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During the Mass, following Communion, the "Prayer After Communion" completes the Communion Rite. Following the Communion Rite is a decidedly short and simple conclusion to the Mass called the "Concluding Rite," consisting of relatively few parts.

Ite, Missa Est

The ritual of the Mass allows a time and a place for announcements that are to be given after the "Prayer After Communion." There are two specifications for these announcements: they are to be brief and necessary. Then, the already familiar dialogue is repeated one last time between the priest and the faithful: "The Lord be with you." "And with your spirit."

The celebrant then blesses the faithful with the customary sign of the cross and invocation of the Holy Trinity. He concludes the Mass in the same manner in which it was initiated; the prayer of the Mass, the highest form of prayer known to mankind, is now completed with the Trinitarian blessing. On solemn feasts and special occasions, there may be a more elaborate prayer over the people that is usually begun with the instruction by the deacon or celebrant, "Bow your heads and pray for God's blessing."

One final exchange remains between the deacon, or if there is no deacon, the celebrant, and the faithful, known as the "Dismissal." The deacon says, "Go forth, the Mass is ended," or "Go and announce the Gospel of the Lord," or "Go in peace, glorifying the Lord by your life," or "Go in peace."

Interestingly, the "Ite Misa est" pronounced in the Latin version is relatively difficult to translate. Therefore, the revised English edition supplies these several attempts to arrive at the meaning. The faithful respond one last time, "Thanks be to God."

The dismissal, although very subtle and concise, holds great theological importance. It is the dismissal that gives the Mass its name: "the Mass" comes from the Latin word "missa," meaning "sent" or "dismissed." The faithful go to Mass, not merely as an escape from the world or as a diversion from one's Christian responsibilities, but rather that they might be sent back into the world, fortified by the grace of God. Having rendered to God the worship of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and having received the fruits of redemption, the faithful can better accomplish the duties of their particular vocation in the midst of the world, to sanctify the home, the workplace, the school, the marketplace, etc.

But before the celebrant and the faithful depart, the celebrant and deacon reverence the altar once again with a kiss and either bow to the altar or, if the tabernacle is in the sanctuary, they genuflect to the reserved Sacrament in the tabernacle. There may be a recessional hymn or instrumental postlude that accompanies the movement of the ministers from the sanctuary, but this is not necessary since the Mass is already ended.

Now what?

Immediately upon the completion of Mass, it has been recommended by the Church for centuries to remain for a time of personal thanksgiving. We are encouraged to remain quiet, kneel down and thank God for the outpouring of grace and mercy received in Holy Communion. St. José Maria Escrivá advises us, "Do not leave the Church almost immediately after receiving the sacrament. Surely you have nothing so important to attend to that you cannot give Our Lord 10 minutes to say thanks.... Love is paid for with love."

Perhaps you had the experience of watching the film "The Passion of the Christ" in the theater. What was the response of the audience to the powerful events of the Lord's passion, crucifixion, death, and resurrection? Each of the four times I saw the film in the theater elicited the same response from the audience: silence, stillness, awe. The Mass is the same powerful, dramatic, bloody sacrifice re-presented in an unbloody manner. If we had the grace to better understand the mystery of the Mass, I dare suggest that we would also discover the same reaction in our souls: silence, stillness, adoration and thanksgiving.

A pledge of future glory

For the past several months we have examined and discussed the parts of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. We have focused our attention on the basic structure, historical, theological and spiritual significance of each of these parts.

However, a study such as the one we just completed that attempts to dissect its subject may leave the audience with the impression that the Mass is a loose compilation of dissimilar parts.

Therefore, it is necessary to reiterate the essential coherence of the Holy Mass as one single act of worship, a reality that we mentioned from the beginning.

From beginning to end, the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is the prayer of self-sacrifice and thanksgiving of the eternal Son offered to the eternal Father, in which we, as His Mystical Body, render to God worship, adoration, praise and thanksgiving.

In each Mass, we unite ourselves with the worship of Jesus Christ, the High Priest and Victim, unto the Father in the Holy Spirit. By recalling the events of Christ's passion, death and resurrection at every Mass, we are truly present at Calvary, when Christ presented Himself and offered the one perfect sacrifice of His Body and Blood to the Father, thereby offering the fruits of His sacrifice to His Bride, the Church.

Consequently, the Mass provides us access to the saving mysteries of our faith: the events of the past are brought into the present that the benefits of our redemption may be applied to our souls.

But what about the future?

Indeed, there is still a further explanation that is necessary, a further aspect of the Mass not yet investigated: the eschatological reality, the final end toward which the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is directed.

In his encyclical on the Holy Eucharist, entitled "Ecclesia de Eucharistia," Blessed John Paul II discusses the eschatological reality of the Mass: "The Eucharist is a straining toward the goal, a foretaste of the fullness of joy promised by Christ (Cf. John 15:11); it is in some way the anticipation of heaven, the 'pledge of future glory.' In the Eucharist, everything speaks of confident waiting 'in joyful hope for the coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ.'"

Not only does the Holy Eucharist anticipate future glory, but the Holy Father explains that in the Mass, our bond of communion with the Church already in heaven is strengthened, that we actually participate in the heavenly liturgy: "The eschatological tension kindled by the Eucharist expresses and reinforces our communion with the Church in heaven.... This is an aspect of the Eucharist which merits greater attention: in celebrating the sacrifice of the Lamb, we are united to the heavenly 'liturgy' and become part of that great multitude which cries out: 'Salvation belongs to our God who sits upon the throne, and to the Lamb!' (Rev. 7:10). The Eucharist is truly a glimpse of heaven appearing on earth. It is a glorious ray of the heavenly Jerusalem which pierces the clouds of our history and lights up our journey."

Our participation in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass anticipates and prepares us for our eternal occupation in heaven, of offering praise, glory, adoration and worship to the Father with the Son in the Holy Spirit. And "as we await the blessed hope and the coming of Our Savior," the advent of His promised return in glory, the Church orients herself to the east, the land of the rising sun, and faithfully continues to "Do this in memory of me."

The sublime mystery of the Mass is thus re-presented on every altar in every Catholic Church throughout time and history, so that we may unite ourselves to the mystery of divine love, which prompted St. Thomas Aquinas to exclaim: "O Sacred Banquet, in which Christ becomes our food, the memory of His passion is celebrated, the soul is filled with grace, and a pledge of future glory is given to us."

In the end, we have come to discover that "Understanding the Mystery of the Mass" is not merely an academic exercise, but a profound spiritual joy as we recognize the truth of the Swiss spiritual writer Adrienne von Speyr's claim that, "The Holy Mass is both the means and the sign through which the Lord bequeaths us His love."

Father Matthew Buettner is the pastor of St. Dorothy Church in Lincolnton. This is excerpted from "Understanding the Mystery of the Mass – Revisited." Previous columns are online at www.catholicnewsherald.com.