16 May 2017
The Second Vatican Council called for “fully conscious and
active participation” in the liturgy.
And what we’re called (by baptism) to participate in is what God is
doing. God is the one who calls us to
himself, who speaks to us through Scripture, who gives himself to us in the
Eucharist; God is the one who sends us out to “go and announce the gospel of
the Lord.” We’re participating in what
God is already doing.
And that’s a reason why we have the Sign of Peace at Mass. Jesus said to his disciples, “Peace I leave
with you; my peace I give to you.” God
is offering us his peace, and we participate in that by receiving his gift of
peace, and then offering the same gift to others. But it isn’t just a cordial greeting that we
offer; it’s the peace of God.
Christ’s peace is his oneness with God the Father, and that “oneness”
we know as the Holy Spirit. Christ
extends to us an offer of his peace. He
offers us a share in the divine life of God, the Holy Trinity. In other words, his peace is “life, life in
abundance.” That’s what we want to be “fully,
consciously, and actively participating” in today and forever: the life of God,
the peace of Christ.
And our participation in that is renewed at every Mass, every
time we receive “the peace of the Lord,” and share that same wish of peace and
life with our neighbors.
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