Bearing Christ into the World

We come to the end of our reflection on the Liturgy of the Sacrifice of the Mass. After we have received Jesus in Holy Communion, we experience an extraordinary intimate union with Him. We have taken into ourselves His glorified Body by means of the Sacrifice of the Cross becoming present on the altar. The reception of His Body in Holy Communion also unites us one with another in His Mystical Body the Church. This is expressed in the final rites of Mass in a striking way.
           
The Communion Antiphon provides a powerful focus for our prayer of thanksgiving after receiving Our Lord in Holy Communion. Taken from Sacred Scripture, it may be sung with a psalm as the faithful are receiving the Body and Blood of the Lord. This short antiphon may be prayed quietly by the faithful and will serve as a source of meditative prayer, helping them to keep in mind the awesome Gift of Christ Himself just received.
           
After all have received the Holy Eucharist, the priest prays the Post-Communion Prayer. He invites all present to be united in this prayer by saying, “Let us pray.” This prayer, which varies from season to season and from feast day to feast day, often petitions God for an increase of grace for having received the Body and Blood of the Savior, for strength for our pilgrim’s journey through life, and for eternal life in heaven. Other petitions may be the focus of this prayer. Notably, it provides an opportunity for all present to be united in expressing their faith in the Holy Eucharist and the effects that receiving Jesus Christ sacramentally can have in their lives and the life of the Church.
           
Then the priest imparts a blessing upon all present using the Trinitarian formula that confesses the very essence and power of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
           
Finally, the priest or the deacon dismisses the faithful with, “Go forth, the Mass is ended” (or one of the other formulae of dismissal). This is not simply a “meeting adjourned” closing to the Liturgy. It is something much greater. It is a sending on mission. We who have come and drunk deeply of the fount of salvation by being united with the Sacrifice of Christ and having received His Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity. Subsequently, we  are sent out into the world bearing Christ and the truth of His Gospel to serve the poor, to reach out to those on the margins of society, to visit those in prison, to embrace the sorrowful, to support women in crisis pregnancies, to advocate for the unborn, to instruct those who are confused, to give hope to the hopeless, to feed the hungry, to advocate for peace, to end violence, and to bring others to the altar of God, where they can receive the Body and Blood of Christ, and, ultimately, to bring all souls into the Kingdom of Heaven.
           
Yes, that is our mission.  That is why we are sent forth.  That is why at the end of Mass we respond with joy, “Thanks be to God!”

Most Reverend William J. Waltersheid
Auxiliary Bishop of Pittsburgh