Is folding one's hands at Mass becoming archaic?

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k5thbeatle

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I don’t generally pay attention to what anyone else is doing during Mass but it’s hard not to notice that hardly anyone ever folds their hands during Mass these days?

What happened to folding hands? I know it’s not required per se but it just seems like it’s almost kind of been forgotten???
 
Yeah, depends on the parish. When I’m not in the choir loft, I don’t fold my hands much because my balance is so poor these days – I’m always holding on to the pew in front of me when I’m standing :o

When I’m in the choir loft, I’m playing the organ, so my hands are busy 😃

Many people in my parish fold their hands, but not all. The altar servers are trained to hold their hands with palms together and the right thumb over the left – my son told me.

Gertie
 
Sometimes I do, sometimes I don’t. I hold onto the pew in front of me a lot. I have really bad anxiety and holding on helps better than holding my hands.

We really don’t know why people do things. Heck, I’m 26 and sometimes I don’t kneel. Why? Well, my knees pop out of place and it is excruciating for me to kneel sometimes. Instead of us being bothered by things like this, we should be more worried about ourselves.
 
Gertabelle said:
The altar servers are trained to hold their hands with palms together and the right thumb over the left – my son told me.

Gertie
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Now THAT’S definitely “old school” teaching! I remember as a little girl, you were taught to put your right thumb over the left – first, it makes a cross and, second, represents God’s victory over the devil (as someone who was left handed, I never understood why, somehow, the “left” was evil and the “right” good . . . ). 😉
 
I still fold my hands. I was taught to do so; because Mass is the greatest prayer.
 
I still fold my hands. Kneeling is very difficult due to RA…most times I can’t.
 
I will never understand why so many people are worried about what others do with their hands. 🤷
I hold my at waist level, palms up, one hand on top of the other (almost like I would to receive Communion). I do this for 2 reasons- one, I have a medical issue that makes it painful to interlock my fingers, and two- prayer is a “giving & receiving”. If my hands are tightly clasped together, I cannot let things “go” and I certainly cannot receive anything.
 
Standing - hands folded
Sitting - hands on lap
Kneeling - hands folded

Thanks to the sisters at St. Domitilla 🙂
 
Oneofthewomen said:
I will never understand why so many people are worried about what others do with their hands. 🤷
I hold my at waist level, palms up, one hand on top of the other (almost like I would to receive Communion). I do this for 2 reasons- one, I have a medical issue that makes it painful to interlock my fingers, and two- prayer is a “giving & receiving”. If my hands are tightly clasped together, I cannot let things “go” and I certainly cannot receive anything.
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You are right. It is the disposition of our hearts that are more important than the placement of our hands…however, I don’t think anyone in the thread was overly “worried about what others do with their hands”.

All responses volunteered how they did it, without judging how others did.

You may be a bit too sensitive.

Peace and all good!
 
Neofight said:
You are right. It is the disposition of our hearts that are more important than the placement of our hands…however, I don’t think anyone in the thread was overly “worried about what others do with their hands”…you may be just a little sensitive.

Peace and all good!
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Regarding the bold in red- I don’t think we would have a thread if someone wasn’t concerned about it.
I am not “overly sensitive”, just curious as to why someone else is concerned with how I (and obviously others) hold my hands when I am at Mass. Is it really anyone else’s business? 🤷
 
MtnDwellar said:
Standing - hands folded
Sitting - hands on lap
Kneeling - hands folded

Thanks to the sisters at St. Domitilla 🙂
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This is what I do when I altar serve and what I teach my fellow servers.

Keep in mind however, that Dominicans are forbidden to hold their hands in the palms together position lest they fall into spiritual pride. They will humbly place their hands under their scapular, clasped at their waist or on the pew in front of them. This is exactly what I see the five Dominican sisters doing at my parish every day.

So there is no universal requirement.

