Catholic Church

I was just going to bother Wiggy about this, haha, but I thought I might as well post a research thread on it.

Yes, I've been to church, but I'm not in the least catholic. What is a catholic service like? What are some things that happen? Uh, basically, everything. I need it all explained to me, haha. Because as I said, I know nothing. I do know their are some certain prayers, what not... but again, I know nothing. Anything someone could tell me would be great. =] Mostly on Sunday service, or any service, but what ever else will help too!


Thanks!

Ugh, catholic mass...boringness.

Of course there are all the normal things like standing up at certain times, singing songs, the "our father" recitation, but theres another recitation that all the years that my father forced me to his church with him I never recited nor remembered. It's really very boring, though.

At least at his church, when you walk in you get a pamphlet in the front of the church into the hallway, called the "narthax" (a special name for entrance), then when you walk into the service room (sanctuary...ish) and there are two bowls or water on the sides of the doorway and that's "holy water". You put your index finger and middle finger in the water and then make the sign of the cross with those fingers (forehead, middle breastbone, left side of your chest, right side of your chest). Then you find your seat and some people will kneel next to their aisle and make the sign of the cross again, but not everyone does that. And then when everyone is sitting and mass begins the 'altarboys" ....which don't have to be boys...walk down the isle holding a cross to the front of the church with the priest behind them. And as he talks there are certain parts of the service where you stand (though...I only stood because others did, I knew not when to stand on my own) and certain times when you recite something back to to the priest when he's 'praying'.

There is a communion in the middle of the service, where you go row by row to lines for "the body of christ"....thin bread...and "the blood of christ" ...red wine. Some services will have grape juice instead of wine for the kids. Then you go sit down and eat your bread with your mouth closed.

The songs are all out of a hymnal....so they can never be modified to be enjoyable, basically. The service is really kind of loud, but you have to be the quietest I've ever seen you have to be in a service. And I've never seen so many people in a service who look like they are going to a funeral. You don't confess your sins in the church openly like many other religions. There is a time when you turn to people you don't know and shake their hands and say "peace be with you". We always got yelled at for having gum. Wheelchairs are put in the back of the church. Altarkids sit to the right of the stage, there is usually a crucifix on the wall behind the priest. The "band" is on the left side of the stage. Lots of stained glass all over.

When you leave you do the holy water thing again, and shakes the priests hand on the way out. Then you go to lunch at frisch's.

Hope that helped.

That helped a lot Via! *hugs* Thank you =) Maybe I'll try to sneak to church with Wiggy...heheh.

Then you go sit down and eat your bread with your mouth closed.

That kind of made me laugh.. haha. "with your mouth closed" --well, yes, it is only polite?

Going to a Catholic mass would really be the best research for you, especially since the services follow the same format. So, seen one, seen 'em all.

I'm just kidding. They can be very different, depending on where you go. I mean, the basic format is the same (as Via has explained), but the experience still can differ. I've been to services in big, beautiful Catholic churches, and big, not-so-beautiful Catholic churches, and small, beautiful Catholic churches, and small, barely-decorated Catholic student centers. So even though they do the same thing (pretty much) every time, it's different depending on where you go.

The trouble with going to one, just to observe, is that it's rather awkward if you're not Catholic. Maybe that's just me, because I've always gone with my mom, and it makes me feel awkward because she's there and Catholic and then there's me and my sisters and we're... not. So maybe I feel embarrassed on her behalf? Regardless, it's a little awkward not to know what's really going on when everyone around you could probably participate in the mass in their sleep.

Oh, and they really do swing incense. That's not a joke. And at all the places I've been to, the communion bread has been these little paper-like wafers that are completely disgusting.

Hmmm.... let me think.

Well, I'm not sure how you'd get your hands on one of these, but I'm Catholic and every church I've ever been to has a missal. It's a little book that is basically a script for the whole Mass, with what you have to say in bold, and what anyone else says not in bold. So if you need it as research for a story, that would be a great place to start, because it basically has the whole Mass written down for you. Which is a good thing, because I know I wouldn't know what to say without that. XD But like I said, I dunno how you'd get one. They're in the backs of the pews at churches, alongside the hymnals, but you never see them anywhere else.

However, all the main prayer things are the same for just about every church, as far as I know. They're the same from Illinois to Arizona, at any rate. You might be able to find it all online somewhere.

