Attending Mass

1. Please be considerate and arrive in the church before the Mass begins. It is considered disrespectful to arrive after the Mass has begun. 
2. Chewing gum is NEVER appropriate in a church. Catholics, especially who will be receiving Communion, should never chew gum prior to Mass or even during Mass for they would violate the Eucharist fast and therefore would not be able to receive Communion.
3. Please turn off your phones prior to the Mass beginning. Emergencies are obvious exceptions.
4. While the Church never imposes a dress code, it is important to consider dress reveals our interior disposition toward the Mass. It is not appropriate  to wear shorts or t-shirts at Mass or dress immodestly. Men must never wear a hat or cap while women are allowed to wear something covering their heads. Sunglasses are also inappropriate in the church unless for health reasons. 
5. Please do not eat or drink in the church. 
6. Silence is most appreciated in the church. The church is a house of prayer, please take conversations outside the church.
7. While we always welcome and desire to have children be an active part of our parish community, we ask that parents help to keep children well behaved. Patience is always afforded to crying infants, but parents are asked to be as curteous as you can be for others trying to pray and listen. Children should never be allowed to wander around the church, it is appropriate for them to stay with their family.

Prior to Mass

1. As we enter into the church it is part of our custom to bless ourselves with Holy Water while making the Sign of the Cross. This ritual is also repeated upon leaving the church. It is a reminder of our Baptism, that we are children of God, and members of the Body of Christ, the Church. 
2. As we find our seats, it is important to genuflect as we enter the row as a sign of reverence and respect for the real presence of Jesus in the tabernacle. To make a proper geneuflection bend the right knee to touch the ground, while facing the tabernacle and make the Sign of the Cross.
3. Once seated, it is appropiate to kneel and prepare spiritually for Mass. This is great opportunity to offer to God gratitude/thanksgiving or make our petitions that we intend to pray for during Mass.  

Reception of Holy Communion

1. FOR CATHOLICS: As Catholics, we fully participate in the celebration of the Eucharist when we receive Holy Communion. We are encouraged to receive Communion devoutly and frequently. In order to be properly disposed to receive Communion, participants should not be conscious of grave sin and normally should have fasted for one hour. A person who is conscious of grave sin is not to receive the Body and Blood of the Lord without prior sacramental confession except for a grave reason where there is no opportunity for confession. In this case, the person is to be mindful of the obligation to make an act of perfect contrition, including the intention of confessing as soon as possible (canon 916). Frequent reception of the Sacrament of Penance (confession) is encouraged for all.
2. FOR NON-CATHOLIC CHRISTIANS: We welcome our fellow Christians to this celebration of the Eucharist as our brothers and sisters. We pray that our common baptism and the action of the Holy Spirit in this Eucharist will draw us closer to one another and begin to dispel the sad divisions which separate us. We pray that these will lessen and finally disappear, in keeping with Christ’s prayer for us “that they may all be one” (Jn 17:21).
   Because Catholics believe that the celebration of the Eucharist is a sign of the reality of the oneness of faith, life, and worship, members of those churches with whom we are not yet fully united are ordinarily not admitted to Holy Communion. Eucharistic sharing in exceptional circumstances by other Christians requires permission according to the directives of the diocesan bishop and the provisions of canon law (canon 844 § 4). Members of the Orthodox Churches, the Assyrian Church of the East, and the Polish National Catholic Church are urged to respect the discipline of their own Churches. According to Roman Catholic discipline, the Code of Canon Law does not object to the reception of Communion by Christians of these Churches (canon 844 § 3).
3. FOR THOSE NOT RECEIVING COMMUNION:  All who are not receiving Holy Communion are encouraged to express in their hearts a prayerful desire for unity with the Lord Jesus and with one another, such as praying a Spiritual Communion. It most appropriate for those not receiving Communion to remain in their seats.