Going to a Catholic Church?

Question

I have never bothered with religion before, perhaps because I was raised without it. Recently, I have become interested in the Catholic religion and would like to experience a Sunday mass. I want to know what to expect. Like, what to wear, do I have to be familiar with any of the readings or whatever, and can I just walk in? This is just a local church I am talking about, but I'm pretty sure it's Catholic. Can anyone give me as much information as he/she knows? Thanks.

And also is there a certain time when I can just sit in the church by myself to think? Like can I just walk in and sit on a bench by myself, or are they usually closed at certain points in the day?

Answer 1

generally.... when you walk in you would be dressed modestly, walk in and take a seat in a pew. you will see others genuflecting ( bending before the altar before their pew on one knee) i would recommend getting there a little early to get a seat on the end - that's just me though. flip through the missal and it will direct you through the course of the mass. during the part where they say the our Father some places hold hands - we don't but.... the priest will tell you after to "offer each other the sign of peace/God's peace. generally people will shake hands with thsoe around them saying - peace be with you. after is the Lamb of God - follow in the missal - it's often one of the most moving times. right before commmunion there will be a time for those "unable to receive" when you ask Christ into your heart - read along with ernest. during the communion, while the others are going forward, sit or kneel in pray to Christ for He will be fully there with you. the missal will have the readings or you can just listen or take your bible - they will often give the chapter adn verse so if you're quick - you can follow along.
I hope you enjoy the services.
feel free to email with any direct questions prior or post.
God bless!

Answer 2

First of all, there are different masses. Most churches have a Saturday evening mass that is attended by lots of families. In every Catholic church I've been to, these Saturday evening masses tended to be less informal and a lot more lively. I think that because there are usually a lot of kids there and they want to keep their attention. Early Sunday morning masses are basically for the old people who get up at the crack of dawn. These are somber masses. The 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. Sunday masses are like the Saturday evening masses, only toned down a bit.

What to wear: nice dress or slacks -- dress comfortably though.

What to expect:

You don't have to be familiar with the readings. There are usually two and then the priest gives a reading from the Gospel and a sermon based on the reading.

There are hymnals usually at the entrances for everyone to take. They contain all the songs and many of the prayers you'll hear recited. In most churches, there is usually a board somewhere near the front of the church that lists the page number of the hymns you'll be singing and in what order.

Before mass starts, we are asked to take a moment to greet our neighbor, so everyone turns to their neighbor and shakes hands and welcomes him/her.

Before communion, they will pass baskets around the church for monetary offerings. You are absolutely not obligated to put anything into the basket and in my church, no one looks at anyone who doesn't contribute funny. Sometimes, visitors will just put a folded up dollar or five dollars or whatever in, but you don't have to. You can just pass it along to the person next to you with a smile.

In our church, if you don't want Communion, you can still go up in line, but cross your arms over your chest (kind of like a mummy) and that will signal that you aren't taking Communion (they won't ask you why), but you would like a blessing.

After Communion, they generally start wrapping things up. They'll make a few parish announcements, sing a song or two and the priest will give the congregation a blessing. Then, he will make preparations to leave the altar. After he's left, the people who didn't sneak out after Communion leave.

It's all pretty easy to follow along. I should warn you though that some priests are better speakers than others. In our old church, we had one priest (a young guy actually) who could literally bore you to death I believe. I fought so hard to stay awake while he spoke. On the flip side, the priest we have now is VERY funny. He packs them in with standing room only. His observations are very insightful and delivered with great wit and self-deprecating humor. I only say this because if you go and get a priest who is not a very good speaker, don't be turned off. Go to another mass with a different priest or even a different Catholic church.

