I had read during the week that one of the bishops had recommended suspending the sign of peace until the swine flu threat had passed, but I hadn't expected it to be implemented so quickly. Yet, at Mass yesterday evening, the priest asked us to simply nod to and smile at the person sitting next to us. It was more awkward than had he simply said that "we'll be dropping the sign of peace for a while."
Anyway, it brought back a memory - not so much a fond or bad memory as odd or strange - from a Mass over 20 years ago. I was in Jersey City, NJ. I can't recall all the details now, but I was sitting near enough to the front that I could see a group of nuns in the front row. These weren't the sort of nuns of the 1950s or earlier, but the kind that dressed casually and behaved with a certain, well ...
Let me explain.
The time for the sign of peace came and I shook hands with the people on either side of me. Not a biggie. I noticed that the nuns were doing the same. Then they turned around and faced those of us who were about 4 or so rows back. And they made peace signs at us. You know, with their fingers? Then they started waving their fingers at us so that we'd know that they were sending the peace to us? I guess? I don't know, I just found it really strange and not a little creepy. Not my cup of tea, anyway. Last time at that church for Mass.
No comments:
Post a Comment