I once heard, second hand, about a comment that a priest made after a Mass wherein the celebrating priest obeyed the rubrics (gosh!). The comment was: "washing the dishes is not part of the liturgy". He was referring to the portion of the Mass after the distribution of communion where the priest (or deacon) purifies the sacred vessels (either at the altar or at the credence table). Aside from the fact that it is part of the liturgy (the rubrics define specifically how it is to be done), the manner in which he referred to it was crass and disrespectful of the celebration of the Mass.
The proper term for this purification is the "ablutions"; which means the "rinsing" or "cleaning". The reason we use a technical term like "ablution" is to separate this event from any other cleaning that occurs in common experience. The Church will frequently single out specific terms to signify holy things. We do not call them "liturgy clothes" but "vestments"; we do not call it "snack time" but "communion"; nor do we say "chief executive officer" but "priest". So terms really do matter (whether we like it or not).
In addition, there is another aspect of the ablutions that cannot be considered insignificant. What is going on in the ablutions is not merely getting things "cleaned up" (as though it were no different than sweeping the floor). The priest is carefully making sure that every drop of precious blood, and every particle of the body of Christ is properly tended to. They cannot just be "tossed out" (does any Catholic really think that it is acceptable to "toss out" Jesus?). The careful and meticulous purification may seem to be just a "housecleaning" item in the Mass (no pun intended), but it is much more.
As one parishioner once told me, "Father, watching you clean those vessels after communion is a powerful reminder that it is the actual divinity of Christ in the Sacrament". You may not have ever considered that part of the Mass to be of a devotional nature, but it was for that one parishioner (and that was someone who was referring to the Divine Worship Mass where I am not facing the people during the ablutions!). For those in parishes where the priest is versus populum (facing the people) you should be even more aware of this fact! It may seem like merely coincidental, but the fact that the laity are supposed to be praying at that time (which is made quite difficult when a hymn is being sung) is a helpful reminder of the reverence they are supposed to have regarding what they just received.
Although the rubrics do allow for a priest (or even an appointed lay minister) to do the ablutions after Mass "in a reverent manner", what does it say when the priest just scoots the vessels aside and will "get to it later"? I am sure that for many the motivation is to make Mass go quicker (where does God ever say that this is a worthy goal?). What does it teach people if this is how priests treat the celebration of the Eucharist? It says, pretty much, the exact opposite of tending to every single crumb and drop by carefully and respectfully cleaning the sacred vessels. One says "take it easy and relax, this will be over soon", while the other says "do not rush this, we are dealing with the things of God".
Taking the ablutions as one example, how do we properly show respect during the Mass? If you are participating in the Mass just hoping it will get finished soon (though the way many priests today say Mass, I can sympathize with the sentiment at times) then you are not approaching it with a godly heart. Whether you are a clergyman or layman, do not rush through the Mass as though the whole point is to make the people happy. The whole point of the Mass is to make God happy (which can only be done by obeying Him and His words). Take time with the Mass, do not rush it; take time with your spirituality and devotions to Christ. Nothing worth doing should be rushed through.
