Holy Mass Etiquette
How we act at Mass should help us pray, listen
and worship as well as help our neighbors do the same.
We should remember:
- that Mass is holy.
- to dress appropriately. (please see "What
to Wear")
- to be on time. It is distracting when people
arrive late to Mass. If you are delayed or late, be thoughtful
of others and sit in the back so as not to disturb those already
into prayer of the Mass.
- to turn cell phones and pagers off.
- to genuflect toward the tabernacle before sitting
down. Genuflecting is bending the right knee to
the floor and rising up again. If one is physically incapable
of genuflecting, they should instead make a profound bow.
The purpose of this is to show respect to our King and to
acknowledge His Presence in the tabernacle.
- to sit quietly. Once we've found a seat,
we should sit or kneel quietly to pray or meditate. This isn’t
the time to socialize with our friends. If we must talk quietly,
we should make it brief. The purpose of this is again to show
respect of the Blessed Sacrament, and to show that WE BELIEVE
HE IS TRULY PRESENT—Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity! If
we do not believe this, we need to be considerate of those
who do and use the quiet time to contemplate this Truth.
- to respect boundaries. At the Our Father,
for instance, we should be sensitive of our neighbors' needs
to, perhaps, deeply speak to "Our Father", which
can be interfered with another's need to hold hands.
- to stay until the end of Mass. Judas was
the first one to leave Mass early at the Last Supper. Let's
not follow in his footsteps. Mass ends when Father says: “The
Mass is ended, go in peace” and we say: “Thanks
be to God.” It is most polite to stay in our pews until
the end of the recessional hymn. Emergencies will arise from
time to time; in such cases, we should be as discreet as possible
so as not to disrupt the Mass that has not yet ended.
- to reverently, gently, & silently leave the church. Again,
this is to show respect of our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament.
There is a custom where some stay several minutes after in
thanksgiving for the Eucharist they have just received; the
church should also be quiet out of respect for this deep union
taking place. We can talk all we want once we've reached the
vestibule, and we are encouraged to really yack it up at the
coffee hours that follow many Masses!
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What To Wear, What To Wear
We should wear to Mass what we would wear if a
King invited us to his home for a feast. That is, we should wear
our best.
Our best should never draw attention to ourselves but give the
utmost respect to the King (and His family) of whom we are special
guests.
What Not To Wear*
1) Immodest or revealing clothing is never
acceptable.
Like what?
For Women
†Any clothing that bares
midriffs or cleavage
†Tight clothing meant to accentuate
(to draw attention to) various body parts that God considers,
and that we ought to consider, sacred.
†Short skirts (above knee) or miniskirts
†Shorts (capris are okay if they hit
below the knee—but still discouraged)
†Sleeveless tops (short sleeves are
okay)
For Men
†Shorts (yes, even in the summer months)
†Tanktops
But Why?
Immodest dress (especially with women) distracts others and
could cause them to sin in their thoughts, which is not why we
are at Mass.
2) Dirty clothes are never acceptable.
3) An unkept body is never acceptable (e.g., dirty hands
or fingernails).
*There will be times that our only opportunity to attend
Mass is after a physically demanding job or after helping
your grandmother board up her windows before a hurricane.
There is nothing to worry about in such times. We should never
let circumstances that are out of our control keep us away
from the Sacraments! God knows what we've been through, and
it's no one else's job to judge us. By all means, come to Mass!
Still, modest dress is always in our control -
if we dress modestly every day, this will never be an issue.
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Spiritual Communion
By Brother
John Raymond
What is a Spiritual Communion? It is desiring to receive Holy
Communion when we are not able to actually do so. Of course we
should not make a Spiritual Communion to replace an actual Holy
Communion. The advantage of a Spiritual Communion is that we
can
make it as often as we like.
One may wonder about the value of this practice. St. Catherine
of Siena (1347-1380) was afraid that a Spiritual Communion was
nothing compared to a Sacramental Communion. In a vision of Our
Lord she saw Him hold up two ciboria (the vessel which contains
the Sacred Hosts) and say, "In this golden ciborium I put
your Sacramental Communions. In this silver ciborium I put your
Spiritual Communions. Both ciboria are quite pleasing to Me."
I would like to recommend a beautiful prayer written by St.
Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787) for making your Spiritual Communion.
St. Alphonsus taught that a Spiritual Communion produces effects
in our souls similar to a Sacramental Communion according to
the dispositions with which it is made. The greater the desire
for Jesus and the greater love with which Jesus is welcomed the
greater the graces received.
How appropriate to begin this practice as we start the Advent
Season. The Jewish people yearned for the coming of the Messiah.
We yearn for people we love when they are absent. Let us spend
this season yearning for Jesus so that on Christmas Day He may
not only
be born in a stable but also into our hearts. We can express
this yearning by making many Spiritual Communions.
Spiritual Communion Prayer
My Jesus, I believe that Thou are truly present
in the Blessed
Sacrament. I love Thee above all things and I desire Thee in
my
soul. Since I cannot now receive Thee sacramentally, come at
least
spiritually into my heart. (Pause) I embrace Thee as being
already
there and unite myself wholly to Thee. Never permit me to be
separated from Thee. Amen.
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