Raising hands in mass

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dmelosi

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Hello,
I understand that at mass it is not proper to raise or hold hands during the Our Father.

What are the reasons?

If someone is doing so, would you suggest explaining to them why it is not proper?

Thanks,
Dave
 
Why are they raising hands? Do they have a question? 😃

Seriously though… my friend said that it is outside of the norm. and that it is a no-no for the laity to mimmick what the priest does (raise hands)… What is the point of the laity raising their hands anyway?? Seems to me that its the territory of the pentacostals and evangelicals. I want no part of it in my Mass. Sorry.
 
I agree but am looking for some referenced base reasons to pass on. Any sources that any one know about?
Thanks,
Dave
 
I remember reading somewhere that people are not supposed to hold hands because it does not fit in with the liturgical mood at that point. Unfortunately I can’t remember the exact reasons, but somebody may be able to expand.
 
The best answer I’ve heard is this:
What’s the difference between a liturgist and a terrorist?
You can sometimes negotiate with a terrorist.
(A liturgist told me that one, so no spitballs, please! 😉 )
 
I remember once upon a time many yeers ago reading in a hymnal/missallette or whatever they called them then, that it’s OK to raise the hands like the priest during the Our Father. Didn’t say nuthin’ about holding hands.

While I was on haitus from the church in college and slightly thereafter (late 70s early 80s) and came back, all these people hard started doing this thing. I thought, aww, how cute. Now we can all pretend we’re Protestant.

Raising hands for the doxology, though, freaks me out. It is such a random, silly thing that those times when I do get roped into holding hands during the Our Father I try to fight against the doxology without being too obvious – prefer to seem clueless than stubborn. The first time I saw that doxology raising hands thing, I thought, “oh, now we’re not just Protestant but we wanna be gay too.”

Alan
 
At the Church that I go to, we all hold hands during the “Our Father”. I actually love it and nobody in our Church has ever said anything negative about it. I am surprised by your reaction to this. We feel closer to our neighbor and none of us feel “silly” about it at all.

We also raise our hands when we “lift our hearts” to the Lord. It is something that has always been done.

To each his own I guess.
:amen:
 
Dear Betra,
People don’t say anything because they are polite, not because they like it. Now, are you one of those people who always assumes that polite silence means agreement??? :confused:
 
the liturgy should be preserved, if we keep adding little things to the mass then we won’t recognize the Mass in 10 - 20 years.

have you noticed that it starts with hand holding then after a few weeks people hold the hands up while hand holding. What’s next swaying and Bic lighters?

Stop the madness:dancing:
 
I don 't care to hold hands during the Our Father as I find it distracting. Some in our parish do but I have seen that it usually stays within families and among those who are comfortable with this display of whatever. I have had the sad experience of actually restraining someone who was insistent upon taking my hand during the “Our Father” at another parish. My wife and I had moved into a condo in an area where we used to live and were looking at the various local Catholic Churches to see where we felt most comfortable.

As the Priest began the “Our Father”, the gentleman next to us reached to take my hand.I smiled and politely declined, I didn’t see everyone holding hands and figured it would be as it is in most parishes. I figured that he would see that my wife and I were not holding hands either and that would be that. He extended his hand again and again I declined. He then grabbed me by the wrist, and found himself in a quietly applied jointlock, that finally got the message across. Needless to say he didn’t approach me during the greeting of Peace. We ended up deciding against that Church and attended the parish where Fr. Ken Brighenti (of EWTN and Catholicism for Dummies fame) was pastor until we moved to our present location.

I too would be interested in learning why it shouldn’t be done as I find it distracting from the personal relationship the prayer establishes between the person and God.
 
I would have to dig for the exact reference, but I remember seeing something a committee of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops wrote on the subject. They were discouraging the practice of hand-holding because, at that point in the Mass, the focus is not intended to be on our relationship with one another as a community but on Our Father.

I concur. Whenever I hear anyone talk about why the hand-holding, they say it’s because they like the feeling of community. But the time for emphasizing that is the sign of peace, not during the Lord’s prayer. Moreover, the Catholic faithful will soon come together in an even more substantial way – in the sharing of Holy Communion.

Holding hands, therefore, adds nothing and only distracts from an important part of the Mass. Besides, it’s a bit fruity. Tomorrow I’ll see about looking for a copy of what the bishops wrote. Right now it’s bedtime and I’m tired.
 
Wow! One reason hand-raising and holding is not a good idea has been pretty well spelled out here. It is distracting! Also, it is not called for in the GIRM. General Instruction in the Roman Missal. A copy is available in any good Catholic bookstore.

