More Music Lessons: the Sign of Peace

Ms. Friemel: During the mass, what do we do right before the "Lamb of God".

Class: "The Sign of Peace"

Class: puzzled look

Ms. Friemel: "I'll give you a hint. It looks like this. (walks over and shakes a student's hand)

Class: "The Sign of Peace!!"

Ms. Friemel: "That's right!"

Ms. Friemel: "So what's the point of the Sign of Peace? Why do we do it? Is it a time to say, "Hey, I really like your sweater" (this is especially funny because all of the students dress code sweaters are virtually identical) or "what are you having for lunch today" or "can I come over today after school and play baseball at your house?"

Class: (shaking heads) NOooo.

Ms. Friemel: "So why do we do it?"

Class: blank stares

Ms. Friemel: The opposite of war is peace. So, if we are at peace with others, it means we are not fighting, that we have forgiven them. The sign of peace is a sign of forgiveness.

Class: (perking up a bit)

Ms. Friemel: So, when I say, "Peace be with you", I'm really saying, "I forgive you" or "I'm sorry accept your forgiveness".

(2-4th grades) Ms. Friemel: Now, some of you are thinking, "forgiving what? or sorry for what?" Well, there will be times when we have not tried to hurt our peers through our words or actions. There will be times when we have not been hurt by their words or actions. But, because we are all on the same team, the body of Christ (members of the Church), we help out the team by saying we are saying for others failings and sin too. And we forgive the failings and sins of those members of the Church whom we may have never even met.

Ms. Friemel (to make sure students are coherent): Do you think it is fair to say you are sorry for what other people have done?

Class: (sheepishly shaking their heads): It may not seem "fair" to say you are sorry for someone else's faults, but this is what Jesus asks of us, that we pray for others, apologize as a community, and give forgiveness to all of the community, or body of Christ.

Ms. Friemel: Now, "let us turn to one another and offer a sign of peace". (monitoring as some children shake the arm off their neighbor or hardly grasp their hand at all.) Please, be gentle. Shake her hand. There you go. Oh, careful. I'll give you the sign of peace.

Ms. Friemel: "As we do this, remember we are saying, "I forgive and I accept forgiveness".