The Church is the house of God where Christians come to give Him His worth, that is, what worship means. When we enter a church we dip our fingers into the baptismal font or holy stoop and make the sign of the cross to remind us that we have been made a child of God in our baptism, and then we genuflect to Jesus who is present in the tabernacle in the church. We kneel down and we invoke the Holy Spirit, In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and as we say it we make the sign of the cross. We remember God's presence within us and pray for His grace to pray the Mass devoutly and to concentrate on our dear Lord whom we shall receive under the guise of bread and wine.
When Mass begins there are 2 parts: 1. The Word of God through the readings from Scripture and the Homily. The most important reading is the Gospel. At the beginning of it we make the sign of the cross on our foreheads, lips and heart to ask that this message of Good News will be ever in our minds, lips and hearts so that we may proclaim it to others
2. The Eucharist begins with the offering of the bread and wine to God, followed by the blessing of these elements to become the Body and Blood of Christ, then the breaking of the Host, and finally the sharing of the Host by the faithful. Before receiving the Host we genuflect in respect to what It represents, Jesus our Lord, and make the sign of the cross, saying, 'I shall receive the Bread of Heaven and call upon the name of the Lord.' and again before receiving the chalice, 'I shall receive the Cup of Salvation and call upon the name of the Lord.'
When we return we kneel and pray thankfully for receiving our dear Lord. Anima Christi is an appropriate prayer to pray (see under the Blessed Sacrament).
Before leaving always kneel down and ask God to send you out to be faithful to Him.
Genuflect and again dip your fingers in the holy water and make the sign of the cross as you leave the church to remind you to be faithful to our blessed Saviour.
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