It’s that time of year when there might be a special announcement right before Mass starts. “Before we begin our celebration today,” a lector might read, “let us take a moment and introduce ourselves to those around us.”<\/p>\n
I always find this an exceedingly awkward moment. I’m blessed to attend church with friends or family, so, I’m “introducing” myself to someone I know well. It would feel rude not to. In large churches, everyone is spread out (like good Catholics!) and I’m often a fair distance away from anyone I don’t know. Those are the pragmatic reasons. Another reason is — well, having attended so many Masses, I know what the script says, and this is a definite departure from the way things are “supposed” to go. I suspect many Catholics, like myself, feel vaguely uneasy when that happens.<\/p>\n
There are good reasons to use this “rite.” I think of a friend, visiting the USA to study, who told me that for her first few months here, the only time she got to touch another person was at the Sign of Peace. I think of travelers, visitors, estranged family members, people looking for a church community and people returning after a long absence. And I think of the fact that church is countercultural — that we will willingly gather in the same place with people whom we may not see otherwise — people who dress, eat, or even vote differently than we do — and how important it is to remind ourselves of that fact.<\/p>\n
What do you think of this practice?\u00a0 Are there ways you’ve seen it work especially well?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
“Before we begin our celebration today,” some lector might read, “let us take a moment and introduce ourselves to those around us.” Are there ways to make this “rite” less awkward?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":37,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11367","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-liturgical-spirituality"],"yoast_head":"\n