One thing that really helped me to settle into the Catholic faith was establishing a Mass Day routine that I put into action on the days that I am to attend church. In this post, I'll be looking at what your routine could be.
Part of my routine before Mass is fasting. I know that the official word says that you only need to fast for an hour to be able to go and receive... but an hour doesn't seem long enough for me - so I usually try to fast for the entire day prior to receiving the Eucharist. With that said, I have fasted for shorter periods when it hasn't been healthy for me to hold to that routine because I need to eat with medication or I've felt faint for example. The point isn't in seeing how long I can fast for, in my eyes, it's more about sharing in Jesus' suffering for me.
Bathing is also a part of my preparation routine because I like to be clean on the outside before I go to be cleansed on the inside. It also reduces the chances of being refused to receive in the hand if you are freshly bathed. I'll take this time to reflect on my baptism ceremony and the way that God chose me for His own.
On a side note, ladies, timing is important for this one! Don't wait until right before Mass if you want to dry and style your hair after you have bathed. I know that I've had to go to church with my hair unstraightened or a little damper than I might have liked it to be because I didn't have enough time to finish my look and there have been times when I've risked hypothermia doing just that in the winter months.
Once I had a short list of three or four of these hymns, I would listen to them on the days that I'd be attending church and I found it had the effect of calming my mind ready to focus it on the Holy Trinity when I arrived at church.
As far as my list goes, it's nothing special, just a bunch of hymns that I gathered together on YouTube. My selection process isn't that great either - I'd simply listen to various versions of the same hymn until I found the one that resonated and I would add that one to my list. As a result, I had a "random" mismatch of hymns that I happen to like listening to.
Once you have a clear mind, you can take the step of reading and reflecting on the meaning of the readings that will be read in Mass.
I've found that this could be beneficial if there is a chance that your preacher could use a shortened version of the Gospel because you have the chance to read the backstory or read on a little further in your Bible if you feel that you need a little extra context than is presented in the shortened version.
Though our pastor tends not to do that as much since my group at RCIA class bombarded him with requests for a little more context than was contained in the shortened version, it's still nice to have a little personal quiet reflection time before I go and see if the pastor has picked up on any of my thoughts in his homily.
Fasting
Part of my routine before Mass is fasting. I know that the official word says that you only need to fast for an hour to be able to go and receive... but an hour doesn't seem long enough for me - so I usually try to fast for the entire day prior to receiving the Eucharist. With that said, I have fasted for shorter periods when it hasn't been healthy for me to hold to that routine because I need to eat with medication or I've felt faint for example. The point isn't in seeing how long I can fast for, in my eyes, it's more about sharing in Jesus' suffering for me.
Bathing
Bathing is also a part of my preparation routine because I like to be clean on the outside before I go to be cleansed on the inside. It also reduces the chances of being refused to receive in the hand if you are freshly bathed. I'll take this time to reflect on my baptism ceremony and the way that God chose me for His own.
On a side note, ladies, timing is important for this one! Don't wait until right before Mass if you want to dry and style your hair after you have bathed. I know that I've had to go to church with my hair unstraightened or a little damper than I might have liked it to be because I didn't have enough time to finish my look and there have been times when I've risked hypothermia doing just that in the winter months.
Clear Your Mind
This step presented itself to me at a point when I was in a depression and I incorporated it into my routine when I saw how beneficial it was to me. The first thing I did was gather together a bunch of hymns that lingered in my mind after Mass. I would call it my "favorite hymn list" - but some of them, I'd never heard before that night and they were in my brain, so that doesn't seem accurate.Once I had a short list of three or four of these hymns, I would listen to them on the days that I'd be attending church and I found it had the effect of calming my mind ready to focus it on the Holy Trinity when I arrived at church.
As far as my list goes, it's nothing special, just a bunch of hymns that I gathered together on YouTube. My selection process isn't that great either - I'd simply listen to various versions of the same hymn until I found the one that resonated and I would add that one to my list. As a result, I had a "random" mismatch of hymns that I happen to like listening to.
Reflect On The Readings
Once you have a clear mind, you can take the step of reading and reflecting on the meaning of the readings that will be read in Mass.
I've found that this could be beneficial if there is a chance that your preacher could use a shortened version of the Gospel because you have the chance to read the backstory or read on a little further in your Bible if you feel that you need a little extra context than is presented in the shortened version.
Though our pastor tends not to do that as much since my group at RCIA class bombarded him with requests for a little more context than was contained in the shortened version, it's still nice to have a little personal quiet reflection time before I go and see if the pastor has picked up on any of my thoughts in his homily.
Give Yourself Time To Arrive
We've all had them... those Masses where we've had to dash to church like Satan himself was chasing us down the road. The thing is that those hurried arrivals certainly aren't beneficial to us and they certainly don't help you to feel calm and collected.
Once you've been to Mass a few times, you'll have a routine of the things that you like to do in your mind. Typically, I like to say my prayers, read the announcements in my bulletin and mark out the hymns that we'll be singing during this service before Mass starts - that way, I only need to knock my page marker down after each hymn that we sing. Because of that, I like to try and arrive at least half an hour before Mass begins and spend whatever extra time remaining gazing at Jesus in the tabernacle.
At Christmas and Easter, you might want to give yourself even longer to arrive to church - especially if you need a place to sit because the pews fill up fast... and if you spot a guy at the front, signaling like crazy before Mass has begun, investigate further because he could be indicating to you where there is pew space! A lesson that I learned as I attempted to free up standing room towards the middle of my church.
At Christmas and Easter, you might want to give yourself even longer to arrive to church - especially if you need a place to sit because the pews fill up fast... and if you spot a guy at the front, signaling like crazy before Mass has begun, investigate further because he could be indicating to you where there is pew space! A lesson that I learned as I attempted to free up standing room towards the middle of my church.
