Sign of peace...

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CRW said:
ewtn.com/library/Liturgy/zlitur137.htm Interesting article concerning this post.
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Very good link. I think this part of the mass is mostly misunderstood. Perhaps there will be a reform.
Finally, “Redemptionis Sacramentum,” No. 71, adds a further note: “The practice of the Roman Rite is to be maintained according to which the peace is extended shortly before Holy Communion. For according to the tradition of the Roman Rite, this practice does not have the connotation either of reconciliation or of a remission of sins, but instead signifies peace, communion and charity before the reception of the Most Holy Eucharist. It is rather the Penitential Act to be carried out at the beginning of Mass (especially in its first form) which has the character of reconciliation among brothers and sisters.”
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Code: 
     "Redemptionis Sacramentum" highlights another reason. The peace         exchanged is the Lord's peace coming from the sacrifice of the altar.
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fix said:
Very good link. I think this part of the mass is mostly misunderstood. Perhaps there will be a reform.
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True - but I, too, opt for consigning this optional part of the Mass to the dustbin of liturgical history for enough time for all to forget what happens now in most parishes. Only then MIGHT it be worth trying to do something, IMHO
 
In our Church you would think they just announced free drinks at the bar the way everyone starts running around.
I would rather concentrate on the Eucharist which I am about to partake.
Just my thought.
Prague
 
I hesitate to bring this up, since some people blow one incident of abuse at a NO Mass into an indictment of the entire NO, BUT…

Once at a Mass in New Mexico (the only Mass I ever attended at this parish), the priest said,“The peace of the Lord be always with you,” and we responded,“And also with you,” and he said,“Let us greet each other with a sign of peace…and be sure to ask the Jones about that new baby!” 😦
 
Prague said:
In our Church you would think they just announced free drinks at the bar the way everyone starts running around.I would rather concentrate on the Eucharist which I am about to partake.
Just my thought.
Prague
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I’ve seen that happen. It is truely awkward to stand there until those going up and down are finished.
 
How about when some people want to continue shaking hands right through the Agus Dei? :rolleyes:

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Pace e Bene 🙂
 
truthsilence said:
My husband detests the hand-holding during the Our Father. He was absolutely mortified today, when a little old lady stepped across the isle to grab his hand. He tried to tell her “I don’t do that”; and she said “You have too!!” (I’m not joking!)

I watched him wince in pain (though with a forced smile) throughout the prayer. It was all I could do not to burst into laughter. My husband - strong armed, by a little old lady at mass!! 😃 :eek: It was priceless. Especially when she raised his hand higher, toward the end. I thought he would lose it right there.

Unfortuately I felt completely distracted and of course, so did he. Is there any teaching from Rome stating that we have to do this stuff? Is there anything stating we shouldn’t have to?
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Truthesilence, you just made my day. That is rich. I too feel the hand holding during the Our Father is a bit much.

For the record, I could live without the sign of peace.
 
I saw someone on EWTN once talking about how a muslim friend once accompanied him to Sunday mass. During the consecration the friend asked “So you believe that that is the real Body and Blood of Jesus?” The catholic responded “yes”. To which the muslim friend replied, “If I believed that God was on the alter, I would crawl before it on my hands and knees”.
We would all do well to remeber what the Mass is really about, the Sacrifice of the Holy Eucharist. The Body and Blood should be enough to hold the attention of and give peace to the congregation. People who have negative feelings toward holding hands during the Our Father, or having to indroduce ourselves to our neighbor, are not uncharitable, selfish, or somehow socially challenged. We simply prefer quiet private devotion to public displays of fellowship during the parts of mass that call for contemplation. Why are we made to feel that there is only value in devotion if it involves “the community”? Didn’t Jesus also ask us to spend time with him alone?
 
Marci,
My thoughts exactly. If people really believe that Jesus Christ is there in body and blood, than perhaps they wouldn’t be as willing to partake in the side shows.
 
I personally abhor the Sign of Peace. As people have said, it’s optional.

The way I look at it is this:

If you receive Holy Communion by hand (I don’t) and you’ve just been shaking hands with evey Tom, Dick and Harry, you will be, when receiving the Body of Our Lord, cradling him in germ-ridden hands.

Add to that the EMHCs who distribute Holy Communion would hae more than likely indulged in the walk-about kind of ‘Sign of Peace’. I don’t receive from EMHCs at all because I receive on the tongue. However, there are some who receive from EMHCs and on the tongue.

