In the celebration of the Holy Mass, after the prayer of the Our Father, the Priest says: Deliver us, Lord, from all evils and grant us peace in our days. The peace that we ask of God must be realized as brothers. We ask for it and we offer it. Love for God and for our brothers is inseparable and we must forgive each other as God forgives us. This greeting of peace, or kiss of peace, is a liturgical rite.
The priest says: "The peace of the Lord be always with you" and the people respond "And also with you."
Then, the priest or deacon says: "Let us offer one another the sign of peace" and the assembly exchanges a sign of peace. This gesture expresses, by means of a handshake, that we are at peace and free from enmity with our neighbor.
This exchange is symbolic. Sharing peace with the people around us represents, both for us and for them, the totality of the community of the Church and of all humanity. Among us, the usual gesture is a handshake before communion. The Word heard and accepted has brought about reconciliation and peace for the entire community.
P. Claudio
Comments