Going To My First Mass In The Extraordinary Form

[TeresaBenedicta]

Tomorrow I'm going to my first Mass in the Extraordinary Form and I'm really excited about it! Is there anything I should expect that might catch me off-guard? Any advice?

[Galloglasses]

I have no idea what you can expect, I've never been to one.

But you should expect lots of awesomeness.

[TeresaBenedicta]

[quote name='Galloglasses' post='1557891' date='Jun 4 2008, 06:42 PM']I have no idea what you can expect, I've never been to one.

But you should expect lots of awesomeness.[/quote]

Haha-- yes. That is first on my list of expectations, lol.

[curtins]

I'd suggest trying to get a hold of a missal or a booklet with translations (usually supplied in the back of the church) so you can follow along....

also, I'd encourage to attend a second and third one- it takes a little while to get used to it, but I think you'll find yourself growing in the spirituality of the liturgy each time.

[johnnydigit]

first time at low Mass - didn't follow Missal and didn't like it.
second and third time at low Mass - followed Missal, fell in love with it.
fourth time at High Mass - ecstatic.

-dress nice. sport coat/pants or long dress minimum. veil is super cute!

-show up early. be in your pew at least 10 min early. even earlier if you want to help with anything in the back.

-grab a Missal, and a kneeling pad if they don't have kneelers.

-sit at least a few pews back so you can follow the movements of the people in the first rows until you gain experience.

-sing along to the intro and closing song by looking at the page number on the board thing with the numbers, usually on the far left or right, in the front.

-follow along in the Missal. when you catch up to the place the priest is at by watching his movements, keep reading ahead at a normal pace or you'll fall behind. whenever he is not doing something, read the side notes. the whole Mass is an active prayer.

i estimate about 30 pages or so of reading during each Mass. it takes work, but it makes the Mass 10x more fulfilling. before Mass i read the "prayer before Mass" at the beginning in the "red" missal.

regular Mass = Cliff's notes. Latin Mass = entire novel!

[Maria Faustina]

What is a Mass in the Extraordinary form? I've never heard of that before.

[CatholicCid]

It's Mass with the Missal of 1962. Also known as the Tridentine Mass, Pre-Vatican II Mass, ect... I believe


I've been to a High Mass... I'd suggest having a Missal and using it. If you get lost, don't get worried, as it can be very easy to lose your place. If entirely lost, you can jump ahead and they'll eventually reach that part or just stop following along and just listen and watch and such. I know I wasn't able to keep up at all the first time haha.

[Church Punk]

I think Johnny hit on some good items to remember...

A few more that come to mind, just general things to remember that are a bit different.

*There is no introductions...the priest wont say "Hi, Good morning how is everyone today?" It begins with Asperges (sprinkling of holy water at high mass) or prayers at the foot of the alter (low mass).

*If you are confused with what to do, just look up at the alter servers. If there is servers at the side in choir pew, you can follow their movements

*You will notice that there isnt 3 readings, only 2, the Epistle and the Gospel. In the N.O the responsorial psalm follows the first reading, in Usus Antiquar there is a sung psalm this is called the Gradual.

The other thing to remember is that there are 2 materials you will be referencing the ordinaries and the propers, the ordinaries are found in you missal, the propers are usually printed on a loose paper for you to follow. The ordinaries contains the prayers that do not change mass to mass, the Kyrie, gloria, sanctus, offitory, communion and Eucharistic prayers etc. The propers contain the changing prayers the Epistles, gradual, Gospel, collects, secret etc.

*You will also notice that at the name of Jesus Christ all the servers will bow their heads, you can do the same if you want in your pew.

*Depending on your churches custom, the Pater Noster (Our Father) is spoken/ chanted by the priest until the end of the prayer where the congragation join is Sed Libera Nos a Malo (Deliver us from evil).

*When recieving Communion the proper posture is knelling at the communion rail and receiving the the Body of Christ on your tounge. Simply follow the line to communion as in the NO then find your way to the rail. Remain kneeling as the priest and alter server will approach you the priest will make the sign of the cross with the Host and say "Corpus Domini nostri Jesu Christi custodiat animam tuam in vitam aeternam." You do not say Amen like in the N.O. The server will place the paten below your chin, simply open your mouth, I like to extend my tounge slightly and the priest will place the Host in your mouth. Remain kneeling for a moment maybe say i quick prayer then proceed back to your pew and kneel.

Thats about all the things I can think of. Tell us what you think of the Mass. Like it was said before, you may need to attend several Masses before getting the hang of it.

I hope you have a very holy experience!

Edited for a major spelling error... The priest places the HOST in your mouth not a hose HAHAHAH

Edited June 5, 2008 by Church Punk

[Galloglasses]

I am so bookmarking this thread for advice when/if I ever find a TLM/Extrodinary Form/Tridentine/[insert other name for the Mass here], to attend. XD

[SaintIrene]

[quote name='CatholicCid' post='1558266' date='Jun 4 2008, 09:27 PM']If entirely lost, you can jump ahead and they'll eventually reach that part or just stop following along and just listen and watch and such. I know I wasn't able to keep up at all the first time haha.[/quote]
I still sometimes can't keep up either, and I attend a weekly TLM in my diocese. It depends on the priest and how fast he goes. Don't worry.

