A blessing is a solemn act that calls upon and invokes the aid of God upon the person, asking that God grant him divine favor and sanctification. What is a blessing? Why are they longer sometimes?Īs the Mass comes to a close, the priest gives a blessing to all the faithful gathered to celebrate the Eucharist. The priest then gives us a blessing by invoking the Sign of the Cross and finally, we come to the words, “Ite Missa est.” In the new translation, these words are rendered most literally as, “Go forth, the Mass is ended.” The Latin word “Missa” is the derivative of the English word “Mass,” and it carries the sense of mission. A concluding prayer is recited, which focuses on thanksgiving for the holy sacrifice of the Mass and a recapitulation of the overall theme of the liturgy as expressed in the Collect. In an action that mirrors the beginning of Mass and the Introductory Rites, the priest begins the Concluding Rites by standing and calling us to prayer with the words “Let us pray” (Oremus). This part of the Mass is so important that the name “Mass” is derived from this very notion within the liturgy. This last point of reflection is just as important as the rest because if we come to the liturgy and take nothing away that would nourish our faith and the way we live our lives, then we have missed an essential part of this mystery. We reflect upon the extraordinary gift that we have received in the Blessed Sacrament, the nature of communion with God himself, and also what all of this means for us in our daily lives. How does Mass end? What does the final dismissal mean?Īt this point in the Mass, we have received the Body and Blood of Christ in Communion and have taken time to reflect in a period of silence that follows.
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