Immersed in Christ: Thursday, July 8, 2021

The Dismissal Rite: “Go Forth”

The Rite of Dismissal at Mass echoes the last words Jesus spoke on earth, the “Great Commission”: “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” (Matthew 28:19). We go forth from the real world into the “peace and unity” of God’s kingdom.

The Eucharist ends as it began, with a call to bring the world into relationship with the Three Persons of the Trinity. We began “In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit”. We end with a final blessing: “May almighty God bless you, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit”.

God is relationship. Relationship is interaction. Eucharist is an invitation to interact with God and with others until Christ’s prayer is realized: “I ask…that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me” (John 17:20-21).

Take Action: Pray the WIT Prayer throughout your day today.

These posts for the last few weeks have been excerpts from A Fresh Look at The Mass, available in the Bookstore on this website. See https://www.immersedinchrist.org/product-page/a-fresh-look-at-the-mass