"Peace Be With You…" {Part 1}

When my two younger brothers and I were little, on Sundays it became a competition to see who got to sit in the two outside seats in the middle row of the family minivan on the way to Mass. The last one to the car would, inevitably, be stuck in the middle seat, where you were subject to poking and teasing from not one sibling, but two. (Of course, now that they’re both taller than me, this ceases to be an issue, as I am simply always the default middle seat passenger.)

Inevitably, our morning car scuffles, no matter how trivial, occasionally carried into Mass. Who got to sit next to mom and dad? Who didn’t? And thus, the atmosphere among the siblings was sometimes tense walking into church. Always, though, the Sign of Peace served to diffuse any leftover hard feelings. Even from a young age, I saw how key this action was in preparing me for the Eucharist.

Now, I am much more aware of the deeper significance of the Sign of Peace. In John 14:27, Jesus encouraged his disciples:“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not be afraid.”After Jesus’ death and resurrection, in John 20:19, he returns to his friends in their state of fear and despair and reveals himself as the same Christ who died on the cross, the Son of God, the One who consistently acts in and fulfills his character:“Peace be with you.” This is the peace we share at Mass.

The Sign of Peace falls in between the “Our Father,” where we ask the Lord to “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us,” and the sharing of the gift of the Eucharist. Thus, the Sign of Peace is a continuation of our preparation to receive peace from the Our Father. It serves as the gesture of forgiveness among the congregation that we promise during the Lord’s Prayer as well as a symbol of Christ’s forgiveness that will allow us to approach the altar to receive Jesus’ Body and Blood with clean hearts. During the Eucharistic prayer, we then implore the Lamb of God to share his peace with us. It is all one continual prayer.

During the 2005 debates of the Synod of Bishops on the Eucharist, a question arose regarding whether or not the Sign of Peace as we know it appropriately accomplishes what it is meant to in the Mass. The Congregation for the Divine Worship and the discipline of Sacraments began to examine this issue, and the Vatican released a Circular Letter entitled “The Ritual Expression of the Gift of Peace at Mass” in July which addresses the bishops of the worldwide Church. View the text of the Circular Letter by clicking on the link on this page.

In this Letter, the Vatican explains that the Synod of Bishops discussed the “appropriateness of greater restraint” in the gesture of the Sign of Peace, “which can be exaggerated and cause a certain distraction in the assembly just before the reception of Communion.” The Letter emphasizes the importance of the Sign of Peace, however, especially in a world in such great need of peace, and recommends that bishops around the world consider whether changes be made to the way they currently express the Sign of Peace in their diocese. For example, hugging might be appropriate in one area, where shaking hands might be appropriate in another, where nodding or bowing might be more effective in others.

The Letter makes it clear that all churches should avoid “abuses such as” a song during the Sign of Peace, the movement of the congregation from their original places in the church, and the departure of the priest from the altar to share the Sign of Peace with the congregation.

What would changes to the Sign of Peace mean for the Notre Dame worship community, the Catholic Church of America, and the greater worldwide Church? What specific purposes does the Sign of Peace serve, and how does it go about accomplishing these goals?

Next week, we will continue our discussion of the Sign of Peace, examining these questions and others. I will share my own experiences with the manifestation of peace at Mass both from home in Portland, OR and here at Notre Dame.

In the meantime, what does the Sign of Peace mean to you? How would significant changes to the form alter this meaning?