As was reported last year, Pope Benedict has asked that the placement of the Sign of Peace be reviewed perhaps placing it earlier where it will be less disruptive to the preparation of the faithful for communion.
Cardinal Arinze, Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship, brought the topic up again in an interview with L’Osservatore Romano on Friday. Pope Benedict has asked the Bishops for their thoughts and then he will make a decision.
Since the topic is still open for discussion and on the off chance that any Bishop would stumble across our humble site, I offer my suggestions for where they can stick the sign of peace.
- Ten minutes before mass.
- (Kiss of peace) Right before you tell your brother Fredo that you know it was him.
- Ten minutes after mass.
- Since those who foisted this on us always make the point that this was an ancient practice, I say we do it it right after we find and slaughter an unblemished red heifer.
- On Good Friday right after the ol’ school prayer for the Jews.
- Let’s not and say we did.
However, if we are going to keep it, why not make it more relevant, you know, for the kids.
- Chest bump of peace
- Slap on the butt of peace. The altar boys could … um … never mind on this one.
- The jive handshake of peace.
Actually, my preference is that the SOP is moved to before the offertory and is changed into the barely perceptible nod of peace. That way, at weekday mass, I will no longer have to sit in a pew with a minimum 5 empty pews between me and another human to insure that nobody gets any funny ideas. At five pews distance, you typically get the nod or the muted wave of peace. That is more like it. However, if somebody looks overly friendly, I increase the minimum safe distance to 8 pews and try to sit in their blind spot or behind a column if available. No sense taking chances.
Ideally, would should return to the even more ancient and venerable practice of leave me alone.
November 24, 2008 at 3:45 pm
“I think that no matter how reverent you make it, it still disrupts proper worship of God on the altar.”
By that reasoning, even its application among the clerics at a Solemn High Mass “disrupts proper worship of God on the altar.” Current misinformed practice may lend credence to your opinion, but history and tradition does not.
November 24, 2008 at 4:05 pm
David,
You certainly do NOT win!
The only thing that you have made clear is that I will NEVER sit anywhere near you at mass.
There will be no kisses, feigned or otherwise, between us!
November 24, 2008 at 4:08 pm
Uh, okay, Patrick. I’m usually on the altar anyway. (whew!)
November 24, 2008 at 4:31 pm
Maybe we could have the Kiss of Peace like some places used to have the Indult (EF) Mass.
You know, 4:30 p.m. one Sunday per month in a downtown parish in an “iffy” neighborhood….
For those who are still “attached” to the practice.
November 24, 2008 at 4:35 pm
This entire thread is a reflection on just how bad liturgical catechesis has been over the last forty years. This entire discussion has not been about the substance of a particular practice, but the manner in which it has been carried out, and the complete inability to even WANT to draw a distinction between the two.
Every man is entitled to his own opinion. He is not entitled to his own facts. Until that attitude prevails, for most people this subject is just gonna lay there, save for the occasional snark.
November 24, 2008 at 5:05 pm
David,
Never intended this post to be a serious discussion of the practice. It was really meant to poke fun at my own anti-social nature and have a lil’ fun along the way.
Sorry to disappoint.
November 24, 2008 at 5:12 pm
Patrick, Patrick, Patrick….Et tu? : )
Actually, yes, we can joke about the scandal now that Our Blessed Pope Benedict (may God grant him 100 years) has put the smack down. I’m hoping within a generation it will be a footnote. But your joke really was funny : )
Regarding the kiss of peace, I agree with the first poster that it IS historically relevant, and is in fact present (has always been) in the Oriental liturgies. However, their version is either a respectful bow, or extending one’s hands ahd having the other person touch them (then to their mouth). And it is very isolated, meaning you don’t walk over to the other side of the church and ask Mindy who one on “dancing with the stars” because you missed it.
So, since the Novus Ordo is a bastardisatio…er…”update” to encorporate older traditions, then I think we should keep it in, provided it is actually implemented like the older forms of the tradition use it.
But PLEASE keep the Tridentine masses coming!
November 24, 2008 at 5:24 pm
Well, that’s different. Unfortunately, it’s hard to tell from the overall tone of things. My bad. Never mind. Nothing to see here, move along, move along…
November 24, 2008 at 6:03 pm
I need atleast 12 seconds for peace. When practicable, I kiss all my siblings, my parents, my grandma and my great grandma, and then offer peace to people around us. I don’t kiss them, but sometimes I do a two-hand shake.
ooops… maybe I shouldn’t admit that here. 😉
I was, however, raised that it ends at the Agnus. You folks should come to our church sometime (because the internet allows instantaneous travel, of course…) – it’s a post-VII Mass, but it’s really reverent and liturgically correct, and the choir is prayerful, etc. I wish the building were prettier, but if I have to choose between a beautiful building and beautiful liturgy within it, guess what wins?
that said, Eastern Rite all the way for 4th Advent!
~Zee
November 24, 2008 at 6:08 pm
I think Freddy has a good idea but don’t forget to get the bishop’s permission as well!
November 24, 2008 at 6:08 pm
I don’t want to kiss anybody. I don’t want to hug anybody and I don’t like being smeared with spit from the hands of the germy little boy in the pew in front of me. The SOP disrupts the Mass. It’s an intermission, the 7th inning stretch, a chance to take a break and tell your neighbor that his tie is nice…. c’mon all that crap could done at the very begining of Mass, if you have to have it.
November 24, 2008 at 6:28 pm
“…try to sit in their blind spot or behind a column if available.”
HA! I love it! What’s sad is when you have to do that to avoid the priest…
I just kiss my wife and kids, and then blow my nose until it’s over. If it takes too long, I’ll grab one of the kids and help him blow his nose.
November 24, 2008 at 6:30 pm
Dymphna, men still wear TIES at your church? Wow!
November 24, 2008 at 6:30 pm
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November 24, 2008 at 6:30 pm
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November 24, 2008 at 6:51 pm
Incidently, at Chinese NO masses, the congregants give each other a reserved bow. So, obviously you’re not alone in the concern of kissing and the overall sharing of cooties.
November 24, 2008 at 7:11 pm
The SoP should be exchanged between servers only at Solemn Masses…that kneeling idea I just might take on seems like a great way to get people not to notice you.
November 24, 2008 at 7:39 pm
Until Joe’s comment I thought you all were referring to Standard Operating Procedure… Mom also used to issue the command “Deploy!” when getting out of the car when it was only a few minutes before Mass…. there are eight of us, so you can see how the lingo is handy.
I do feel rather daft for missing it, but I think I can effectively say I’ve exceeded my memory space for abbreviations, as part of the LOLom_ura____ generation.. blech.
November 24, 2008 at 7:40 pm
agree. People might mean well, and sharing a “kiss of peace” most surely is something the early Church did, but it’s become (at least in my parish) like the 7th-inning stretch; it feels like “Wow, we’ve been kneeling for awhile, let’s get up a move a bit and say hi to our friends and make plans for brunch”. It always feels irreverent and out of place in the Liturgy of the Eucharist. I would love it they moved it up a lot!
November 24, 2008 at 9:21 pm
Some parishes are so fixated on self rather than worship that frankly it’s unsurprising when the Sign of Peace gets out of hand. The whole Mass, from singing to homily to hand-holding Our Fathers, has been about the congregation anyway.
I don’t mind a tasteful and low-key Sign of Peace but agree that it should move up a bit; and I draw the line at hand-holding during the Our Father. I’ll hold my wife’s hand – I find that fitting on personal and sacramental levels – but I’m not about to grab hold of whomever just happens to be standing around beside me.