Any Catholics here?

Go to mass. It’ll be like muscle memory!

As an observant Catholic, I am dismayed by this post.

The OP is humbly asking if it would be OK for her to attend Mass.

She is unsure of her welcome, and whether it would be OK for her to sit instead of kneeling as God has seen fit to visit an infirmity on her.

The answer to both questions is simply YES.

And she would be more than welcome.

My experience of it is that it's not formulaic at all. More of a chat with prayers at the outset and the end, really.

The ideal doesn't always match reality when it comes to confession/ reconciliation.

Speaking as someone who was lapsed and returned after about 20 years, I would just go and as others have suggested, the priest will probably be at the door before or after so you could introduce yourself.

If it’s been a very long time since you last went, the responses, creed etc have changed. I got an order of mass book as in the link below. Don’t worry at all about not kneeling.

https://www.worldofbooks.com/en-gb/products/order-of-mass-in-latin-and-english-book-catholic-truth-society-9781860820359?sku=GOR002379522&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=19545755187&gbraid=0AAAAADZzAICzLTBZmnmwvcUQSy9JrrjOt&gclid=Cj0KCQiA5I_NBhDVARIsAOrqIsZR1VtiEoWrxmE3CK9FaBvmQYaiFJ8n4JDVqFQ4FXQXx80sci_W4hsaAstrEALw_wcB

I went to confession today ( or reconciliation I think it's now called!) luckily there was a little instruction sheet on the wall. I was a bit embarrassed to say ' It's been 20 years since my last confession' it might have actually been 40 years but I think I must have gone to confession before I got married. I did feel like I had got stuff off my chest. I forgot what my penance was immediately but I asked how often I should go. He said he goes every month but every season should be enough!

Just go. You can sit rather than kneel, though you may have to scooch forward if the person behind you is kneeling. And yes you should go to confession before receiving holy communion.

Hi op. Just do what us other lapsed Catholics in Ireland do when we turn up for first holy communions, weddings and funerals etc. Follow everyone else’s lead! Don’t worry about kneeling just stay sitting down. No need to make an appointment with the priest at all! They’d be only delighted to see people coming back to the church!

I would just go along to mass if you want and then when you feel ready you can think about going to confession or taking communion. For what its worth a friends mum of mine when I was a kid would go to mass with her family every Sunday and I see her get up and take communion. Years later I found out she wasn't even a Catholic! Apparently the Priest knew but felt she was doing it in the right spirit so it was ok. Not quite sure how I feel about that but I doubt the Church will condemn you for not attending mass for a period of time, they'll just be happy to see you back!

Just go. If the people in your chosen church are living their faith they will welcome you, from the heart, exactly as you are.

I'm not a Catholic but I am a Christian and I go to church every week. We don't kneel, however I can't stand as I'm disabled and I can't sing aloud either as it makes me feel really faint due to my brain injury.

God knows, and I sit there and mouth the words, singing with my heart if not my voice.

There are other people who can't stand either, the ministers always say "if you're able" when they ask us to stand for the hymns. There are probably others in your church who can't kneel.

Everyone is really kind and inclusive, and if you find that one church isn't for you, then try another rather than letting it stop you practising your faith.

I think confession feels very different from just saying the “I confess” in Mass and I think it focuses the mind more.
The problem is it is mostly treated in a formulaic way by both priest and confessor.
I believe it can be powerful if it encourages genuine reflection on patterns of behaviour that are harmful. I’m not sure I’ve ever given it the time and seriousness it merits in order to receive the full benefits…

God might understand, but you’ve still got to confess it!

Not sure skipping mass was considered a mortal sin, at lest not since Vatican II!

I mean, eating meat on a Friday used to be a mortal sin which was clearly ridiculous. It simply cannot be in the same category as murder.

Most people skip mass because "Life" gets in the way...demands of parenting and being busy at work and just being tired.

I think God understands....

The penitential rite ("I confess...") isn't a sacrament like confession. It's there to help you to prepare yourself for mass, but it doesn't absolve you of a mortal sin that you know you have committed. Deliberately skipping Sunday mass is a mortal sin so you should confess it to a priest and receive absolution before you take communion. You shouldn't take communion knowing that you have committed a mortal sin and not confessed it.
As I said above, I'm sure lots of people do take communion having knowingly skipped mass though!

@Bromeliads But what is the point of the "I confess" during mass then?

I'm afraid I always saw Confession as a bit outdated, even in the 1970s!

