In our study of the Mass, we have come to the
Concluding Rites. The faithful have received Holy Communion, the priest or
deacon has cleaned and purified the sacred vessels, and quiet time has been
provided for silent prayer. Now the priest bestows his final blessing and says,
“Go forth, the Mass is ended.” Fr. Robert Barron tells us, “It has been said
that after the words of consecration these are the most sacred words of the
entire Mass. Now that the people have gathered as one family, heard the word of
God, professed their faith, prayed for one another, offered sacrifice to the
Father, and received the Body and Blood of Jesus, the faithful are, at least in
principle, more properly formed and hence ready to go out to effect the
transformation of the world…. The priest dismisses the people, scattering them
like seed into the fallen world.” (Catholicism, Image Books, 2011). As you
leave your church, picture these words above the doors, “You are now entering
mission territory.” Who else is there to bring the mercy, peace, forgiveness
and new life you have just received into the world, but you? Go forth, and
bring the love of God to everyone you meet, or at least to everyone waiting to
get out of the parking lot!!!!
Matthew 28:19:
Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of
the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit….
Where does the word, “Mass,” come from? The final words
of the Holy Sacrifice in Latin are, “Ite, missa est,” most literally, “Go, it is sent.”
From the middle word, “missa,” “sent,”comes the word for Mass. At first, people would speak
about staying until the ‘missa,’ and it wasn’t long before people were simply saying that they
were going to “missa.” So, in the West “Mass” became a common term for the Holy Sacrifice, the
Divine Liturgy, the Eucharist.
“Go forth, the Mass is ended,” the deacon or priest will
say. Our response will be the same: “Thanks be to God.” Why “Go forth”? Mass is not static…
it cannot be confined to a sixty minute period on Sunday. When we are at Mass,
the sacrifice of Calvary is being re-presented before our heavenly Father. If
our lives are not drawn more and more deeply into this mystery each and every time that we go, then we are missing the
point. “Go forth,” faithful, and live lives that resonate with what just happened. Conquer sin, grow
in virtue, and seek to love God above all things. In short, the life of the Catholic is the Mass. It is the
source and summit of our faith, and it is the source and summit of each of our lives. Everything we
do in the week leads up to that
moment when we can lay it all on the altar as an oblation
to our heavenly Father. By the merits of Christ, we are filled with every grace and blessing so
that we can go into the world and live
the apostolate to which we are called by our baptism. No
action ought to be done without being offered for the glory of God! The Mass reaches
everything. Go forth, and make the Mass the
summit of your life!
Prayer: St. Michael
the archangel, defend us in battle. Be our protection against the wickedness
and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him we humbly pray, and do thou, O Prince
of the Heavenly Host, by the power of God, cast into hell satan and all his
evil spirits, who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.
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