When the priest says "Peace be with you"

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anniemart

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What are you supposed to do with your hands? I keep them in a prayer position and bow to the priest every time he says this. This is what I was taught…others respond back to the priest with open arms (just the way the priest does)…

I was told that we aren’t supposed to do this because only a priest can bestow this wish of peace upon us and to return the gesture in like manner is incorrect, perhaps even rude…has any gesture at this moment during the mass always been present (other than responding "And also with you…?)

How is this done in the TLM? Can anyone tell me where this is in print?
 
There is no prescribed hand position for the people when they respond to the greeting of peace. Therefore you will not find it in print. It is not correct for the people to imitate the postures of the priest. This may be indicated in *Redemptionis Sacramentum *or other recent document.

Betsy
 
anniemart said:
What are you supposed to do with your hands? I keep them in a prayer position and bow to the priest every time he says this. This is what I was taught…others respond back to the priest with open arms (just the way the priest does)…

I was told that we aren’t supposed to do this because only a priest can bestow this wish of peace upon us and to return the gesture in like manner is incorrect, perhaps even rude…has any gesture at this moment during the mass always been present (other than responding "And also with you…?)

How is this done in the TLM? Can anyone tell me where this is in print?
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Is this a joke? :confused:
 
I attended a NO Mass yesterday and saw some people do this a couple of times during the Mass.

It makes me wonder just how many parishioners actually read Church documents. I suspect a former parish priest didn’t read them, either that or he just ignored rulings from Rome.
 
Eileen_T said:
It makes me wonder just how many parishioners actually read Church documents.
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Eileen, only CAF nerds like us read Church documents! 😃 Maybe a half of one percent of the rest of the people do.

Betsy
 
baltobetsy said:
Eileen, only CAF nerds like us read Church documents! 😃 Maybe a half of one percent of the rest of the people do.

Betsy
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And the rest simply say, “in the spirit of Vat II.” Some spirit that turned out to be. Every passing Sunday it seems there’s less and and less spirituality in the Mass.
 
anniemart said:
What are you supposed to do with your hands? I keep them in a prayer position and bow to the priest every time he says this. This is what I was taught…others respond back to the priest with open arms (just the way the priest does)…

I was told that we aren’t supposed to do this because only a priest can bestow this wish of peace upon us and to return the gesture in like manner is incorrect, perhaps even rude…has any gesture at this moment during the mass always been present (other than responding "And also with you…?)

How is this done in the TLM? Can anyone tell me where this is in print?
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In the Traditional Mass, when responses are given, it is in the form of Et Cum Spiritu Tuo. No raising of hands in the Orans position or in the touchdown position or anything else.
 
JimR-OCDS said:
Is this a joke? :confused:
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**Ministers in Action
Six-year-old Angie and her four-year-old brother Joel were sitting together in church. Joel giggled, sang, and talked out loud. Finally, his big sister had had enough.
“You’re not supposed to talk (and especially out loud) in church.”
“Why? Who’s going to stop me?” Joel asked.
Angie pointed to the back of the church and said,
“See those two men standing by the door?
They’re hushers.” **

how’s that for a joke…😉
 
For those of you who considered my post, I thank you for your responses…I’m also very thankful that you are as knowledgable as you all appear to be…

I asked this question because at mass a couple of weekends ago, I overheard the parishioners behind me discussing why my family did not return the gesture to Father like most do…I wasn’t sure they were talking about us so I made an effort to focus more on the mass.

After mass, while checking the reader’s schedule, the dad came up to me (he’s an EMHC and part of the RCIA team) and told me that he found it distracting that my family didn’t extend our hands and arms like most do…I replied that I had learned not to do this from Father himself. He had nothing else to say but did roll his eyes up to high heaven and I was left wondering just how big a distraction this could really be to others…🤷
 
anniemart said:
After mass, while checking the reader’s schedule, the dad came up to me (he’s an EMHC and part of the RCIA team) and told me that he found it distracting that my family didn’t extend our hands and arms like most do…I replied that I had learned not to do this from Father himself. He had nothing else to say but did roll his eyes up to high heaven and I was left wondering just how big a distraction this could really be to others…🤷
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What I would like to say in that situation – but probably wouldn’t think of until much later – would be that I hadn’t noticed what gestures other people were making since I was too busy focusing on the Mass.
 
It’s amazing to me to see how prominent this practice is in different parishes. It all stems from the “feel-good” mentality lots of Catholics mistaken it to be from Vatican II. Over the years I’ve seen the progression from hand-holding during the Our Father, to imitating the orans positions during responses from the parishioners during Mass. To me, these unnecessary positions and stances are the ones that distracting - it distracts a worshiper from centering themselves on Christ during the Mass. Instead, you see them going out of their ways making sure that they move a couple of feet over to clasp the hand of the person sitting down a-ways in their pews, or making sure their responses are accompanied by their hands being raised. Unless this is a Charismatic Mass, I, for one, don’t see how these positions can help a person worship any “better!”

Thanks for letting me rant. 😊
 
I’d like to say – let’s be careful about what we blame on Vatican II.

