The Lord be with you...

"Though I should walk in the midst of the shadow of death, I wilI fear no evil, for Thou, O Lord, are with me." Psalm 22:4.

Little Mary was in the first grade of Sacred Heart school. One day sister explained to the class that God is everywhere, that we should find Him and keep Him. At the supper table that evening Mary asked her mother:

"Mommy, is God everywhere?"

"Yes, he is darling," answered mother.

"Is He in this house?" queried Mary.

"Yes, He is," replied mother.

"Is He in this room?"

Again mother answered, "Yes,"

"Is He in my cup?" eagerly asked Mary pointing with a determined finger.

"Yes, He is in your cup," answered her weary mother.

Quick as a flash Mary put her hands over the cup and shouted:
"I got Him."

Would that it were as easy as that to get God and keep Him. Yet, it is almost as easy, for God is everywhere and is waiting for us to "get" Him and keep Him. Especially during Holy Mass the Lord is offered to us again and again, when the priest turns and expresses the blessing: "Dom­inus vobiscum - the Lord be with you."

Immediately after the Gloria the celebrant turns to the people, extends his hands the width and height of his shoulders, and says or sings:
"The Lord be with you."

1. The priest extends his hands to show his deep desire that the blessing be bestowed upon all. He joins his hands to show that he humbly mistrusts his own strength and abandons himself to the Lord.

2. Opening the hands is a common gesture. We speak, don't we, of open­-handed generosity, meaning that we offer everything to those we wish to help. How simple and significant this ceremony of the Mass! The priest is offering you the Lord. He holds Him in his hands during the Mass. He offers our Lord, open-handedly, to all who wish to receive Him.

3. The Lord is with us in the highest and best way in Holy Communion. But He is with us at other times and in other ways, too. He is with every­one at Holy Mass by His power. You want to be with Him. At Mass the priest prays for this unspeakable blessing.

4. The words, "The Lord be with you," go back to the Old Testament where we read in the Book of Ruth that Boaz greeted his reapers in the field with the words:
"The Lord be with you."

And they answered:
"The Lord bless thee." Ruth, 2 :4.

The Angel Gabriel greeted our Blessed Mother: "The Lord is with thee." St. Luke, 1:28.

Eight times during Mass that greeting is repeated by the priest, some­times as he faces the altar, other times as he faces you. It is repeated so often in order constantly to excite, increase and awaken your desire for the Lord. By the words, "The Lord be with you," the priest wishes you all the good things connected with the presence of the Lord.

5. As the priest repeats this greeting just before the principal prayer of the Mass, he expresses the wish that the faithful have the grace, light and strength needed for a good and perfect prayer. Without the help of God we cannot pray as we ought. Too rarely do we ask the Lord to help us pray as we ought, for what we ought, and when we ought.

6. That greeting, "The Lord be with you," includes many other blessings, in fact, all the best of blessings. When the Lord is with us He gives us the desire and relish for everything that is good. When the Lord is with us He gives us the riches of His grace, the glory of His smile, the peace of His friendship, the joy and happiness of His love. All these precious things the priest wishes to you as He prays: "The Lord be with you."

7. The bishop uses the words, "Peace be to you," instead of "The Lord be with you." The greeting means practically the same but the bishop is privileged to repeat the words of Jesus Himself on the first Easter as He addressed the Apostles, the first bishops of His Church. Only the bishop has the fullness of the priesthood in the sense that he alone can give the priesthood to another.

8. After the priest has greeted the people, they return the greeting through the servers or through the choir by saying or singing: "And with thy spirit."

This is as much as to say: "The Lord be with you too, Father."

The celebrant needs the Lord. He needs Him keenly as he offers Holy Mass. That return greeting is one you should have in mind as the priest salutes you during Mass. The priest is praying for you; you must pray for the priest.

How do you receive that prayerful wish? Are you thinking of some­thing else? Are you praying for something else? Why not get into the spirit of the Mass, watch the priest as he turns to you, and in your heart return the blessings?

If I offered you a gift and you turned to look at something else or listen to another, you might not even see or realize that you are receiving a gift. The same with the Mass.

Thank God, we do not have to capture God in a cup. The Lord is offered to us every time we attend Holy Mass. In Communion He is offered to us Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity.

The words of the priest, "The Lord be with you," are not a mere wish. Neither are they merely a prayer. They are a blessing, an effective, precious blessing. The celebrant is actually offering you the Lord with all the good things the Lord brings us. Keep that in mind during the Holy Mass, dur­ing every Holy Sacrifice. Then the Lord will, as I sincerely pray, be with you now---and forever. Amen.
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Adapted from Talks on the Mass
by Fr. Arthur Tonne, OFM (© 1950)