Disputation of the Holy Sacrament, Raphael
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The Mass & Liturgy

Et cum spiritu tuo

And with your spirit

Latin · 2 Tim 4:22

The people's reply to “The Lord be with you,” drawn from St Paul, which answers the priest's greeting by acknowledging the Spirit given him at ordination.

and with your spirit

Four times in the Mass the priest says “The Lord be with you,” and the people answer “And with your spirit.” The words are St Paul's, who closes several letters with them. The reply is not simply “and also with you”: in the Church's tradition it acknowledges the gift of the Holy Spirit the priest received at ordination, by which he is able to lead the assembly and act in the person of Christ. The English translation of 2011 restored the literal wording of the Latin.

2 Tim 4:22Gal 6:18Phil 4:23CCC 1348CCC 1548

Sources

Church teaching

  • The Roman Missal, third typical edition
    The Roman Missal, English translation according to the third typical edition (2011), Order of Mass, nn. 2, 15, 127 and 141. The English text in use since Advent 2011.

Sources checked 29 September 2026

See also