Q: I am following up to your recent answer to the Children’s Liturgy of the Word. I wish I could find the article, but the liturgist, I think from a school of theology noted there is only one dismissal, and that is everyone at the conclusion of Mass. Everyone receives the final blessing. The children are not to be dismissed as if they are separate from the liturgical celebration, but are being invited to participate in an age appropriate liturgy of the word. What are your thoughts of this understanding? I think it makes sense. I wish instead of it being called Dismissal at the conclusion of Mass it was called the Sending Forth rite.
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A: This is a good point. However, there is another dismissal: that of catechumens in the RCIA.
But there is no dismissal of a group who then is expected to come back to the same liturgy. I wrote in the post, “this is more of a dismissal than a blessing.” I think you could argue, “this is more of an invitation than a dismissal.”