Holding hands during and after the “Our Father..”

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I totally agree with you about the bishops making a definitive statement and our priests enforcing it. But I don’t think it’s a pointless discussion. Because holding hands has become so widespread, there are many people who don’t know it’s wrong. I’d hope that if they see it’s wrong in discussions like this, they wouldn’t want to do it.
 
Do what the deacon does during the prayer. That is your best guide. While it hasn’t been specifically condemned the fact that it looks like a poor imitation of Protestants (in this case Pentecostals) should be reason enough not to do it.
anrmenchaca47 said:
Doesn’t it bother you that the Bishops and Priest are silent on this?
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Unfortunately the silence of churchmen doesn’t mean much. They have been silent about grave matters for decades. Why would I expect they address a relatively much more minor issue?
 
Bothers me more that they were silent over sex abuse when it was happening than people holding hands during the Our Father.

Do we really need to waste time and energy on this subject ?

Jim
 
Hello anrmenchaca47,
Generally, when the GIRM is silent it means it is left up to the Bishops to decide within their own dioceses. I know that many Bishops in the south have issued directives on this for their individual dioceses. I know one of the sticking points is actually the raising of the hands after the Our Father. Raised outstretched hands (even when joined with other people’s hands) is an action called the ‘orans’ posture and is solely and explicitly reserved for the priest when done within the context of the mass. Some bishops outlaw holding of hands because it almost inevitably leads to the laity assuming the ‘orans’ and others just prohibit the laity’s ‘orans’ itself. The ‘orans’ isn’t just a posture but has a long biblical significance going all the way back to Moses lifting up the prayers of the Israelites and beyond. When Christ assumed the ‘orans’ when teaching the Lord’s Prayer, he was assuming the role of the High Priest as he was lifting up, not only his own prayers, but the prayers of those with him. It would have been anathema for the average Jews of the day to pray like that for others. It only passed on to the Bishops and priests through the participation in Christ’s priesthood.

God Bless,
Br. Ben, CRM
 
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I don’t care for holding hands. I never know where those hands have been. So there.
 
I would’ve been ambivalent about it and would’ve not been a handholder myself.
However.
My wife and kids and I hold each others’ hands, somewhat discretely. It was an organic thing. When the children were babies, we held them. As they grew older, we’d keep a hold of them because that’s what parents do to get the little ones to sit when they’re supposed to sit and stand when they’re supposed to stand and to keep them from squirming around too much. I guess we never stopped.
 
Holding hands is one thing, stepping out of your pew do do so is another matter.
 
Is that true? So we can sit, stand or kneel during the prayer? Can we turn our backs? Can we kneel in the isle? Can we prostrate ourselves in the isle? The absence of a specific posture could assume that one would maintain a normal or typical one.

I’d say it is not a perfect guide, but, at least in my parish, it is a better guide than say following the altar girls.
 
otrrl said:
In the last several years I have never seen so much hand holding, hugging, and what-not, and with that goes a lot of talking.
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This is not happening during the Our Father…which is this threads topic.
 
Our parish changed pastors at the beginning of this year. The previous one encouraged everyone to hold hands during the Our Father, all along every row; the new pastor doesn’t approve of that. I was okay with the old system and I’m okay with the new one too.
 
Um I read the link. The link in no way addressed my point. The same answer could be given to any of my scenarios. Sure the link addressed one particular posture. And from that answer one could assume any of what I offered was an equally valid posture.
 
Isn’t this a context issue too? I know when I referenced the deacon’s posture I was referring to his during the Pater Noster.
 
I think the bishops and priests choose their battles. Holding hands is not one that they give a rip about.

I don’t hold hands at the Lord’s Prayer. I only hope that those who do have a glimmer that the words like “our” and “us” and “other” refer to everybody, even our enemies. The words are far more important than the gesture.

In a local parish, one priest has taken this to an extreme. Not only is there the “sign” of peace where we (most others) shake hands, but they hold hands at the Lord’s prayer, AND the priest has everybody shake hands just before Mass begins. I was at a Midnight Mass at a nearby parish and a young lady next to me shook my hand THREE times. I was about to caution her that if we shook hands one more time, we’d be married.
 
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Isn’t it at the end of one of the Petrine epistles that it says to greet each other with a “holy kiss.”

Now THAT would go over really swell. It would make a big difference where I sat.
 
The answer was ‘no position’. Either that is true or it is not true. If true then it is truly ‘no’ or ‘not any’ position. I don’t think the answer is complete. Sometimes it is better not to answer a question than to give an incomplete answer.
 
(name removed by moderator), thanks for your participation and patience. What appout the other details if the OP, leaving one’s pew to hold hands? I have seen this done, were the congregation spreads out so they can hold hands across the aisle. This is what I find particularly bothersome. Some of us have sweaty palms when the least bit uncomfortable hand holding arises. Normally it’s never a problem to not hold hands during the our father. But I have run into this situation and it becomes almost impossible to not participate.
 
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