Before the Novo Ordo mass was established (when I was a teen), the celebrant would say “Dominus Vobiscum” (The Lord be with you), and we would respond “Et cum spiritu tuo” (and with your spirit). Guess what – inn the diocese of Los Angeles – at least in my parish there – we would often gesture toward the priest with our hands while responding. We didn’t know anything about “rubrics” – we did it for social reasons and weren’t taught not to extend this gesture to the priests.

I eventually learned that this isn’t in the rubrics (although I occasionally catch myself reciprocating the celebrant’s gesture, because I’m a creature of habit). Yes, I know we’re not to do this, because the celebrant’s gesture is a “presidential” one – that he is presiding, and because of spiritually traditional reasons:

ewtn.com/library/Liturgy/zlitur37.htm

But please don’t demean the attitude the faithful when we do use this gesture – we don’t mean to take on the role of presider, and have no desire to reduce the meaning of this gesture – we simply have used this gesture for social reasons out of respect and appreciation for our priests – wishing them peace in return. I agree – it may be appropriate for priests to teach us the historic and liturgical meanings behind the gestures used during mass.

May the Lord’s peace be with all of us.
 
Here in my area, just about every person in every church responds “and also with you” with hands outstretched. I was not told anything about this, one way or the other, in RCIA Class. 🤷
 
Andruschak: Here in my area, just about every person in every church responds “and also with you” with hands outstretched. I was not told anything about this, one way or the other, in RCIA Class.
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It’s impossible to teach everything that can be taught about the faith, and how we worship, in RCIA! There just isn’t enough time! Each of us (hopefully) will keep learning 'til the day we’re no longer here on earth.
 
Please read this
Priest’s homily
In recent times, there has been much confusion regarding certain aspects of our hand gestures during the Catholic Mass. I would like to take a few moments to address this confusion. There are three questions that are always being asked: 1) Is gesturing toward the priest with the hand while responding. “And also with you” considered correct? 2) Should the congregation pray with hands held in the orans position during the Our Father? 3) Is holding hands as the congregation recites the Our Father correct or even appropriate?
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…(Please read the whole homily on the link above. The priest did his homework, and it is evident in his footnoting)…
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  1. The use of hand gestures towards the priest with the response “And also with you” is an innovation that has no place within the Catholic Mass; 2) The use of the orans, a position with an established historical precedent in Christian prayer, should not be introduced into the Catholic Mass until a definition has been given by the authority of the Church; 3) The gesture of holding hands during the Our Father has no historical tradition in the Catholic liturgy and should not be introduced into the Catholic Mass unless the competent ecclesial authorities were to decide the contrary.
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In conclusion, regarding the use of bodily gestures within the Catholic Mass, it seems to me that there needs to be unity. The people become confused when one parish does one thing and down the road or in the next town, another parish is doing something entirely different. “Therefore no other person whatsoever, not even a priest, may add, remove, or change anything in the liturgy on their own authority” (Vatican II, Sacrosanctum Concilium, #22.3).
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anniemart said:
What are you supposed to do with your hands? I keep them in a prayer position and bow to the priest every time he says this. This is what I was taught…others respond back to the priest with open arms (just the way the priest does)…

I was told that we aren’t supposed to do this because only a priest can bestow this wish of peace upon us and to return the gesture in like manner is incorrect, perhaps even rude…has any gesture at this moment during the mass always been present (other than responding "And also with you…?)

How is this done in the TLM? Can anyone tell me where this is in print?
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The human gesture of showing open hands is a way of showing others “I bear no weapons, I mean you no harm”. The gesture is older than the Church, and is still used in secular society. After all, why do men shake hands with their right hand, not the left? Since the right hand is predominately the “strong” or weapon holding hand, that gesture means the same as above.

Don’t get too hung-up on hand gestures, it’s too much like “gnat” straining!

God Bless
 
briang72 said:
Please read this
Priest’s homily
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This is an awesome priest; I have read his comments before. He addresses these issues clearly (hand gestures, etc.), which is the point I made previously on another post about hand holding during the Our Father. He says plainly that innovations should not be introduced. Someone jumped all over me, as if to say, why not! 😦 A holy priest says so!
 
I’ve met Fr. Farfaglia before, and I’m not surprised he’d write a homily on this subject. His parish has Latin Novus Ordo Masses, an outstanding choir director that studies Gregorian chant and Renaissance polyphany, and he jumps right in to “controversial issues”. He once told me that the day they make speaking out against abortion a hate crine, he will preach his homily against abortion and happily go to jail.

Bless him, O Lord.
 
sphilomena said:
This is an awesome priest; I have read his comments before. He addresses these issues clearly (hand gestures, etc.), which is the point I made previously on another post about hand holding during the Our Father. He says plainly that innovations should not be introduced. Someone jumped all over me, as if to say, why not! 😦 A holy priest says so!
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Let me add another answer to “Why not?”: One Church!!!

If parishes start innovating on their own authority, then eventually we have to take a class before going to Mass at each different parish. How do we remain one Church without the authority of Rome? :nope:
 
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