After the commingling and the Agnus Dei the priest silently prays the following:
Domine Jesu Christe, qui dixisti Apostolis tuis: Pacem relinquo vobis, pacem meam do vobis: ne respicias peccata mea, sed fidem Ecclesiæ tuæ; eamque secundum voluntatem tuam pacificare et coadunare digneris: Qui vivis et regnas Deus per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.
Which I translate:
O Lord Jesus Christ, Who said to Thine Apostles, ‘Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you’, look not on my sins but on the faith of Thy Church; and, in accordance with Thy will, deign to pacify her and to collect her into one, Who livest and reignest, God, forever and ever. Amen.
My translation is not as eloquent as that of the 2011 ICEL:
Lord Jesus Christ,who said to your Apostles:Peace I leave you, my peace I give you,look not on our sins,but on the faith of your Church,and graciously grant her peace and unityin accordance with your will (no. 126).
“Grant her peace and unity” is better on the ears than “pacify her and collect her into one.” The imperative “pacify her” makes the Church sound like a dyspeptic baby in need of her binky. But by using the verb pacificare, the prayer does not simply ask that the Church be given a gift called peace that she can use or not use to various degrees, but that she be transformed by peace, that she herself be made peaceful.
Coadunare, which I have translated as “collect into one,” is also an apt verb for uniting. Aduno already means to “make one,” that is, to move the many to (ad) the one (uno). Co-ad-uno makes the action both more corporate and more intense. To my mind the verb calls to mind the meaning of the word “Church” – in both the Greek Ekklēsia and the Latin Ecclesia, it means the assembly. The prayer essentially asks that Christ may really and truly make the Church what she is, that He may make her an assembly collected from everywhere and now united in His peace.
My translation renders digneris as “deign to.” ICEL changes this verb in the subjunctive mood to the adverb “graciously,” while some preconciliar hand Missals use “vouchsafe.” The latter is a lovely if obsolete word: to vouch or warrant something safely is to be generous, trustworthy, and gracious in bestowing. But in English, “deign” still maintains a tenuous connection to “dignify,” a connection that is stronger in the Latin and, I contend, significant. The inclusion of digneris adds a layer of hierarchic formality (which it is good to do in sacred liturgy), but more than that, it has the Domine Jesu Christe ask that God dignify His Church or increase her dignity by granting her certain properties. And human dignity is one of the surprising themes of the Latin Mass. The Offertory Rite marvels at the dignity that man has been given through His creation and redemption, and the priest and faithful in a moment will be reciting the Domine, non sum dignus, still trembling at the thought of their own unworthiness or lack of dignity in receiving so august a Sacrament.
The prayer reminds Jesus Christ what He said during the Last Supper: “Peace I leave, My peace I give.” The full quote is:
But the Paraclete, the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring all things to your mind, whatsoever I shall have said to you. Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, do I give unto you. (John 14, 26-27)
The hint of a relationship between the Holy Spirit and Christ’s peace is confirmed later in John’s Gospel, when our Risen Lord appears to the Apostles and says:
‘Peace be to you. As the Father hath sent Me, I also send you.’ When He had said this, He breathed on them; and He said to them: ‘Receive ye the Holy Ghost. Whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them.’ (John 20, 21-23)
The Church Fathers interpreted Christ’s insufflation here as a kiss. Hence, His breathing of the Holy Spirit onto the Apostles after bidding them peace is a Kiss of Peace. Indeed, as I argue elsewhere, Eastern liturgies place their Kiss of Peace before their Offertory/Anaphora because they are following Matthew 5:23-24:
If therefore thou offer thy gift at the altar, and there thou remember that thy brother hath any thing against thee; Leave there thy offering before the altar, and go first to be reconciled to thy brother: and then coming thou shalt offer thy gift.
The Roman Rite, on the other hand, follows John 20 and hence has not a [primarily] conciliatory Kiss but a Paschal Kiss, a Kiss that communicates the peace of the Risen Christ. The Paschal character of this kiss is reinforced by its placement after the commingling, which represents the Resurrection. In the words of Honorius Augustodunensis: “By sharing the pax, [the priest] denotes the peace given after Christ’s resurrection and our participation in its joy.” [1]
The Church takes seriously the words of the Domine Jesu Christe and of these Johannine passages. Christ has bequeathed to the Church a unique peace that is real and palpable and not vague or metaphorical. As David Yeago notes, Christ describes the peace “with utter substantial realism,” as “a concrete reality” which “confers the gift of which it speaks” and has the power to return to the giver if the recipient is unworthy. [2] As James Perella notes in his magisterial study The Kiss Sacred and Profane, for Church Fathers such as Sts. Cyril of Jerusalem and John Chrysostom, “the kiss exchanged by the brethren is more than just a symbol”: it is the actual mixing of souls, [3] the movement of souls towards “a mutual intercourse.” [4]
In the traditional Mass this respect for the Peace’s substantial realism may be seen in two areas: its ceremonies and its language.