In very general terms, you come in, do the whole sign of the cross thing with holy water like Via explained, then sit down in one of the pews. There's just nothing like uncomfortable wooden benches to irritate people. XD Well, at least we have kneelers. The back of each pew has a compartment attached to it where the hymnal and missal are, and the kneeler, which is kind of attached on a hinge. Most of the time kneelers are padded, but they still get uncomfortable on your knees during the middle of the Mass, when you have to kneel for a really long time. XD Anyway, a lot of people kneel down and pray, and I suspect more kneel down and pretend to pray, while staring into space wondering if they left the oven on. Still others sit in the benches flipping through the missals or the hymnals or just being bored.

Then the cantor-- the head of the choir-- stands up goes like "Hey, welcome to (insert name of church here-- ours is Our Lady of Joy, my old ones in Illinois were St. Clare, St. Nicholas, and St. Matthews). please begin the Mass by greeting those around you." So you shake hands with people and say hi. My brothers and I always greet each other in an exaggerated pompous manner, just for the hell of it.

Then the cantor goes "please stand for our gathering hymn, number (insert number here): (insert name of song" and everyone does so. It's usually something upbeat. Upbeat and loud.

Then we all sit. There are some prayers, I don't remember which ones exactly. I think these are the ones where you respond with "Lord have mercy" "Christ have mercy" and then "Lord have mercy" again. Sometimes, during Lent, some churches make you sing these. In Latin. This does not make people happy. No one likes trying to pronounce Latin words. XD

Following this, as long as it's not Lent, we sing the Gloria. The refrain goes "Glory to God in the Highest, and peace to his people on Earth." and... I can't remember the rest of it. XD It's one of those things that you can only seem to remember when you're singing it with other people, for some odd reason. It's got a lot of dramatic high notes in the last verse, though. I remember that.

Then we all sit, and people, many of them elderly, do the readings for the day. One from the Old Testament. Then a Psalm, which the cantor usually leads. First (s)he sings the refrain, then everyone repeats it. Then the choir sings a verse, then the refrain. Etc. Then there's a second reading, usually from that section of the Bible with all the letters. Letter from Paul to the Romans, from Paul to the Corinthians, ad nauseum. Apparently Paul like to write letters. Anyway, after that, everyone stands, usually reluctantly, after they just got comfortable sitting down, and sings an "Alleluia" thingy. Basically the chorus just involve you singing "Alleluia" three or four times, and then there's a verse. Then you sing "Alleluia" again. Unless it's Lent. During Lent, you can't say Alleluia, because you're supposed to be in mourning, or something. So you sing "Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ, king of endless glory" or something very close to that.

Anyhoo, then we remain standing, much to our chagrin, through the gospel. Something from Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John, read by the priest. Then, greatfully, we all sit. The priest goes on to give a sermon based on the aforementioned gospel segment. The best ones are short. OLOJ's pastor, thankfully, is known, at least to me, for really short homilies. Like, five to ten minutes. I guess he doesn't like public speaking. Some people can go on for almost an hour, though. This is when people get bored.

Then there's an awkward moment of silence.

Next, we say the Nicene creed, aka the profession of faith. It's a lot like the better-known apostles creed, except longer and with a lot more repetitive redundancies. This is another one of those things I can't seem to remember on my own. Immeditely following, some other reader goes up and read off the intercessions, where we pray for this and that. "For blah blah blah." "Lord hear our prayer." "For yada yada yada." "Lord hear our prayer." You get the idea.

Then comes the complicated part. I have trouble remembering the Eucharistic prayer because... well, because I usually get bored and don't pay attention. It starts with a hymn, often a sorta gloomy one. In fact, one common procession of the gifts song, "On Eagle Wings" is also a common funeral song. XD Then there's lotsa sitting and standing and a few other songs, the "Hosanna," the "Lamb of God," the "Great Amen" (which is where... guess what? you sing "Amen." Clearly we aren't very good at naming things.). There's also the Lord's Prayer and that "Peace be with you" thing somewhere in the mix. Most of it, though, is a really long prayer said by the priest, during which a lot of people stare at the pew in front of them and wonder if it's possible to die of boredom. I often learn the pattern of knotholes on the bench in front of me by heart.

Then we take communion, while singing a communion song. There are many of these, most of them slow and gloomy. Basically, you walk up to the front in a line, holding your hands out in a sort of cup shape. The person who gives you the bread says "The body of Christ." You say "Amen," take the bread, and pop it in your mouth. Step to the side and make the sign of the cross. Then just head back to your seat.

I'm not sure of the procedure for taking the wine because I don't. Most people don't, because frankly, the wine is nasty and no one else wants to drink out of the same cup as the other 200 people at Mass.

