New to Catholicism - Going to Mass?

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In the USA, there are eleven sui iuris jurisdictions, and other eastern faithful are cared for by the Latin church such as the Russian, of by another eastern Catholic church, such as the Byzantines of Italy (Italo-Albanian), Hungarian, and Slovak by the Byzantine (Ruthenian). Latin, Byzantine (Ruthenian), Ukrainian, Romanian, Armenian, Maronite, Melkite, Chaldean, Syrian, Syro-Malabar, Syro-Malankara.

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USA
  • Code: 
       Eparchy of Saint   Peter the Apostle of San Diego    (Chaldean)
  • Eparchy of Saint Thomas the Apostle of Detroit (Chaldean)
  • Code: 
      Metropolitan Archeparchy of Pittsburgh   (Byzantine)
  • Code: 
      Eparchy of Parma  (Byzantine)
  • Code: 
      Eparchy of Passaic (Byzantine)
  • Code: 
      Eparchy of Phoenix - Holy Protection of   Mary (Byzantine)
  • Eparchy of St Thomas of Chicago (Syro-Malabar)
  • Eparchy of Our Lady of Lebanon of Los Angeles (Maronite)
  • Eparchy of Saint Maron of Brooklyn NY (Maronite)
  • Metropolitan Archeparchy of Philadelphia (Ukrainian)
  • Code: 
      Eparchy of Saint Josaphat in Parma   (Ukrainian)
  • Code: 
      Eparchy of Saint Nicholas of Chicago   (Ukrainian)
  • Eparchy of Stamford (Ukrainian)
  • Code: 
      Eparchy of Our Lady of Nareg (Armenian)
  • Eparchy of Newton (Melkite) Our Lady of Deliverance of Newark (Syrian)
  • Exarchy of United States of America (Syro-Malankara)
  • Eparchy of Saint George’s in Canton (Romanian)
 
swimmer0964 said:
I am really interested in the Catholic faith, however, I have never gone to mass before. I am worried that I’ll be confused or not know what is going on. I found a church near where I live, so I really want to try it out.
The first question I had was about what time to go. Am I supposed to go on Sunday? Or would it be just as good if I went on a Monday or Wednesday?
Also, do people dress up for mass or is it more casual?
Is there anything else I should know before showing up for a mass?
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Keeping the Sabbath is very important, a necessity, but you have the option to keep it on
Sunday morning OR Saturday Virgil, the latter being an evening mass before Sunday. Go
on Saturday, the Sunday after isn’t necessary.

As for dress code, there is a cultural inclination in many religions to dress up nicely, but
that’s just cultural, so I wouldn’t worry about how you dress. I make myself look at least
decent, but I don’t believe in looking perfect and well groomed etc.

Before going, I’d recommend you look for the Current Missal, which guides people
in mass. Look especially at the first few words in each section so when you first
hear it from everyone else, you know where to look and join in.

Also, on the Eucharist, you’re Baptist, I mean absolutely no offense, but I HIGHLY
recommend NOT taking the Body/Blood of Christ, rather just cross your arms with
hands to opposing shoulders, bow, then you should expect a blessing. Say Amen
and proceed.
It is only out of respect for the Body and Blood of Jesus, which is literally present,
seriously, so wait until you are Catholic. Even when you are Catholic, it is always
important to confess your sins to the priest before partaking of the sacrament.

If you do take it accidentally like you’re on autopilot or something, that’s fine, I al-
so make that blunder as well, but in truth, it’s about respecting NOT the Church,
but the Sacrament, the Eucharist, itself.

Other than that, the simplest advice I have is “When in Rome . . .” :rolleyes:
 
ALSO, If you are joining the Faith, I have a little group here dealing with one of the many
factors that tends to separate the Protestants from the Catholics: The Deuterocanonical
Books. There we discuss the books, debunk myths, show parallels of the Deuterocanon
in the New Testament which Protestants claim are non-existent, etc.

Tell me if you are interested and I’ll send the link.
 
