combating wondering thoughts, even in an abbreviated form.

You are right in allowing a slight amount of “acknowledging” distracting thoughts. It helps defuse their strength.
It’s when we attempt a sustained one on one battle for control that they have “Won.”
Read somewhere to view distracting thoughts as if they were a ripple of water coming to shore, allowing them to vanish as quickly as it arrived.

 

[m134e5]

Does anyone else have this problem?

What can I do?

I find that my mind will wander onto what I am going to do today or what I have been reading (my non-spiritual reading) rather than staying focused on the Mass.

Any suggestions?

Hold a rosary in your hands. Don’t pray it during Mass, but giving myself something to feel has helped me avoid distraction at parishes with noisy congregations.

 

[KEVIN_WILCOX]

We have to be careful our behavior at Mass doesn’t become a check-list. Pharisaic behavior.
A priest of SSPX once told me many attend SSPX services because of this. It’s an easy trap to get into.
It shouldn’t be different for the sake of being different.
God is a jealous God and will smash your idols.
Nowhere to escape. Nothing to hide behind.
The safest place is in the wounds of Christ.
We’re returning to Eden - a state of nakedness before God. Or as St John of the Cross said nada, nada, nada. Nothing to hold onto, nothing to hide behind - (forgive the pun but) it’s an awe-full state to be in.

 

[jesuspsr]

Yes my mind wonders all the time. I’m very hyperactive with ocd. I’m glad that we sit, kneel and stand. I usally read the entire missalette or the song book. People actually sit away from me cause my feet won’t stop bouncing up and down, see I’m doing it right now as I type. Sometime I wonder whats worse people that can’t be quite during mass or me bouncing off the walls.

jesus g

 

[KEVIN_WILCOX]

Yes my mind wonders all the time. I’m very hyperactive with ocd. I’m glad that we sit, kneel and stand. I usally read the entire missalette or the song book. People actually sit away from me cause my feet won’t stop bouncing up and down, see I’m doing it right now as I type. Sometime I wonder whats worse people that can’t be quite during mass or me bouncing off the walls.

jesus g

It’s unfortunate. I know of a parishioner who has stopped attending due to fear of becoming a distraction to others. And some people can be cruel.
But I’ve found if I relax, become not so fixated on “the right conduct of others” their gyrations seem to add something to the service. I sit still, but if people could see what’s happening in my head, how my thoughts bounce around…

 

[jesuspsr]

if people could see what’s happening in my head, how my thoughts bounce around…

Yep I know what you mean. I have been this way since I was a child. So I’m aware of it so I manage by disciplining myself. For excample when I’m at Mass and I start wondering I think of stories from the bible. During communion I think of the last supper and so on. No one has ever said anything to me about my bouncing. People here are accepting. But now my ocd thats differnt, my head tells me that I have to sit at this spot and only this spot and oh boy.

 

[KEVIN_WILCOX]

Yep I know what you mean. I have been this way since I was a child. So I’m aware of it so I manage by disciplining myself. For excample when I’m at Mass and I start wondering I think of stories from the bible. During communion I think of the last supper and so on. No one has ever said anything to me about my bouncing. People here are accepting. But now my ocd thats differnt, my head tells me that I have to sit at this spot and only this spot and oh boy.

It seems when your mind starts wandering it may be blessing - you appear to become more devotional during these times “thinking of stories from the Bible. During communion think of the last supper and so on.” You wouldn’t be the first on their way to Paradise who has had a struggle (St Therese of Lisieux found the rosary particularly difficult)
Sitting in the same spot in Church I’ve found common practice from monasteries to parish churches. I think St Benedict has it written in his Rule where he wanted people to sit. Maybe wherever people habitually gather they seem to do the same. Group dynamics? But where the same group frequently meets it makes life a lot more uncomplicated.
It’s interesting on group retreats where if one person gets out a note book and starts writing before too long everyones doing it.