It’s important to show proper reverence for Mass!
Besides fasting, how are you preparing to best receive the Eucharist?
Saint John Bosco, the “Father and Teacher of Youth,” suggested six resolutions for Mass-goers:
1. Try to be early for Mass always. A few minutes spent in
before Mass can open your soul to wonderful Graces.
2. When you enter or leave the church take Holy Water
and sign yourself with the Sign of the Cross.
3. Always genuflect when you enter or leave your seat.
This is an Act of Adoration to Almighty God, present in
the tabernacle. So take time to genuflect reverently,
facing the altar and saying “My Lord and My God” as
your right knee touches the floor.
4. Don’t talk in church unless absolutely necessary. Talk
only to Jesus – it is Him you have come to visit. Don’t
talk as you leave either. Some people may still be
praying.
5. Listen to the sermon. It is a message from God which
could bear much fruit for you.
6. Don’t start to leave church until the priest has returned to
the Sacristy. Stay to thank God for the Graces you
received from Him in the Mass.
With his suggestions, Bosco added a reminder that “every day we take a step closer to Heaven, that every act should be for the greater glory of God and that every morning we should renew our resolve to work for the Salvation of souls.”
🙏 Saint John Bosco, pray for us!
God Bless you ✝️
Thank You and God Bless you ✝️
These are excellent! Thank you. Holy Water is so important that’s why it was horrible during Covid not to have it. (and worse to have hand sanitizer in it’s place!) But I would say that you should try to stay for 15 minutes after you have received the Holy Eucharist. I admit that I’m guilty of sometimes leaving early as well as we live out of town so we pray in the car but sometimes I forget and I talk loudly to friends outside of church. I know it’s best to pray in the church for the full 15 minutes. Here is a beautiful story of St. Philip Neri. I wonder what he would think of us. One day five minutes after having received our Lord I looked up and then entire Church was cleared out. We are not well catechized on this.
“There is a famous story from the life of Saint Philip Neri that helps answer that question. One day while he was celebrating Mass, a man received Holy Communion and left the church early. The man appeared to have no regard for the Presence within him and so Philip Neri decided to use this opportunity as a teaching moment. He sent two altar boys with lighted candles to follow the man outside of the church. After a while walking through the streets of Rome, the man turned around to see the altar boys still following him. Confused, the man returned to the church and asked Philip Neri why he sent the altar boys. Saint Philip Neri responded by saying, “We have to pay proper respect to Our Lord, Whom you are carrying away with you. Since you neglect to adore Him, I sent two acolytes to take your place.” The man was stunned by the response and resolved to be more aware of God’s presence in the future.
It is generally assumed that the Eucharistic species of bread remains for about 15 minutes after reception. This is based on simple biology and reflects the Catechism’s statement that the presence of Christ “endures as long as the Eucharistic species subsist.”
I wish priests would put more effort into delivering homilies that explain the readings and also do not go on and on. A short homily is often the most memorable one for me.
Thank you – I will be mentioning these to dos to my confirmation prep class students. Majority, unfortunately, lacked reverence at the mass we attended last time …
Thanks, These are 6 great things that I was taught at Catholic school a long time ago. It would be nice if our kids today had the same opportunity that I had as a kid.