'Nuff said…
 
johnnykins said:
True - but I, too, opt for consigning this optional part of the Mass to the dustbin of liturgical history for enough time for all to forget what happens now in most parishes. Only then MIGHT it be worth trying to do something, IMHO
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I agree. The practice is often simply much glad handing and seems terribly secular and out of place.
 
personally, i could do without it. i generally attend Mass alone at a large church with a relatively small number of parishioners. sometimes i just stand there if there is no one around me, and have to wait for others to finish. plus, my hands are usually cold, especially in the winter in this large, drafty church…you should see the looks on people’s faces when i touch their hands.
 
February said:
personally, i could do without it. i generally attend Mass alone at a large church with a relatively small number of parishioners. sometimes i just stand there if there is no one around me, and have to wait for others to finish.
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I know the feeling, although I only have to deal with this when I need to attend Mass at another church (my church is very large, but also has a very large congregation). I don’t know how the “for-families-only” nature of the handshaking (as it seems to be practiced now) squares with the idea that the entire body of Christ should be expressing peace, communion, and charity. By the time foks are done expressing peace to their families, the Agnus Dei has begin, and there’s no time left for anyone who is there alone. A lot of us just get left out.

On top of that, I will always associate this serial gladhanding and baby-kissing with politicians getting out there and pressing the flesh, and it just seems like the wrong gesture for Mass. I really do prefer a bow. I’ve been told maybe I should move to Japan. Of course, nobody can see me through the internet, and I haven’t posted my pic here – maybe I am Japanese. 😉

Crazy Internet Junkies Society
Carrier of the Angelic Sparkles Sprinkle Bag
Pace e Bene 🙂
 
I think I will go back to wearing gloves when I go to Church… Yes, I am that old, and I remember when we went to Church it was hats, gloves, and focusing on the Mass. I have noticed there are a few older ladies that are wearing gloves again.
As a matter of fact, I still have my gloves tucked away and just might dig them out on Sunday.
God’s Blessings
Prague
 
I don’t know if anyone’s brought this up, but as a practical consideration, handshaking isn’t always very comfortable for some of our older people w/ arthritis. This, and the germ consideration, as well as the personal space issue tied in with the exclusion experienced by many of us singles (or celebates) that don’t get included in the lovey-dovey family spectacles seems to point to a serious need to really sober it up (like what the GIRM and any other Vatican document or official calls for) and get rid of the excesses or have a more prudent use of it for certain times.
 
ComradeAndrei said:
I don’t know if anyone’s brought this up, but as a practical consideration, handshaking isn’t always very comfortable for some of our older people w/ arthritis.
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I don’t have arthritis in my hands, and I’m not exactly a tiny weakling, but I’ve encountered some people who squeezed my hand so hard, I wanted to yell “Owwwwww!” I can only imagine what that would feel like with arthritis in the hands. Not to mention that when you play a musical instrument, you generally don’t want your hands manhandled too badly. 😦

**Crazy Internet Junkies Society
**Carrier of the Angelic Sparkles Sprinkle Bag
Pace e Bene 🙂
 
I find it odd and sad that some of my fellow Catholics have a hard time wishing peace to their fellow parishioners. If we can’t even do this without acrimony, how can we be expected to be Christ in the world to those in need? Christ asked us to love one another, didn’t he? I would forgo your sense of “distraction” and accept that this has been part of the liturgy since early early on and use it as an opportunity to show charity to our brothers and sisters in Christ.

In Peace,
DS
 
DaughterSorrow said:
I find it odd and sad that some of my fellow Catholics have a hard time wishing peace to their fellow parishioners.
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I don’t think that anybody here has trouble wishing peace to their fellow parishioners.

What many of us object to is the noisy press-the-flesh gladhanding spectacle that the Sign of Peace has become (not to mention the fact that many of us who are there without families get totally left out of it).

**Crazy Internet Junkies Society
**Carrier of the Angelic Sparkles Sprinkle Bag
Pace e Bene 🙂
 
CarolAnnSFO said:
I don’t think that anybody here has trouble wishing peace to their fellow parishioners.

What many of us object to is the noisy press-the-flesh gladhanding spectacle that the Sign of Peace has become (not to mention the fact that many of us who are there without families get totally left out of it).

**Crazy Internet Junkies Society
**Carrier of the Angelic Sparkles Sprinkle Bag
Pace e Bene 🙂
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I have not noticed folks being left out at our parish. 😦 We have a lot of people w/o families participate in the sign of peace. That being said, when I cantor, I don’t wait long at all once the SOP starts to go to the cantor stand to begin the Agnus Dei. 😉
 
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