Epiphany of Our Lord Church

The sign of peace and its place in the Mass

At Epiphany of Our Lord Church in South Philadelphia, as in Roman Catholic parishes across Australia, a familiar moment occurs during the Mass: the celebrant invites the people to offer one another a sign of peace. In the Roman Rite, this normally follows the homily and any announcements and comes before the Liturgy of the Eucharist. A handshake is customary, but a spoken greeting, a bow, or a simple nod can express the same intention when that suits the person.

The sign of peace carries more than a polite hello. It asks each person to recognise the presence of Christ in those nearby and to pray for a society reconciled with God, one another, and the wider world. The gesture gathers scattered attention into a shared act, just as the bread and wine will shortly be gathered into one Eucharistic offering. Its meaning is fulfilled in communion, not in the greeting alone.

For Australian Catholics, that theology is expressed in familiar yet varied settings: crowded inner-city churches in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, suburban parishes with many school-age families, and communities shaped by numerous languages and migration histories. Some people greet with a firm handshake, others with a hug, a wave or words such as “peace be with you.” The sign of peace should make room for that diversity while preserving its clear religious purpose.

Why the exchange belongs near the Eucharist

The word “peace” in the Mass is deliberately rich. The Hebrew shalom suggests wholeness, harmony and right relationship, while the New Testament speaks of peace with God, peace among peoples and the rejection of violence. The exchange does not manufacture unity; it expresses a prayer for the unity Christ wills. Even a quiet nod can become an act of solidarity, declaring that the person beside us is a neighbour whose good is inseparable from our own.

Its position before the Eucharist gives the gesture a practical theological shape. After the proclaimed Word has been heard and the assembly has listened to the homily, people are invited to turn toward one another before approaching the altar. What begins as a prayer for reconciled relationships is then embodied in the gift of bread and wine offered for the salvation of all. The sign does not diminish the centrality of Christ’s sacrifice; it directs the community toward the communion that the sacrifice makes possible.

The exchange also reaches beyond those already comfortable with one another. A newcomer, a family member who has returned after years away, or a visitor seated at the edge of the group may be welcomed through the same gesture extended to a long-standing friend. It does not require anyone to pretend that every relationship has been repaired, nor does it place a public condition on receiving Communion. At times, it is simply the first small movement towards trust, forgiveness and a more active welcome.

How the sign of peace developed and is used

The scriptural foundations are wide rather than confined to one proof text. Ephesians tells Christians that Christ himself is their peace; Romans speaks of peace with God through Jesus Christ; and Matthew identifies the peacemakers as children of God. The greeting of Christ in the Gospels is itself a sign of his presence and goodwill. Scripture supplies the meaning of the rite, but it does not prescribe one compulsory physical form for every culture or circumstance.

Early Christian communities expressed fellowship in ways suited to their local customs, including the exchange of a kiss before Eucharist. As public gestures developed and the Roman handclasp became established, the sign of peace acquired forms familiar across Europe and later other parts of the world. Catholic communities have continued to adapt an ancient action to different settings, while the Roman Missal keeps its essential purpose: to manifest the peace sought in prayer and to prepare the assembly for the Eucharistic banquet.

In present practice, the celebrant normally gives the invitation after the homily, and the ministers first greet one another before the people exchange the sign with those around them. A handshake is common, but a bow, a nod, or the verbal greeting “peace be with you” may also be suitable. Parish-specific explanations, celebrations and community notices can be found in archived parish bulletins, which offer a way to understand local practice in its fuller context.

The gesture in Australian parish life

Australian parish life gives this ancient rite a particularly contemporary setting. A Sunday congregation in Sydney may meet beside a busy railway corridor; in Melbourne, families may travel from outer suburbs for school Mass; and in Brisbane, tropical weather can make the walk from the car park part of the weekly rhythm. These are very different physical contexts, yet each assembly gathers people who live, work and cross paths with neighbours in the same public world.

Everyday Australian greetings add another layer. A handshake may be customary among work colleagues, a hug may be normal among close friends, and a verbal greeting may feel more natural to someone who prefers not to exchange hand contact. The pandemic made many people more conscious of touch and personal space, and that awareness has not disappeared. Respecting the person’s preference is therefore not a weakening of the rite; it allows its central intention to remain visible.

Multicultural Australia adds further texture. In one neighbourhood, the greeting may be familiar in Vietnamese, Greek, Arabic, Italian, Filipino, Ukrainian or another language; in another, most people share English while carrying very different memories of conflict and belonging. The ritual response does not have to be spoken in English to be meaningful. Its meaning becomes clearer when the assembly understands that welcome is offered without condition and that every person is received as a participant in the same Eucharistic community.

The greeting-card market in Australia offers a useful parallel. Cards for Christmas, Easter, baptism and ordination appear in supermarkets, newsagents, charity shops and parish stalls, carrying short messages of goodwill into homes that may not have attended Mass that week. Such cards are small commercial objects, yet they reflect a culture in which greeting, blessing and celebration matter. The sign of peace participates in that broader culture when a shared prayer at the altar becomes a courtesy shown to family members, neighbours and strangers.

Sharing the sign of peace with care

A meaningful exchange must be voluntary in its physical details while remaining communal in its meaning. A person may accept a handshake, choose a verbal greeting, or simply return the celebrant’s bow; no one should feel coerced to establish contact with a stranger. Parish procedures must also fit Australian work health and safety duties, anti-discrimination rules, the Privacy Act 1988 and Australian Privacy Principles where applicable, and child-safeguarding legislation that differs by state or territory. These legal frameworks do not define the liturgy, but they guide parish leaders in protecting children and vulnerable adults and handling prayer requests or other personal information responsibly.

At its heart, the rite should remain prayerful, spacious and recognisably connected to the Eucharist.

Preparation can make that spirit practical for greeters, families and people joining the church for the first time.

These habits help the sign of peace communicate charity rather than anxiety. A rushed handshake, a fixed smile or a comment about someone who declines contact can undo the welcome the gesture is meant to express. In parishes with Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander communities, local protocols are especially important; a familiar Western handshake should never be assumed to represent welcome in every cultural setting. The more attentive the assembly becomes, the more clearly the gesture reveals Christ’s command to treat every neighbour as a person, not a category.

A peace carried beyond the church door

Religious education is where this understanding can take root. In the RCIA, candidates learn that belonging to a parish involves more than attending services; it includes receiving fellow members in faith. Children preparing for First Communion can be helped to see the sign of peace as a real encounter rather than an unfamiliar routine squeezed between the homily and the altar. Families may also benefit from structured preparation: a Ukrainian-language example is the first Communion programme, which can be read alongside a parish’s own sessions for parents and children.

The peace exchanged near the sanctuary should travel outward. It can shape the manner of a hospital visit, a conversation with an elderly neighbour, the welcome offered at a community meal, or the patience needed when caring for a family member. At Epiphany of Our Lord Church, ministries involving families, outreach and elder care give that outward journey concrete form. A person who has welcomed another person during Mass may find it easier to offer time, listening or practical help when the person is lonely, grieving or unwell.

At its heart, the sign of peace is a brief shared profession that Christ makes us one. It gathers prayer, presence and human warmth into a gesture received without condition and expressed without coercion. The peace received in the Mass is the same peace that shapes our shared life beyond the church door.