Do You Know Your Faith?

10-28-2018Weekly ReflectionRev. Emmanuel I. Ihemedu

Do you know the origin of the Kiss of Peace at Mass and where the tradition came from? Before the Kiss of Peace, we have “The Lord’s Prayer” which is used most appropriately to begin the communion rite. It reminds us that God is our Father and we are God’s children who depend on him for everything.

As far back as ad 150 Saint Justin, wrote about “a holy kiss” given “after finishing the prayers of the faithful.” Reaching out to one another is not easy: we are forced to admit our interdependence. Jesus’s first words after resurrection were, “Peace be with you.” We exchange the same words at the sign of peace as our final preparation for communion.

The sign of peace we do at Mass came from Jesus instructions in the Sermon on the Mount: "so when you are offering your gift at the altar, if you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go: first be reconciled to your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift” (Matthew 5:23-24).

So, the time for the sign of peace is not a time to be standoffish; it is not a time to isolate oneself. Instead, it is a time to put aside artificial boundaries and paralyzing fears so that we can share a unity with one another and with God. May this prayerful gesture break every form of division, prejudice, and discrimination in our parish. May the kiss of peace that we share make us truly One Family in Christ, amen!

Fr. Emmanuel