The Mass: Introductory Rites

The Apostolic Greeting: There are three forms of greeting:

1) “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.” (2 Cor 13:14)

2) “The grace and peace of God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ be with you.” (Eph 6:23)

3) The most common: “The Lord be with you.” (Lk 1:28)

Through the greeting, the priest declares to the assembled community that the Lord is present. This greeting and the people’s response express the mystery of the gathered Church. (GIRM, 50)


“The Lord be with you”:

It usually precedes a divine calling, a divine summons, an invitation to a daunting undertaking. See, for instance, the following Biblical passages: in the case of Moses: Ex 3:12; in the case of Joshua: Josh 1:5; in the case of Gideon: Judg 6:12; and in the case of Mary: Mt 28:20. So, this simple greeting, which many of us take for granted, has a deep Biblical meaning.