My second grade teacher, back when I was getting First Communion, used to go on about how you aren't supposed to chew the bread. Apparently, that's not reverent enough. But it's just a wafer and dissolves in you mouth, so you don't really have to chew it. It tastes ... like nothing, in most cases. Some churches give a little round wafer with a cross in the middle, some a little broken off square of a bigger wafer. St. Clare used to give homemade wafers sometimes. Bleah. They were cold as ice and chewy. >_<

Next you sit back down in your pew. Sometimes it's tough to find it again. XD I usually look for my Mom's purse and coat. Then you kneel, and... well, you're supposed to pray. I can never think of anything to say, so I just join everyone in finishing the communion hymn.

Sometimes, the priest or some guy/gal from the St. Vincent de Paul Society has announcements to make, thoroughly irritating us all as we wait for them to finish up so we can go home. Then, finally, the ending prayer. This bit used to crack me up, because the priest would say "The Mass has ended" and, just like it says to do in the missal, we'd all chorus "Thanks be to God." XDDD Unintentional comedy at it's best. I think they spotted that, though, because now it goes "The Mass has ended. Go in peace to love and serve the Lord" and then we say "Thanks be to God,"

Then we sing an ending song, something else loud and upbeat. You have to genuflect (go down on one knee) when you first go into the pew at the beginning of Mass and when you leave it at the end, but at the end everyone is on their way out the door, so most people genuflect in the pew instead of outside it, to avoid getting crushed. XD Then we all leave, make the sign of the cross thing with the water again, and forget all we've learned about peace, togetherness, and love for fellow man as we battle our way out of the crowded parking lot.

Most churches have Sunday services at like... 4-6 o'clock Saturday night, 7-9 o'clock Sunday morning, and... maybe ten o'clock Sunday morning. The 10:00 one tends to be the most popular, for obvious reasons. Most services last like.. an hour to an hour and a half.

I hope that helps, if you've got any specific questions, feel free to ask. ^_^

*edited for spelling and subject-verb agreement. I fail at life. XD*

Wow, zankoku_na_tenshi, thank you for all that! That's really helpful.

zankoku_na_tenshi wrote:Next you sit back down in your pew. Sometimes it's tough to find it again. XD I usually look for my Mom's purse and coat.

Lol, I do the same thing! XD

Anyway, my two cents:

We walk in and sit down, and everyone chats before the mass starts. Then the Liturgical Minister (I think that's what she's called? Just the person who coordinates all the little details of the mass) stands up and says to quiet down because the mass is starting. Then the cross, the book with the gospels and the priest process in from the back of the church while we sing a song with the choir. When they get to the front of the church, they put the book of gospels on a special stand in front of the podium and the cross fits in a stand towards the back of the platform/stage thing everything is said from (and of course I can't find a picture, so this might not make a whole lot of sense).

Then after the song finishes, the priest welcomes everyone to the service "In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Amen" and everyone crosses themselves. And he sometimes gives a short welcome speech, but it's just a few sentences.

Then, there are a few prayers (my memory's on the fritz at the moment, and can't quite remember them all; zankoku_na_tenshi seem to have it covered anyway ^_^) and eventually there's the first reading. I've never payed attention to a pattern in them? There might be. I know there're certain readings for certain special days, but other than that, I don't know.

Then I suppose we sing/say (depending on the traditional-ness of the mass) a few more things and there's the second reading. Again, I'm not sure of the pattern. It's just in recent years that I've been able to remember what was said by the end XD

A few more things...and a gospel reading. This is usually done by the priest, I believe, and is from the first four books of the New Testament (hence, gospel). This is the only time I'm certain that we stand up. Because one time, the priest knew it was going to be so long, he joked we could sit down for it (and for the record, it was a long reading)

Right after the gospel reading is the homily, where the priest stands at the front and talks for ten to twenty minutes about the lesson for that week. Latest topics have included: denouncing of consumerism, loving thy neighbor, not getting as stressed out as most people seem to be, the importance of baptism (when there is a baptism, that is). The homily usually ties together the previous three readings and includes the priest's thoughts about the topic. Oh, and for a baptism, they always read the "I baptize you with water, but there is one who will come after me who will baptize you with fire and the Holy Spirit. And I am not worthy to carry his sandals" (I think this is a cool reading. Especially when you hear it rather than read it).

After the homily, there is the Apostle's Creed (the "We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, creator of Heaven and Earth, of all that is seen and unseen...") and the community prayers (can't remember the real name) where someone stands up at the front and reads the pre-written ones ex: "For those who are sick or hurt, we pray to the Lord" and then we answer "Lord hear our prayer" sometimes sung, sometimes said. And then once at the end of the list, he or she reads from the book that's in the lobby. It's placed on a stand with a pen next to it so that when you walk in, if there's a certain prayer you want included, you can write it in and the person will say it. They used to do at the end "And for those prayers you would like to mention aloud" but I guess it took too long or something, because they don't do it anymore.

