Holding hands during the Our Father.

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CB_Catholic said:
You don’t. That is not your job. You bring it up to the Pastor, who has the authority to stop it or let it proceed. I don’t like hand-holding either, but if the servers were doing it in my parish, I would not address the servers, because I am not in charge of them. And most Pastors don’t look too kindly on people who try to take matters into their own hands, bypassing him.
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This is the correct answer. 👍 🙂
 
TheMc said:
The problem with this logic is that the Mass is not about “feeling one with the Body of Christ”( although that may be a powerful “side effect”).

The Mass is the supreme worship of God, and that should be our primary focus, not our feelings. Subsequently, since the Mass is not about our feelings, we should not be adding things of our own accord.

I’ve heard this and similar arguments before, but it simply dosen’t hold water when you read things like this:

•Sacrosanctum Concilium art. 22.3 (1963)
o Therefore no other person, even if he be a priest [But note this doesn’t **only apply to priests, but to everyone, especially priests.]
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, may add, remove, or change anything in the liturgy on his own authority.

It would be appreciated if you would not use the Churches documents like a protestant. Please quote the whole section.

SACROSANCTUM CONCILIUM
    1. Regulation of the sacred liturgy depends solely on the authority of the Church, that is, on the Apostolic See** and**, as laws may determine, on the bishop.
  2. In virtue of power conceded by the law, the regulation of the liturgy within certain defined limits belongs also to various kinds of competent territorial bodies of bishops legitimately established.
  3. Therefore no other person, even if he be a priest, may add, remove, or change anything in the liturgy on his own authority.
The Bishop has the authority to regulate the sacred liturgy. The way you put it sounds as though no one has the authority.
 
ConstantineTG said:
On a related note, God also doesn’t need to see us kneeling to Him to know that we revere Him. Should we stop kneeling as well?
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Good point, ConstantineTG.

I voted ‘I follow what everyone else does’. Voting for the ‘No, Never’ option would be true, because we do not have handholding in the UK. But it sounds so vehement. I am not strogly opposed ot it, which is how it sounds.

If I were in a parish where it was the custom, I would do as everyone else there, too.
 
TheMc said:
The problem with this logic is that the Mass is not about “feeling one with the Body of Christ”( although that may be a powerful “side effect”).
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Of course, St. Paul exhorts us that even if one is formally worshipping God, if one realizes that one is not at peace with your brother, you should leave and first reconcile yourself with your brother.

Apparently, “feeling one with the Body of Christ” is not merely a powerful “side effect,” but a very much an inherent aspect of worshipping God.🤷

Blessings,
Marduk
 
We don`t hold hands during Our Father in the diocese i belong too at all. I am not sure about other places in Norway as well, but there are not much liberalism or lightness here.

Traditional and by the book as it should be…
 
In the church where I attend masses there is no hand-holding. Neither is in the rubrics, nor was such things in the times when I was young and fresh.
 
When I was a child, it was never done, but I noticed people started to do this when I was in high school, and is now widely done in my country, but it is not in the rubrics so I do not do it. Have another reason though, I suffer from palmar hyperhidrosis (sweaty palms) :o
, so I find it embarassing to do so.
 
In my parish, it is not a common site, however, there are some families that hold each others hands.

If I’m away from home and attending mass at a parish that does practice this, I’ll generally go with whatever the folks in my row are doing. 🙂 It doesn’t really bother me one way or the other, and frankly, the fact that it does bother some, is rather, well, bothersome itself. 🙂
 
I do have a problem with anything that is introduced on personal initiative.

Both the aforementioned Sacrosanctum Concilium section, and canon 838 of the Code of Canon Law make it abundantly clear that personal initiative is not an appropriate basis for adding to the sacred liturgy.
 
Havard said:
I do have a problem with anything that is introduced on personal initiative.

Both the aforementioned Sacrosanctum Concilium section, and canon 838 of the Code of Canon Law make it abundantly clear that personal initiative is not an appropriate basis for adding to the sacred liturgy.
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Then it is abuse of the liturgy and should be reported to the bishop in those dioceses where this happens.
 
Everyone is so busy giving their opinions on hand-holding, that no one is answering the OP’s question. How does she/he tell the altar servers to stop holding hands?
 
CB_Catholic said:
Everyone is so busy giving their opinions on hand-holding, that no one is answering the OP’s question. How does she/he tell the altar servers to stop holding hands?
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This was answered on the first page. The suggestion was to talk to the pastor and not to the altar servers directly.
 
nicolep said:
This was answered on the first page. The suggestion was to talk to the pastor and not to the altar servers directly.
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Yes, but I was the one who answered the question, and I was wondering what others had to say. I’m not always right.
 
CB_Catholic said:
Yes, but I was the one who answered the question, and I was wondering what others had to say. I’m not always right.
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Since the question was answered, I didn’t see a need to say the same. Also, the OP asked what every person does by posting a poll. It seems to me he/she invited the discussion.

Your answer was the correct one.
 
nicolep said:
Since the question was answered, I didn’t see a need to say the same. Also, the OP asked what every person does by posting a poll. It seems to me he/she invited the discussion.

Your answer was the correct one.
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At the risk of becoming nicolep’s yes-man :p, again, I agree with everything said above.
 
My parish acquired the “tradition” of hand holding…I suspect long before I came in. Sometimes I happen to be in a pew with another person who prefers not to hold hands but mostly I just have to go along with it. Once this departure from form begins it is my opinion that only a forceful effort by the current pastor will stop it and I don’t think this is going to happen.
My advice if you want it…live with it.🤷
 
In answer to the OP’s question, they should go to the pastor and talk it over with him.

On a personal level, I don’t much care for it. We are supposed to be at Mass to worship God, not ‘ourselves’. Holding hands is a distraction.

One of many reasons why I go to the EF Mass exclusively…
 
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