Greet One Another With A Holy Kiss

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I parked my car - and was walking towards the church doors -
this was about 80 minutes before mass…
And out from the doors comes the Pastor !
He was wearing jeans and a flannel shirt - almost didn’t recognize him …
He diverted his path and came up to me -
I held out my hand - to shake hands -
He opened his arms and hugged me -
Said he loved me - and kissed me on the cheek !
And with that - he went his way back with the maintenance man.

Anybody greet a church person - with a Holy kiss ? 🙂
 
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There’s a couple of church ladies that lay a big smack-a-roo on me when I see them. I like it. It’s the living Gospel. 😘
 
Perhaps one should consider the Sin of Presumption. That mindset which suggests No harm will come to me from what happens in church. Surely, various communicable diseases don’t mind their manners because Mass is in the offing.
 
I sometimes kiss my sons but these days the only other male I kiss is Our Lord on the cross. 🙂
 
During the sign of peace if my mother was next to me at Mass i would kiss her instead of shaking her hand .
 
Good heavens, what an odd thing to say about a friendly kiss on the cheek. Even if they were exhibiting open, oozing sores, the line “will you kiss the leper clean” comes to mind.

 
When I sat up front - the older women -
always - would gently hug - then kiss kiss on cheek -
always smiling - and happy seeing one another -
And they just saw each other at yesterday’s mass ? 😛

Some of the older women, that obviously like me -
I do - if we’re standing - and it’s appropriate - offer my cheek or vice versa -
But I’m particular - believe it or not - lol

Romans 16:16 / Cor 16:20 / 2nd Cor 13:12 / Thes 5:26
Peter 5: 14 / Psalms 85:10 etc.
 
I think the scriptural kiss had a different meaning in NT times. That was a common greeting, but there may have been social complexities that would prompt somebody to write that verse. It’s rather hypocritical in church today, because those people who kiss, are kissing affectionately and not for scriptural reasons. They don’t kiss everyone around them, for example.

The advice of scripture is to interpret scripture with scripture, at least as a starting point. What is the scriptural meaning of a holy kiss (not the honey-I-love-you type of kiss)?
 
There are still many cultures where people do routinely kiss each other as way of greeting. This sometimes carries over into church.
 
I often hug our priest on the way out of mass and tell them I enjoyed their homily or how it struck a cord. Three of them have told me they appreciate the feedback and that it is helpful to hear what people think or they don’t know if what they said meant anything to people.
 
It’s never happened to me, nor have I ever seen it happen to anyone else. But it brings to mind a funny story from a few years back. Our youngest son’s high school band was performing at the Anglican Cathedral downtown and he had invited his best friend to attend. The friend, unfamiliar with churches in all their diverse appearances, wandered into the Catholic Cathedral just up the block by mistake. By coincidence they were having evening Mass that day and they were well into it before he realized that my son was nowhere in sight and there would be no band concert. Not wanting to appear rude, he stayed to the end and, observing the couple seated in front of him hug during the sign of peace, he in turn hugged the nun who was seated next to him. Who knows, it may have been the highlight of the dear woman’s week. 🙂
 
I was away from Church for some weeks while sick. When I returned two priests gave me a hug. It meant a lot to me to have such an affectionate welcome.
 
Good point. I know Italians and French do it, posiibly Russians and Greeks too. And seemingly most Muslim cultures.
 
I have often greeted our deacon with a kiss.
We have been married 47 years.
 
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If I’m serving mass and wearing a cassock and surplice, my wife pretends she doesn’t know me. Otherwise, we have a tradition of giving each other a little kiss during the kiss of peace.
 
I remember giving a old woman a ride home - in the summertime -
She arrived early to mass - and came over to me - " Mary " - asking me. Sure, I said.
She sat in the pew in front of me, and said " are we ready to leave " ?
I said mass hadn’t begun yet.
It turns out she had early stages of dementia - age 88 or so -
As I drove her home - down the street - she forgot what street…was honestly unsure.
I pulled up to a son, 25 and dad 55, working their yard - they gave better directions.
Found it - she stepped out - and for some reason, I blew her a kiss - as she looked at me.
She wanted to show me her home…that her daughter and husband lived in with her…" the freeloaders "
well, long story short…that was her last mass…and a few months later, she passed away.
I’ll never forget it - she smiled and blew a kiss back to me.
 
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