Raising Hands during Mass

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AirForceMama

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During my Fundamentals of Catholicm class, our priest told us that it is not right for us to raise our hands during Mass, such as during the Our Father. However, almost every other parish I go to, this is happening. Just wanted to know your thoughts. (I saw this in the Ask an Apologist forum and it sparked my poll).
 
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AirForceMama:
During my Fundamentals of Catholicm class, our priest told us that it is not right for us to raise our hands during Mass, such as during the Our Father. However, almost every other parish I go to, this is happening. Just wanted to know your thoughts. (I saw this in the Ask an Apologist forum and it sparked my poll).
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I’ve only ever come across this at Charismatic Masses​

 
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AirForceMama:
During my Fundamentals of Catholicm class, our priest told us that it is not right for us to raise our hands during Mass, such as during the Our Father. However, almost every other parish I go to, this is happening. Just wanted to know your thoughts. (I saw this in the Ask an Apologist forum and it sparked my poll).
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AFM:

I looked as Ask an apologist and am assuming you are referring to one of the following posts:
What about raising hands with the priest in mass?
Are the faithful permitted to raise their hands at Mass?
I can see where the could be a confusion between the answers.

At the parish that I am currently at about 5% of the people raise thier hands during the Our Father. I have only recently begun to do this.

PF
 
I guess I am an old “fuddy duddy” when it comes to the Sacrifice of the Mass, where I believe we should all be looking straight ahead, wiht the priest’s back to us, leading us toward heaven! Now, I don’t actually mind the priest facing me, but all of these new inovations are a distraction to me. We also have an initial “greeting” just before the priest comes down the center isle to begin Mass, where I keep my hands to my side. But I do participate vigorously at the approprate time of the “greeting” we give each other when it is called for in the Novus Ordo.

Music? I don’t sing half of the music when I get the feeling that the music originated from some Broadway musical! 😦

By the way, I am a conservative Catholic, but not a “traditional” Catholic, as the word has come to mean these days. The Novus Ordo Mass is beautiful when it is said/sung in Latin! 🙂

God bless,

PAX

Bill+†+

“Gloria in excelsis Deo”

(Intoned by the celebrant of the Mass.)

(The choir response.)

Et in terra pax homininus
bone voluntatis
Laudamus te
Benedicimus te
Adoramus te
Glorificamus te,
Gratias agimus tibi propter
magnum gloriam tuum.
Domine Deus, Rex Coelestis,
Deus Pater omnipotens
Domine Fili unigenite
Jesu Christe Domine Deus
Agnus Dei Filius Patris
Qui tollis peccata mundi
miserere nobis.
Qui tollis peccata mundi,
suscipe deprecationem nostram.
Qui sedes ad dexteramPatris,
miserere nobis.
Quoniam tu solus Sanctus,
Tu solus Dominus
Tu solus Altissimus
Jesu Christe.
Cum Sancto Spiritu
in gloria Dei Patris
Amen.
  • The Ambrosian Gloria -
solesmes.com/sons/gloria.ram

(Real monks chanting…)

Gregorian Chant - God’s music! 🙂
 
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WanderAimlessly:
AFM:

At the parish that I am currently at about 5% of the people raise thier hands during the Our Father. I have only recently begun to do this.

PF
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At my old parish, it started with that many, then more did it, finally when I left it became almost everyone holding hands and lifting them. (I always waited for the Bic lighters to come out).
Hold your ground if you don’t like it. When I was in mass with my daughter and I held her hands down and told her to close her eyes to be humble, the people around me realized they did not have to do this and did not.

Now I’m in a new parish and pray for those I left behind.
 
netmil(name removed by moderator):
At my old parish, it started with that many, then more did it, finally when I left it became almost everyone holding hands and lifting them. (I always waited for the Bic lighters to come out).
Hold your ground if you don’t like it. When I was in mass with my daughter and I held her hands down and told her to close her eyes to be humble, the people around me realized they did not have to do this and did not.

Now I’m in a new parish and pray for those I left behind.
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Of course, this is jsut the type of “organic” change in the liturgy that conservatives claim they approve of.

