Is the Sign of Peace phoney?

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I remember when it was introduced. I hated it. My older brother said
he shock some kid with a cold sweaty hand. Ug!
Now I shake hands with everyone I can reach. At morning mass I get out
of my pew and reach as many people as I can in the time allowed,
Bishop Sheen gave a talk once on the power of touch. Well before
Vatican II. To love others you have to be willing to touch them.
As a result I have had people come up to me and ask for prayers for
this or that. I feel blessed to do so.
 
I generally go to the EF but when I occasionally attend the OF I try to stare straight ahead and fold my hands.

There are other ways to get people to not hold your hand. 👹

But that would be rude.
 
Theo2 said:
I remember when it was introduced. I hated it. My older brother said
he shock some kid with a cold sweaty hand. Ug!
Now I shake hands with everyone I can reach. At morning mass I get out
of my pew and reach as many people as I can in the time allowed,
Bishop Sheen gave a talk once on the power of touch. Well before
Vatican II. To love others you have to be willing to touch them.
As a result I have had people come up to me and ask for prayers for
this or that. I feel blessed to do so.
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We have a Red Cross volunteer here at the clinic who attends Mass at the military chapel. Her late husband was US Air Force. She always sits in the same place every Sunday, and usually it seems she’s by herself. I make it a point to walk up to her during the sign of peace (yeah, it’s not social hour, but come on - she’s a little elderly lady) and offer it to her. She usually hugs me. Today at work she made a point of telling me how much she appreciates that I do it.

I’m pretty extroverted, but the SOP did bug me - until I learned what its purpose was and it dawned on me exactly what the point is. And while I’m not actually carrying out that point by crossing the aisle to speak to this sweet lady, I’m carrying out another point: love your neighbor. Peace be with you.
 
Because unless you pick your nose or scratch your eye after shaking someone’s hand you’re FAR less likely to get flu/infection from a handshake over drinking behind someone.
 
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I’m never really sure what to do at that time. It feels out of place. It would be a different story if the parish had a warmer atmosphere about it, but most folks aren’t at mass to get to know anyone or interact with others. Meh…
 
I prefer a lightly, gentle, respectful head bow over a meaningless, quickly-forgotten handshake.,.
 
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I think Christianity is supposed to shake you out of your comfort zone.

I am an introvert myself, and always hated this point in the Mass, until I realized that I needed to get out of my comfort zone. And the reward has been… some folks that give the sign of the peace with such genuine warmth to melt anybody’s hard heart. There’s an elderly couple that I often share a pew with and they are the perfect example, and their age clearly betrays that they are pre-Vatican II children (the wife knows most Mass settings of the ordinary by heart in Latin/Greek, I wonder if she was once in religious life). It’s a pleasure to exchange the peace with them.

There have been times when I have been really down that the sign of the peace uplifted me.

I our dioceses, when there is a flu epidemic, they put out a notice to omit the sign of the peace, and most folks at Mass, self included, will refrain from shaking hands if we have a cold or the flu.
 
Irishmom2 said:
It’s only as phony as you make it.
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Best wisdom we could hear all day.

Hear, hear! ❤️

The level of aminosity from some people towards their brothers and sisters in Christ when this subject comes up just astounds me.
 
Regarding hygiene , when we had no option other than to receive Communion on the tongue you could taste the nicotine from a certain priest’s finger as he put the host into the mouth , his finger touching one’s tongue .

Not very hygienic .
 
ShowersofRoses said:
The level of aminosity from some people towards their brothers and sisters in Christ when this subject comes up just astounds me.
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Come on , @ShowersofRoses , it hasn’t been that bad - - - - - - - - - -so far . :roll_eyes:

It’s my bedtime now . I’ll see if it gets to morning without being locked . 🙃
 
I think I’m still gun-shy from the last thread about it. 😱

(ducks for cover)
 
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Rob2 said:
Regarding hygiene , when we had no option other than to receive Communion on the tongue you could taste the nicotine from a certain priest’s finger as he put the host into the mouth , his finger touching one’s tongue .

Not very hygienic .
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That is likely the nastiest thing I’ve heard all day. And I’m a nurse.
 
The Sign of Peace isn’t a greeting like saying hello. It’s a liturgical action based on the scripture that we lay down our grievances against our fellow man before approaching the altar, that we’re a community and family going to table, and that we’ve (with the Lord’s grace) unburdened our soul to meet Him. It isn’t any more phony than saying amen at Communion - if you mean it. What others do and mean is irrelevant.
 
My parishes in San Antonio TX were like that - every row was snaked. Then when I moved to NYC I went to mass, held out my arms to very confused strangers on either side of me. Now I do it with just my wife and child.

Now, I’ve gotten better at the sign if peace, as I’ve battled through being introverted. I still get nervous from time to time though.
 
A lot of folks I see at Mass, I do not see during the course of a week.
 
ShowersofRoses said:
The level of aminosity from some people towards their brothers and sisters in Christ when this subject comes up just astounds me.
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I have to admit, I don’t get the animosity either myself, but…I look at it as us being Christ to one another - reaching out - He loved us first, & now we reach out to others in peace - as He did…LOVE the tradition…
 
I don’t know, I always feel like I am getting something out of the sign of peace at Mass.
However that is just me, I would hate to see it go lol. I defentley don’t do it if I have the flu though, then I always miss it.
 
i don’t mind the SOP. my wife hates it

during flu season (which was REALLY bad this past year); the Bishop stopped the wine; but kept the handshake; that doesn’t make much sense to me…

i am pretty sure i caught a bad stomach bug from a small child ihe pew ahead of me…
 
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