When a bishop offers Mass, he greets the people with “Peace be with you.” At the sign of peace, the priest acknowledges their unity in Christ by saying, “The peace of the Lord be with you always.” In both cases, the congregants respond, “And with your spirit.” This extension of peace and variations on the dialogue response are frequently used in the liturgy. When congregations are scattered throughout a large church, instead of the handshake, some make the symbolic “V” sign with their fingers. The “V” sign that was so significant in years past is not seen as much today. After the Second World War it signified victory. During the 1960’s it was a secular sign of peace. But in either case, we ought to rediscover what these words and that gesture mean. This is particularly true of that which is commonplace in the liturgy. What finer salutation can the celebrant at Mass make to the congregation than “the Lord be with you.” It is a wakeup call to the indwelling of God in our souls for those in a state of grace. God, who is all powerful, all merciful, and all wise, lives in us. Do we speak to God present there? God is present in us, in our celebrant and in our neighbor. Are we conscious of that in our dealings with each other, or is the ritual so routine or commonplace that it stirs us not at all? This phrase is put into action at the “sign of peace,” when by any decent gesture we may choose (it is not specified), we greet each other. We often see a quick kiss between spouses, a hug or a handshake. We extend to each other God’s peace. It has a deeper meaning than renewing old friendships and just being polite socially. Our appreciation of peace comes from the Hebrew word, “shalom,” as peace is our devout desire and prayer for our co-worshippers. It is not a Dale Carnegie greeting or a “hail fellow” well met— it is deeper than that. Try to think of difficult neighbors as being vicariously present in the person standing next to you. Do we really forgive them? Do we ask to be forgiven, as in “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us”? SHALOM means not just the absence of hostility. It means things that cannot be fully expressed in a single word. This peace means forgiveness, joy, comfort, support, tranquility and God’s presence with you. This is a great preparation for communion, which expresses our unity in the Body of Christ. Peace be with all who read this. Let us be cognizant of what we say and why we are saying it.
Filed under: Awalt Papers |
Blogger Priest 
Dear Fr Joe,
The ‘sign of peace’ should surely either be done correctly, like the genuflection and the other signs of reverential respect such as the sign of the cross on the head, lips and heart, the bowing at the words “was made flesh”, and the kneeling to receive the Body of Christ, or it should be NOT DONE AT ALL.
I can’t believe that there are churches over there where people would just flick a ‘V’ sign at one another as that, over here, is the same as giving someone ‘the finger’.
I was in a Church in the Bahamas many years ago, for Mass, and apart from it looking like a wall to wall carpeted flying saucer, and the priest banging on about money, the ‘sign of peace’ which was quite a new concept back in those days, and was one of the most beautiful experiences that I still well remember from back then.
It started with the Priest, he placed his hands, joined in the traditional position of prayer, over the altar servers hands similarly joined, and looking each one clearly in the eyes he wished each one God’s peace with all the earnestness possible to a mere mortal. Each server would then walk to the first person in each pew and do the same, and then that person would turn to the worshipper next to them and do the same.
It was an ordered and dedicated experience that took as long as was needed and something I have never witnessed since.
These days it is a sort of embarrased reluctance to make genuine connection and take the time to attempt to give that peace that Jesus would want to give to each one of His sheep. I usually attend Mass on my own, and recently I have visited a number of churches in the area to try to find a Mass that is not swamped by terrible singing, ranting kids and all the unnecessary trappings that modernism has used to try to sell something that’s not up for sale.
As the priest says: “Let us offer each other the sign of peace”, I honestly hope to be able to give and receive exactly that, but sadly, as I turn to the mildly irritated and uncomfortable person next to me, and look into her/his eyes with that earnest desire to wish them all the possible love and peace that only the Creator can give, they squirm, look at something over my shoulder and limply and quickly withdraw their hand as if I was infected with leprosy.
We either have to do this properly or not at all. The “Hey bud, howya’ doin'” with neither hope nor desire to actually hear an answer, nor give one either is an anathema and like the quick bob, or now it seems a hardly noticeable twitch of the head in front of the space where the tabernacle used to be instead of a ‘good and reverential genuflection’, is simply a sign of the times.
God left the Church of England many years ago and no one noticed; to this disappointed Catholic, it seems that His Catholic suitcase is already packed.
With a wish of Peace to you,
Paul