At the conclusion of every Eucharistic Liturgy, the priest or deacon dismisses the people with these words or their equivalent: "Go in the peace of Christ to love and serve the Lord." The core message of the dismissal rite is not that the Mass is over. The core message of the dismissal rite is that those who have celebrated are to go out into the world to share what they have celebrated. They are sent out for mission.

To be in mission is the nature of the Church and the Church draws her energy for mission from Christ in the Eucharist. As Pope John Paul II stated in his Encyclical Letter on the Eucharist, "She (the Church) is fed by Christ and is enlightened by him."

A word on mission The Latin word, missio, means "a sending forth". As a concept it applies to the missions of the Trinity e.g. the sending of the Word and Holy Spirit into the world for the redemption of all creation. When Jesus completed his mission through his priestly ministry on the cross, the mission for which he had been sent, he not only glorified the Trinity, he also gave back to the Father all creation redeemed.

Mission includes the sending forth of the Apostles by Jesus to continue his saving mission. It applies to the Church which continues the mission of Christ through the Holy Spirit until the end of time.

Being in mission reflects the catholicity of the Church – a universal community that invites all people to join its living, worshiping and evangelizing body. In the wide sense, mission is everything that the Church does in the service of the kingdom e.g. as an instrument of freedom and of progress. In the strict sense, it is the preaching of the gospel among people and cultures where it has not been preached or where it is not known and accepted.

Mission is closely related to evangelization itself as was made clear in the Apostolic Exhortation of Pope Paul VI, Evangelii Nuntiandi (On Evangelization in the Modern World) in 1975.