In the traditional Mass, the priest kisses the altar near where the Sacred Host lies (earlier rubrics have him kissing the Host itself or the lip of the Chalice) and then “kisses” the deacon who in turn “kisses” the subdeacon and so on. To administer the Kiss (which is no longer labial), the giver of the peace places his hands on the other’s shoulders. He leans forward towards the recipient’s left cheek and says, Pax tecum, to which the recipient replies, Et cum spiritu tuo. I call this form of the Kiss of Peace the Roman accolade, for “accolade” comes from or “to the neck,” and the act of “falling on” someone’s neck betokens a kiss, as we see with the father of the prodigal son who ran out of his house and “fell upon his [son’s] neck and kissed him” (Luke 15, 20).
No one can give the peace who has not received it from someone else, including the priest, who receives it from Christ Himself on the altar. The symbolism is both beautiful and clear. All true peace comes from Christ through the ministration of His Church. Grace cascades from the Eucharistic sacrifice through Christ’s ministers to His people, forming what several Western rites aptly called a “chain of peace and charity” that both binds together and elevates. [5]
The power of this peace is reinforced in the etiquette governing the ritual. While it is common in the Tridentine rite to bow to one’s ecclesiastical superior at incensations and the like, one does not acknowledge the rank of the giver of the peace before it is administered, for, as the Caeremoniale Episcoporum puts it, “there is consideration not for the minister bringing it but for the Peace [itself], which is conveyed to him from the Sacrifice of the altar.” [6] The giver of the peace, in other words, represents not himself but Christ, for the peace that he gives is Christ (cf. Eph. 2, 19).
The second way in which the traditional Roman Rite acknowledges the substantial realism of the Peace is the manner in which it speaks about it. The 1570/1962 Missal simply states:
Si danda est pax, osculatur altare et, dans pacem, dicit: Pax tecum. R. Et cum spiritu tuo. In Missis defunctorum non datur pax, neque dicitur praecedens oratio.
Which I translate as:
If the Peace is to be given, [the priest] kisses the altar and, when giving the Peace, says, “Peace be with thee.” R. “And with thy spirit.” In Masses for the dead the Peace is not given, nor is the previous prayer said.
Unlike today, there is no talk of a “sign of peace” being exchanged. In the classical Roman liturgy, the Peace itself – a real spiritual blessing that, incidentally, has the power to forgive venial sins – is given and received, not a mere sign of it. [7]
The 1970 Missal
The Novus Ordo changed the Kiss of Peace in four ways. The rubrics of the 2002 Missale Romanum state:
128. Deinde, pro opportunitate, diaconus, vel sacerdos, subiungit:Offerte vobis pacem.Et omnes, iuxta locorum consuetudines, pacem, communionem et caritatem sibi invicem significant; sacerdos pacem dat diacono vel ministro.
The 1985 ICEL for which is:
Then, if appropriate, the deacon or priest adds:Let us offer each other the sign of peace.All make an appropriate sign of peace, according to local custom.The priest gives the sign of peace to the deacon or minister.
And the 2011 ICEL translation for which is:
Then, if appropriate, the Deacon, or the Priest, adds:Let us offer each other the sign of peace.And all offer one another a sign, in keeping with local customs, that expresses peace, communion, and charity. The Priest gives the sign of peace to a Deacon or minister.
The rubric now appears after the fraction rite and before the commingling, the first change to the Kiss and one that undermines the Paschal meaning of the Kiss as coming from the Risen Lord, since the mystical symbol of the Resurrection, the commingling, has yet to occur. According to the testimony of Annibale Bugnini, on the basis of the principle that the Consilium was authorized to simplify but not alter the structure of the Roman Rite, Pope Paul VI “asked for the elimination of no. 13 of the draft [of the Novus Ordo], which placed the rite of the fraction after the greeting of peace and during the singing of the Agnus Dei.” [8] His request, however, was denied!. And thus today, while the faithful smile, shake hands, and offer each other the hippie peace sign, Our crucified Lord mystically lies lifeless on the altar.
Second, the new rubrics simply state Offerte vobis pacem or “Let us offer each other the sign of peace.” Gone is the chain of love: The vertical mediation of Christ’s peace from Host to priest to ministers and so on has been replaced by a horizontal immediacy, with peace springing up spontaneously from among the people. The metaphysics of pseudo-Dionysius has been replaced by that of Hegel.
Third, the peace is to be administered according to local custom. Instead of a kiss or a kiss-adjacent gesture like that of the Roman accolade, any “appropriate sign” is valid. In the United States, the most common sign (at least before the COVID pandemic) has been the handshake. I many respects, this is not an unreasonable choice. As an indication that one is unarmed, the handshake is certainly a recognizable sign of peace. Unfortunately, though, it is a better sign of the peace that comes from the city of man rather than from the city of God. Handshaking signifies a truce, a deal, the kind of agreement one makes in the world of politics and business. It is not first and foremost a sign of love or intimacy, let alone the charity that the Holy Spirit alone pours forth into our hearts. Indeed, unlike the kiss and virtually every other sacred gesture in the liturgy, it has undergone no transformation or modification that would mark it as distinctive from the “profane” handshakes outside the temple and thus it more or less retains its worldly resonance. In any event, the kiss of peace is no longer the kiss of peace.
