The Meaning of the Sign of Peace

[Michie]

At Mass, the Sign of Peace is no stranger to controversy. Where does it come from, and what's it for?​

The Sign of Peace, the handshake that takes place at Sunday Mass between the Our Father and the Agnus Dei (Lamb of God) before Holy Communion, is sometimes a source of friction and confusion.

The friction derives from the experience of it getting out of hand—being disruptive and even an intrusion. These problems were serious enough to raise the question, at the 2009 Synod of Bishops in in Rome, of moving the Sign of Peace to before the Offertory. Here, I want to shed some light on the meaning of the rite, which helps to put the question into some context.

The “Pax” (“peace”), or kiss of peace, is a very ancient rite—so ancient, in fact, that the Irish word for “kiss,” póg, derives from the Latin “pax” thanks to this ceremony. Confusingly, however, in the Latin Church, the Pax was historically found in two different places. In France and other places, it took place before the Offertory; in Africa and Rome, it took place before Holy Communion, after the Our Father. The Church’s modern rites, both traditional and post-Vatican II, use the second location for the Pax, and this makes a difference regarding its meaning.

Continued below.

The Meaning of the Sign of Peace

At Mass, the Sign of Peace is no stranger to controversy—and not just in modern times. Where does it come from, and what's it for?

www.catholic.com

 

[RileyG]

Do you know why it's not included in the Latin Mass?

 

[Michie]

Do you know why it's not included in the Latin Mass?

I have never been to a Latin Mass. I always wanted to but it’s not offered here.

I read this below:

If we think of the Pax as a blessing, it matters less if the people take part directly in the ceremony. This has its usefulness, as their participation created a number of problems over the centuries. A stylized kiss or embrace was not thought, by our predecessors of ancient times, as suitable to be given between men and women, who used to sit in different parts of church (usually women on the left as you face the altar). One solution, developed in England, was the use of an object, the Paxbrede, which was kissed by one person after another. This underlined the passage of the Peace from the altar to the people, but not only did it take some time, but it also led to disputes about who should kiss it first. Finally—and this seems to have finished the practice off in most places—there were concerns about hygiene. Today, in the traditional liturgy, you will find the Paxbrede used only in certain places, notably in Spain and by the Dominicans.

In the post-Vatican II liturgical reform, there was a desire to include the people more closely in the ceremony, which revived these dilemmas. At least in principle, a simultaneous handshake is quick, is hygienic, and can be done between men and women. Its weakness lies in undermining the connection between the peace exchanged among the people with the peace that comes from Christ, really present on the altar. To minimize disruption, the celebrant is actually forbidden from leaving the sanctuary to give the Peace to the congregation (General Instruction of the Roman Missal 82, 152), though this rule is often ignored.

As already noted, the rite is most often criticized for causing disruption, which is indeed regrettable. The decision of Pope Benedict XVI in 2007 not to move it from before Holy Communion to before the Offertory, despite this, underlines the remaining importance of seeing the Peace as something emanating from Christ—however many, or few, of our fellow Catholics we actually shake hands with.

 

[RileyG]

Thanks!

 

[Michie]

Thanks!

You are very welcome!

 

[RileyG]

I think they do it very differently in the Maronite Mass as well, but I never been to one.

I do not recall if there was a sign of peace in the Ukrainian Divine Liturgy when I attended six years ago. I do not think there was.

 

[Bob Crowley]

As already noted, the rite is most often criticized for causing disruption, which is indeed regrettable.

Some parishioners must have nothing better to do than complain.

The decision of Pope Benedict XVI in 2007 not to move it from before Holy Communion to before the Offertory, despite this, underlines the remaining importance of seeing the Peace as something emanating from Christ—however many, or few, of our fellow Catholics we actually shake hands with.

These days, with the memory of the COVID bug with us, most of us don't even shake hands. We wave or acknowledge the other participants, but it's all very sanitary.

 

[Michie]

I have been to a few Latin masses, and know quite a few Latin attenders. They not only don't like it, they get angry at it like it's a really bad thing.

Do you ever have anything nice to say? Wherever there is a complaint we can depend on you. You said the Knight of Columbus were creepy too among other things. Why can’t you just move on?