Question: Precisely what type of “peace” are we hoping for when we say “Peace Be With You” at Mass?
Answer: The “peace beyond all understanding” that the 2nd person of the Holy Trinity became man in order to declare, is the peace between sinful mankind and God, which could only be achieved by the salvific work of Jesus Christ, his only begotten Son.
When we say “Peace Be With You” at Mass, we should be thinking something like this: “May God, according to the grace obtained for us by his divine son, forgive all our sins, justify us in faith and personally invite us to spend eternity with him, in Heaven.”
For people of true faith, that should also be enough to mitigate any of the temporarily anxieties and worries brought on by the stresses and strains of our mundane existence here on earth, until the day that we might be privileged to experience God as he really is.
2 Comments
Doug Lawrence's Catholic Site 
Speaking only for yours, truly: I intend nothing other than the traditional response Et cum spiritu tu tuo. Because I figure the celebrant of the traditional mass that I attend knows what is truly meant by the traditional invocation of peace. What is intended by those who call for peace in the NO, that is open to wide conjecture.
Good to see new emails from you, Doug.
Excuse my erose late-night Latin: Et cum spiritu tuo.