10 Ways to Avoid Being a Dud At Church
Okay, so we’ve all heard people say things like, “I just wasn’t being fed at this church or that church.”…”Mass is so boring.” Perhaps you’ve said something like this yourself. I’ve heard it said that we get out of church what we put into it. Although this statement may not be entirely accurate, I think it does make the point that if we come to church with a negative disposition then chances are that we will not get much out of church.
Why go to church? This is an honest question that many people ask. And you will get different answers from different people when asked this question. I could probably write a twelve page essay of reasons for going to church. However, just going to church is not enough. Our active participation is very much important.
Here are my top 10 Ways to Avoid Being a Dud At Church.
- Arrive early.
- Pray before Mass that the Holy Spirit will open our hearts, minds, and souls to the Word of God, to the many prayers, to song, to Christ’s humble gift in the Eucharist, and to all that He has to offer us in the divine Liturgy.
- Be reverent.
- Be attentive to the Word of God during the Liturgy of His Word. God can speak to our hearts through His sacred Word.
- Pray from the heart. I find that it helps when I close my eyes. It keeps me from becoming distracted. Sitting up towards the front also helps cut back on distractions.
- Sing!
- Dress appropriately (out of respect for God and for all who are gathered to worship Him).
- Don’t judge those who are not going up to receive Holy Communion. I would encourage all to read CCC 1385-1388.
- Make eye contact with your parish priest as he is giving his Homily. :)
- Remember that we are called to be church, not just go to church. “The Mass never ends, it must be lived!”…”Go in peace to love and serve our [amazing] Lord!” Amen!
I got this idea from Lisa at the Productivity @ Home blog with her post 10 Ways to Avoid Being a Dud At Home. She got the idea from Mike St. Pierre at The Daily Saint blog with his post 10 Ways to Avoid Being a Dud At Work. So check out each of their posts as well. Perhaps you have a top 10 list of your own that you’d like to share in the comments section. God Bless.
12 Jun 2008 Catholic Tech Tips
Love it!! I’m going to email the link to Mike so he can see what he started and link to this from my CatholicMom.com blog. Great tips!
Thanks Lisa : )
Very good blog. Arrive early. Pray from the heart. Sing (badly if you have to)! I love it. I am not a teenager physically, but I am a teenager as a Catholic (Initiated into the Church April 2007). I would also add:
1. Read the readings a day or two prior to Sunday Mass. One of the great advantages of being Catholic is the Lectionary. We know exactly which scripture will be read at any particular mass ahead of time; going to a school lecture “cold” without at least skimming the reading you “get less” out of what the professor is teaching. As we sit in the pews for the first half of mass, we are assuming the ancient Jewish posture of students, so the analogy is direct. Online resources (The US Coucil of Bishops) and hardcopy missals are easy to access for this preparation.
2. Admire the people who are not going up for communion. Sticking to the discipline of not unworthily receiving communion is something to be encouraged and viewed with awe. Respect yourself and respect Jesus in the Eucharist. Which leads to…
3. Go to Confession regularly! Confession/Penance and Mass/Eucharist are not only theologically linked sacraments, but practically speaking going to a session of “2 minutes in the box” on Saturday followed by Mass on Sunday makes your faith more of a joyful comprehensive lifestyle, and not burdensome cloak you briefly put on occasionally. If you are lucky, your confessor might make your penance a requirement to seriously meditate on one or more of the readings for the weekend liturgy, giving a boost to your brain as you head into mass. Remember: Partaking the Sacrament of Reconciliation is like baseball, you only get better and more comfortable with hitting a 80-90 MPH fastball coming at your head with repetition; and everyone occasionally needs help hitting a curveball; life/baseball is a game of failure…there is not shame is striking out… safely getting a “basehit” a bit more than 1 out of 3 times qualifies you for the Hall of Fame/sainthood… so have mercy on yourself and avail yourself of reconciliation and mercy before a small slump becomes a career ending malaise… and try to learn from that at-bat, doing better in the next one or the next game.
4. Don’t forget to make a deep show of reverent respect for the Eucharist directly before receiving (deeply bow from the waist or reverently quick kneel) communion. It reminds you of the Catholic truth that Christ IS substantially present in the Eucharist, and that being in his presence is a special moment, and that in receiving him into your body and going out into the world you are sharing in his royal mission/responsibility.
5. Also, at the moment of “Body of Christ” or “Blood of Christ” make eye contact with your priest/eucharistic minister when you are presented his body and blood. Loudly affirm your faith and intention to love and serve the Lord when you say “Amen”
6. Take time to really contemplate the words of the Kyrie, Gloria, Eucharistic Acclimation, and all the prayers as you and the congregation speak them or sing them.
7. Take time to revel/wonder at the notion that people have continued, after 2000 years and the distractions of NFL/MTV/uncertainty, that people continue to meet and worship the faith of our fathers. It is not easy being Catholic, but people continue to voluntarily join the Church and its requirements everyday. So many people, over so many years, can not be living this life just to make Mom and Dad happily continue to pay your tuition and phone bills or out of “fear of the pains of Hell.” There must be something joyous to be received at mass that we so steadfastly continue to pray and live as a connected Body of Christ. Actually it is not something we look to get out of mass; it is Some One. Jesus, “The Word of God… made flesh… walks among us” once when we hear his wise and calming words in Scripture and eat his spiritually nourishing flesh.
Awesome reply Jay! Great advice about reading the Scripture readings prior to going to Mass. We did this when my wife, Shanon, was in RCIA and it really helped me get more out of the Sunday readings. “Admire the people who are not going up for communion” is a much better way of putting it (in the context of receiving worthily). And going to the Sacrament of Reconciliation is so important when it comes to our receiving Christ in the blessed Sacrament. I have heard that our Eastern Orthodox brothers and sisters are encouraged, in their tradition, to go to confession before receiving Eucharist each and every time. I think that as Christians, if we truly reflect upon that which we are receiving, we can’t help but take it more seriously. I highly recommend the fourth book, in particular, of The Imitation of Christ by Thomas à Kempis. It is a great reflection on the reception of the Eucharist.
“Recognize in this bread what hung on the cross, and in this chalice what flowed from His side…whatever was in many and varied ways anounced beforehand in the sacrifices of the Old Testament pertains to this one sacrifice which is revealed in the New Testament.” - St. Augustine, Sermon 3,2; 410 A.D.
Thanks for linking to my site, The Daily Saint. Peace and best wishes on the new blog.
Mike
Thanks Mike : )