Answer 3

And since no one offered any insight to your additional question, I'll gladly speak to that. Yes, you can just go in and sit down by yourself for time to pray and reflect. Most churches have a chapel located usually at one end of the main church, that is usually open by 7 or 8 in the morning, and closes anywhere between 8:30 and 10 pm. It is in the chapel that you will often find people stopping by for a few minutes of reflection, however, once the chapel is open (most have doors directly to the outside so that the rest of the church can be locked up while allowing the public access to the chapel), usually the main church is too. For smaller churches, there usually isn't a chapel, so the church itself is open longer hours. If you do go to a Sunday service, you can grab a copy of the parish bulletin (there will be ushers at every exit handing them out after Mass), and there should be a copy of the church's schedule in it--usually on the first page. As long as you're not going at a time when the main church would be otherwise used (choir practice, reconcilliation, Mass, adoration of the Blessed Eucharist, etc...), there's a good bet that you'd be pretty much alone. The other thing to note is that there is usually always a priest in the church while it is open (maybe not in the main room, but usually in an office close by) if you were to want to talk to someone who would be able to answer any of your questions. Hope you enjoy, and please don't hesitate to e-mail me privately if you have any other questions or concerns!

Answer 4

Many folks here have given you a pretty good picture of the basics. The only thing I would add is, do try to arrive about 10 minutes or so before the Mass is scheduled. This gives you time to get your bearings, take a seat, and find today's readings in the booklet. As people come in you'll notice that most of them, after genuflecting at the pew, don't sit right away but instead kneel and pray for a few moments. It's okay if you remain seated, though.

If you'd like to actually see some of the parts of the Mass you've been told about here, with a narrative explaining things, there are exerpts from a very good DVD at the link below. Just click on "the DVD" and after the introduction plays, you'll see several parts of the Mass listed that you can view. The full DVD is intended as a resource for churches to purchase, but you don't need to buy it! The exerpts, viewed in order, give you a pretty good overview of what to expect.

Answer 5

Lapsed Catholic, however ,respect those who can commit to a faith that they have chosen rather than being born into.
A" regular" sunday Mass is rather informal , dress should be
neat & presentable.
"Business casual" is probably OK.
Perfectly fine to just walk in.
Just drive by one day & see what the people are wearing.
There are times when people sit , stand or kneel as directed.
But, being unfamiliar w/ the ritual it is OK to remain seated.
There are some readings & hymns which have responses that are given to you if you follow the "Missal" found in the seats.
40 minutes or so is common.
Participate as much as you are comfortable with.
High Mass is more formal, generally longer & requires somewhat more participation though it still breaks down into the same parts as a regular Mass.
Have been invited to a number of differen churches over the years for various ceremonies & the ceiling did not fall on me.
Have asked the same question & have been given the same basic advice.
There are rules to be followed in any faith you adopt.
It's not a pick & choose situation.
Certain you can have all your questions anwered if you call the pastor & ask if you can just sit & talk.
Sounds odd coming from an agnostic , but I hope you find what you're looking for.
Best regards

Answer 6

Wear something appropriate for Sunday worship. A nice dress or pants and a shirt will do. As long as your comfortable, you'll be fine.

You don't have to be familiar with the readings or the order of the Mass. Learning how to follow along will come later. You can simply pray, listen to the homily and the readings. Just pay attention to the crowd and you'll see what to do.

When it comes time for communion, I have to ask that you do not receive it. This is out of respect for the Blessed Sacrament and yourself. During this time, you can either remain kneeling and pray, or approach the priest for a blessing. If you approach him, do so with your arms crossed in front of your chest. This will let him know you want a blessing.

Yes, you should be able to go to church any time you want to just sit and pray by yourself. Usually the churches are open because often people like to be where it's quiet, just them and God, to think, or meditate.

If you're interested in learning more about the Church, talk with the priest, or myself. I'd be glad to help.

God bless.

Answer 7

Okay I am Catholic and have been attending mass since well since I can remember. Anyway for normal Sunday mass, you can wear casual clothes, nothing too weird but you do not have to get dressed up. The length depends on both how long-winded the priest is, and how many verses are sung. Expect anywhere from 45 minutes to 1 hour and 20 minutes. You can just walk in, the best advice I can give you is for most of the Mass sit when people sit, stand when they stand, and kneel when they kneel. When Communion begins, do not go up just stay kneeling or seated. The experience can be boring, or it can be fun (mainly depends on your priest), but just turn off your cell phone and pay attention.

Have fun, hope you like the Catholic Church.

