Before Communion, the priest says "The peace of the Lord be with you," and we offer one another a sign of peace. Here's where it comes from and why it's placed right before we receive the Eucharist.
The Sign of Peace at Mass (Catholic): Its Meaning and Biblical Roots
Just before Communion, the priest says "The peace of the Lord be with you always" and invites the faithful, "Let us offer each other the sign of peace" — a sign the Church asks be given "in a sober manner" and offered to those nearest (GIRM 82). In this session of The Mass Explained, Dr. Brant Pitre traces this "peace" to Jesus' gift at the Last Supper — "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you" (John 14:27) — and to the risen Christ's Easter greeting, "Peace be with you" (John 20:21), along with the ancient "holy kiss" of St. Paul (1 Corinthians 16:20) and the kiss of peace already described by St. Justin Martyr in the second century. He explains why the Roman Rite places the sign of peace here, after the Consecration and just before Communion: St. Innocent I says the peace comes after the sacred mysteries as the people's "consent" to all that has taken place, and St. Thomas Aquinas calls it a preparation for Communion, "the sacrament of unity and peace" — echoing Jesus' command to be reconciled with your brother before offering your gift at the altar (Matthew 5:23–24).
Key passages & sources examined: "Let us offer each other the sign of peace" and the "sober manner" (Order of Mass 126–128; GIRM 82); "my peace I give to you" (John 14:27); reconciliation before the altar (Matthew 5:23–24); the "holy kiss" (1 Corinthians 16:20; Romans 16:16); St. Justin Martyr on the kiss of peace; and St. Thomas Aquinas on the peace as preparation for Communion (Summa Theologiae III, q. 83).
Where does the Sign of Peace come from? Jesus' gift of peace at the Last Supper (John 14:27) and the risen Christ's greeting (John 20:21); the early "holy kiss" appears in St. Paul (1 Corinthians 16:20).
Why is it right before Communion? It prepares us to receive "the sacrament of unity and peace" (Aquinas), recalling Jesus' command to be reconciled before offering our gift (Matthew 5:23–24).
How should the sign of peace be given? "In a sober manner," offered to those nearest to you (GIRM 82).
How old is it? St. Justin Martyr already describes the kiss of peace in the second century.
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It is a great service to provide the excellent Mass Reading Explained by Dr. Brant Pitre. I like the feature to download the transcript of the video which is very helpful. However, there are some rooms for improvement as followed:
1. The media player's controls are spotty. Very often, the Closed Caption button is not available. Therefore, I could not enable the subtitle.
2. It will be very helpful if the videos can be searched or sorted by the calendar date, and not just the "Number of Sunday in Ordinary Time".
3. It will be nice if you have an app (for both iOS and MacOS) to launch it, such that I do not have to open a web browser and type in the URL address manually every time. I talked to your support folks on this and I was informed that an app is coming soon. Please make sure it supports both iOS and MacOS.
Thank you very much for your hard work.
Yours in Christ
simon
The only thing I'd prefer is to have a search options within the readings/explanations. For example, like youtube, except now that I purchased the service, I'd like to have Sunday explanations for Purgatory or Predestination. It would really help when I'm debating Calvinists because I could resource back to Pitre.
It is a great service to provide the excellent Mass Reading Explained by Dr. Brant Pitre. I like the feature to download the transcript of the video which is very helpful. However, there are some rooms for improvement as followed:
1. The media player's controls are spotty. Very often, the Closed Caption button is not available. Therefore, I could not enable the subtitle.
2. It will be very helpful if the videos can be searched or sorted by the calendar date, and not just the "Number of Sunday in Ordinary Time".
3. It will be nice if you have an app (for both iOS and MacOS) to launch it, such that I do not have to open a web browser and type in the URL address manually every time. I talked to your support folks on this and I was informed that an app is coming soon. Please make sure it supports both iOS and MacOS.
Thank you very much for your hard work.
Yours in Christ
simon
The only thing I'd prefer is to have a search options within the readings/explanations. For example, like youtube, except now that I purchased the service, I'd like to have Sunday explanations for Purgatory or Predestination. It would really help when I'm debating Calvinists because I could resource back to Pitre.
