Jul 3 Thu
In the Mass, why do we say, “And with your spirit”?
After the entrance song and after kissing the altar, the priest goes to the chair and makes the sign of the cross.
We have been born through baptism to the life of grace under the sign of the cross and in the name of the Three Divine Persons; we have been strengthened in that life through the sacrament of confirmation and under the same name. Now, we approach the very source of spiritual life in the name of the most Blessed Trinity.
Throughout the Mass, we pay special reverence to the name of Jesus. St Peter and St John were arrested for proclaiming the resurrection of Jesus. When interrogated by the Sanhedrin, “By what power and by whose name have you men done this?” Peter answered, “By the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene.” And added, “For of all the names in the world given to men, this is the only one by which we can be saved” (Acts 4:12).
Then, through his greeting, the priest declares to us that the Lord is present. He accompanies his words with a gesture that may be seen as a delicately initiated embrace.
Sometimes the priest will use a more elaborate formula, desiring that the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all. At other times, he will use a shorter greeting, “The Lord be with you.”
This greeting and the congregation’s response express the mystery of the gathered Church. The entire Church is present, even though we may be just a few persons in the room.
St. Josemaría: “When I celebrate Mass with just one person to help me, the people are present also. I feel that there with me are all Catholics, all believers, and also those who do not believe. All God’s creatures are there—the earth and the sea and the sky, and the animals and plants—the whole of creation giving glory to the Lord."
In this greeting, the priest’s special relationship with the Holy Spirit is acknowledged by the faithful, “And with your spirit.”
We think of one moving reality: So many persons who have renounced clean and legitimate human love to place their lives at Christ’s service and our service. It is time now to pay our debt to them, which we too often forget about.
We should include in our answer a vehement petition to our Lord for the sanctity of priests. Because, as St John Chrysostom points out, “When the priests are holy, the entire Church is resplendent with virtues; when they are not holy, faith weakens. When you see a tree with withered leaves, you judge that there should be some vice in the roots; likewise, when you see a rowdy people, you should understand that their priests are not holy."
After the greeting, the priest, or other suitable minister, may prepare the faithful for the Holy Mass with some brief, simple, and well-selected words when special reason warrants it – for example, on a Solemnity or Feast of certain significance, or in a celebration for a special motive.