-Tim-
 
The Missale Romanum of the Extraordinary Form states that the priest, deacon, and subdeacon, when holding their hands together, are to do so with the right thumb over the left so as to form a cross. The Ordinary Form just says the hands are to be joined. “Manibus Junctis” There has never been a prescribed way for the laity to fold their hands and particular ways of folding them are simply customary. The only postures for the congregation that are prescribed are the times to stand, sit, or kneel. The clergy have quite a few instructions to follow. Deacons, for example, are to keep their hands folded unless they have to perform a particular function. They are not to separate their hands when saying “The Lord be with you” before reading the Gospel, while saying, “Let us offer each other the Sign of Peace” or when dismissing the people – although doing so seems to be very common. This post also relates to the holding hands during the Our Father issue. If a person is free to fold hands, hold onto the pew in front, cross ones arms across his chest, etc, then why not hold hands? Requiring or even instructing the people to hold hands should not be done, however. One should always kneel at the proper times unless their is a legitimate reason for not doing so. This could be a personal, physical limitation or because Mass is being held in a muddy field. Since it is a prescribed posture, personal preference is not a sufficient reason to not kneel, stand, or sit. Having just had my knee replaced, I am well aware of the reasons for not kneeling. Small discomfort should not prevent someone from kneeling, however. I will say that being careful about how a person folds their hands can provide a way of focusing the heart and mind during prayer.
 
MtnDwellar said:
Standing - hands folded
Sitting - hands on lap
Kneeling - hands folded

Thanks to the sisters at St. Domitilla 🙂
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This is also what I learned while in RCIA and what I am teaching my grandchildren when I get to take them to Mass. Mass is a prayer and I believe I need to be in a prayerful posture during Mass.

As far as standing, kneeling, sitting - I’m in my 50’s and have an aggressive form of arthritis and I kneel at the prescribed times unless expressly told by the priest to remain standing. I’ve knelt on the floor of a high school gym during adoration of the Blessed Sacrament for close to an hour. The pain & discomfort I felt kneeling on that gym floor was nothing compared to Jesus Christ’s suffering.

What others do isn’t a concern for me but one of the things I love about of the Catholic Church is the reverence for Christ that seems to be so diminished in other denominations.
 
I was raised nominally Methodist but always either folded my hands or held the palms flat together. The whole raised palms business is a terrible leftover from the sway - and - sing silliness that spread 40 years ago.
 
Oneofthewomen said:
…
I am not “overly sensitive”, just curious as to why someone else is concerned with how I (and obviously others) hold my hands when I am at Mass. Is it really anyone else’s business? 🤷
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It sounds to me that perhaps he is concerned about the lack of reverence sometimes seen at Mass and had a question.

Seems like it brought up some interesting thoughts on prayer posture. Some I have never heard before and hope to remember.

God bless. 🙂
 
Making a simple observation and asking a question about it on a public chat forum relevant to the observation is hardly “worrying” what others are doing with their hands.

I simply noticed that, in my opinion, people are not folding their hands as they once did during mass and was curious if others had the same observations and if so why this might be?

Nobody said anything about worrying what people should or should not be doing with their hands.
 
We tend to fold our hands into prayer throughout the Mass. It helps me to keep my focus on praying the Mass, and not what is going on around me. I will often even have my eyes closed and/or head bowed in prayer. This isn’t because I’m holy; it’s because I’m not! 🙂 I have issues with distraction (ADD), and through the Lord’s Graces, I’ve been able to block out most of my issues with distractions this way. It helps me with both visual and auditory distractions. I will also often have a Rosary in my hand.

However, I also do other gestures that I do not know if they are required, but also connect me to the Mass (they are not prohibited, I do know that). I pray the Sign of the Cross after we are blessed by the priest after the “I confess to Almighty God…”; I sign myself when the Crucifix passes up and down the aisle at the beginning and end; I knock my chest 3 times when the Body and Blood are raised in the Eucharistic prayers.

We’ve been back two years now, after being away quite a number of years, and didn’t do these things before. Some of them I didn’t consciously do; they just ‘happened’. I didn’t even do them before when we were in the Church. 🤷
 
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