No more 'nod of peace'

Posted by TheYank at 9/10/2009 10:57 AM EDT

You might remember a few weeks ago I mentioned that the priest at our local church had decided to do away with the sign of peace due to swine flu. He didn't come up with this idea all on his own, however. It was a response to a statement from one of the bishops asking people to stop shaking hands at the sign of peace.

So, instead our priest asked us to turn, nod and smile at the people sitting near us. To say the least, this was a little strange. I half expected the padre to say, "Now bow to your corner and do-si-do your partner..."

And you know what I learned? It's actually easier to turn and shake hands with a stranger than it is to turn and look at them all the while trying to ensure your smile looks genuine, but not overly friendly. I know after one 'sign of peace' I walked out of Mass thinking to myself, "That lady who was sitting behind me is going to think I've been drinking." It wasn't even 10am yet!

Well, no more. I don't know if the priest got wind of how uncomfortable the new regime was making people, but now we're only being asked to say a short prayer for the people around us. And that - let's be honest here - is a whole lot easier than worrying about whether your smile looks like a grin or a chuckle.