The Liturgical “Sign of Peace”: Move or Remove?

[The_Reginator]

And yet you're opting out just fine with your TLM. People who resent the novus ordo Sign of the Peace while lacking the TLM option should bear in mind that there are aspects of the liturgy that anyone of us could nitpick - I take issue with a lot of OCP music, for example (ugh!). Part of me wishes I could click-and-drag my Mass preferences the same way I do a vegan take-out at a short-order restaurant. But there's a Bigger Picture emerging from all of this pettiness, yes? We attend Mass for the Eucharist, and that's what I try to keep my eye on . . .

"... We attend Mass for the Eucharist, and that's what I try to keep my eye on . . ."
That's what this whole thread is about. Keeping your "eye on the Eucharist" and not having your attention diverted from God by greeting those around you.
One thing I've found since I've had to assist at the new Mass rather than the traditional Mass is that the new one is full of distractions. I'm easily distracted already. I don't need any help in that department. What I am trying to learn is to focus on what is happening. To know that I am in the presence of God and thousands+ of witnesses. That all our guardian angels are there too. That the whole host of heaven is there as heaven comes to earth at the consecration.
I am simply blown away by the very awesomeness of God becoming Man in the Eucharist. I always pray that everyone may slowly find the sense of the sacred in every Catholic church. The nave is a sacred space, not a social space.
I'll pause my rant for now.

 

[HomeschoolDad]

"... We attend Mass for the Eucharist, and that's what I try to keep my eye on . . ."
That's what this whole thread is about. Keeping your "eye on the Eucharist" and not having your attention diverted from God by greeting those around you.

^^^THIS

One thing I've found since I've had to assist at the new Mass rather than the traditional Mass is that the new one is full of distractions. I'm easily distracted already. I don't need any help in that department. What I am trying to learn is to focus on what is happening. now.

This too.

At the TLM, there is absolutely nothing to distract you from the Most Holy Sacrifice.

Hope you are able to assist at it again soon.

 

[blackforest]

"... We attend Mass for the Eucharist, and that's what I try to keep my eye on . . ."
That's what this whole thread is about. Keeping your "eye on the Eucharist" and not having your attention diverted from God by greeting those around you.

I've been back-and-forthing with Catholics online for nearly a decade. And a good lot of them come up with ways to blame others for their own distractions. That pretty woman was wearing a tank top. A baby cried. An autistic kid was "throwing a fit." I don't like the music. Somebody's phone went off. Somebody's medical monitor beeped. Etc, etc, etc.

But let's be honest here. Whether they come from our surroundings or from within, (i.e. as our minds wander), distractions are inevitable. As someone with ADHD, I've had to come up with ways to cope with this problem. There are lots of other great tips out there - https://www.goodcatholic.com/9-practical-tips-to-help-you-stay-focused-at-mass/

But unlike those other examples, the Peace isn't a distraction from the Liturgy. It is the Liturgy. If you wish to opt out, simply bow your head, fold your hands, and opt out. Maybe even chant the Anima Christi from the link I just shared. But it's not worth feeling bitter toward your Parish. Or your Church at large.

 

[HomeschoolDad]

But unlike those other examples, the Peace isn't a distraction from the Liturgy. It is the Liturgy. I

A priest may omit the communal sign of peace if he wishes, and only retain the pax vobiscum part, just as in the TLM. I went to a Novus Ordo parish for several years where the communal SOP was omitted (very small parish, older priest, offered Mass ad orientem with kneeling for communion), and was very thankful for this. It's rare to find a parish that doesn't do the communal SOP (or that has those other features as well).

And, as noted above, there is always the Traditional Latin Mass, if you have one near you. The two forms may both be the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass (though this aspect is far less prominent and "front and center" in the Novus Ordo than the TLM), but in many externals, they are as different as daylight and dark. Omission of a communal SOP is just one of those differences.