Liturgy in Context

The language used to describe the sign of peace in both the 1975 edition and the 2002 edition of the General Instruction of the Roman Missal could be construed as suggesting that the sign of peace is an optional element of the Mass. Paragraph 112 of the 1975 edition notes that the priest “may add” the invitation to offer a sign of peace, whereas paragraph 154 of the 2002 edition indicates that the priest issues this invitation “when appropriate.” I have heard arguments for the omission of the sign of peace from the eucharistic liturgy drawing on this language in the GIRM for support. The sign of peace is painted sometimes as a “distraction” from the presence of Christ in the Eucharist and sometimes as something that just takes too long to carry out (apparently as part of the all-important goal of keeping the liturgy to 59 minutes and 59 seconds at all cost). 

I believe that this language must be interpreted in the light of the rest of the instruction, which goes to great lengths to highlight the communal and ecclesial nature of sharing a sign of peace as we come to the Lord’s table. Far from encouraging the omission of the sign of peace, the intention of the GIRM, I believe, is to help us understand its true nature as something much more profound than a simple moment to share a handshake with a neighbor. 

The argument that the sign of peace is a “distraction” from the presence of Christ in the Eucharist has always seemed to me to have its basis in an incomplete understanding of the nature of that presence. Yes, Christ himself tells us in his own words that this bread is his body, this wine is his blood. But he also tells us that where two or three are gathered in his name, he is there. He tells us that when we have ministered to our brothers and sisters in pain or in need, we have ministered not only to them but to him. It is this very language that must have led the Second Vatican Council to affirm the four-fold presence of Christ in the liturgy: in the eucharistic elements of bread and wine, of course, but also in the word proclaimed, the minister ministering, and the people gathered in the Lord’s name.

Far from distracting us from the presence of Christ, then, I believe that sharing the sign of peace helps us to recall our own identity as the Body of Christ as we share that Body. It does not distract us from the presence of Christ but rather deepens our understanding of that presence. The deeply personal (because deeply physical) aspects of receiving the Body and Blood of Christ in the form of bread and wine should never obscure the nature of the Eucharist as an ecclesial and communal sacrament; the presence of our brothers and sisters in Christ at that moment is Christ’s gift to us, a way to understand his presence with us — for “if anyone says, ‘I love God,’ but hates his brother, he is a liar; for whoever does not love a brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen” (1 Jn 4:20). 

Are there situations in which sharing the sign of peace might be inappropriate? It is difficult to conjure up such a scenario, although I suppose it is possible. The recent outbreak of SARS or the rampant flu epidemics last winter, for example, might well have caused concern about sharing physical contact with strangers. And all jokes about the temporal element of liturgy planning aside, it is possible that the sign of peace might take up a bit of time in a Mass for a very large congregation. But the language of the GIRM gives us a way to understand the nature of the rite so that we can make an informed decision about whether to include or omit it in such situations. 

St. Augustine perhaps said it most succinctly: In the Eucharist, we “say ‘Amen’ to what we are.” The simple action of sharing a sign of peace with our gathered brothers and sisters in Christ can, I believe, remind us of our identity as the gathered people of God. It helps the church (and that’s all of us!) to be brought into unity with God and with each other, so that at last God may be all in all (GIRM [1975] 55f; GIRM [2002] 79f). ML

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