Ok everybody, I swear I haven’t forgotten. I just haven’t been posting. No excuses, just life. But I’m back now, and hopefully posting with a little more regularity…at least until I stop posting for some unknown and totally bogus reason that will just be a cover-up of how lazy I let myself get. Hey, we’ve all got our weaknesses. Currently, “Grimm” and “Once Upon a Time” are my biggest ones. Anyway, on with the show!
We last left off with Communion. For some readers out there, you may be wondering why I would continue to talk about the Mass at all now that we’ve wrapped up the posts on Communion. Well, for those of us who DON’T succumb to the temptation of walking out of church after we receive the Eucharist (a.k.a. “The Judas Shuffle”), there’s still a little more Mass to go. This little bit—the last little bit—is called the Concluding Rite, which is basically a wrap-up prayer, and a send-off.
Just before we jump into the Concluding Rite, though, there’s a little piece to bring to your attention. After Communion, the priest takes the chalice and ciborium (“the cup and the bowl”) from each of the ministers of Holy Communion, consumes the remaining Blood of Christ, and either consumes or places the remaining Eucharist in the Tabernacle. Then he “does some dishes” and quickly cleans the chalices and ciboria before placing them on the credence table until Mass is finished. He uses a purificator to do this quick cleaning, which will be done more thoroughly in the Sacristy after Mass, pouring the water used to clean the vessels down the drain of the sacrarium. (Go back and re-read the You Never Even Call Me by My Name series if any of these terms are confusing you. For Sacristy, you’ll have to check out I’m Sure in Her You’ll Find the Sanctuary.) While he does this quick cleaning, he says a silent/quiet prayer:
Priest: What has passed our lips as food, O Lord, may we possess in purity of heart, that what has been given to us in time may be our healing for eternity.
After this short purification and prayer, the priest returns to his chair for a period of either “sacred silence” or individual prayer time accompanied by a song sung by the choir. Then the priest stands, and gesturing for or verbally directing the congregation to do the same, the priest says:
Priest: Let us pray.
He then reads the Prayer after Communion found in the Roman Missal (formerly known as the Sacramentary). This prayer is a petition for the effects of the Mass just celebrated to be realized and fully acknowledged and accepted by all those who participated. To affirm this prayer and make it our own, the congregation responds:
All: Amen.
Finally comes the Concluding Rite—only 6 paragraphs into the post that’s meant to explain it…not too bad considering our track record of lengthy tangents in this blog. The priest greets the people one last time, and we respond:
Priest: The Lord be with you
All: And with your spirit (Remember, we’re into this whole “New Translation of the Mass” thing now)
He then gives his final blessing, which on certain days may be a little longer and would be found in the Roman Missal. If it is the longer form, the priest will say:
Priest: Bow your heads and pray for God’s blessing
The priest will then go through a series of three short prayers, with the congregation responding “Amen” to each prayer. After this, the priest makes a sign of the cross over the people, saying:
Priest: May almighty God bless you, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit
All: Amen.
Then as the send-off, formally known as the Dismissal, the deacon (if there is one…priest if not) says one of three dismissals:
Deacon:
A) Go in the peace of Christ.
B) The Mass is ended, go in peace.
C) Go in peace to love and serve the Lord
All: Thanks be to God.
Then as the priest celebrant, and any ministers recess out of Church, a recessional hymn is usually led by the Choir…notice I said LED…NOT “performed.” The recessional hymn (a.k.a. the “closing song”) is still a part of the Mass, and we should still participate in singing. Once the priest and ministers have exited the Church, and the hymn has ended, this particular instance of the sacrifice of the Mass is complete.
Boom. There it is. The Mass. Don’t forget to actually GO, though, instead of just reading about it. It’s fairly important.
What’s also important is that our “unpacking” of the Mass is over. We’ve been pretty well set on subject matter for a while now. Any subjects/questions you can think of for me to tackle next? Leave your suggestions in the comment section below or message me on Facebook. Until then, peace out.