After this, the priest says "The peace of the Lord be with you all" and we answer "And also with you" and he says "Let us share a sign of this peace with one another" and we shake hands and say "Peace" with the people sitting near us, and sometimes the priest shakes hands with the people nearer the front (because otherwise, that would take a long time for him to say "Peace" to everyone ^_^)

And then we sit down and... well, I think I've missed something. Because at one point, there's another procession from the back of the church with the bread and the wine (the body and blood), and the priest prepares everything on the alter while the choir sings; and at one point, we say the Our Father ("Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name...").

And then we take communion. How this works is the first row stands up, files out into the aisle to be in line, the priest/ Eucharistic minister hands them a piece of bread, then there's a person standing next to them and the same thing is done with the wine. Then the person has received communion and goes around the other side of the pew so that everyone files back to sit down in the same order and you don't have to trip over everyone. Then the second row does the same, etc. etc. There are sometimes a few sets of Eucharistic ministers around the church because if there's a really big congregation, communion could take forever. And while you're sitting in your seat waiting for everyone else to receive communion, you're supposed to be praying.

And then the priest and Eucharistic ministers set all the communion things aside and there is maybe a prayer or so, and then the priest says the announcements if there are any and gives the final blessing and we sing the final song before leaving.


Hrm, seems no way around a long explanation XD If you have specific questions, feel free to ask. I'll help as I am able ^_^

EDIT: this is a Roman Catholic service, by the way. What other types of Catholic there are, I am not quite sure. But since it is distinguished by Roman there might be a difference.

*adds stuff* This is Anglican, but it's from the fun two-thousand year old tradition things that the Catholics have, too. ^_^

Random symbolic things you might be able to use:

EUCHARISTIC PRAYER [I do not recall the letter]:

[Sung/chanted]

Priest: We lift up our hearts.
Congregation: We lift them to the lord.
Priest: Christ, our Passover is sacrificed for us.
Congregation: Therefore, let us keep the feast.
[Aleluia.]

Then a sanctus is played, basically "Holy, holy, holy" sung a lot of times, and the sanctus bells are rung. They are little jangly things that we use because in the ye olde days the mass was in Latin (parts of it still are), and the common Volk did not understand Latin, and needed to be prompted when to go to communion.

The priest sings/chants the story of the last supper, and then gives communion to the deacons, and then to the acolytes [me! Hurrah!]. Then people come up to the altar and kneel. People who are not Christian cross their arms over their chests and the priest crosses their foreheads and says a blessing. People who are receive bread and wine.

Fun fact: even though most Anglicans do not believe in literal transubstantiation [we are literally feeding upon Jesus' body], if bread crumbs are spilt on the floor, the priest or the person who dropped the crumbs will bend down, pick them up, and eat them. I could totally see Delilah fussing over something like that. XD

___

To go into church, you cross yourself with holy water (or not), and then go to your pew, genuflect, and kneel. You pray until service begins. That's something that you could probably use. XD

Eeergh...I will try to find you more fun prayers. ^_^

I am one of two catholics (I'm not even kidding about that, I make up 50% of the Catholic constituency here) attending a baptist bible college with a student body of 3100 undergrads. If anything, it affirms my love for the ritual of Catholicism. Protestants and Catholics have their own ways of doing things ... there are advantages and disadvantages to both.

BUT. We recite the creed. And the Nicene Creed if a definite turn on.

The most popular form of the Catholic mass has already been gone over, but you may also want to look into the Tridentine mass; aka the Latin mass. The Tridentine mass was celebrated up until forty years ago when Vatican II came into effect. Vatican II modernized the Church in a lot of ways, and one of those was in changing the way Catholics celebrate mass. When you hear about Latin recitations, lots & lots of incencse, and everyone having their own missal so they can understand what's going on, that's the Latin mass.

Up until a year ago, the Latin mass was pretty much illegal to celebrate in the Catholic church, though some churches celebrated it "secretly" anyways. A lot of people prefer it as it's very ceremonial, and actually kind of exciting to go to. Today you go to mass, and it's like what Via said: lots of sitting, kneeling, singing, glum faces, etc. In my own personal view, Vatican II made going to mass a chore as it took a lot of mystique and ceremony out of it. While there are certainly strong arguments in favor of the modern mass, it's just very, very odd. For me, I hate the songs in the modern mass.

