How do you translate: 'Ite Missa est'?

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Alma

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Hi!

Could someone please tell me what is the exact translation of 'Ite Missa est?

I’ve read different versions::confused:

Some liturgists say it means: ‘Go, it has been sent’, which means that the community has been sent into the world as witness of the Lord, or else that the Eucharist has been sent to those who could not come to Mass.

Others say it means: ‘Go, it has ended’, meaning the Mass has finished. But this particular translation has not been included in the Spanish version of the Roman Missal.

Do you know what the true translation is?

Is there an official Latin Liturgy Dictionary that I can consult?🤓

Thank you very much!

:tiphat:

Alma
 
From the 1962 Missal:
P. Ite, Missa est. P/D. Go, you are sent forth.
 
Alma said:
Hi!

Could someone please tell me what is the exact translation of 'Ite Missa est?

I’ve read different versions::confused:
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“finished the Mass is”
Alma said:
Some liturgists say it means: ‘Go, it has been sent’, which means that the community has been sent into the world as witness of the Lord, or else that the Eucharist has been sent to those who could not come to Mass.
Click to expand...
This has been the understanding since the earliest recorded history of the Church, that we have been filled, and are being sent.
Alma said:
Others say it means: ‘Go, it has ended’, meaning the Mass has finished. But this particular translation has not been included in the Spanish version of the Roman Missal.
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The feeding is finished, now we are to "go into all the world, and preach the gospel (sometimes using words) 😃 .

Do you know what the true translation is?

Is there an official Latin Liturgy Dictionary that I can consult?🤓

Thank you very much!

:tiphat:

Alma

Sorry I just heard this off EWTN, and don’t know an official source.
 
nothing is being sent. Missa means Mass. if it was meant to be the participle, it would not be capitalized.
 
Fidelia said:
nothing is being sent. Missa means Mass. if it was meant to be the participle, it would not be capitalized.
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The participants of the Mass are being dismissed “to love and serve the Lord”
 
Alma said:
Hi!

Could someone please tell me what is the exact translation of 'Ite Missa est?

I’ve read different versions::confused:

Some liturgists say it means: ‘Go, it has been sent’, which means that the community has been sent into the world as witness of the Lord, or else that the Eucharist has been sent to those who could not come to Mass.

Others say it means: ‘Go, it has ended’, meaning the Mass has finished. But this particular translation has not been included in the Spanish version of the Roman Missal.

Do you know what the true translation is?

Is there an official Latin Liturgy Dictionary that I can consult?🤓

Thank you very much!

:tiphat:

Alma
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Isn’t it ‘Go you are dismissed’?
 
I’m not Latin expert, but is Missa really capitalized? I think this is more of an idomatic expression and is hard to translate literally.
The sense is “Go, it is the dismissal”. I’m not sure that missa means Mass, though that’s where we get the word “Mass” from.

I found this, which is an interesting explaination:
thrownback.blogspot.com/2002_06_23_thrownback_archive.html

and from the Catholic encyclopedia
newadvent.org/cathen/08253a.htm

Jennifer
 
From the Catholic Encyclopedia (my emphasis added):**
Ite Missa Est**
This is the versicle chanted in the Roman Rite by the deacon at the end of Mass, after the Post-Communions. It is our formula of the old dismissal (apolysis) still contained in all liturgies. It is undoubtedly one of the most ancient Roman formulæ, as may be seen from its archaic and difficult form. All the three oldest Roman Ordines contain it. “Ordo Rom. I” says: "When the prayer Post-Communion] is over, that one of the deacons appointed by the archdeacon looks towards the pontiff to receive a sign from him and then says to the people: Ite missa est. They answer: Deo gratias (ed. Atchley, London, 1905, p. 144. See also “Ordo Rom. II”, 15; “Ordo Rom. III”, 18). The medieval commentators were much exercised to explain the meaning of the strange expression. Durandus (Rationale, IV, 57) suggests several interpretations. It has been thought that a word is omitted: Ite, missa est finita; or est is taken absolutely, as meaning “exists”, is now an accomplished fact". The real explanation seems to lie rather in interpreting correctly the word missa. Before it became the technical name of the holy Liturgy in the Roman Rite, it meant simply “dismissal”. The form *missamissio* is like that of collecta * (for collectio), ascensa (ascensio), etc. So Ite missa est should be translated “Go it is the dismissal.”* for (See Florus the Deacon, “De expositione Missæ”, P.L., CIX, 72.)
You can find the rest at newadvent.org/cathen/08253a.htm
 
guanophore said:
The participants of the Mass are being dismissed “to love and serve the Lord”
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ite means go. second person plural.
Missa means Mass, since it is capitalized. if it was lowercase, missa, that is the feminine nominative singular or neuter nominative or accusative plural passive participle of mitto, mittere, to send. There is no reason to capitalize a mere participle.
est means is. third person, singular of sum, esse, to be.
If it was “missa est” with a lowercase missa, it would mean she has been sent or those (objects- not people) have been sent. therefore it makes no sense to translate the phrase as if it is the participle missa instead of Missa, meaning the Mass (as in the Mass itself, not the group of people attending.)
Grammatically it is idiomatic, and if translated literally it doesn’t make much sense in English, which is why translations vary. But this is what it means.
 
