"The Lord Be With You" - who is "The Lord"?

[kaliforniakatho]

This is a repost, since the orginal didn’t seem to be clear in the title line…

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Okay, this may sound like a ridiculous question to many of you… but several times during Mass the priest says “The Lord be with you”. Here’s my question… I know we use “Lord” to refer to Jesus at times, and also to God the Father at other times. During Mass, before the Gospel and during the Eucharistic Prayer, which person of the Trinity is being referenced when the priest says “The Lord be with you”?

 

[Corki]

Since the Latin is “Dominus”, I think it is God as a unity, not one person of the trinity.

 

[Eucharisted]

The Lord is the Lord.

 

[Henning]

The phrase ‘the Lord be with you’ occurs only once in the entire DRB.

2 Thessalonians 3:16 Now the Lord of peace himself give you everlasting peace in every place. **The Lord be with you **all.

 

[jkarp]

The phrase ‘the Lord be with you’ occurs only once in the entire DRB.

2 Thessalonians 3:16 Now the Lord of peace himself give you everlasting peace in every place. **The Lord be with you **all.

The Catholic Encyclopedia also cites Ruth 2:4:

“And behold, he came out of Bethlehem, and said to the reapers: The Lord be with you . . .”

and also 2 Chronicles 15:2:

And he went out to meet Asa, and said to him: Hear ye me, Asa, and all Juda and Benjamin: The Lord is with you . . .

It also says that the same idea is presented in Matthew 28:20:

Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you. And behold I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world.

I would like to also add to this list the angel’s greeting to Mary from the Gospel of Luke:

Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee . . . (Luke 1:28)

With this all in mind, the previous posters seem to have the right idea, the phrase doesn’t reference a single person of the trinity, it probably references God in full.

“The Lord be with you” is a translation of the latin phrase “Dominus vobiscum.” The word Dominus means “Lord” or “Master”.

 

[Br.Rich_SFO]

This is a repost, since the orginal didn’t seem to be clear in the title line…

================================

Okay, this may sound like a ridiculous question to many of you… but several times during Mass the priest says “The Lord be with you”. Here’s my question… I know we use “Lord” to refer to Jesus at times, and also to God the Father at other times. During Mass, before the Gospel and during the Eucharistic Prayer, which person of the Trinity is being referenced when the priest says “The Lord be with you”?

The word “Lord” in Hebrew references God.

 

[centurionguard]

Dominus Vobiscum. Et Cum Spiritu Tuo

The Lord Be With. And With Thy Spirit

In the Eucharistic Prayer the Priest Is Making the invocation in the rubrics of calling the Holy Ghost down upon the species of bread and wine and changing them into the Sacred Mystery of the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ.

In the Holy Gospel it is the Holy Spirit who is the Sanctifier of the Word of God reaching out to the heart of God’s people.

I though jkarp made an excellent brief summary of defining the LORD’s Holy Name

 

[centurionguard]

Dominus Vobiscum. Et Cum Spiritu Tuo

The Lord Be With. And With Thy Spirit

In the Eucharistic Prayer the Priest Is Making the invocation in the rubrics of calling the Holy Ghost down upon the species of bread and wine and changing them into the Sacred Mystery of the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ.

In the Holy Gospel it is the Holy Spirit who is the Sanctifier of the Word of God reaching out to the heart of God’s people.

I though karp made an excellent brief summary of defining the LORD’s Holy Name

Sadly in Canadian English Catholic Churches the congregational answer to the prayer The Lord Be With You is answered:
And Also With You which to me is a blasphemous reply.
No thanks to Pope Paul IV Novus Ordo (New Mass)

 

[thistle]

Sadly in Canadian English Catholic Churches the congregational answer to the prayer The Lord Be With You is answered:
And Also With You which to me is a blasphemous reply.
No thanks to Pope Paul IV Novus Ordo (New Mass)

Obviously it is not a blasphemous reply no matter what you might think.

 

[DixitDominus]

Dominus Vobiscum. Et Cum Spiritu Tuo

The Lord Be With. And With Thy Spirit

In the Eucharistic Prayer the Priest Is Making the invocation in the rubrics of calling the Holy Ghost down upon the species of bread and wine and changing them into the Sacred Mystery of the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ.

In the Holy Gospel it is the Holy Spirit who is the Sanctifier of the Word of God reaching out to the heart of God’s people.

I though jkarp made an excellent brief summary of defining the LORD’s Holy Name

Transubstantiation does not occur at the Epiklesis. It occurs at the Words of Consecration.

Also, That is not the meaning of spirit in “et cum spiritu tuo.” The spirit is a synecdoche for both the priest’s body and soul. It is also a reference to the indelible mark that the one receives in the Sacrament Holy Orders. This is why a deacon, priest and bishop can all say the greeting “Dominus vobiscum” and receive the response “et cum spiritu tuo” but one who hasn’t received that Sacrament.

In reference to the original question, “Dominus” probably refers to all three persons of the Trinity for, “Dominus Pater. Dominus Filius, Dominus Spiritus Sanctus; et tamen non tres Domini sed unus est Dominus”–“The Father is the Lord. The Son is the Lord. The Holy Spirit is the Lord; and nevertheless There are not three Lords, but there is one Lord.”

 

[jkarp]

Dominus Vobiscum. Et Cum Spiritu Tuo

The Lord Be With. And With Thy Spirit

In the Eucharistic Prayer the Priest Is Making the invocation in the rubrics of calling the Holy Ghost down upon the species of bread and wine and changing them into the Sacred Mystery of the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ.

In the Holy Gospel it is the Holy Spirit who is the Sanctifier of the Word of God reaching out to the heart of God’s people.

I though jkarp made an excellent brief summary of defining the LORD’s Holy Name

Thanks! I just want to add to your post that the conjugation vobiscum implies “you all” (second person plural) as as opposed to tecum (second person singular). So a not unreasonable translation could be “The Lord be with you all.” Though living in the south I have to becareful because of the inclination toward the use of the Southern-English second person plural pronoun: y’all.

 

[Lisa44]

Sadly in Canadian English Catholic Churches the congregational answer to the prayer The Lord Be With You is answered:
And Also With You which to me is a blasphemous reply.
No thanks to Pope Paul IV Novus Ordo (New Mass)

Hi, I’m curious, why does it seem blasphemous?

 

[Digitonomy]

Dominus Vobiscum. Et Cum Spiritu Tuo

The Lord Be With. And With Thy Spirit

When we say “And with your spirit,” do we mean you, the priest, or you, the Lord? In English perhaps we might suppose both, but in some languages the pronoun may not apply to both.

I’m guessing it may mean the Lord, since the familiar form of you/your is used, which is standard when addressing the Lord. But I’m not certain whether the formal form of you would be used when addressing only the priest, or if the familiar form would also be used in that case.

 

[DixitDominus]

When we say “And with your spirit,” do we mean you, the priest, or you, the Lord? In English perhaps we might suppose both, but in some languages the pronoun may not apply to both.

I’m guessing it may mean the Lord, since the familiar form of you/your is used, which is standard when addressing the Lord. But I’m not certain whether the formal form of you would be used when addressing only the priest, or if the familiar form would also be used in that case.

Latin doesn’t have an informal vs. formal you like some other languages have. It only has a singular and plural you. “Tu” is singular. “Vos” is plural. The “et cum spiritu tuo” isn’t addressing the Lord. It’s addressing the priest, who just addressed us.