The point is that not going to mass for years is a sin which you need to confess. It won't be a huge deal (or unusual!), but you really should confess it before you take communion. I'm sure lots of people don't, but they should!

I actually don’t think most working mums do have much to confess…. Unless they’re having an affair or something. They tend to be completely selfless, often working in a job and then putting children/household/ageing parents before their own needs, shopping, cooking and doing the life admin. Even if their husband is supportive, they’re often run ragged. They might snap and get impatient, but in the circumstances, who wouldn’t.
Not sure a priest needs to forgive anything!

Just go to Mass. No one will bat an eyelid.

I loathe the new wording… I think it’s clunky and to be honest, it has put me off going to mass unless it’s the sung mass where they do the I confess, creed and Gloria in Latin . There was something very comforting in saying words one has uttered weekly for decades.
Possibly the new translation works better in other languages, but in English it’s awful !
On confession, I’m like a PP… I haven’t been for nearly 40 years, but still take communion. I think reconciliation can be between oneself and God; I’m not sure it needs a priest to intercede and even as a child, I was never sure the priest took me seriously ( ie they were smirking at childhood faults)
Am I in the minority???!!
Re kneeling… the priest always says “if you are able”.

I'm a Catholic and go to Mass most weeks. Lots of people don't/can't kneel so just sit during those parts of the service.

I haven't been to confession for years but still receive communion. I'm also a 'special minister' so regularly assist the priest in serving communion. There is the general confession at the start of each mass and for me that feels like enough.

There's absolutely no need to approach the priest before attending mass. Services are public events and open to everybody regardless of their religious background.

IME priests and regular worshippers are delighted to see new faces in church and are generally very welcoming.

I did know this in theory, but DM is a cradle irish Catholic 50s convent school goer, and I haven’t heard her even mention confession since I was about seven and took my first communion. The sort of provisos and advice given on here is exactly what makes people lapse, in my personal opinion. Probably why a previous poster’s priest was more relaxed at actual confession. As for home-schooling for Catholics - hmm.

Hi, yes we need to be in a state of Grace i.e. no unrepented, unabsolved mortal sin, to receive the Eucharist because it is the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Christ. I know you're far from the only person who didn't know this and the Church needs to work to make it clear, as it's due to a lack of adequate Catechesis, which is our clergy's responsibility really.
Not being funny with you at all, but please go to Confession asap. It's not the ordeal many people fear it is , far from it, you'll feel so much better and the spiritual effects of it , plus receiving Our Lord in a state of Grace, will be really beneficial for you.
I'd also advise anyone to get a copy of the Catechism. We can even look individual issues up online now if we aren't sure or want to know more.
OP just go to Mass, go to Confession before you take Communion and maybe start watching vids by Catholic content creators as well. As a former lapsed and now returned Catholic, I find them really helpful. Welcome back, God bless you and all here!

The teaching of our catechism is really lacking. It’s sad that people don’t even know we’re supposed to go to confession regularly. It’s offensive to Jesus if we receive the Eucharist with unconfessed sins on our souls. Sorry I don’t want to make anyone feel bad, just sharing what I’ve learned. It was the lukewarm believers Jesus saw in the future when he was in the garden of Gethsemane that caused him to sweat blood

In the US children are educated fully about the faith and those catholics who attend public school go for special classes outside school time, although I think a lot of American catholics have started homeschooling rather than send kids to public school. This sort of education would be great.

Just go along. If it is as big church with a lot of masses maybe have a look at the website to see the types of mass - my nearest has early mass with minimal music, a mass with a choir and a lot of latin, one with main hymns and just a piano or organ.

No need to kneel. At the back of the church there may be a sheet or newsletter or a card that has the readings and the prayers. Even if you don’t join in you can then follow as it will have changed. (I attend regularly and they did a new translation of the language in the readings and some years ago the words for prayers changed)
Take a hymn book if offered, but don’t worry about singing.

From my personal view please don’t take communion, but if you don’t you could go up arms across your chest for a blessing, or neither is fine as well.

There will probably be a collection but you can just pass the plate or bag to the next person without putting anything in.

I love the woman at the well. She is almost teasing Jesus.

I haven't knelt at Mass for a decade due to poor knees. I sit upright, not bending my head down in that weird way, known as the 'shampoo position '.

And yes, I would go and see the priest first. Ours have all been wonderfully approachable, to the extent it made me cry when I decided to swap to Catholicism after a lifetime as an Anglican.