Saturday, 02 April 2011
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Questions on Catholic Church Tradition
I was born and raised in the Catholic religion. Maybe just born is more accurate, because my parents never really talked to me about it. They taught me just the basic stuff, like to pray to God if you need help and to always thank Him for your blessings. We always pray together as a family. They also put me in Confraternity of Christian Doctrine (CCD) classes. But they never really told me what to do in church.What should I be doing after I receive the communion? What should I do every time the priest asks us to kneel down?
Can you shed some light on some of the Catholic church traditions?
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- From: f5ye_angel5@xanga
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Comments (10)
Do what everybody else does! I believe you do the sign of the cross after you receive communion. And kneel when everyone else kneels.
A agree with following the leader. It seems each church has its own rituals. I am not a catholic but have been to a few of their masses.
Catholic mass should always be the same. At some churches, you may find that there are slight variations but these variations are NOT due to variations in rule, but variations in the congregation's preference. It is customary to make the sign of the cross after receiving communion, and when you return to your seat, say a prayer as you kneel. As a rule, you should remain kneeling until the Eucharistic ministers have all taken their seats after communion, this is because you should be kneeling whenever the host is out on the altar, out of respect for the sacrament of communion and the presence of the body of Christ before you. Once it is put away, you may sit back in your seat. This rule isn't always strictly adhered to, as many people in the congregation cannot kneel for this long of a period of time, and choose to sit after a few moments, or not to kneel at all.
In short: it's appropriate to kneel after you get communion, the duration of that kneeling is up to you, but ideally, you'd do it until the Eucharistic ministers take their seats.
My dear sister!!!!!!!
What a blessing you have received; so many just receive Our Lord in the Eucharist, go to their pew, and wait for Mass to be over with. So few are stirred to consider, "Is there something I should be doing?" Likewise so many simply kneel because everyone else is, yet few consider, "Why am I kneeling?"
For starters, realize that for those moments following your reception of the Eucharist, you are a living Tabernacle. Yes! So you can spend that time after Communion sitting quietly with that reality if you wish, relishing the fact that Jesus Christ in His entire Person (Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity!) has joined Himself to you and has made His home in you.
You can also speak to Him if you wish; you will find no closer moment with Him this side of Heaven! He is not simply in front of you or next to you or even inside of you; He has become ONE with you. A relationship does not get any closer than that, for all closeness has given way to unity. So speak to Him about whatever you wish; ask Him for favors, thank Him for the ways He has blessed you, anything at all would make Him very happy.
You may also offer Him on behalf of others you would like to pray for. After all you are a part of His priestly people by virtue of your baptism, and you have received Him and He has given Himself totally to you; you can offer Him back to God as your greatest gift and do so in a priestly way, offering Him on behalf of those you love and pray for. Basically, whatever you feel moved by love to do at that time, please do! Bear in mind that He is there with you as a part of you, and enjoy these short, heavenly moments with Him.
As for kneeling, we do so out of reverence; after all, He is a King! Likewise we are witnessing a great miracle and remembering the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. So it is quite appropriate to kneel, don't you think? While you are kneeling, try and consider what is going on and what you are witnessing. Take the opportunity to really tune in. If you are trying to think of something even more in depth to do consider offering your own gifts along with the bread and wine the whole congregation offers. For example, say you are feeling especially grateful for your family; offer them to God on the altar during that time! What better way of showing God how much you love someone than to share them with God? Or perhaps you are really worried about something or someone; offer it to God on the altar! God will always accept what you offer and He will purify it, and perhaps He will even return it to you or offer you a special grace in return?
I hope some of these thoughts are helpful; please feel free at any time to message me with whatever questions you have, even if you are afraid that they are stupid or rude. I was just like you once, just being sent to CCD and being taught the basics, not knowing a darned thing about the Catholic faith. But now that I have learned so much in studying for the priesthood, it is the most amazing and beautiful thing in the world. Anything I can do to help you is my joy, really!
-Jacob
Open your ears and hear. Open your eyes and see.
The Catholic Mass is a sumptuous feast for body, mind and soul.
@Ancient_Scribe@xanga - I posted this before I went again to church. And so when I did, I had more questions. Like, when you're lining up to receive the communion, what are you suppose to pray for? And if you're early, what should I be doing instead of just chatting with my family? How about when everybody is kneeling down and the wine is being brought up I know you're suppose to say something and I don't know? And thank you so much for answering my questions!
@TheNewSeminarian - Dude! That is so true, like when I feel hungry in the middle of the prayer or a mass, by the time it ends, I don't feel it anymore.
@f5ye_angel5@xanga - Grace upon grace; you have a heart that is so eager to please Him! What a treasure!
As I mentioned before, during these precious times of the Mass when you seem to have a few moments to yourself, share them with Him as you feel moved. When you are lining up to receive Him in the Eucharist, think about what is going to happen: the Bridegroom will wed His Bride, the two become one flesh, you become a living Tabernacle of Christ, you share in the joy of Mary who also carried Christ inside her body, and so much else. You might think about aspects of yourself you would like Christ to work on healing when you receive Him, you might imagine going through your heart and sweeping out all the "dirt" and cleaning up the place so that everything is nice and orderly when He arrives; whatever you desire. The important point is that the time you have as you line up for communion you can use to prepare yourself a little for a beautiful gift. Depending on what is going on in your life, it may be a bit different each time. But whatever you do, do it out of love for Him and you can hardly go wrong.
If you arrive at Mass early, which is AWESOME, there are many thing you could do. You might look over the readings and read them once or twice so that when they are later read you don't feel like you have to follow along but can really listen. When you finally hear it read you might notice something that you missed when you read it yourself. Also since you are already a little familiar with the readings you might actually remember them after Mass! Finally, the homily will hopefully be a bit more relevant, since you'll be familiar with the material that the priest is hopefully drawing from!
You can also use the time before Mass to quiet yourself, think about the past week and talk to Jesus about everything that went on. Thank Him for all the ways He blessed you over the week, offer to Him your sins and anything you would like Him to heal in you, and just bring everything and lay them at His feet. Some churches also offer confession before Mass, so if during this time of reflection you feel that you need a real heavy dose of forgiveness, you might have time to go and receive it! Regular confession (maybe once a month or so) is also a good habit to get into; it'll change your life!
During that time when the gifts are being brought to the altar, perhaps you can think about one thing in your life--perhaps a person you are worried about, something causing you anxiety, or just something you'd like to give to God--and "place" it among the gifts. Imagine that thing, whatever it is, up there with the bread and the wine. Give it completely to Christ. When the Holy Spirit descends to consecrate those gifts and to make them holy, transforming them into Jesus Christ Himself, that same Spirit will also transform whatever you offered Him, and He will return it to you in the Eucharist. After all, isn't Christ ultimately what we truly want above everything else? As we surrender, little by little, everything in our life to God, God gives us Christ to fill us up until we have nothing but Him. You can do this, little by little, at Mass if you wish, and this little span of "down time" is the perfect opportunity.
I hope these are helpful for you! Remember, count on His love; when you are worrying about what you are "supposed" to be doing during this sort of unscripted parts, do what you think would be the most loving and you likely will be doing just fine!
-Jacob
The Catholic Church is full of Traditions of men.
@Christianonly - Thank you everything is cleared up now. But I guess the answer was pretty obvious.