June 1, 2003

Our Saviour gives us peace “not as the world gives.” Worldly peace is an absence of violence. Christ’s peace is Himself. When He rose from the dead He said “Peace” as an announcement of His presence. This peace is not an absence of violence, for it actually involves a violent confrontation with the Prince of Lies who denies that Christ is the Prince of Peace. Thus pacifism is contrary to Christianity, for it is a naïve denial of the power of evil.

After the Our Father, Christ as the Lamb of Sacrifice being present on the altar, the priest says “You said to Your Apostles, ‘I leave you peace. My peace I give you.’ Look not on our sins but on the faith of Your Church, and grant us the peace and unity of Your Kingdom, where You live forever and ever.” In the traditional Roman Rite he kisses the altar which has become the Throne of the Lamb and says to the people, “The peace of the Lord be with you always.” It is optional for the priest to bid the people greet each other with a sign of peace.

This “sign of peace” has become for many a high point of the Mass, for they mistakenly think that it is a rite of socialization during which we greet each other in a friendly way. The Exchange of Peace is properly a formal greeting by which the faithful announce to each other that the Risen Christ is giving us the peace of Heaven. The priest is forbidden by the rubrics to leave the sanctuary and exchange this, for his greeting is the voice of Christ to which the people react in announcing that the Lamb of Sacrifice is about to give them in Holy Communion “the peace which passes all understanding.” This is passed from bishop to priest to deacon to the faithful in a hierarchical structure representing the organic harmony of the Church.

As bad money drives out the good, so is there the tendency for banal culture to “dumb down” our sense of worship. The ritual embrace of Peace has usually become a handshake and a “Hello there, how are you?” Poor instruction has led people to think that this is just a fraternal greeting, and that the Mass is not complete without it. This surprises some because we need better to learn the meaning of the sacred mysteries that the Pope is trying to teach us through his new encyclical on the Eucharist. I am always edified by the reverence of our people, in stark contrast often to visitors who come to weddings here with no sense of the sacred space or how to behave in the House of God. One wonders what their concept of worship is. Lex orandi lex credendi — the way we pray indicates what we believe.

Fr. George W. Rutler