The [b]best thing[/b] you can do if you get lost or lose your place or think it's too fast, is just choose a part of the mass to meditate on. Don't try to rush through, as that was my first mistake that made me dislike the TLM at first.

When I first started attending the TLM, it was awkward, but now it's my favorite form of mass and I'm even seriously discerning the religious life with a TLM community! For my first TLM I went to a low mass and I thought it was just ok, but it got easier every time.

What really convinced me and made me go back was realizing how much more beautiful than the Novus Ordo the prayers of the TLM really are. If you start attending the TLM on a regular basis then the Latin isn't too hard to pick up on. Pretty soon you'll be able to read a lot of it on the Latin side, no problem, and that will make it easier to follow the priest too!

Check it out for yourself: [url="http://www.latin-mass-society.org/missals.htm"]http://www.latin-mass-society.org/missals.htm[/url]
Side-by-side comparison of the Traditional Latin Mass and the Novus Ordo Mass.

[TeresaBenedicta]

Wow, thanks for the heads up!

It sounds like a bit of the stuff will be at least somewhat familiar. My parish (the Mass is being celebrated by my parish priest at our regular church) is quite orthodox in of itself. We have a latin N.O. Mass for the third Mass on Sunday, so a least a bit of what's been sounds familiar. Then, I've also been to Maronite and Byzantine Liturgies, needing to follow along in their missals and the like.

Okay-- the receiving holy Communion part was certainly one thing I was curious about. Unfortunately my church does not have a communion rail: should I kneel to receive anyways? Or I suppose I can also just follow along as to what others are doing.

Oh, and the Mass is also a funeral, will that change things drastically? ((I feel kind of bad going to the Mass not because of knowing the person who died, but because it is in the Extraordinary Form, but our priest did ask us all to come after Sunday Mass...))

Great! Thanks so much for all of the advice! I'm really looking forward to this!

[Church Punk]

Always kneel for communion in the TLM. If there is no communion rail i have seen some churches use the first pew or the faithfull would just kneel at the steps of the sanctuary.

As for a funeral mass, it will be what is known as a requiam mass. The priest vestiments will be black. There is some liturgical changes for instance the servers will not kiss the crucibles. But you wont notice that really.

At the end of mass the priest will conclude with "Requiescant in pace" May they rest in peace. I cant remember if the last gospel is read or not (John 1)

[SaintIrene]

[quote name='TeresaBenedicta' post='1558445' date='Jun 4 2008, 10:21 PM']Oh, and the Mass is also a funeral, will that change things drastically? ((I feel kind of bad going to the Mass not because of knowing the person who died, but because it is in the Extraordinary Form, but our priest did ask us all to come after Sunday Mass...))[/quote]

I've never been to a funeral mass in the TLM but I have been to a requiem mass and it was mostly the same I think. If you have a missal they may use different readings for the funeral than the one set aside for that day. In that case I just meditated longer on the mass prayers. The TLM is well described as a mass of contemplative prayer.

And don't feel bad, you can always offer your attendance and communion for the souls in purgatory, particularly for the soul for whom the funeral is offered, and I am 100% certain that the soul will be very grateful!

I will pray for you & God bless you on this special occasion
Irene

[Maria_Faustina]

I'm so glad you get to go to a Tridentine Mass! I've been with couple times with some other people that had never been, and they didn't particularly like simply because it was so different, and so kind of confusing. The missal does help, like everyone else said. Only both the first and second times I went, I was a little too distracted reading the interesting little factual notes in the margins, and I completely missed the elevation of the Body! So use the missal, but don't forget to pay attention! And to realize how beautiful it is!!

[johnnydigit]

[quote name='SaintIrene' post='1558427' date='Jun 4 2008, 07:16 PM']Check it out for yourself: [url="http://www.latin-mass-society.org/missals.htm"]http://www.latin-mass-society.org/missals.htm[/url]
Side-by-side comparison of the Traditional Latin Mass and the Novus Ordo Mass.[/quote]

nice, but there's so much more that i wish i could convince people of - the reverence, silence, dress, manners, etc., all improved, usually. the young adults that go are usually more "hardcore" as well.

the Gregorian chant at high Mass is so beautiful, it is as if you are in heaven.

the high Mass also has the holy water blessing in the beginning, and it is so special because the words almost make me cry. i just learned they are from Psalm 51, one of the most solemn verses of repentance by King David, "cleanse me with hyssop (the sprinkler that looks like a bundle of dry hay).. make me white as snow." holy water is a sacramental and washes away your venial sin. so it's like i'm being cleansed and made as pure and white as snow before God. it makes me think of God's mercy and love. it's just usually a lot harder to get into this mode in the Novus Ordo (OF) Mass..