But about a year ago, Pope Benedict XVI said it was okay to celebrate the Tridentine mass again so it's experiencing somewhat of a revival. I've only been to a couple thus far, and both times I really really liked it. Everyone seems friendlier, there's a sense of more community, and it's very beautiful. I would go to more, but I can see the church I usually go to from my bedroom window, while the closest church that celebrates the Tridentine mass is 30 minutes away.

But there are a number of similarities; you still sit & kneel quite a bit, and you still got the Eucharist.

In any case, the main difference you'll find between Catholic churches is whether or not they hold hands while saying the "Our Father." I will never, ever attend a Church where I have to hold hands. I hate that.



Also, there are several different types of Catholic Churches. As Amelia noted, everything here refers to Roman Catholicism, which is by far the largest of any religion with over 1 billion members. But, there are also the Eastern Catholic Churches, of which there are a bunch. Also, the Eastern Orthodox Church has Catholic somewhere in its full, long-winded title. Anglicans will also use the term Catholic to refer to themselves sometimes.

There isn't too much of a difference between the Episcopal Church and the Catholic Church either. There's actually always talk of some branches of the Episcopal Church possibly converting over as there is a growing split between the Liberal and Conservative arms of the Episcopal Church (by the way, that split exists within the Catholic Church as well but isn't nearly as apparent... the biggest known difference is with American Roman Catholicism and everyone else). The Lutheran Church, I believe, is similar as well since Lutherans & Catholics can participate in the other's Eucharist (lots and lots of rules concerning the Eucharist).

I will never, ever attend a Church where I have to hold hands. I hate that.

It depends with who. For instance, strangers aren't that fun, but people who you know are okay.

There isn't too much of a difference between the Episcopal Church and the Catholic Church either. There's actually always talk of some branches of the Episcopal Church possibly converting over as there is a growing split between the Liberal and Conservative arms of the Episcopal Church (by the way, that split exists within the Catholic Church as well but isn't nearly as apparent... the biggest known difference is with American Roman Catholicism and everyone else). The Lutheran Church, I believe, is similar as well since Lutherans & Catholics can participate in the other's Eucharist (lots and lots of rules concerning the Eucharist).

Lutherans and Catholics aren't that far apart- my very Catholic grandma has taken me to a lot of Lutheran things- but Lutherans can't take the Eucharist.
From what I remember- and this is going back to the last time I was reeally bored at my dad's church since they don't have good music- anyway, I think only Polish National Orthdox, the Bysantine Catolics (are the the same thing- that always confuses me and I know I ddin't spell that right- and maybe one or two other Orthodox churches can take Catholic communion.
I don't know; it all has to do with your theology on what the Eucharist is- ie is it really Jesus' body and stuff like that.

The best thing about Catholic masses are all the traditions. The Masses in Latin are the best to really see this done, but any on a big deal day- Chirstmas, Easter, Christmas Eve, Easter Vigil (but only after dark), Ash Wednesday, etc- can give you a really cool feeling. Plus, good old everyday/week Mass is fun, too. I know people find all the traditions boring, but I think they're awesome because I think they're largere than me.

The really big deal Masses are especailly fun- Easter Vigil is on Holy Sat., and it's usually dark. All the lights in the Church are off, but evryone has unlit candles. The priest comes in and lights the Easter Candle after some chanting. Then the altar servers light candles from which the people on the end of the aisle light their candles, and so on until every candle's lit. It is gorgeous, and so is the music. It's also a bit long, so not a good first Mass to attned. Coincidently, it's also the day where adults are intiated into the Church if they're switching religions.

Christmas Eve is also gorgeous, but Easter Vigil's my favorite.

Suz, you're welcome to come ANY TIME to Mass with me and my family. We'd love to have you! Maybe you could even come back for breakfast or something afterwards.

Hey guys, I don't mean to be the annoying sunshiny one again, but I have to disagree with how boring Mass is. Actually, it can be boring at times, but if you focus on God (which actually IS the focus of the Mass, believe it or not with all the extra stuff added in) it has some meaning. I love listening to the readings (although if I'm tired I admit it's a little harder to concentrate lol), and the Eucharist is really beautiful. Hey, I may just be in luck with how great my church is, cause the Eucharist doesn't taste bad and the Blood is pretty darned good at my church. I call it my spiritual breakfast! lol

Suz, just call or pm or something and I'll give you as much info as needed. I can't claim to be an expert, but as I've been one since I was born, I think I could help a little.

Personally I'm a fan of the "body of Christ" bread...I think it's pretty tasty. *shrug*

You're right, Wiggy, I think that the church community plays a big role in how you approach Sunday mass. Personally, my church is a bit... odd and disjointed in that aspect. It's awesome you have a church you can feel at home in

the wafers are good as long as they don't have too much wheat.