Jesus is the Prince of Peace and we are the paupers. That is He is Emmanuel whose presence we await as we anticipate Christmas and we are like the poor shepherds the angels call to the stable to worship the newborn Prince. Christ comes down from heaven, that is He becomes incarnate of the Virgin Mary to bring peace, that is right relation with God to a sinful people.
Advent is a period of cultivating our hearts to receive God's Presence among us as we celebrate the truth that "the Word became flesh." Even though we celebrate His birth at Christmas and prepare ourselves for this during Advent, Jesus is already Present among us-in a special way in the Eucharist but also in the Priest, the Assembly, the Scriptures and the Poor. Every time the Church assembles for the Eucharistic Celebration, there is a profound encounter taking place with the Lord Jesus, who is the Prince of Peace, who takes away the sins of the world.
Advent is also is a good time to reflect on the Rite of Peace which is offered during the Celebration of the Eucharist and to examine how we internally and externally exchange it. After having finished the Eucharistic Prayer, the Christian community "taught by the Word of God and formed by Divine teaching...dare to" call on God as Father in the Lord's Prayer. The Roman Liturgy adds to the Lord's Prayer the embolism and then invoked Christ's peace from which after we offer those nearest us in a somber and prayerful way, the peace of Christ.
When making the sign of peace with some reverent and appropriate gesture (eg. handshake, huge or even the Roman Pax) the GIRM says that one person can says The Peace of the Lord be with you. The other responds Amen. In doing this we imitate Christ our Prince who brings peace to the world. There is a giving of Peace and a receiving of it.
In the Eucharistic Celebration, God-is-with-us, He is Emmanuel. In a sense, every Mass is not only Calvary but also Bethlehem, it is a mini-Nativity where God is "born" on our altars.
When we give each other the sign of peace let us remember to recall that we are imitating Christ, who is our Peace and Reconciliation and let us imitate Him by giving peace and forgiveness to those in our lives most need of it. Thus we not only avoid giving the Hype sign for peace to people ten pews behind us and doing the Hollywood "I'm famous, so I ought to let as many people shake my hand as possible" We remember that what we do is in imitation of Jesus who brings Peace, it comes from His Heart of Love.
Jesus, Prince of Peace, you take away the sins of the world, grant us your peace!
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