As someone looking to become Catholic, I wondered very early on in my journey about what I could and could not do. I wanted to participate as much as possible but, of course, follow the rules of the church. I thought I might not be the only one confused about what you can participate in as a non-Catholic going to Catholic Mass, so here’s what I’ve learned:

What You CAN Do:

• Make the sign of the cross with holy water when you enter the chapel IF you have been baptized. Making the sign of the cross with the holy water is a remembrance of your baptism.
• Genuflect or bow toward the altar as you enter the pew.
• Do everything at Mass, including kneeling, responding and singing EXCEPT take communion/accept the Eucharist.
• Instead, you CAN go up in line for communion, but simply cross your arms over your chest and the priest will give you a blessing instead of bread and wine (many people do this, including children too young to receive communion so you will be among many). I almost always go up for a blessing; I figure the more blessings the better! 🙂
• Attend daily Mass.
• Receive any form of blessing (including those for the sick).
• Attend Holy Adoration
• Visit the Blessed Sacrament
• I believe you can go to confession/reconciliation, but you might want to wait on that until you become Catholic so you’ll have a better idea of what to do. Someone correct me if I’m wrong!
• Pray, including the Rosary and the Liturgy of the Hours.

What You CAN’T Do (a short list!):

• Take the Eucharist
• Receive an anointing
• Help with various aspects of Mass, such as serving as an Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion.

This is certainly not an official list, but only an observation of what I’ve learned and asked thus far.

It’s amazing how short the CAN’T list is. I always wrongly assumed that I’d be excluded from most things as a non-Catholic, but once I bothered to look into it, I found I was completely wrong. Catholicism can seem closed to outsiders because there is so much ritual involved that newcomers may not know, but the truth is it’s incredibly open and inviting to anyone who truly wants to participate. You just have to make the effort to learn the ritual so you can join along.

What did I miss on the list those of you much more knowledgeable than me?!

As a Catholic Newbie, I thought I’d share with you some of my most favorite Catholic prayers I have come across since embarking on this journey toward becoming Catholic.

I started with my husband’s Missal book from when he was a child to learn the basics. I already knew the Lord’s prayer from attending a Disciples of Christ church some when growing up, but was most excited at first to learn the “Hail Mary.” The Hail Mary is wonderful to pray during times of need, fear or just anytime you need comfort. Mary is a comforting presence.

I followed that with the “Glory Be” and then the prayers of the Rosary, including the Apostle’s Creed; Hail, Holy Queen; and Fatima Prayer.

After I got the basics down, Matthew Kelly’s “Rediscovering Catholicism” book (head over to my Catholic Resources page for more books) inspired me with some additional daily prayers:

• I love this one in the face of temptation: “God, I know what is good and true, but I am still attracted to what is self-destructive. Give me strength, be my strength.” I repeat that last sentence a lot when tempted to sin or other non-productive behaviors.
• To see what God wants from you today: “Lord open my eyes so that I may see.” And “What are you calling me to do and calling me to be?” Great prayers upon waking or before work.
• When you sin: “Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean.”
• When in doubt: “Lord I believe, help my unbelief.”
• When you’re not sure what to pray: “Lord, teach us to pray.”
• In fear: “Be not afraid.” (This is repeated MANY times in the Bible; we need not fear if we are following “the way”)
• During fasting: “One does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.”

Some others I’ve come upon through reading, Mass and more:

• In service to others: “Lord, send someone today whom I can serve.”
• To your Guardian Angel: “Angel of God, my Guardian dear, to whom God’s love commits me here, ever this day (or night) be at my side, to light and guard, to rule and guide.” A nice prayer for children.
• One from the Benedictine tradition upon waking: “Lord open my lips, and my mouth shall proclaim your praise.”

To keep myself focused on what is most important (ie NOT work), I pray the Liturgy of the Hours, a set of prayers said at specific times throughout the day, as much as I can daily. Almost always upon waking and upon going to bed, as well as 9 a.m. and noon and rarely 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. vespers (the witching hours of motherhood J). I LOVE the Liturgy of the Hours and am so glad I found my way to them. They are full of the Psalms, which are incredibly poetic, beautiful and comforting and they remind you of our greater purpose continually throughout the day.

Do you have favorite prayers that you’ve found along your journey? Please share!

For today’s post, I thought I’d lighten things up a bit! One of the real challenges of becoming Catholic is kneeling so much!

At no other church denomination I’ve ever attended can I recall kneeling, but it’s one of my favorite parts of Catholicism. It shows so much respect, reverence, humility and piety to be willing to kneel down before your God. But boy does it hurt after a while :)…

The hardest for me has been kneeling while saying the rosary. Thank goodness for padded kneelers, but even with those, after 20 minutes on my knees, these nearly 40-year-old knees ache pretty good.

Can I say I’ve found a solution for you? Not so much… At a retreat I attended, the church there did have some sort of special stool to help, but it probably would be more appropriate for the elderly rather than a healthy individual hogging one. I also try moving my knees slightly between decades of the rosary to get the blood moving again I suppose, but not sure how much that helps.

I suppose part of what we experience as children of God is suffering. Not that kneeling is any great suffering, but it’s a reminder of suffering and the pain of Christ on the cross. A little discomfort could do us all good. It keeps us humble and reminds us God is worth the sacrifice. I suppose kneeling also helps keep us in the present moment, keeps our thoughts from floating to the worries of the day and instead focused on our knees and what it is we are doing here on our knees.

I’m thinking that after a while of praying the Liturgy of the Hours (prayers that occur at regular hours during the day) and attending Daily Mass, the old knees ought to develop some stamina. Can anyone out there confirm? Any tips on developing kneeling stamina?