Orans Posture

  • Thread starter Thread starter Dennis_Donahue
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
D

Dennis_Donahue

Guest
After a twenty year abscence from Catholic Mass, upon my return to the Church, one glaring change I’ve found is the Orans Posture used by the laity during the reciting of the “Our Father”. When did this become acceptable? Nowhere in the current (2002) GIRM does it say that the Orans Posture is recommended for the congregation during the “Our Father”. Please, any comments would be appreciated.
 
I believe this is a banned topic. Even if it’s not, it’s one that people tend to become very emotional about.

Most of the people around me at Mass lift their hands. I don’t. I regard it as a matter of personal piety on the part of people who do. None of us interferes with the others when we pray.

When we were discussing the Mass with the RCIA folks I did point out that I see a certain irony in the fact that people tend to lift their hands when saying “and also with you” or during the Lord’s Prayer when there are no instructions that we are to do this. On the other hand, we are instructed to bow during the Creed and hardly anyone does that. |shrug| I don’t have the authority to deal with either situation.
 
Banned topic?! I don’t view this action objectionable, just curious as to it’s origin in today’s mass. I am an old school traditionalist and prefer folded hands.
 
Before I BOLTED over to the Byzantine Rite because of nonsense like this, a lady grabbed my hand when it was crossed with the other one at my waist level while reciting the Our Father. I could not stand doing it. Same thing with the hand shaking.
 
Dennis_Donahue said:
Banned topic?! I don’t view this action objectionable, just curious as to it’s origin in today’s mass. I am an old school traditionalist and prefer folded hands.
Click to expand...
There’s a ban on “lay gestures” in the “Liturgy and Sacraments” forum (see the “sticky” at the top). Whether that ban applies to all fora I don’t know, but I’d just as soon not go there.
 
It’s an innovation that has no place in the Catholic Mass outside of the priest to do it.

It is for the priest to do. The Church doesn’t say anything, because the Church doesn’t like to constrain the faithful to postures outside that which is absolutely necessary.

There, I said it.
 
The Orans posture is taken in all the Antiochian Churches (so far as I can tell), Orthodox, Catholic, and non-Chalcedonian, not only at the Lord’s Prayer, but other times.
 
Without commenting in any way on a possibly banned topic, may I just say you are lucky that the entire congregation did not chant the “Through Him, With Him, in Him…” doxology at the end of the Canon. And did you have a bunch of lay so-called Eucharistic Ministers in the sanctuary during the fraction rite? No? Congratulations, then, your congregation receives the low score of 1 out of 3 on the liturgical crime of impersonating a priest!

More importantly, welcome back, brother, and we’ll see you next Sunday!
 
I think this falls under “personal piety”, I myself don’t do it cause I find it distracts me and I don’t really see the point.
 
crm114 said:
Without commenting in any way on a possibly banned topic, may I just say you are lucky that the entire congregation did not chant the “Through Him, With Him, in Him…” doxology at the end of the Canon.
Click to expand...
Wow, I thought my RCIA parish was the only one that did this. The terrible thing is, the other RCIA class mates have started reciting this as well (I don’t).

How does something like this get started? I thought that this sort of thing happened in just my parish. I hate to hear that it’s happening elsewhere.

(And yes, now that I’ve been Confirmed, I’ll be attending another parish).
 
SuscipeMeDomine said:
I believe this is a banned topic. Even if it’s not, it’s one that people tend to become very emotional about.

Most of the people around me at Mass lift their hands. I don’t. I regard it as a matter of personal piety on the part of people who do. None of us interferes with the others when we pray.

When we were discussing the Mass with the RCIA folks I did point out that I see a certain irony in the fact that people tend to lift their hands when saying “and also with you” or during the Lord’s Prayer when there are no instructions that we are to do this. On the other hand, we are instructed to bow during the Creed and hardly anyone does that. |shrug| I don’t have the authority to deal with either situation.
Click to expand...
I bow during the Creed.

I’m not sure about the Ourans but I like even less when people try to grab your hands during the Our Father. I close my eyes and clasp my hands in prayer.
 
Is there more than one banned topics list? I’m new here, but I only saw the one in the “Rules of the Road” forum.
 
Dennis_Donahue said:
After a twenty year abscence from Catholic Mass, upon my return to the Church, one glaring change I’ve found is the Orans Posture used by the laity during the reciting of the “Our Father”. When did this become acceptable? Nowhere in the current (2002) GIRM does it say that the Orans Posture is recommended for the congregation during the “Our Father”. Please, any comments would be appreciated.
Click to expand...
The orans position is not a bad thing necessarily. If you go to the Maronite liturgy you will see that the Maronites raise their hands in this way during the Our Father and during a couple other prayers during the liturgy. The liturgical books even prescribe it at these points.
 
jimmy said:
… the Maronites raise their hands in this way during the Our Father and during a couple other prayers during the liturgy. The liturgical books even prescribe it at these points.
Click to expand...
Most admirable. May the Maronites continue reverently and obediently observing their rubrics, and may we in the Latin Rite follow their excellent example and behave as we are expected to do!
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top