I became a Catholic in 2004 and as I learned more about my adopted faith and explored the two different formulations of its liturgy—the old mass and the new— in various parishes, one of the things I liked about the old mass is that there is no sign of peace.
The sign of peace as it is generally practiced in the parishes I have been to, is somewhat of a social moment, which intrudes upon the spiritual contemplative state the rest of the mass calls me to enter.
Reading an editorial in the Magnificat (subscription required) has opened me to the deeper significance of its true purpose, and describes one beautiful form of it.
An excerpt.
“…Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you” (John 20:19).
“…It is not our own peace that we offer to one another; it is the very peace that the risen Christ himself has given us…the peace and unity of his kingdom. We act as agents for the Savior.
“I remember being in a church once where the sign of peace was given in a most beautiful way. The priest began the sign of peace by offering it first to the servers. The servers then offered it to those seated in the first pews. The people in the first pews turned and offered it to those who were seated behind them. They in turn continued this pattern. In this way, the peace of Christ spread through the church in a serene and moving way. It reminded me of the Easter Vigil and the way the darkened church gradually becomes flooded with candlelight as the fire of the paschal candle is shared, taper by taper. When the rite of peace is offered with this kind of intentionality and reverence, it witnesses to the deepest meaning of Gospel peace. This peace “is not merely a feeling: it is an authentic Christian virtue, that is, the power of God radiating through the believer and inclining him to spread the peace of Christ around him” (S. Pinckaers). The gift of this peace draws us to new heights and makes us hungry for Holy Communion.”
Cameron, P.J. (2009). How to go to mass: The sign of peace. Magnificat, 11(9), 2-5.
Lampstand Foundation website, http://www.lampstandfoundation.org/
"The sinner is at the very heart of Christianity. Nobody is so competent as the sinner in matters of Christianity. Nobody, except the saint." Charles Peguy (1873-1914)
About
- David H. Lukenbill
- I am a California native, married, we have one daughter and live close to the American River with two cats and all the wild critters we can feed. I am a management consultant to nonprofit organizations and have an Associates of Arts degree in Administration of Justice from Sacramento City College, a Bachelor of Science degree in Organizational Behavior from the University of San Francisco and a Master of Public Administration degree, also from the University of San Francisco.