And With Your Spirit
Today our priests gathered for the second time as we continue to prepare for the implementation of the New Roman Missal. The highlight of the day for me was listening to Sr. Timothea Elliott, who was charged with speaking to us about the Biblical basis of the Roman Liturgy. I very much appreciated the depth of her presentation. It was easy to see that she could have spent hours speaking to us simply on the Biblical basis of the Sign of the Cross.
The section of the liturgy that I left reflecting more deeply upon, however, is the exchange between the priest and the assembly that takes place immediately following the Sign of the Cross. In the new Roman Missal the exchange is spoken this way:
Priest: The Lord be with you.
Assembly: And with your Spirit.
The comment I have heard most often in criticism of the new missal is connected to this short exchange. “Why are we changing the response from ‘And also with you’ to ‘And with your Spirit’? The argument I hear again and again is that this is lifting the language to the level of snootiness. In response to this common criticism, I would like to share with the readers of this blog the insight of Sr. Timothea.
Let’s begin with the priest’s greeting, “The Lord be with you”. Sr. Timothea pointed my brother priests and I primarily to the Old Testament for the source of this greeting. She reminded us that every great hero of the Old Testament, those whom God chose for some great task that would glorify Him was greeted with some form of this phrase. God never asks his people to enter into a great challenge without the assurance that He will be with them. Sr. Timothea pointed especially to Gideon, whose story is recounted in the book of Judges. Gideon, like many who are called by God, responds with doubts that he has what it takes to do what God is asking him to do. God’s response is to reassure Gideon by assuring him, “I am with you”. So whenever we gather as a people at the liturgy we begin by being reminded that God has called each of us to the enormous task of living the Christian life. We also are reminded that God is with us, that he does not leave us to the task of living this life alone.
Upon hearing the greeting of the priest, the people respond (in the new missal) “And with your Spirit”. Why is this? First of all, Sr. Timothea pointed out that this is not simply a common greeting between people, like greeting a friend or neighbor as we pass on the street. Our response is not simply, “Right back at ya!” What we are communicating is much more profound. The Spirit who is referred to in this response is the Holy Spirit, and more importantly what is referred to here is the gifts of the Spirit which the priest received at his ordination. All Christians receive the Holy Spirit at their Baptism and have that Spirit strengthened in the sacrament in Confirmation. Catholic tradition speaks also of an ontological change that happens in the sacrament of Holy Orders, that is a change within the core of the person ordained that configures him in a unique way to Christ. It is this change that allows the priest to stand as a representative of Christ the one true high priest at the Eucharist and call down the Holy Spirit upon bread and wine so that they become the Body and Blood of Christ. This response, “And with your Spirit”, when seen in this light is a way for the people to say to the priest, “Be who it is God has called you to be. Let the Spirit that has been given to you in your ordination be made fully present in this liturgy. Be the one who God has called to be at the service of this community.” I don’t know about you, but when I look at the phrase in this context, it sounds much more powerful than, “And also with you”. More than that, for one who serves as a priest, it is an exchange that I hope will never fail to humble me.
As we continue to prepare as a Church to receive the new Roman Missal, I hope there will be the opportunity to continue to deepen our understanding of the prayers that sometimes become too commonplace for us. There is a richness in our prayer that can never be totally exhausted. I hope that we will continue to raise questions and search for the answers that are present for those willing to look for them.
What are your questions or thoughts on the upcoming changes in our Roman Liturgy?
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