E SACRIFICE OF THE MASS

THE COLLECT. 45
by Booz in addressing the reapers (Ruth ii. 4),
" And
behold he came out of Bethlehem and said to the
reapers, The Lord be with thee. And they answered
him, The Lord bless thee." See also Judges (vi. 12) and
" The Lord is with
Gabriel s salutation to our Lady
thee."
The priest, by the salutation, wishes every grace
and the
to the people that the presence of God brings ;
people by their et cum spiritu tuo, implore that the
soul of the priest be filled with God, thus enabling him
to offer worthily the Holy Sacrifice.
The Bishop, at a Mass in which the Gloria is said,
uses the formula pax vobis instead of Domimis vobiscum.
The words pax vobis are possibly taken from the Gloria.
The pax vobis of the Bishop (our Lord s favourite
greeting to His disciples after His Resurrection) is
said to be a remnant of the privilege, according to
Benedict XIV., as stated in the Introductory Chapter,
which once belonged to the Bishop alone of saying the
Gloria at Mass. Thepax vobis, in the mouth of the Bishop,
reminds us of the privilege. Pax vobis is higher than
Dominus vobiscum, since the former is our Lord s own
salutation, and proceeds from the Bishop, who possesses
the fulness of the priesthood and a higher power to
bless than a priest.
The Collect.
After the Dominus vobiscum the priest moves to
the Epistle side, and bowing to the cross, says,
Oremus, "let us pray." These words, as already
stated, contain a distinct invitation to the congregation
to join with the priest in prayer. The priest raises his
hands to his shoulders. This gesture is perhaps, so some
writers assure us, in memory of our Lord s outstretched