Two Things That Surprised Me the First Time I Attended Mass

The Catholic Church is seeing a bit of a revival, and that is because a lot of people who left the Church are finding their way back to it. However, the Church has also seen a lot of new faces join over the last few years, and I am one of them. 

Joining the Church was one of the best things that I ever did, and I often look back on that period of my life, as well as the years right before that. It is kind of fun to do that, and to see the moments during which God was planting seeds in my mind and guiding me home. Furthermore, there are many parts of that amazing journey that I will never forget, one of which was attending Mass for the first time. 

Several things I witnessed that day told me that the Catholic Church is the Church I want to be a part of for the rest of my life. Once you realize that it really was created by Jesus, and that He is truly present in the Eucharist, there is no other option that feels right. In addition to that, a couple of things that I saw that day were very surprising, and they left me with a lot of reflecting to do once we left 

Seeing People Pray Before It Started 

Before attending my first Mass, I was already aware that there are kneelers in Catholic churches. In fact, one of the first things I ever heard non-Catholics mention while talking about Catholics is the fact that there is kneeling during Mass, so this was no surprise. In fact, I was looking forward to it. I felt that it was a great and easy way to honor the Lord. 

However, something that took me by complete surprise when I walked into a Catholic church for the first time was seeing people kneeling before Mass had even started. They were praying, and sadly, this surprised me because I had never seen anyone pray before church began. In the churches I had attended before that, the way people spent the time before the service started was by socializing, listening to the band perform, and going to the lobby to get their coffee, orange juice, and donut holes. 

To be honest, that shocked me so much that I nearly cried. It wasn’t the feeling of shock itself that made me want to cry, but the fact that those parishioners really seemed to take worship seriously. This level of love and reverence for our Lord was something I had never witnessed before, and I immediately knew I wanted to experience more of that. 

Also, for anyone who does not know, you do not have to use the kneeler to pray during that time. You can just sit down and pray if that is what you prefer. In addition to that, some people pray the rosary before Mass, and others just enjoy a few moments of silence. 

I Heard A Lot Of Scripture 

There are some truly wonderful Protestants out there, and I hope that if any of them read this, they will not take offense. But one of the things I found a bit surprising when I attended my first Mass was that I heard a lot more scripture that day than I ever had when I attended Protestant church services. The pastors at the churches I used to go to often picked a couple of verses out of the Bible while they preached, but they did not read large portions of scripture, which is yet another thing that sets the Catholic Church apart from others. 

Also, around that time, I discovered that you can find the daily readings online. This is great for those who can’t make it to Mass, and those who simply like to read what will be discussed in Mass before they go. Some might even read them afterwards. 

To be honest, that entire experience was wonderful, and by the time it ended, I already wanted to go back. I started missing everything I had just witnessed as soon as we walked out of the church that day, and I knew the Lord was guiding my husband and I to Catholicism. And even now, when I walk into church and see others praying, and I hear lots of scripture being read once Mass has started, I get chills. That always reminds me of the moment I knew I wanted to become Catholic.