Doesn't say you can, doesn't say you can't

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We are slowly trying to implement the new GIRM, and today our pastor said that since the GIRM doesn’t specifically address hand-holding during the Our Father, either posture is acceptable.
What a slippery slope! I think I’ll start teaching the school children how to do holy,reverent cartwheels during the Mass, after all, the GIRM doesn’t say you can’t…:hmmm:
 
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sinner:
We are slowly trying to implement the new GIRM, and today our pastor said that since the GIRM doesn’t specifically address hand-holding during the Our Father, either posture is acceptable.
What a slippery slope! I think I’ll start teaching the school children how to do holy,reverent cartwheels during the Mass, after all, the GIRM doesn’t say you can’t…:hmmm:
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What the GIRM interpretation is, is that no one is required to hold hands and especially that the priest is never to request that they do. If families or friends wish to, then that is up to them.
 
I heard Fr. Stravinskas say that the GIRM tells you what to do, not what not to do.

The Church treats us like adults, not like wisecracking schoolkids, who sometimes need to be told what not to do. For example, nowhere in the GIRM does it that I can’t tapdance on the altar during the Liturgy of the Word, but does that mean it’s okay? 😉
 
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sinner:
We are slowly trying to implement the new GIRM, and today our pastor said that since the GIRM doesn’t specifically address hand-holding during the Our Father, either posture is acceptable.
What a slippery slope! I think I’ll start teaching the school children how to do holy,reverent cartwheels during the Mass, after all, the GIRM doesn’t say you can’t…:hmmm:
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Your pastor is not showing the resolve one would like to see in a Catholic priest.

I think selling iced cold beer during summer afternoon Masses might be a good fundraising idea. After all the GIRM does not specifically address the selling of beer. Maybe we’ll ice-down the kegs in the baptistry – again, no mention in the GIRM.

Perhaps we’ll also grill hot dogs up in the choir loft. Again the GIRM is silent…
 
Br. Rich SFO:
What the GIRM interpretation is, is that no one is required to hold hands and especially that the priest is never to request that they do. If families or friends wish to, then that is up to them.
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That is incorrect.
 
One of the more conservative Archbishops, Archbishop Chaput of the Denver Diocese has taken a rather “open” stance on this subject. I was taken aback when I first read it because it seemed rather liberal for such as he. I still may not agree with it but I think I see that he is aware that there continues to be here and everywhere constant controversary and strong feelings about the subject. Since there is no ruling (yet), I suspect he is just trying to keep the peace until such time as there is.
Article by Archbishop Chaput on the liturgy series
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The celebrant invites us to pray the words of Jesus in the “Our Father.” This is the prayer Jesus Himself taught us, and because of that, it’s the model prayer for the Church. How should we pray it?

A lot has been said in popular writing about our gestures at this point of the Mass. Do we fold our hands, or hold them outstretched, or hold hands with those around us? Some people have surprisingly strong feelings about this issue. Our answer to this question needs to come from the Church’s understanding of this moment in the Mass.

The priest stands with his arms outstretched as the prayer begins. The assembly should also stand. There are no options for gestures listed in the General Instruction for this part of the Mass. For many persons, folding their hands during the “Our Father” is the best way to express their prayer. For others, they may hold their hands outstretched. Still others hold hands.

None of these gestures is mandated or forbidden by the Church.** So our guiding principles should be respect for the dignity of the Mass, and respect for the freedom of our fellow worshipers. **

Some people feel that holding hands during the “Our Father” enhances a sense of community. This is perfectly appropriate — so long as it can be done with dignity and without the unseemly acrobatics that sometimes ensue.

For other people, holding hands is a kind of intimacy they reserve for family members. It makes them uncomfortable to hold hands during Mass, and they prefer not to do it. This is also perfectly appropriate. A parish may have several ways of praying the “Our Father,” depending on the people who take part in a specific Mass. No one should feel coerced, and the beauty of the liturgy should always be observed.

We have seen before that the Mass is rich with symbols and signs. The beauty and centrality of the Eucharist, which our Lord entrusted to the Church for all times and all peoples, should always be evident in every celebration of the Mass. **Thus, those involved in liturgical education should take special care not to allow their private preferences to influence their work. **
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Some families are accustomed to holding hands during the Our Father, and I don’t think the bishop or priest is trying to force them to stop. At the same time, it is not a practice that is encouraged for the entire congregation, and especially not at the altar.
 
the GIRM and rubrics do not say you cannot float baloons over the congregation, which was suggested in all seriousness by the retreat planning team recently, but I wouldn’t recommend it.
 
The rubrics does not say, nor does it say, that we may clap our hands repeatedly (like metrinomes) during the reading of the Gospel. (which will aid thePriest in keeping a steady rhythm.)

Let’s start this innovation, and in 20 years it will become local custom, and therefore no Bishop will want to stir up controversy by saying this is not allowed.

Such clapping is an audible sign of unity.
 
Wow…that woud be insane…I don’t think I would be able to handle that…
 
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