Thank you Judas, your post was really informative and helped me a lot. I will make sure I am going to mass either Saturday or Sunday every week. I would be interested in the group you mentioned, I have been trying to learn more about those books and am planning on studying them as I start becoming more a part of the Catholic church.
 
Judas_Thaddeus said:
ALSO, If you are joining the Faith, I have a little group here dealing with one of the many
factors that tends to separate the Protestants from the Catholics: The Deuterocanonical
Books. There we discuss the books, debunk myths, show parallels of the Deuterocanon
in the New Testament which Protestants claim are non-existent, etc.

Tell me if you are interested and I’ll send the link.
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Is there a web site for this group?
 
swimmer0964 said:
Okay everybody, I have another question. Do people ever go to mass more than once a week? Would it be okay if I went 3-4 times in a week? I feel like the more I go, the more I will get used to it and learn more about Catholicism. I live really close to the church I went to today, so I can get there in 5 minutes, and as a college student, I have a really flexible schedule so I would be able to go multiple times a week. The church I visited has 2 masses every day Monday through Friday, one on Saturday, and five on Sunday. So there are a lot of times to choose from.
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Oh…absolutely…go as many times during the week as you can. If I had the chance, I would go everyday…but work precludes me…
 
Swimmer0964, You indicated that you are going to Mass either Saturday or Sunday every week. Attending a Mass on Saturday morning does not count for Sunday Mass. This does not equal the Saturday Vigil Mass, which fulfills the Sunday Mass obligation. The Saturday morning Mass is for that day, which is Saturday, and that day only.:heaven:🙂
 
swimmer0964 said:
Okay that makes it easy haha! Which version of the Bible do you guys use when you read the Bible on your own?
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Personally I use an RSV (Catholic edition) but it doesn’t really matter which version you use. It’s perfectly acceptable to use a Protestant version of the Bible, the drawback is that they don’t contain the full Catholic canon.

As for your going to Mass. Go along, dress fairly casually, just sit somewhere and watch what others do. You don’t have to join in, just listen and observe if you like, or join in if that’s what you want. There will be no problem with you going and not being a Catholic, you’d be surprised at the number of non-Catholics who are regular attenders (so much so that they’re practically members of the parish). People will be delighted that another non-Catholic is coming along to Mass for whatever reason.

The only thing you can’t do is to take Communion, but you can walk up in the Communion line and cross your arms across your chest when you reach the priest and he will give you a blessing instead of Communion.

Come along, you’ll be made welcome.
 
CyrilSebastian said:
Swimmer0964, You indicated that you are going to Mass either Saturday or Sunday every week. Attending a Mass on Saturday morning does not count for Sunday Mass. This does not equal the Saturday Vigil Mass, which fulfills the Sunday Mass obligation. The Saturday morning Mass is for that day, which is Saturday, and that day only.:heaven:🙂
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I think you may have misunderstood, CyrilSebastian.

The OP isn’t a Catholic. The Sunday obligation doesn’t apply to them.
 
swimmer0964 said:
I really like the NIV version, so something similar would be best.
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The NIV is fine. My wife likes and reads the NIV, and she’s a Catholic. There is no issue with reading a Protestant Bible (other than it not containing the full Ctholic canon). The NIV is a decent version.
 
swimmer0964 said:
It seems like the douay-rheims is popular? I think the New American Bible might be what I will use. I really like the NIV version, so something similar would be best. Reading my Bible is really important to me, so it might seem weird to me if a lot of other people don’t read their Bibles on their own, but I like the idea of the entire Bible being read every 3 years in mass. The churches I’ve gone to pick and choose random verses each week, so even though I read my Bible a lot, I think there are still a lot of passages I have never read.
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If you read the Bible on your own, you won’t be alone: a great many Catholics include the Bible in their private devotions and study. Indeed, as the inspired Word of God the Bible is essential to a deep understanding of Catholic liturgy and theology, and for connecting with God, its author.