Msgr. Peter Elliott has an interesting interpretation, or rather suggestion, regarding these rubrics. While acknowledging that the “sign of peace” is to take place according to local custom, he recommends that within the sanctuary, the traditional Roman accolade be given. One wonders how often his advice has been heeded. [9]
Fourth, while the Latin of the 1970/2000 Missale Romanum preserves a belief in the substantial realism of the Peace by simply calling it the Pax, some approved translations undermine this realism. We have already seen above how ICEL calls the Pax the “sign of peace.” As for other languages, the Italian is just as weak, the French is the strongest of the translations that I consulted, and the Mexican Missal is somewhere in between.
The third edition of the Italian Missal has:
Scambiatevi il dono della pace.Oppure:Come figli del Dio della pace, scambiatevi un gesto di comunione fraterna.Oppure:In Cristo, che ci ha resi tutti fratelli con la sua croce, scambiatevi il dono della pace.Oppure:Nello Spirito del Cristo risorto, scambiatevi il dono della pace. [10]
Which I translate as:
Exchange the gift of peace.Or:As children of the God of peace, exchange a gesture of fraternal communion.Or:In Christ, who made us all brothers and sisters by his cross, exchange the gift of peace.Or:In the Spirit of the risen Christ, exchange the gift of peace.
The French has:
Dans la charité du Christ, donnez-vous la paix.Et tous se manifestent la paix et la charité mutuelles selon les coutumes locales.Le prêtre donne la paix au diacre ou au ministre. [11]
Which I translate as:
In the charity of Christ, give one another the peace.Mutual peace and charity are manifested according to local customs.The priest gives the peace to the deacon or the minister.
Because of its numerous options, the Mexican Misal Romano is all over the map:
Luego, si se juzga oportuno, el diácono, o el sacerdote, añade: Dense fraternalmente la paz.O bien:Como hijos de Dios, intercambien ahora un signo de comunión fraterna.O bien: En Cristo, que nos ha hecho hermanos con su cruz, dense la paz como signo de reconciliación.O bien: En el Espíritu de Cristo resucitado, dense fraternalmente la paz. Y todos, según la costumbre del lugar, se dan la paz.El sacerdote da la paz al diácono o ministro. [12]
Which I translate as:
Then, if deemed appropriate, the deacon or priest adds: Fraternally give the peace.Or:As children of God, exchange now a sign of fraternal communion.Or:In Christ, who has made us brothers and sisters through his cross, give the peace as a sign of reconciliation.Or:In the Spirit of the risen Christ, fraternally give the peace.And all, according to local custom, exchange a sign of peace.The priest gives the peace to the deacon or minister.
Note that while some options refer to the Peace, others refer to a sign or gesture. And while one option rightly characterizes the Peace as Paschal (Johannine) in character, another wrongly characterizes it as conciliatory (Matthean) in character.
Notes
[1] Gemma Animae I (Migne, PL 172.570), ch. 83.
[2] Yeago, “Unfashionable Thoughts on Sharing the Peace,” Dialog 23 (August 1984), 292.
[3] Perella, The Kiss Sacred and Profane: An Interpretive History of Kiss Symbolism and Related Religio-Erotic Themes (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1969), 24. Perella cites Cyril, Catechesis Mystagogice XXIII.3 (PG 33:1112).
[4] John Chrysostom, Homily 30 (PG 61:606); cf. In epistulam II ad Corinthios 30:2 (PG 61:607). And if the kiss produces united souls, it also produces one body, thereby fulfilling the petition of the Domine Jesu Christe (cf. John Chrysostom, In epistulam I ad Corinthios 44.4 (PG 61:376).
[5] Along with the “Pax Domini sit semper vobiscum,” several medieval Missals include the blessing: Habete vinculum pacis et caritatis, ut apti sitis sacrosanctis mysteriis (cf. Jungmann, 332, n. 61).
[6] Quia ante non habetur consideratio ipsius ministri deferentis, sed Pacis, quae a Sacrificio altaris ad illum defertur (I.xxix.8).
[7] Such, at least, is the opinion of Fr. Pius Parsch, who designates the Peace a sacramental. See Liturgy of the Mass, 298.
[8] The Reform of the Liturgy: 1948-1975, trans. Matthew J. O'Connell (Liturgical Press, 1990), 837, n. 19.
[9] Peter J. Elliott, Ceremonies of the Modern Roman Rite, 2nd ed. (Ignatius Press, 2005), no. 323.
[10] P. 447.
[11] Missel Romain, 3rd ed., no. 128.
[12] No. 128.
