According to the book I quoted yesterday, the day after the first Pentecost, the Apostles began their work of preaching to the world. This concept of going out into the world reminds me of what we called the "Fourth Day" at the end of the Cursillo I made. This was a three day "weekend" starting Thursday evening and ending sometime on Sunday.
But there was a "Fourth Day"-which lasts the rest of our lives-not just the closest Monday. This is after you come home and have to go back into the world you were a part of before your Cursillo. You hear a lot of talks during the weekend, you pray and fellowship, there's an opportunity for Confession-and you're sent back afterwards.
The Mass is also a sending forth-the very word "Mass" comes from the Latin word missa, meaning "sent." This word is part of part of the phrase ite missa est said by the priest at the end of the Mass. This phrase is translated as "Go, you are dismissed." At the vernacular (English) Masses I used to attend, the priest would say, "The Mass is ended, go in peace" and then he'd have us sing a recessional hymn after that. At the Latin Mass we also sang a hymn after that, but Father also leads us in prayer-in English-at the end of Mass. He kneels at the altar and we say the Hail Mary, the prayer to St. Michael the Archangel, and maybe a couple of other prayers in English.
Yesterday was Pentecost. Today is Monday, and I just got a whiff of freshly brewed coffee; back to the "Old Grind!" But this is the world we're sent back into. We're Christians and Catholics 24 hours a day 7 days a week-not just on Sundays. If that's not true-then the 7-Eleven closes at 6 pm and stayed closed until 10 am. And you know that store is opened 24 hours a day-7 days a week.
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