That being said, Catholic spirituality finds its most personal and profound expression in the sacrament of the Eucharist, where the Word of God deigns to offer Himself as the sacrificial Lamb for our spiritual nourishment.
 
paperwight66 said:
I think you may have misunderstood, CyrilSebastian.

The OP isn’t a Catholic. The Sunday obligation doesn’t apply to them.
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I didn’t read CyrilSebastian’s post as about the Sunday obligation (only applies to Catholics, as you say :)), but rather which liturgical day the Mass was for. Cyril is right: a Mass during the day on Saturday will have Saturday’s readings, whereas a Mass on Saturday evening will have the readings and hymns for Sunday.

Anyway, hi swimmer and welcome to CAF! 👋 I am a convert too and was first drawn to Catholicism through the beauty of the liturgy. I wish I could go to Mass everyday, and I think it’s wonderful you wish to go so often to learn. Scott Hahn is a wonderful author you might enjoy reading - he has a great book on the Mass called The Lamb’s Supper: The Mass as Heaven on Earth.
 
Many parishs have small faith groups that meet each week to discuss a Bible passage and pray. The ones in my parish are held in homes and members sometimes take turns hosting. Some members offer food or snacks and have a bit of time for “fellowship”.

As for fellowship, parishes have donut Sundays from time to time. They are usually after each Mass on a Sunday. Some parishes do this every Sunday. Donations are accepted. Mine has pancake breakfasts about four times a year or more, the cost is reasonable. These are usually held after the last Mass on a Sunday. We also have had potluck Sundays.
 
Cyril, the church I went to has a Saturday evening vigil, which I think counts as Sunday mass. It is at 5:30 pm.
 
Do you guys have any recommendations on books / videos I could read or watch to learn more about Catholicism? I want to learn about the beliefs of the Catholic Church because I know there is a lot to learn coming from a protestant background. I found a video on youtube by Michael Cumbie, about misconceptions protestants have about Catholicism, which I found really interesting. Any more suggestions would be great!
 
swimmer0964 said:
Do you guys have any recommendations on books / videos I could read or watch to learn more about Catholicism? I want to learn about the beliefs of the Catholic Church because I know there is a lot to learn coming from a protestant background. I found a video on youtube by Michael Cumbie, about misconceptions protestants have about Catholicism, which I found really interesting. Any more suggestions would be great!
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Get the New testament Ignatius bible study though its only new testament its a great book. The old Testament version will probably come out early 2015 or late 2014. The link is below:

amazon.com/Ignatius-Catholic-Study-Bible-Testament/dp/1586172506/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1390467980&sr=8-1&keywords=ignatius+catholic+bible+study

Catechism of the catholic church is a must read! Here is the online version

usccb.org/beliefs-and-teachings/what-we-believe/catechism/catechism-of-the-catholic-church/epub/index.cfm#

Check out EWTN ( Global Catholic Television network) and maybe you will enjoy some of their shows. I’m sure you will get a lot info from there

ewtn.com/index.asp?myselection=us
 
swimmer0964 said:
Do you guys have any recommendations on books / videos I could read or watch to learn more about Catholicism? I want to learn about the beliefs of the Catholic Church because I know there is a lot to learn coming from a protestant background. I found a video on youtube by Michael Cumbie, about misconceptions protestants have about Catholicism, which I found really interesting. Any more suggestions would be great!
Click to expand...
Get a copy of the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

amazon.com/Catechism-Catholic-Popular-Revised-Edition/dp/0860123278/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1390505410&sr=8-7&keywords=catechism+catholic+church

The Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church is also useful

amazon.com/Compendium-Doctrine-Pontifical-Council-Justice/dp/0860124363/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1390505520&sr=8-3&keywords=compendium+of+the+social+doctrine+of+the+church

These two books along with the Ignatius study Bible suggested earlier and you will have a huge wealth of information at your disposal

amazon.com/Ignatius-Catholic-Study-Bible-Testament/dp/1586172506/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1390505635&sr=8-1&keywords=ignatius+study+bible
 
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