Bulletins

October 23, 2016

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That special prayer for peace

“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 unity in accordance with your will, who live and reign for ever and ever. Amen.”

“presupposes the kiss of peace” according to Fr. Jungmann.

Remember that in the Extraordinary Form of the Mass the priest prays it in a low voice immediately after the Pax Domini and Agnus Dei and in the Ordinary Form of the Mass he prays it out loud directly after the Pater Noster and just before the Pax Domini

Fr. Jungmann explains...

Therefore, the priest begs the Lord - in view of the promise He made (John 14:27) - not to look upon his sins, but rather upon the confident attitude of the people gathered in church; to disregard the unworthiness of His representative and grant peace and concord through this sacred symbol of a kiss. The prayer, therefore, gains its full meaning only when supported by the performance of the rite.

Both in the Extraordinary Form of the Mass and in the Ordinary Form of the Mass, the Kiss of Peace is followed by the priest praying in secret to prepare for his communion:

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the living God, who, by the will of the Father and the work of the Holy Spirit, through your Death gave life to the world, free me by this, your most holy Body and Blood, from all my sins and from every evil; keep me always faithful to your commandments, and never let me be parted from you.

May the receiving of your Body and Blood, Lord Jesus Christ, not bring me to judgment and condemnation, but through your loving mercy be for me protection in mind and body and a healing remedy.

In the Extraordinary Form of the Mass the priest offers both prayers while bowing low to the altar. In the Ordinary Form the priest prays only one or the other.

In that preceding special prayer for peace, notice that the priest is not making a personal request but prays in the first person plural and begs the Lord not to look on our sins but to grant us peace.

Amen. Pax Domini sit semper vobiscum!

Fr. Christopher J. Pollard