Sign of Peace may be moved

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The pope may move the Sign of Peace in the liturgy to an earlier spot (the article doesn't say but likely before the Eucharistic Prayer). This will move it away from communion and is a change that many more traditional Catholics have been clamoring for. I myself am unconvinced it makes much difference. I think the idea is not to have the sign of peace while the consecrated gifts are on the altar as it would disrupt the "vertical" with the "horizontal", i.e., greeting your neighbor while the Body and Blood of Christ are present is somehow offensive to God. Real traditionalists despise the Sign of Peace anyway so what difference does it make. :-) My point being, the Body and Blood of Christ will always be present (I mean in the tabernacle), except during the Triduum and when there are a lot of sick calls, so it doesn't save you much in reality. However such a move would make it more in agreement with the Byzantine Liturgy, which places it just before the Creed.

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When I was in seminary, one of my professors—one of the sane ones, who usually knew what he was talking about—said that in the "Eastern liturgy" the sign of peace starts with the priest, who passes it to the deacon, who passes it to someone else, and so forth: it radiates out from the Eucharist. It sounded very beautiful, and he clearly implied that it was something we had lost in the Western liturgies.

Reading your post, it sounds as if he was lying through his teeth! or maybe I misremember? Do you know what he's talking about?

This is done in the Maronite Rite. I've never seen it done in the Byzantine rite.

It's also a unique gesture, neither a hug or a handclasp. It's a special bow.

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