Fidelia said:
If it was “missa est” with a lowercase missa, it would mean she has been sent or those (objects- not people) have been sent. therefore it makes no sense to translate the phrase as if it is the participle missa instead of Missa, meaning the Mass (as in the Mass itself, not the group of people attending.)
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The word missa did not always mean “the Mass”, and since Ite missa est is an ancient phrase, it could not have originally meant “Go, the Mass is (finished)”. Therefore missa should be taken as a participle used as a noun: *"*the dismissal." (see the excerpt from the Catholic Encyclopedia I posted above)
 
Pope Benedict in 2007 Apostolic Exhortation Sacramentum Caritatis vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/apost_exhortations/documents/hf_ben-xvi_exh_20070222_sacramentum-caritatis_en.html :

“**The dismissal: “Ite, missa est” **
51. Finally, I would like to comment briefly on the observations of the Synod Fathers regarding the dismissal at the end of the eucharistic celebration. After the blessing, the deacon or the priest dismisses the people with the words: Ite, missa est. These words help us to grasp the relationship between the Mass just celebrated and the mission of Christians in the world. In antiquity, missa simply meant “dismissal.” However in Christian usage it gradually took on a deeper meaning. The word “dismissal” has come to imply a “mission.” These few words succinctly express the missionary nature of the Church. The People of God might be helped to understand more clearly this essential dimension of the Church’s life, taking the dismissal as a starting- point. In this context, it might also be helpful to provide new texts, duly approved, for the prayer over the people and the final blessing, in order to make this connection clear (footnote 154: Cf. Propositio 24.).”
 
Good Lord! We long for the TLM and we can’t even agree on the meaning and correct manner of writing three simple Latin words. I guess I am thankful that by joining a Catholic High School in my sophomore year, I missed first year Latin and was excused from the requirement for graduation. Four years was the expected requirement for most students.
 
Often a local custom becomes universal. Liturgical practice in Rome or in the Germanic areas would be adopted by the other area to produce basically what we now call the Mass of Trent. The only exception to this gradualist approach is the Novus Ordo Mass of 1970. There is some strong evidence to support the idea that, in Rome, the bishop would dismiss deacons with a particle of the Host (Hostia or Eucharistia, both feminine nouns) which would then be brought to the stational Masses presided over by priests of the presbyteral order. The particle would then be dropped into the chalice/Precious Blood in order to link the bishop’s Mass with the stational Masses. This would also explain the origin of the Mingling Rite at Mass even to this day. Ergo, “Go, it is sent.” Another theory is that it relates to the deacons bringing the Host to the sick at the end of Mass. Remember, the “Ite” used to precede the final blessing. The best argument, it seems to me, against the mingling explanation would be the question of timing. Some congregations might have to wait quite a long time for the deacon to arrive. (Missa is the origin of the word used for Mass in most language, except the Celtic ones. Irish Gaelic aifreann derives from, offerans, the offering.)
 
Thank you all very much!!

I now am sure of the meaning most scholars agree upon, specially our dear Pope Benedict.

Thanks again

and God bless!!

Alma
 
Question: Why do we feel we need to translate it at all? It says what it says and we all know what it means, where it is, and how to respond to it. So Latin doesn’t exactly translate word for word into English. Can’t we accept idioms? I mean, how do you translate “it’s raining cats and dogs” into Spanish?

What should we argue next? Whether Spiritus Sanctus is the Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost? Whoops!😃
 
BobP123 said:
Question: Why do we feel we need to translate it at all? It says what it says and we all know what it means, where it is, and how to respond to it. So Latin doesn’t exactly translate word for word into English. Can’t we accept idioms? I mean, how do you translate “it’s raining cats and dogs” into Spanish?

What should we argue next? Whether Spiritus Sanctus is the Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost? Whoops!😃
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You’re so right, Bob. Literal translation is most often of little use…but I find that monolingual people tend to insist on it. Your example is very good. Having learned English at a young age, I’m often amazed at some people’s unwillingness to learn other languages & be exposed to other cultures. A shame.
 
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