Peace be with you

Jesus said to his disciples: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.
Not as the world gives do I give it to you. (Jn 14:27)

The first line of this Scripture passage is the same one the celebrant says during Mass every day. Father Pacwa of EWTN brought this up this morning during his homily as I was listening to the Mass before I went to work. (I would have gone to Mass, but I had to be at my job early and I didn’t get home until late—so no Mass for me today other than listening on the radio.)

Father Pacwa’s homily hit me like a ton of bricks! He advised us to really look at this passage and understand why the “sign of peace” is a part of the Mass.

I meditated on this for quite some time today, especially the second line, and I realized that there is a reason why this action is part of the Liturgy of the Eucharist. Jesus is giving us Himself in Spirit, in the guise of our neighbor before giving us His actual Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity in the Sacred Host.

After today’s meditation, I confess it bothers me to know that, at times, my own “Peace be with you” to my neighbor was not as sincere as it should be, and vice-versa. A lot of times in the past, instead of saying those exact words, I may have just said “Peace” or, during holiday Masses, I may have substituted “Merry Christmas” or “Happy Easter”. The words and actions are not an excuse to “meet” the man or woman or child in the pew next to you or convey a simple, “Have a nice day”. The intent is to calm our fears and instill hope in our hearts as we prepare to share in the Body of Christ. We have a chance during the Sign of Peace to become the “face of Christ” to our family and friends and to sincerely wish Christ’s peace to be upon them. I’m going to try to get better at this.

Thank you, Father Pacwa, for making me think about this today.