Announcements can be made, especially on Sundays. Then comes the final greeting, “The Lord be with you” and the people respond, “And with your spirit.” Given that the Eucharist is the Risen Christ, the old maxim takes on a heightened significance, “You are what you eat.” Our spiritual food is transformative. Priest and congregants alike are to take the graces of this abiding presence into the world.
The priest blesses the assembled. Just as Mass begins with the sign of the cross, it ends with the same sign: “May almighty God bless you, the Father, and the Son, + and the Holy Spirit.” The admonition of Christ, “Take up your cross and follow me,” finds its realization here. As we go out the church doors, we are all marked with the Cross. That which was once a curse and sign of dreadful foreboding is now extended as a blessing and…
View original post 249 more words
Nelson MCBS 