Back in the 1950’s a young, enthusiastic pastor was invited to make a pilgrimage to Rome, but first he needed to get his bishop’s permission. So, he quickly sat down and wrote a very lengthy letter – in Latin, of course – about how good this would be for him and even for his parishioners, of all the beautiful religious art, architecture, and liturgies he would see, of how this would deepen his love for the Church and strengthen his priesthood, etc. .... About a week later, he received a response from the bishop, and to the surprise of the pastor, it contained only one word, in fact, only one letter: “I” (Latin meaning “Go!” That is, commanding a person to “go!”).
There is something similar in the brief concluding rite of the Mass: Ite missa est. “Go forth, the Mass is ended.” It is a command to all of us, not a suggestion. We are charged to go forth into the world to proclaim by our way of life what we believe, celebrate and receive. The term “Mass,” in fact, is derived from the ecclesiastical Latin formula for the dismissal of the congregation: Ite, missa est (“Go, it is the sending [dismissal]”).” In Sacramentum caritatis Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI expressed the link between the Eucharist and mission so perfectly:
The love that we celebrate in the sacrament [of the Eucharist] is not only something we can keep to ourselves. By its very nature it demands to be shared with all … The Eucharist is not only the source and summit of the Church’s life, but also of her mission … We too must be able to tell our brothers and sisters with conviction: “That which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you may have fellowship with us” (1 Jn 1:3). Truly, nothing is more beautiful than to know Christ and to make him known to others (84).
Jesus provides us with directions in his parting words on the Mount of the Ascension: “Go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature!” This is traditionally called the Great Commission because Jesus is not just sending us out by ourselves but is with us (com-mission); “I am with you always even until the end of the age” (Mt. 28:20). We evangelize with Christ.
Yet, when we consider the essential relationship between Eucharist and mission something more profound occurs. Not only is Jesus with us, but since He lives in us through Holy Communion, we are actually called to evangelize in Jesus Christ, that is, in the Spirit of Christ Jesus himself. For He says, “As the Father has sent me, so I send you … Receive the Holy Spirit” (Jn 20: 21-22). St. Paul expresses it this way: “He who is united to the Lord becomes one spirit with him” (1 Cor 6:17).
This helps make sense of what Jesus says next in connection with the Great Commission: “He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned” (Mk 16:16). Those who accept the proclamation are immersed into the life of the Trinity and those who will not take the plunge remain on the outside.
The last recorded words of Jesus in St. Mark’s Gospel form the conclusion of the Great Commission and reveal the various signs that will accompany those who believe and proclaim the Gospel. Here, things get a little ‘charismatic.’ “In my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick and they will recover” (16:17-18). These gifts of the Spirit were present to give credence to the proclamation of the Gospel. Jesus himself performed many of these signs and tells us, his disciples, “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I go to the Father” (Jn 14:12). Therefore, we should expect that such signs would accompany us, yet this remains the discretion of the Spirit.
The Great Commission and the Eucharistic dismissal send us out in the spirit of Christ to evangelize. St. Paul states with great clarity what evangelization in Christ is: “It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me; and the life I live now in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Gal 2:20). Let us then “Go into all the world and proclaim the Gospel!”