Catholic's worship in the same way as the early Church and the apostles who founded the Christian faith. We gather to worship God, listen to His word, pray for one another, and most importantly celebrate the Eucharist (up until 500 years ago, all Christians celebrated this way). The Eucharist is our personal participation in the saving sacrifice of Christ, and we believe that Christ is truly present with us in His Body and Blood, soul and divinity. Jesus established the Eucharist at the Last Supper (Matthew 26), and this became the central way that the Church celebrated together. We read in Acts 2:42 that the early church "devoted themselves to the teaching of the apostles and to the communal life, to the breaking of the bread and to the prayers." Catholics have done just that for over 2000 years!

In short, we believe that Christ is truly present, because He told us so. In John 6:49-58, Jesus explains "my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink." When people protested He did not correct them but explained further, "Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day." This proclamation in John 6 came to fruition when at the Last Supper Jesus established the "new and eternal covenant" for the forgiveness of sins. "While they were eating, Jesus took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and giving it to his disciples said, “Take and eat; this is my body.” Then he took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which will be shed on behalf of many for the forgiveness of sins. (Matt 26:26-28) The early apostles and disciples clearly understood this. In fact St. Paul tells the Corinthians. "For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus, on the night he was handed over, took bread,  and, after he had given thanks, broke it and said, “This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”  In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”  For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes. Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord unworthily will have to answer for the body and blood of the Lord. (1 Cor 11:23-27)

Yes! No matter where or when you go to Mass, you will always know what you’re going to get! Jesus Christ celebrated the first Mass with His disciples at the Last Supper, the night before He died. He commanded His disciples, “Do this in remembrance of me” (Luke 22:19). The celebration of the Mass then became the main form of worship in the early Church, as a reenactment of the Last Supper, as Christ had commanded. Each and every Mass since commemorates Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross through the Holy Eucharist. Because the Mass “re-presents” (makes present) the sacrifice on Calvary, Catholics all around the world join together to be made present in Christ’s timeless sacrifice for our sins. There is something fascinating about continuing to celebrate the same Mass—instituted by Christ and practiced by the early Church—with the whole community of Catholics around the world…and in heaven.

The Church starting celebrating the Mass in it's earliest days. We find it included in the New Testament, as well as the early writings of the Apostles. We also find it in every Church father, and have records of Christian worship by non-Christian ancient authors like Pliny and Celsus, who recorded the very Christian practices, that Catholics continue to celebrate today. Below is a list of just some of the many references to the Eucharist in the Early Church.

Catholics believe that the same Jesus who healed the sick and restored sight to the blind is still present to us. In a very special and personal way Christ is present to us in the consecrated bread and wine that becomes His body and blood during the Mass. The early Church would reserve some of the Eucharist (also called the "Blessed Sacrament") in a "tabernacle" in case the sick needed to receive Jesus in the eucharist. This is still practiced in every Catholic Church throughout the entire world, over 225,000 parishes today! During the middle ages it was a popular devotion to place the blessed sacrament in a monstrance (Latin word for "to show") and process it around villages and towns as a way of making Jesus physically present to those in need. This is still practiced today, and many parishes have time set aside for prayer and adoration of the "blessed sacrament."

A lot of things seem boring to us if we haven’t taken the time to really learn about them. Perhaps you can think of a sport that seemed really dull and confusing to you until you learned the rules of the game. Then, everything became much more exciting. Why? Because you were “in the know,” and that made participating so much better. The more we learn about the Mass, the more we fall in love with it and can get more out of our experience at Mass. If you learn about the biblical roots of the Mass parts, why we do what we do (sit, stand, kneel, cross ourselves, use holy water, etc.), and how important the Eucharist is in our lives, you will begin looking forward to participating in all of these things when you go to Mass because you’ll know what’s going on! Also, practicing your faith is like practicing a sport. Sometimes, practicing can be difficult, but we have to remember that practice points toward a goal—the game. At each and every Mass, we practice what it will be like to worship God in heaven, which will bring us supreme joy and no boredom. Start using Mass as an opportunity to practice prayer, practice talking to God, practice learning the story of the Bible through the readings, and so on. Use the resources we have provided below to help you learn more about the Mass so you will no longer feel bored or confused! Lastly, while the Mass is the "source and summit" of our Catholic faith, it is ultimately about giving God what He is due. It is our opportunity to worship to Him. There are 168 hours in the week, and God only asks for 1 of them to be set aside to worship Him as a community.