Answer 8

Yes, you can just walk in! I've been to a few Catholic masses and enjoyed them. I must admit, I felt a little lost as to when I should stand, what prayers to recite, etc., but for the most part you can manage by following along with everyone else. How you need to dress varies a lot depending on what church you go to. It's probably not a bad idea to dress fairly formally the first time you go... Also, though you shouldn't take the Eucharist if you're not Catholic, I'm pretty sure you can go up and receive a blessing from the priest (to signal the priest that you want this, cross your arms over your chest as you walk up to him). I do this whenever I visit the Catholic Church in my neighborhood.

Answer 9

If you are really worried about what to wear, sit in your car in the parking lot about 15 mins before Mass on an earlier Sunday and just observe what others are wearing.

Do what everyone else does (this is easier if you sit towards the back), except don't receive Communion. Sit at the end of a pew so you can slide out to let others pass. Don't get too frustrated if you can't figure out the missalette (little book that has the order of the Mass and the readings).

Readings can be found here, in case you want to familiarize yourself ahead of time: http://www.usccb.org/nab/

You can study the order of the Mass here (most Masses in the Western world will be pretty close to this):
http://www.catholicliturgy.com/index.cfm/FuseAction/TextContents/Index/4/SubIndex/67/TextIndex/9

Answer 10

Thank you for showing respect by asking. And welcome.

Please:
+ Wear business casual clothing
+ Yes, you can just walk in
+ If you feel comfortable then pray and sing with the rest of the congregation.
+ Sit and stand when everyone else does.
+ If you feel comfortable kneeling during the Consecration then do so, otherwise sit.
+ Out of respect do not to receive Communion, according to local custom, and only if you wish, you may approach the altar with their arms crossed over your chest to receive a blessing.

Here is an outline of the Mass:

+ Introductory Rites
. + Entrance (All stand)
. + Greeting
. + Act of Penitence
. + Kyrie Eleison (Latin for "Lord have mercy")
. + Gloria
. + Opening Prayer

+ Liturgy of the Word
. + First Reading - usually from the Old Testament (All sit)
. + Responsorial Psalm
. + Second Reading - usually from a New Testament Epistle
. + Gospel Reading (All stand)
. + Homily (All sit for the sermon)
. + Profession of Faith (the Nicene Creed) (All stand)
. + Prayer of the Faithful (prayers of petition)

+ Liturgy of the Eucharist
. + The Preparation of the Gifts - the bread and wine are brought forward and placed on the altar, our monetary offerings are also collected at this time (All sit)
. + The Prayer over the Offerings (All stand)
. + The Eucharistic Prayer - during this prayer the bread and wine change into the Body and Blood of Christ (Catholics kneel, visitors may kneel or sit)
. + The Lord's Prayer (All stand)
. + The Rite of Peace (We offer each other a sign of peace)
. + The Breaking of the Bread
. + Communion - non-Catholics are requested out of respect not to receive Communion, they may approach the altar with their arms crossed over their chest to receive a blessing (Stand or kneel according to local custom)

+ The Concluding Rites
. + Announcements (All sit)
. + Blessing (All stand)
. + Dismissal
. + Procession

+ Thinking of joining? +

If you are interested in joining or just learning more about the Catholic Church, contact your local parish and ask about information about their RCIA Inquiry group.

You can go and ask any questions you want.

This is the first step in RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults) but you can stop at any time.

There is no obligation to become a Catholic.

With love and prayers in Christ.

Answer 11

Go as you are. Some dress up and some wear jeans, especially in the non-prime-time services (such as Saturday or Sunday afternoon).

The service can be confusing if you did not grow up in a liturgical church - there are definite sections and they each mean something, but w/o the guidebook you can get lost. YOu may have to ask for somebody to show you in the hymnal where they are (they may not evenknow).

You can sit when they sit, stand when they stand, kneel when they kneel - and just listen. When they go up for mass, you can go but are not supposed to take the elements (wafer and wine) unless you are Catholic - but if you cross your arms across your chest the priest or lay priest will give you blessing.

Or just go, sit and take it all in as a spectator.

Peace be with you.