The custom of offering the kiss of peace during the Eucharist goes back to the times of the apostles. Most often it is offered at the beginning of the Eucharistic liturgy. However, in the Roman Rite (from about the end of the 4th century) it is included in the rites of preparation for receiving Holy Communion. The sign that originally expressed the brotherhood among the participants of the assembly, over the centuries, has become a sign of paying homage to those who, for various reasons, are privileged. In addition, closeness to Holy Communion did not support the sign that caused „distraction” – a dispersion of attention focused on the presence of Christ in the Eucharistic signs. Therefore, despite attempts to cultivate the tradition of this sign, it disappeared in the Roman liturgy. The liturgical renewal after the Second Vatican Council restores this rite, but in a new form. The purpose of the prayer is changed: from the personal preparation of the celebrant for communion, it becomes prayer for peace; the kiss of peace is replaced with the „sign of peace”.
The pastoral challenge is to care for the sign of peace, so that the participants of the assembly would not refuse this gesture, perceiving it as an obstacle to focus just before the personal reception of the Eucharistic Christ. On the other hand, it is important not to use the sign of peace as an occasion to express only human attitudes (brotherhood, reconciliation, kindness), forgetting that peace is a gift of the Risen One. It should be emphasized that this purely human gesture is an „opportunity” for the sharing of Christ’s gift through which He Himself prepares us for sacramental communion with Himself through the gift of peace.