"And with thy spirit."

In the traditional call to prayer the priest bids the people, “The Lord be with you.”  And the people respond “And with thy spirit.”  What does the congregation mean in using these words (the same meaning is in the Rite 2 version “And also with you”)?  Why does the congregation address the priest’s “spirit”?

This phrase is found in Christian liturgy back to 215 AD!  One early example is from St. John Chrysostom (347-407), who was Bishop of Constantinople and a major theologian of early Christianity.  He addressed this liturgical phrase in a homily on Pentecost Sunday.  He said,

“If the Holy Spirit were not in our Bishop [he is referring to Bishop Flavian of Antioch d. 449 AD] when he gave the peace to all shortly before ascending to the Altar to celebrate the Holy Eucharist, you would not have replied to him all together, “And with thy spirit.”  This is why you reply with this expression not only when he ascends to the sanctuary, or when he preaches to you, or when he prays for you, but when he stands at the holy Altar, when he is about to offer this awesome sacrifice [the Holy Eucharist]. You don't partake of the offerings until he has prayed for you the grace from the Lord, and you have answered him, “And with thy spirit,” reminding yourselves by this reply that he [the priest or bishop] who is here does nothing of his own power, nor are the offered gifts [the bread and wine] the work of human nature, but it is the grace of the Holy Spirit present and hovering over all things which makes present to us the mystic sacrifice.”  [Comments are mine].

St. John Chrysostom teaches that this simple address “The Lord be with you, And with thy spirit” is a prayerful profession of faith.  The faith that is being confirmed here is that the bishop or priest by means of his ordination is uniquely configured to Christ and that he is offering the Holy Eucharist just as Christ intends, that is in Persona Christi, or "in the person of Christ" and never by his own resources or worthiness or anything else.

The charism given to the bishop and priest at ordination is given to reach out to each soul and through the words and actions of the celebrant Jesus Christ Himself consecrates and blesses the bread and wine into His very Body and Blood.

What is the basis of this sacramental faith?  It is Christ's own priestly ministry on earth, and the revealed fact that he associated men with Him to learn His teachings, acquire His spirit, receive sacred powers from Him in order to continue His work of salvation until the end of time.  "Behold, I will be with you to the end of the ages."  (Matt 28:20).  It's by means of the sacramental nature of the Church that Jesus makes this promise a reality.

So, when the people of God say, “And with thy spirit,” they are professing our theology of the sacrament of Holy Orders and how in the consecration of the man’s soul at ordination Jesus Christ places an indelible mark upon his soul and making him a priest forever!

The response, “And with thy spirit,” is a key phrase of our faith; it serves to remind us that the Holy Eucharist is not the peoples celebration but it is solely Christ’s Holy Eucharist, it is His gift of His very Body and Blood for the salvation of the world and for the spiritual nourishment and renewal of the people of God.  Fr. Klein