Why is the Mass called the Mass?

[Gregory_Olson]

This is something I’ve always wondered about. I have a vague idea it comes from the same root as ‘mission,’ but otherwise I’m in the dark

Thanks,
Greg

 

[Fr.Charles_Grondin]

It is derived from the Latin word missa which refers to the dismissal at the end of Mass.

Pope Benedict XVI, Sacramentum caritatis

1. …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.

Ite, missa est is literally “Go, it is the dismissal.” Christians began to understand the liturgy of the Eucharist as the source of their mission to go out into the world and preach the Gospel and used that word for “dismissal” and its connotation of “mission” to refer to the liturgy itself.