Hello all!
My cousin and I are going to be traveling extensively in Europe next summer, which means we will be visiting a lot of churches, cathedrals, etc. (even the Holy See!) We want to get as much culture in as possible, and would like to attend mass while we are there.
The only problem is, I’ve only been to mass once in my life (3 years ago) and my cousin has never been. We really don’t know what we’re doing.
I’ve of course read all about the general order the mass occurs in, but we really don’t know what to say when, when to stand, when to kneel. The one time I went to mass I barely got to pay attention because I was so concerned with not being the crazy person standing while everyone else was kneeling.
I also know we are not permitted to take communion. Is there anything else like this we need to know? Perhaps specifically regarding relics?
Also, is it rude of us not to make the sign of the cross?
Like I said, we really have no idea what we’re doing.
For those who are wondering, we are going to Italy, Greece, Austria, France, England, and Ireland.
Thanks for any tips!
I hope you have an awesome trip, I positively LOVED travelling in Europe.
As for the mass, relax! Nobody kneels or stands all at once, so you won’t look out of place by just following what the congregation you’re visiting does!
While you’re certainly not REQUIRED to make the sign of the cross, not doing it might make you stand out a bit. All in all, making the sign of the cross is to remind us of the new life given in the death and resurrection of Christ, to which we are joined in baptism… if you’re worried that it’s a “catholic gesture”, you should be aware that there are several other prominent denominations which also utilize the sign of the cross.
As you enter the church, look on the altar. If you see a prominent “box” made of gold, stone, marble, etc… that’s the tabernacle. It is customary when there is a tabernacle to genuflect before entering the pews. You genuflect by kneeling briefly on your right knee and then standing again. If the tabernacle is not at the front of the church, but visible off to the side as you enter, you should genuflect towards it as you pass. Otherwise, if the tabernacle is not visible, just bow towards the altar before entering the pew. MOST catholic churches in Europe will have the tabernacle front and center though. If you’re visiting a church outside of mass time and not entering the pews, the custom is to genuflect towards the tabernacle whenever you pass in front of it, or if walking straight towards it and then walking back, to genuflect when you are at your closest point to the tabernacle.
Relics will be present in MANY European churches, but as another poster has said, you are comfortably safe to ignore them if you so choose.
As you noted, you won’t receive communion (thank you for being astute about that!), and I’m going to join in the bandwagon that suggests you just stay in the pews during that time to avoid confusion… along with reiterating that if you sit towards one end of the pew or the other, you’ll be able to get out and let people past more easily before reentering the pew.
As an interesting factoid about why we stand and kneel at certain times during the mass: we sit when we are at ease and resting, receiving instruction or just listening attentively, because sitting is a posture of rest. We stand for many prayers because standing is the liturgical symbol of the risen people of Christ, who are redeemed and therefore fit to stand before the Lord when we pray. We kneel as a sign of our personal unworthiness, in humility before God, who saved us when we didn’t deserve it ourselves.