It is sad that this reverental posture for prayer that our Blessed Mother and the early Christian martyers used is compared to rock concert behavior by those who do not understand or appreciate our rich Catholic liturgical heritage.
 
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katherine2:
It is sad that this reverental posture for prayer that our Blessed Mother and the early Christian martyers used is compared to rock concert behavior by those who do not understand or appreciate our rich Catholic liturgical heritage.
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You are ignoring the history of the orante posture. It has already gone through its own organic development through its role in the liturgy, and already has particular liturgical meaning and symbolism. Liturgical development is not legitimate if it does not stay true to the essence of the liturgy, itself, the nature of the action being accomplished, and the meaning and symbolism that the liturgy conveys as a whole. This requires discussion, Katherine, and that probably means that someone or some people will disagree with innovations and developments. That’s nothing to be affraid of.

Secondly you are being extremely unfair. There were many organic developments in the liturgy that have been laid aside in this post-Vatican II era. Are you suggesting that they should be brought back? You are picking and choosing which organic development is good for the Church based on your personal opinions. Every organic development came about accompanied by internal debate, but here we have you coming along and saying that we shouldn’t freely discuss it? That no one can disagree with what everybody else is doing. That kind of thinking is so common on the fascist left. Are you saying that organic development entails going along with whatever the crowd is doing, and to question the crowd is somehow going against the tradition of the Church?
 
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katherine2:
Of course, this is jsut the type of “organic” change in the liturgy that conservatives claim they approve of.

It is sad that this reverental posture for prayer that our Blessed Mother and the early Christian martyers used is compared to rock concert behavior by those who do not understand or appreciate our rich Catholic liturgical heritage.
Click to expand...
More liturgical archaeology. I thought you libs want to make the mass more friendly to the culture we are in? You know, more relevant? I find it disingenuous when some claim the early Church did this or that. It seems the HS has not been guiding the Church?

Which “customs” from the early Church that so many claim took place are we to reintroduce? How about the old penances? Are you up for that too?
 
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AirForceMama:
During my Fundamentals of Catholicm class, our priest told us that it is not right for us to raise our hands during Mass, such as during the Our Father. However, almost every other parish I go to, this is happening. Just wanted to know your thoughts. (I saw this in the Ask an Apologist forum and it sparked my poll).
Click to expand...
I don’t do it… :eek: I don’t have a problem that others do… 🙂 What I like most about the Catholic Church is, where ever you go, (mostly) your always at home. The Mass is the Mass… but, when you experience things/practices not done universally, well then it becomes a distraction… :o I am for less distraction at Mass. 👍

But I can live with diversity… it’s only when they look and me with that “what’s wrong with you look” “why aren’t you raising your hands or holding hands at the Lord’s Prayer” Of course, someone might say… pay attention to what’s going on up at the alter and you wouldn’t notice the looks of others… good point! :rolleyes:

As first stated… i don’t really have a major problem with it… different strokes for different Ghosts… 👍
 
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katherine2:
Of course, this is jsut the type of “organic” change in the liturgy that conservatives claim they approve of.

It is sad that this reverental posture for prayer that our Blessed Mother and the early Christian martyers used is compared to rock concert behavior by those who do not understand or appreciate our rich Catholic liturgical heritage.
Click to expand...
Somehow I don’t think that I am quite as holy as Our Blessed Mother nor the early Christian Martyers. I am humbled in the presence of the Holy Eucharist and therefore will look down and fold my hands.
 
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katherine2:
It is sad that this reverental posture for prayer that our Blessed Mother and the early Christian martyers used…
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What is your evidence that the orans was the posture used by our Blessed Mother and the early Christian martyers?

The orans figures in the catecombs are all female except for biblical figures on tombs that are depicted as asking for the deliverance of the soul of the one buried. Apparently, the female orans represents the soul of the dead person, and the biblical characters in the orans posture are depicted as suplicating for the dead. There’s no proof in the catecombs that the orans position was the normal prayer posture in third century Rome.
 
