Having grown up Anglo-Catholic, I've responded for over 50 years with "and with thy spirit" when the priest said "the Lord be with you". But, recently, having heard an explanation of why I would respond "and with thy spirit", I've begun to seriously question why I wouldn't respond "and also with you" instead. Granted, the second form is incredibly trite and pedestrian sounding (which, according to many, is reason enough to reject it), yet, I'm still struggling with the reasoning I heard. Please elaborate and elucidate.
Many thanks...
Many thanks...