What do you get from being at Mass?

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grannymh

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What do Catholics get out of going to Mass?

This is a favorite question of a dear friend who is not Catholic. She likes to ask this very personal question when there is an opportunity. It is like taking a survey. šŸ˜ƒ

I am looking for very personal answers which I can relay to her. Thank you sincerely.
 
Many graces from the Eucharist, independent from any ā€œfeelingā€ that I have. :o

Also there is the participation of celebrating mass with people in history since the sacrifice of the mass is one. :o
 
Up close and personal with Jesus.
The joy of hearing the Scripture proclaimed. Not just readā€¦PROCLAIMED.
And for me, playing the music for the Spanish Massā€¦thrilling, joyful, pensive, happy.
 
claustrophobia šŸ˜¦

Seriously, I canā€™t top the rest of the posters here.
 
The blessings that come from receiving the Eucharist
Hearing the Word of God
Hearing a homily on how the Word of God can relate to us in our current circumstances
Praising the Creator.
Standing up for what I believe in during the Creed.
Shaking hands with similar minded locals.
Escaping the secularā€¦
 
I use to feel like I wasnā€™t getting much out of Mass. And then one day it hit meā€¦I wasnā€™t putting much in to it. Now I go almost every day. The day goes much better and I am more at peace after receiving the Eucharist.
 
Actually, going to Mass is usually very difficult for me. Iā€™m agoraphobic (donā€™t like being in crowded situations). Sometimes itā€™s bad, sometimes not as bad, but never pleasant like it used to be.

My awareness of my situation and my discomfort can be very distracting. I will usually focus on something on the floor. The parish we often attend has an exposed aggregate (small rocks) floor, and bits of glitter (from little girlā€™s dresses, etc) are usually found in the crevasses. These are my ā€œstarsā€ and I study the ā€œconstellationsā€ made up of bits of glitter. I find red stars and gold stars and green stars (!) and imagine myself in the vastness of space, all alone, with nobody around, travelling from one star to another.

I imagine that Iā€™m hearing the Mass on the radio of my solitary space ship. I hear it, but I donā€™t see it. I see my stars in the cracks of the floor while I listen to the Mass on my radio.

But sometimes I get so focused on my stars that I realize Iā€™m not listening to my radio. Itā€™s like a radio playing in the background - you are aware of it, but not really listening. Thatā€™s when I miss a reading, or I miss the homily. I miss a lot.

But that makes what I donā€™t miss all the more special.

FWIW, hereā€™s how you can spot the agoraphobics in your midst. They will try to be at the end of the pew. They will look up or down a lot. They will have their arms crossed. They will prefer to sit near the exits and will often glance at the exits. They will usually be overdressed. They will be the last people to rise when standing and the first to sit back down (itā€™s not because weā€™re lazy). I usually stand in the rear of the Church from the Sign of Peace until the end of Communion.

If you see someone like me, the kindest thing you can do is to ignore me. Iā€™m trying to ignore you. Itā€™s nothing personal.
 
David, would daily Mass where there are just a few people be easier for you.? It is for me.
 
DavidFilmer said:
Actually, going to Mass is usually very difficult for me. Iā€™m agoraphobic (donā€™t like being in crowded situations). Sometimes itā€™s bad, sometimes not as bad, but never pleasant like it used to be.

My awareness of my situation and my discomfort can be very distracting. I will usually focus on something on the floor.

FWIW hereā€™s how you can spot the agoraphobics in your midst. They will try to be at the end of the pew. They will look up or down a lot. They will have their arms crossed. They will prefer to sit near the exits and will often glance at the exits. They will usually be overdressed. They will be the last people to rise when standing and the first to sit back down (itā€™s not because weā€™re lazy). I usually stand in the rear of the Church from the Sign of Peace until the end of Communion.

If you see someone like me, the kindest thing you can do is to ignore me. Iā€™m trying to ignore you. Itā€™s nothing personal.
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Iā€™m agoraphobic and I totally relate to this. I stare at the crucifix, which makes me space out sometimes. I will always sit at the end of the pew and instead of scooting in I will stand and let people in. You actually described me perfectly.:o
There was this one time that I couldnā€™t take it anymore and went to leave, the exit on the side is usually unlocked, it wasnā€™t this time and I started having a panic attack trying to exit. šŸ˜Š It was awful!

Anyway, when I am able to enjoy mass, I thoroughly enjoy it. All aspects of it, especially the Eucharist.
 
I remember how Jesus gave us this ongoing way to be with him on the night before his passion and death, and how much he must love us ingrates. I think about how the Presence on the altar is the same one that was over the waters at creation, with Abraham and Moses and David, and is here with us. I ask for the grace to love him back.
 
All the graces God has to offer, in addition to receiving His Body & Blood, Soul & Divinity in the Eucharist.
 
Thatā€™s when I get to worship statues and pray to dead people. šŸ‘
 
A lot of people, including myself, have found the mass more lively and meaningful after reading Scott Hahnā€™s The Lambā€™s Supper. Although his work is not the only one where you can learn about what is actually ā€œhappeningā€ at mass, it is a great and popular work expounding on this with Biblical and historical resources. I think his book was the first, or one of the first times, I learned about how the angels are there by our sides during the mass, especially when we praise ā€œHoly, holy, holyā€ as the angels in heaven do (Rev. 4:8).
 
Venerable Fulton J Sheen

Hence the Mass is to us the crowning act of Christian worship. A pulpit in which the words of our Lord are repeated does not unite us to Him; a choir in which sweet sentiments are sung brings us no closer to His Cross than to His garments. A temple without an altar of sacrifice is non-existent among primitive peoples, and is meaningless among Christians. And so in the Catholic Church the altar , and not the pulpit or the choir or the organ, is the center of worship, for there is re-enacted the memorial of His Passion. Its value does not depend on him who says it, or on him who hears it; it depends on Him who is the One High Priest and Victim, Jesus Christ our Lord. With Him we are united, in spite of our nothingness; in a certain sense, we lose our individuality for the time being; we unite our intellect and our will, our heart and our soul, our body and our blood, so intimately with Christ, that the Heavenly Father sees not so much us with our imperfection, but rather sees us in Him, the Beloved Son in whom He is well pleased. The Mass is for that reason the greatest event in the history of mankind; the only Holy Act which keeps the wrath of God from a sinful world, because it holds the Cross between heaven and earth, thus renewing that decisive moment when our sad and tragic humanity journeyed suddenly forth to the fullness of supernatural life.

Peace
 
MarcoPolo said:
A lot of people, including myself, have found the mass more lively and meaningful after reading Scott Hahnā€™s The Lambā€™s Supper. Although his work is not the only one where you can learn about what is actually ā€œhappeningā€ at mass, it is a great and popular work expounding on this with Biblical and historical resources. I think his book was the first, or one of the first times, I learned about how the angels are there by our sides during the mass, especially when we praise ā€œHoly, holy, holyā€ as the angels in heaven do (Rev. 4:8).
Click to expand...
I was about to say; my participation in the mass changed hugely after reading The Lambā€™s Supper and after being at Fr. Mikeā€™s homily on the Eucharist. šŸ™‚
 
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