My first Mass...a little overwhelming

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Juliebug108

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Hello All!

I’ve been researching the Catholic faith for about 5 or 6 months now, and I’ve been seriously considering becoming Catholic (I’m currently Lutheran). Anyway, today I took a big step and decided to go to Mass for the first time. Parts of the Mass were very similar to the Lutheran services that I’ve been raised with…but other parts were kind of hard to follow along with.

I feel like there is so much more memorization in a Catholic Mass than there is in a Lutheran service, and that’s got me feeling a little overwhelmed. Also, I had some trouble finding where I needed to be in the missal.

My question is this: Are the prayers for the Mass in the missal somewhere, or does it only contain the readings and the songs? I didn’t get to the church quite early enough to flip through the missal, and I didn’t want to spend so much time trying to find what I was looking for instead of paying attention. I’d just like to be a little more prepared for next Sunday, so that I can participate more.

Anyway, thanks in advance! Btw, I thought the service was beautiful, and I have decided to take the next step and find out about RCIA. 😃
 
Next week, you should try to arrive to Mass a bit earlier. Familiarize yourself with the missalette in the pew a bit and look at the very beginning, the very end, or the middle for the pages that detail the order of Mass. Sometimes these pages are marked with a dark edge or border. Of course, you’ll only find the ordinary of the Mass (the prayers that do not change from Mass to Mass) printed in the misalette, for sake of space. For the proper of the Mass (prayers specific to each day), you could invest in your own Sunday missal which you would bring to church with you every week. I wouldn’t get one right now, though, because a decent missal can be somewhat expensive and the ordinary of the Mass will be changing in the not so distant future.

Hope that helps.
 
Don’t worry Juliebug, when the new Mass changes are implemented next Advent, everybody else will be as confused as you and you will fit right in.🙂
 
I would recommend getting a missal from the Church, most churches will let you have one if you ask for it, and putting post it sticky notes in the pages where they prayers and stuff are used. They makes these really cool arrow things that are not as bulky as the notes are, and they make good markers.

If I might counsel you to look at the readings next time before you go.

I would get a Missal though after Advent when the Mass changes.

And I will be praying for you as you pursue RCIA. God bless and welcome home. :extrahappy: :signofcross: :extrahappy:
 
Hehe - we here in Australia have been using the new text since about Pentecost. There’s still an awful lot of “and also with … your spirit”-ing going on 🙂
 
Juliebug108 said:
Hello All!

I’ve been researching the Catholic faith for about 5 or 6 months now, and I’ve been seriously considering becoming Catholic (I’m currently Lutheran). Anyway, today I took a big step and decided to go to Mass for the first time. Parts of the Mass were very similar to the Lutheran services that I’ve been raised with…but other parts were kind of hard to follow along with.

I feel like there is so much more memorization in a Catholic Mass than there is in a Lutheran service, and that’s got me feeling a little overwhelmed. Also, I had some trouble finding where I needed to be in the missal.

My question is this: Are the prayers for the Mass in the missal somewhere, or does it only contain the readings and the songs? I didn’t get to the church quite early enough to flip through the missal, and I didn’t want to spend so much time trying to find what I was looking for instead of paying attention. I’d just like to be a little more prepared for next Sunday, so that I can participate more.

Anyway, thanks in advance! Btw, I thought the service was beautiful, and I have decided to take the next step and find out about RCIA. 😃
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You will find next Sunday’s Mass Readings in the Missal under 18th Sunday in Ordinary Times - Year A. The Sundays thereafter will be 19th, 20th, 21st…so on and so forth. It is almost always the case that the first pages of the Missal will contain the Order of the Mass and prayers/responses. Hymn books are usually a separate cover from the Sunday Missal and, when such is the case in the Parish, the Church has a board which refers to the hymns to be sung. Hope that helps. God bless.
 
The Prayers for the Mass are in the Missal in a separate section.
 
I hope you keep going back!!

It’s been a year exactly since I started regularily going to Mass…I don’t think I could do without it now!
🙂
 
Well I suppose with so many things going on it can be overwhelming to a 1st timer. What you need Juliebug is to hook up with another Catholic that will show you the ropes and explain the way things are done. Good luck with your pilgrimage. 👍
 
I certainly hope the OP will keep attending as the more you go, the easier the Mass is to understand even with the changes to a few responses & prayers coming this Advent. I can say that is the case for me as I have been attending some ExtraOrdinary Form Masses, and it is slowly getting easier for me to understand & follow along. I have been born and raised Catholic, and know sometimes I like to follow along with my missal anyways.
 
Thank you all for the responses and encouragement! I’m definitely planning on getting to the church a little earlier next Sunday so that I can find everything I need before the Mass begins…I don’t want to be the totally obvious newbie who looks lost and confused. 😉

You’ve all been most helpful, and I’m glad to know where to look now!

PS- I take comfort in knowing that come Advent I won’t be the only one who’s getting used to new things. Hehe 🙂
 
Santi2 said:
You will find next Sunday’s Mass Readings in the Missal under 18th Sunday in Ordinary Times - Year A. The Sundays thereafter will be 19th, 20th, 21st…so on and so forth. It is almost always the case that the first pages of the Missal will contain the Order of the Mass and prayers/responses. Hymn books are usually a separate cover from the Sunday Missal and, when such is the case in the Parish, the Church has a board which refers to the hymns to be sung. Hope that helps. God bless.
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Thank you! 👍
JM3 said:
This may help.

catholic-resources.org/ChurchDocs/Mass.htm

🙂
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Thanks for that! :thankyou:
 
As someone who is a rather new returnee to the Church, I find your answers to Juliebug quite helpful, especially the suggestion to ask someone else at church for help. I further recommend that Juliebug approach one of the older ladies who attends Mass by herself and ask her for guidance. I’ve found a few such ladies to be quite accomodating and more than happy to share the intricacies of the Mass.
 
CalCatholic said:
Don’t worry Juliebug, when the new Mass changes are implemented next Advent, everybody else will be as confused as you and you will fit right in.🙂
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It’s not a change. It’s a “restoration”. 👍

theologicalforum.org/new_daily_roman_missal_pre-order.asp

Mine is preordered. 😃

…and with your spirit!
LovingMass said:
As someone who is a rather new returnee to the Church, I find your answers to Juliebug quite helpful, especially the suggestion to ask someone else at church for help. I further recommend that Juliebug approach one of the older ladies who attends Mass by herself and ask her for guidance. I’ve found a few such ladies to be quite accomodating and more than happy to share the intricacies of the Mass.
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This is excellent advice. Look for an older woman and just say, “Hi, I’m new here. You seem to know what you are doing. Mind if I set next to you?” and God will handle the rest.

She’ll probably wind up introducing you around. You’ll be part of a rosary group, doing First Friday Devotions or invited to become a comitted adorer faster than you can say two Hail Mary’s and a Glory Be. 👍

-Tim-
 
Also not all parishes have the full missals due to money or put them in every pew but if you ask the ushers/greeters they will assist you.
 
Juliebug,

I was confirmed this past Easter and so I am still new to the Church. I found the order of Mass listed in the missalettes at our parish a bit confusing since it is spread out over different sections. I purchased a subscription to Magnificat which has a section containing the Order of Mass right in the middle with red on the page edges for easy reference. If you don’t want to subscribe, many Catholic bookstores sell single monthly issues. It’s also a great publication because it has the daily readings as well as morning, evening and night prayers.

Congrats on your journey!
 
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