Ite Missa Est

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

“Ite Missa Est” = “Go, it is sent” and, as one will find on the USCCB website: “At one time, the people were dismissed with the words "Ite, missa est" (literally meaning "Go, she—meaning you, the Church—has been sent").”  Following these words in the Extraordinary Form follows the so called “Last Gospel” wherein the priest reads from the Prologue to the Gospel of John.  In our present celebration we do not read this Gospel, but the meaning is still the same and we seek to capture it in the varied dismissals we now have.  I write about this because as one who is standing looking toward the front doors of the church building during the distribution of our Lord’s Body and Blood, and as one who grew up as an altar server, it saddens me to see people leaving before the conclusion of Mass.  Often times they miss out on the final blessing and the sending forth into the world.  Now I recognize that there are times when our schedule may cause us to leave early, but these should be rare occurrences rather than every weekend happenings.  We might reflect, do we control our schedule or does our schedule control us?

Today I am focusing on why we come to Mass and where it stands within our life.  The Second Vatican Council reminded the Church that the Eucharist is the source and summit of the Christian life.  We encounter the Eucharist most frequently within the context of the Mass.  We are obliged as Catholics to attend Mass every Sunday and Holyday of obligation.  This should not be seen as a burden, but as an opportunity to have an excuse to spend time with God, to spend a holyday (or should I say holiday) with Him.  Therefore, when we look over our weekend schedule, is Mass a primary activity or is it secondary to our schedules? Do we just try to fit it in to our altogether too busy lives?  Who is God in our lives…the little gods of our activities or the God who sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to redeem us and free us from sin and Satan, who gives us His Body and Blood in the Eucharist to nourish us?  Do we treasure the riches of God given to us in His Word and in His Body and Blood?  This is the purpose of silence and prayer after communion, to ponder this great gift so that we can share it with others.

A second area that relates to this is the so-called magical timeframe of the one hour for Mass and “that’s it, that’s all the time I have and no more, so Father, don’t push it” mentality.  There is nothing within the Church’s teachings which gives a time frame for Mass; go to other countries and you could spend two to three hours in Mass.  This is a cultural convention, and one that is understandable given our current culture.  But frankly, if we are looking at our watches (or cell phones) then we are not focused on God, whom we are to be worshipping in the Mass.  People complain that they get nothing out of Mass, and I want to ask, what are you putting into it?  Are you engaging the prayer that is the Mass from the opening hymn through the closing hymn?  Are you more focused on what comes after Mass than being present in the moment to what is happening before your eyes?  As we reflect on the riches that matter to God this weekend, let us not be blind to Him who is in front of us at every Mass and leave before He sends us forth, before the action of the Mass is completed and we receive the final blessing of graces to assist us in life.

Ut in omnibus glorificetur Deus,

Fr. Isaac Haywiser, O.S.B.
Parochial Vicar and Associate Director of Campus Ministry