What Nobody Ever Told Us: A Guide to Getting More Out of the Catholic Mass

by Philip A. Smith

How can I get more out of the Catholic Mass?For anyone who has asked this question, What Nobody Ever Told A Guide to Getting More Out of the Catholic Mass provides the answer. This book is an accessible, but theologically and biblically rich, guide to active participation in the Mass. Father Philip A. Smith takes a play-by-play approach to unpacking the Mass, making the ancient liturgical rituals come alive for the contemporary reader. Regular Mass goers will appreciate this book, as it explains many details of the Mass that average Catholics have never learned. This book will also be a huge help to those who attend Mass infrequently, struggle to stay engaged during the Mass, or are new to the Mass and Catholicism.

209 pages, Paperback

Published December 28, 2021

Reviews

[Carole Schroeder · Rating 5 out of 5]

I finally finished this book!!!! I started it in January, let someone borrow it, and started reading it again a few weeks ago.
I learned so much about the beauty that is interwoven into the parts of the Catholic liturgy of the Mass. I underlined so many phrases, and I wrote so many notes in the margins. The last chapter has beautiful phrases that some up the whole of this book. For instance, “The Mass takes us beyond ourselves. It teaches us that our existence is not just about us. The Mass challenges us to move beyond our desires to be entertained.” And “what we receive at Mass is ultimately an undeserved gift. What we get out of Mass is a relationship involving a love so deep, so beautiful, and so far beyond our comprehension that it moves us to kneel down in reference and adoration, direct our minds to reflection and contemplation, and lift up our hearts in gratitude to the God, who knows us and loves us better than we do ourselves.” (Smith, 2021.)
This book is a great piece of writing for people who fall into the various boxes that we try to put our faith into- devout Catholic, lukewarm Catholic, fallen away Catholic, someone who is curious and wants to understand the Catholic Mass (but is not Catholic or even Christian). It’s perfect for a teenager who desires to learn more about why we believe what we believe. It’s perfect for the children of the Vatican II generation who, as adults, question all sorts of things about the Catholic faith (due in part to a lack of solid catechesis from the 1960s and subsequent decades).
For those who think faith is about a personal relationship with Jesus- and especially those who are still searching for how to find their personal relationship with Jesus – this book beautifully explains how we can be in such a personal relationship by getting more out of and appreciating the Catholic Mass.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was given to me by a family member who attended a presentation by the author. I am so grateful for this gift!

As I understand it, Father Smith wrote this book because he had been doing presentations about the Mass and attendees would ask him for a resource to keep those ideas fresh and share them with others. He couldn't find an existing book to offer, so he wrote one.

This book breaks the Mass down into small components and makes it easy to understand what each part means and what kinds of things one might want to think or pray about at each point. It is well grounded in good theology, but it isn't an academic book. It is written with the average midwestern parishioner in mind. It gives the theological meaning of things at a high level, easy enough for someone with no theological training to understand, and often gives small personal anecdotes or snippets from the life of a saint or other stories to make it easy to grasp and retain.

I think this book would make a great resource for any Catholic wanting to get more out of the Mass. It would also be a great book for a group study with that same purpose.

[Amanda OConnor · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am new to the Catholic Faith. I went through the RCIA process 2 years ago . We started this book in my women’s group and I had a lot of aha moments . Tells you all about why and the origination of where parts of the mass came from . Very eye opening and I now go to mass with this information and I get so much more out of mass . I would recommend this book to any and all Catholics if you go to mass .