Peace of Christ instead of Body of Christ

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At Mass today, when the priest was giving out communion he said “Peace of Christ” when giving out the Host instead of Body of Christ.

Has anyone experienced anything similar to this?
 
No, but I’m sure it is an illicit practice. You might want to bring this up with your bishop.
 
bzkoss236 said:
No, but I’m sure it is an illicit practice. You might want to bring this up with your bishop.
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You might actually just ask the priest why he did that. Perhaps he slipped up; at some point during the Mass, of course, he would have said the words “Peace of Christ.” There is no need to presume ill will on the part of the priest. Furthermore, if this were an abuse and not a simple slip of the tongue (priests are human, and flub words from time to time), I’m not sure this rises to the level of the kind of thing that needs to be immediately addressed to the Bishop. Speak to the priest if you’re concerned, but I don’t think this is something that you’d necessarily write the Bishop about. In the grand scheme of things, liturgically speaking, were this an intentional action of the priest, it’s still a relatively minor quirk, and not a huge abuse.

-ACEGC
 
edward_george said:
You might actually just ask the priest why he did that. Perhaps he slipped up; at some point during the Mass, of course, he would have said the words “Peace of Christ.” There is no need to presume ill will on the part of the priest. Furthermore, if this were an abuse and not a simple slip of the tongue (priests are human, and flub words from time to time), I’m not sure this rises to the level of the kind of thing that needs to be immediately addressed to the Bishop. Speak to the priest if you’re concerned, but I don’t think this is something that you’d necessarily write the Bishop about. In the grand scheme of things, liturgically speaking, were this an intentional action of the priest, it’s still a relatively minor quirk, and not a huge abuse.

-ACEGC
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Sounds like good advice!
 
I have seen far more serious issues than that which I raised directly with the Priest: in one case the abuse may have invalidated the Mass (improper materials used as Species used for the Consecration).
There’s no need to rush to your bishop unless your priest is refusing to correct a serious abuse, which has been raised with him in a tactful and charitable manner.
 
I can recollect, several times, when I could not remember a word or phrase, that I would use a lot and would say it wrong, all day. I would know that it wasn’t quite right, but I just couldn’t figure out what was wrong. It is possible this is what happened; wait and see if he continues to say “Peace of Christ” instead of “Body of Christ.” If it doesn’t continue - forget about it, it was most likely a mistake - if it does continue, then ask him about it. Only go to the bishop if you ask the priest about it and he continues to say it after that.
P.S.: If the priest is NOT the pastor and talking to him doesn’t help, go to the pastor, to get it reconciled, BEFORE going to the bishop.
 
Yes priests are human and I have found most do not resent any questions posed, but what should one do when differences arise? When do we follow with faith, when do we charitably forgive, when do we simply trust, and when do we hopefully follow? When must we do something more than simply ignore what we feel is either wrong or different from our understanding or expectations? What do we do then and what is the litmus test to act?:confused:
 
Father John Hardon, S.J. said, “praying and offering God sacrifices for the priesthood are indispensably important,” because “there is no Catholic Church without the priesthood.”
 
First, according to the Gospel, tell your Priest that this is wrong and against the Church rules.

If, he repents, great, but if he doesn’t, you should report it to your Bishop.
 
edward_george said:
You might actually just ask the priest why he did that. Perhaps he slipped up; at some point during the Mass, of course, he would have said the words “Peace of Christ.” There is no need to presume ill will on the part of the priest. Furthermore, if this were an abuse and not a simple slip of the tongue (priests are human, and flub words from time to time), I’m not sure this rises to the level of the kind of thing that needs to be immediately addressed to the Bishop. Speak to the priest if you’re concerned, but I don’t think this is something that you’d necessarily write the Bishop about. In the grand scheme of things, liturgically speaking, were this an intentional action of the priest, it’s still a relatively minor quirk, and not a huge abuse.

-ACEGC
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This did not effect the sacramental validity of the Mass. I’d say since this is a minor matter, let it go this time (it could very well be that Father slipped up, or you misheard him).

If he continues to use this phrase during the Communion Rite, bring it up with him. Don’t sound like a challenger immediately, but do it charitably: “Father, I’ve noticed that you’ve been saying ‘Peace of Christ’ while dispensing the Blessed Sacrament instead of ‘Body of Christ.’ I was wondering why? I was always taught that anyone distributing Holy Communion ought to say ‘Body of Christ.’” If he corrects himself, the problem fixes itself.

If the priest does not correct himself, I would double check your sources and be a little more direct: “Father, I know that you said that you wanted to continue to use ‘Peace of Christ,’ but I was skimming through the Missal before Mass and I read that the priest is supposed to say ‘The Body of Christ,’ and it didn’t give any other options.”

If Father is still obstinate, I’d write a charitable letter to the bishop.

Basta.
 
I remember one time our priest said “He handed the cup over to his friends” instead of “He handed the cup to his friends”. I told the priest that the added word (over) reminded me of Pilate when he handed Christ over to be crucified.

The priests response was “Did I really say that?” so there you have it, sometimes they don’t hear what they are saying.
 
Did the priest say this to you only or did you hear him saying it to the person in front of you too.
If it was only to you, I would just be charitable and forget about it, since it may have been a slip of the tong OR may be the Holy Spirit wanted you to hear this.
Only if he is using this formula with everybody, I would approach him first and ask him politely if this is the required wording on the missal. And if the answer is not satisfactory and he perseveres then write to your Bishop.
Remember to always approach with humility and charity.

–
 
I recall one time at my parish we had a visiting deacon who was clearly ad libbing his parts of the liturgy. This was rather shocking to me because the pastor usually makes sure that everyone says the black and does the red. Then it came time for the distribution of Holy Communion, and the deacon showed me the host and said something completely different. I was slightly taken aback but I just said “Amen” and received the host. He was clearly embarrassed because he had not intended to say the wrong thing. Later I chuckled to myself and mused that this is the rotten fruit of ad libbing even a little bit. Eventually it catches up with you.
 
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