IT JUST NEVER ENDS DOES IT? (THANK GOODNESS)

It was a Chestertonian night. Last night was the closing of Forty Hours down in Uniontown at which I preached and after we enjoyed a truly delicious meal from the hand of our host, and then a priest friend and I retired to the coziness of Saint Sebastian rectory, had refreshments, a fire in the fireplace as well as at the tip of our noses, and discussed the wonders of the Mass into the late hours.

Fr. “O” (who was trying on that moniker and decided that it did not work) made the argument that the “Ite missa est”, aka the dismissal or, “Go, the Mass is ended” is the most important part of the Mass. I begged to differ (greatly) and accused him of speaking in hyperbole, but like a Saint Sebastian Terrier he held his patch of earth. While still maintaining that he was, perhaps, overshooting his mark (like the cow that jumped over the moon) to make his point, his ideas were still worthy.

There was a tendency, one of which I do not approve, that at the end of Mass, when the priest said, “The Mass is ended, go in peace,” the youth shouted back, “The Mass never ends!” Well, fine. It’s bad enough when priests start jockeying words around at the Liturgy but it is becoming a practice that everyone seems to enjoying the liberty – or rather – license of taking. Coming up to Communion are all kinds of answers to the declaration, “The Body of Christ.” “Yes.” “I believe.” “My Lord and my God.” “Thank you.” Even, occasionally, usually around December 25th and once in the spring, “Sure.” Sure these are all interpretation of “Amen,” but Amen means so much more than any one of these (there you’re right Fr. O) and just saying Amen does cause the priest to have to stop and interpret your answer.

“The Body of Christ.”

“Yes.”

“I suppose that means you hold to the ancient teachings of the Church that this is the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and that you are agreeing to treat the Host as such when I hand Him to you. Or is it just that you have never been to Communion in a Catholic Church before or you have never been catechized or you are an artist which makes you dangerous and expensive as Father K was fond of saying?”

But I digress.

The Mass is not something that a Catholic does on Sunday. It is merely (HA! “merely”) the source and summit of a life lived. What was celebrated around altar is not to be left there but rather taken out into the street. Bits of the Mass should be scattered everywhere like streamers after the home team wins the homecoming game. The Mass should be strewn in our trees, tossed about our houses and workplaces like confetti. Everything we touch not only leave fingerprints and a DNA samples but traces of the Eucharist. The world should change because you went to Mass. It should be closer to Jesus. It should in some way have received some healing. Our work does not end at the dismissal but that is where it begins! And then, when we have made a thorough mess and spread the Word and Mission of Jesus around our cities and towns like good graffiti artists, we are to gather it all up again and bring it back to its source as an offering to God Who will only in turn feed us, bless us, and sent out again.

That’s what it is to celebrate and be part the Body of Christ.

Let the Church say, “Amen!”