Diocese of Covington - Messenger at 402 E. 21st Street, Covington, KY 41015 US - Concluding Rite

Priest:        The Lord be with you.

People:      And with your spirit.

Priest:        May almighty God bless you,

                  the Father, and the Son,

                  and the Holy Spirit.

Deacon:     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.

People:      Thanks be to God.

Concluding Rites

Throughout the Holy Mass, the faithful gathered in prayer have been drawn into sacred and divine mysteries, which have allowed them the opportunity to be raised above the things of earth to those of Heaven. A dialogue of love with the One who is Love has ensued, and the heart and the mind and the soul have been filled with grace.

The concluding rites of the Mass call the faithful to perpetuate this “dialogue of love.” Like the introductory rites, which the concluding rites mirror, the faithful’s response to the priest’s greeting, “And with your spirit,” draws the faithful into the unseen mystery of the Church’s faith that in the very person of the minister, Jesus Christ is present. As the priest gives the blessing and the faithful make the Sign of the Cross the fullness of this infinite and unimaginable love envelops them in the very gesture.

As the deacon (or priest in his absence) announces the dismissal, the faithful are reminded that what we do in the Sacred Liturgy does not end when we leave the church. As the Second Vatican Council reminds us – the liturgy is the source and summit of the Christian life. As the source, we find our nourishment in the Most Holy Eucharist, so that we can be empowered to enter into the world and proclaim Christ crucified, died and risen!

In studying the text of 3^rd Edition of the Roman Missal, one will notice that in each of the four options for the dismissal the word “go” begins each. It is no coincidence that the Lord Jesus prior to concluding His time on earth and ascending into Heaven also used the word, “Go!” He said to His disciples in Matthew 28:19: “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”

Having just marked ourselves with the Sign of the Cross in the name of the Most Holy Trinity, we are reminded that we are to go into the world proclaiming the Gospel in both word and deed, so that all the nations will come to know the One who has loved us beyond all our imagining — to make disciples of those around us. While each option of the dismissal is slightly different, at the heart of each is this message — this mission of the Church and of all Her members.

How can we who have found the Light of the World allow it to be hidden under a bushel basket? We cannot! When we come to truly recognize in our heads and in our hearts the Love who is given to us in Word and Sacrament at the Holy Mass, we cannot not allow it to overflow from our very being and fill up those around us. We go proclaiming our “dialogue of love.” We go proclaiming our “dialogue with Love” because we have come to know Love.