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fix:
Which “customs” from the early Church that so many claim took place are we to reintroduce? How about the old penances? Are you up for that too?
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How about public confessions?
 
the last priest we had in my old parish went through the Mass with us, instructing the whole parish including CCD that this was the way to go: raising hands basically whenever there is a congregational response, not just the our Father (he banned hand-holding), profound bow before receiving communion, no genuflecting, standing after the fraction, singing in communion procession, all the good stuff. His successor has just rolled back all these instructions, leaving us all extremely confused. These changes are introduced without any explanation of why, where they come from, nobody has any idea there is such a thing as GIRM and RS.
 
I never have, but about maybe 15% of those at our mass does this. I always wondered why, and if I should be doing it, but now I know I was ok.
 
I like to raise my hands when we sing praises to GOD. Especially the Gloria and the Sanctus!

all for JESUS!!
lonnie
 
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lonnienord:
I like to raise my hands when we sing praises to GOD. Especially the Gloria and the Sanctus!

all for JESUS!!
lonnie
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God bless you my faithful sister. The Lord IS with YOU!
 
space ghost:
I don’t do it… :eek: I don’t have a problem that others do… 🙂 What I like most about the Catholic Church is, where ever you go, (mostly) your always at home. The Mass is the Mass… but, when you experience things/practices not done universally, well then it becomes a distraction… :o I am for less distraction at Mass. 👍

But I can live with diversity… it’s only when they look and me with that “what’s wrong with you look” “why aren’t you raising your hands or holding hands at the Lord’s Prayer” Of course, someone might say… pay attention to what’s going on up at the alter and you wouldn’t notice the looks of others… good point! :rolleyes:

As first stated… i don’t really have a major problem with it… different strokes for different Ghosts… 👍
Click to expand...
 
space ghost:
I don’t do it… :eek: I don’t have a problem that others do… 🙂 What I like most about the Catholic Church is, where ever you go, (mostly) your always at home. The Mass is the Mass… but, when you experience things/practices not done universally, well then it becomes a distraction… :o I am for less distraction at Mass. 👍

But I can live with diversity… it’s only when they look and me with that “what’s wrong with you look” “why aren’t you raising your hands or holding hands at the Lord’s Prayer” Of course, someone might say… pay attention to what’s going on up at the alter and you wouldn’t notice the looks of others… good point! :rolleyes:

As first stated… i don’t really have a major problem with it… different strokes for different Ghosts… 👍
Click to expand...
The problem isn’t so much that others are doing it–it’s that it is the kind of practice which COMPELS all to do it! True, if you are really passionate about not holding hands, you can choose not to, but it is socially awkward.
Doubt this? Notice how the practice, one it starts, spreads through a church like wildfire. It ain’t because the whole church was just dying to do it anyway, believe me.
John
 
john ennis:
The problem isn’t so much that others are doing it–it’s that it is the kind of practice which COMPELS all to do it! True, if you are really passionate about not holding hands, you can choose not to, but it is socially awkward.
Doubt this? Notice how the practice, one it starts, spreads through a church like wildfire. It ain’t because the whole church was just dying to do it anyway, believe me.
John
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Oh John! Truer words were never spoken!!!
But as I stated before. I would tell my daughter to be humble in front of the Holy Eucharist as I held her hands down. A seven year old does not understand so I had her close her eyes. The first time I did it I was surprised by all the smiles I got (then I began to speak about it to the other parishioners, whoa).

The wearing of shorts, running up and down the aisle shaking hands and what ever goes on in a modern mass will only continue unless we protest and refuse that which we are not comfortable with. After a while the “It is a norm to our community” becomes fact, whether popular or not. If it has gotten there and you are uncomfortable, find another parish. With the amount of parishes closing and being clustered in my area, I know I have told the Archdiocese how much I love my conservative parish, along with our 750 families, 4 priests and 2 Deacons (not even counting the 275 Altar Boys!)

Actually, I now LOVE seeing people start to pray in the orans position in my parish. They stand out, we know they are visitors because we do not do it. They put their hands up, then quickly down. Somehow they no longer feel a need to take the position. It does my heart good to put the seed into their minds that they don’t have to.
 
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