Luke 9:1-2
And he called the twelve together and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them out to preach the kingdom of God and to heal.
One of the better kept secrets of the mass these days is that the final words of the liturgy are actually a bad translation in the English rite. The Latin does not say, “The Mass is ended, go in peace.” It says, “Ite, missa est” which literally means, “Go! You are sent!” The sense conveyed is that of troops being mustered for battle after debriefing or a team being marched out into the Super Bowl after a rousing speech. For the truth is, each Catholic is called and gifted to be part of a vast missionary enterprise for the salvation of the world. Like the first apostles, we are called to bear witness to Christ in the power and authority of the Holy Spirit and to consciously see our lives as an extension of their mission. Mass is there to empower and equip us to do just that.