Another intersting note on this I’ve read elsewhere, is that our worship should be horizontal…that is, our worship comes from us as a community straight upward toward God and should not be horizontal…that is…among ourselves to ourselves. Does that make any sense to anyone? I hope you understand what I mean. God bless! - Mfaustina1 🙂
 
We have joined and raised hands during the Our Father at every Mass I have attended. Then we shake hands and say to each other “Peace Be With You.” Is there anything wrong with this? :confused:
 
someone tried to hold hands in our parish after mass he was questioned as to why this happened, he said that by holding hands they all became one in god, he was informed that happens when we consume the body of christ, and asked not to repeat it or any new ideas without running it by the clergy, perhaps that is the mistaken beleif of your hand holders
 
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JMJ_Pinoy:
We have joined and raised hands during the Our Father at every Mass I have attended. Then we shake hands and say to each other “Peace Be With You.” Is there anything wrong with this? :confused:
Click to expand...
Yes. If you hold hands with someone, for example, your wife or child, during the Our Father, you are (to sum up answers so far):
  1. Being silly.
  2. Violating the spirit of the moment.
  3. Engaging in behavior akin to assault.
  4. Imitating gay Protestants.
  5. Distracting others.
I can’t find anything on the USCCB’s Committee on the Liturgy that addresses the searing issue of hold-holding. It could be there, of course, but I can’t find it. From the GIRM’s appendix, there is this (emphasis added):
QUERY 2: In some places there is a current practice whereby those taking part in the Mass replace the giving of the sign of peace at the deacon’s invitation by holding hands during the singing of the Lord’s Prayer. Is this acceptable?

REPLY: The prolonged holding of hands is of itself a sign of communion rather than of peace. Further, it is a liturgical gesture introduced spontaneously but on personal initiative; it is not in the rubrics. Nor is there any clear explanation of why the sign of peace at the invitation: should be supplanted in order to bring a different gesture with less meaning into another part of the Mass: the sign of peace is filled with meaning, graciousness, and Christian inspiration. Any substitution for it must be repudiated: Not 11 (1975) 226.
This one clear repudiation of hand-holding during the Lord’s Prayer is given in response to instances where the sign of peace is replaced by holding hands. I have never seen this done during Mass, although obviously it has taken place somewhere.

– Mark L. Chance.
 
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JMJ_Pinoy:
We have joined and raised hands during the Our Father at every Mass I have attended. Then we shake hands and say to each other “Peace Be With You.” Is there anything wrong with this? :confused:
Click to expand...
Me too!
Until I hear my priest, bishop or the Pope say “Don’t Hold hands during the Our Father”, I guess I will gladly do it…I have heard nothing but personal opinions as of yet though…

Peace of the Lord be with you all!
 
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TheGarg:
Me too!
Until I hear my priest, bishop or the Pope say “Don’t Hold hands during the Our Father”, I guess I will gladly do it…I have heard nothing but personal opinions as of yet though…

Peace of the Lord be with you all!
Click to expand...
Found this article on zenit that may help. These paragraphs especially seem to address directly what you state above:
The process for introducing any new rite or gesture into the liturgy in a stable or even binding manner is already contemplated in liturgical law. This process entails a two-thirds majority vote in the bishops’ conference and the go-ahead from the Holy See before any change may take effect.
Click to expand...
Thus, if neither the bishops’ conference nor the Holy See has seen fit to prescribe any posture for the recitation of the Our Father, it hardly behooves any lesser authority to impose a novel gesture not required by liturgical law and expect the faithful to follow their decrees.
Click to expand...
The entire article can be found here:

zenit.org/english/visualizza.phtml?sid=44754
 
I neglected to post this from the USCCB’s Committee on the Liturgy:
Many Catholics are in the habit of holding their hands in the “Orans” posture during the Lord’s prayer along with the celebrant. Some do this on their own as a private devotional posture while some congregations make it a general practice for their communities.

Is this practice permissible under the current rubrics, either as a private practice not something adopted by a particular parish as a communal gesture?

No position is prescribed in the present Sacramentary for an assembly gesture during the Lord’s Prayer.
– Mark L. Chance.
 
C’mon people. What is the point of the Mass? To worship God, or to appoint a priest to worship God for you?

Frankly, I could care less if someone raises their hands in Church during the Our Father, or if people hold hands together during it. In the parish I attend, the Our Father is never recited, but always sung.

The congregation is a bit confused about GIRM, so they all kneel during the Lamb Of God. Although it is not in accord with the liturgical norms to kneel at this time, I do so because to do otherwise is to break the flow. I have been in other Catholic churches where everyone stood during the consecration. I didn’t kneel at this time when I was with them. I stood up like the rest of the congregation.

If someone is raising hands to demonstrate how holy they are, or that they have “priest envy,” then it would demonstrate a wrong attitude and to be avoided. But raising or holding hands to worship God??? Big deal. What matters is that the person is actively worshipping God. I, for one, rejoice that they are in Church and are not at home on a Sunday morning praying to Saint Mattress.

Our priest tweaks the liturgy here and there. I don’t find this a distraction. It helps make the experience more meaningful. He adds a Hail Mary at the conclusion of every Lord Hear Our Prayer. No gender exclusive language is used. It is always sisters first, brothers second. As he puts it, ladies before gentlemen. All scripture readings and songs are altered to reflect this.

God forbid that I should ever become a nit picky person when it comes to the celebration of the Risen Christ, who is, for me, as present in the body that is gathered as he is in the transubstantiated wafer and the wine.
 
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