Holding and lifting hands during Our Father

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Yea, I expected my use of the word stranger would be challenged. I get it, we are all one Body of Christ, especially at mass. But for practical purposes, I stick to the word. When it is a parishioner who I have known for years, guess what? they know me, they don’t try to hold my hand. They probably don’t even have to think about it. But when I am at a different church, where I know no one, they are strangers to me. And I don’t want to hold their hand.
I am old fashioned, as such my thoughts were set a long time ago. Hand holding is a rather intimate thing. We hold hands with our children, our spouse, our sweetheart. Its not casually done. Why force it in mass? Just to make people feel uncomfortable? I have no problem with people who decide to hold hands during the Our Father, just don’t expect me to do it. And have a little consideration, don’t extend your hand to a stranger, that person just might fell like me (there are a lot more of us than you may realize) but not be willing to say no. You will get your chance during the sign of peace to show your communion with fellow mass attendees. And much more importantly, you will get your chance when you receive communion.
 
Full Sail makes excellent beer, and the view from their deck of the Columbia and the sail boarders is awesome.

My guess is the chef is an import for somewhere like, oh… Wisconsin? Minnesota? Yeah, probably Minnesota. If I had lived there for one or maybe two winters, I probably would have lost all my good sense, if not losing my mind.

I am sure God will forgive him for such a sacrilege to salmon… 😝😜
 
otjm said:
And I would lay odds that even in those parishes which do not hold hands, most people are not strangers.
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I know a lot of people at our parish, many of them I do not consider to be strangers, even those who I see every week but do not know their name. I still do not want to hold their hand.
 
My point was not that you should hold hands with someone you know. It is the use of “stranger”, which tends to irritate me, in part because I have known too many Catholics whose only connection to a parish is through the exercise of an “obligation”. In, out in 45 minutes if not sooner, grousing if it goes a minute longer, and racing to their cars to get out of there.

And no, I am not suggesting you are one of those. However, I have observed all too many who show up regularly for Mass and can’t wait to get out of there, with no interest in getting to know anyone else better - or at all. and it is not like I have only been observing for a short while.

I have gone to many, many funerals over my 72 years, most of which have filled the church anywhere from 1/3 to overflowing. I also have attended funerals where there was little more than immediate family and a handful of others, not because of the deceased being new to the parish, but because they seemed to go out of their way to not do so.

Jut a pet peeve.

And I most certainly do not suggest forcing holding hands.
 
My husband and I attended mass for the first time this past Sunday, and I had to get up because my 5 month old was getting restless so I was in the back standing by the front doors. During the prayer I noticed every body held hands in the congregation. A man came up to me to hold my hand. 😂 My son wasnt having it so he started getting cranky. I was a little relieved as balancing a wiggly 19 pound baby in my left, while holding this man’s hand in my right was tricky.
My mom took me to mass a handful of times when I was about 9, and we didn’t hold hands. Interesting though, never knew about this topic.
 
The Church should canonize him for finding a method to make cat food palatable.
 
It would appear you are not from the West Coast… in spite of your taste in beer.
 
Astute observation. My sister lives west of Portland, but we are midwestern rubes. I have pork ribs on the grill as we speak being slathered with a honey tequila barbecue sauce.
 
We have a few folks in the parish who get quite involved in the “touchie-feelie” moments, and form a ‘magic circle’ during the Lord’s Prayer. Then wander a bit during the Sign of Peace. Some even continue to glad-hand everyone in their quadrant of the worship space after helping to distribute Holy Communion. This certainly goes above and beyond what is expected of anyone at this point in the Mass. When one is giving thanks after receiving, the last thing one expects is to be engaged in a post-Sign-of-Peace Sign of Peace.
 
Tis_Bearself said:
The palms open and thrust thing is also done by some of the non-charismatic Latino congregations with which I worship, in the context of an otherwise conventional OF Mass.

I don’t do it as it is not my culture or how I was raised to make that gesture but I think they were all taught to do it.
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I find it interesting that the deacon is specifically prohibited from mirroring the priest’s oran posture at the Our Father but the laity feel it’s fine for them. It’s never been my thing.

At Sunday Mass these days the priest is holding hands with the children he’s called forward to hold hands during the Lord’s Prayer. So no true orans posture for him.
 
Consider the same situation of using something evil for an illustration. If some one were to describe the Mass as a pagan ritual, and the elevation of the Host as being like the Egyptian worship of the sun god, would you think such an illustration appropriate, or not?
 
The term ‘magic circle’ came up in a book read some time ago on New Age paganism. Before crossing the road to trespass at a SAC base back in the Reagan era, the protestors would formo such circles. Our parish choir located near the altar, would also form circles for the Lord’s Prayer until they were likely told not to do so.
 
In other than Catholic churches where the Eucharist is not seen as a sign of unity or mere bread, another sign needs to be done during the service- holding hands. Not so hygenic if you are to receive communion in the hand shortly thereafter.
 
There was only one instance when the celebrant here advised everyone NOT to hold hands at the appointed time–and that’s when The Bird Flu was sweeping the nation.
 
However, holding hands during the Our Father in the Catholic Church appears to have come from the Catholic Charismatic Movement.
 
Personally I don’t do it. I see it as Pentecostal influence that should honestly die out, but the Bishop of my diocese hasn’t forbade it so it is what it is.
 
As far as a understand, holding your hands up is what the priest does, and some people see that as a cue to do the same.
I always believed bands should be folded.
However there is no official correct answer.
 
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