Saying The Lord's Prayer During Mass

[katy]

Interesting. I’m more comfortable when people do as they wish as long as it’s within usual Mass behavior. I don’t want to hold hands or be pressured to do so. What others do is OK within their own group.

 

[Beryllos]

Seems like a recent innovation. I don’t recall seeing it when I was a child or young adult.

 

[Don_Ruggero]

The GIRM (General Instruction of the Roman Missal) discourages if not outright states it is not proper to hold hands.

My :twocents:

No. The GIRM says nothing about the position of the hands of the laity during the Lord’s Prayer.

Indeed, the Holy See has chosen to address other various matters over the decades about liturgical postures and the need to correct Americans overzealousness…but the Holy See has not addressed this matter, in spite of having repeatedly the opportunity.and the occasion.

 

[Herculees]

I’ve noticed that some elderly people do that, and I am fine with that if they don’t want to.

You probably would love my parish for the sign of peace! We do NOT shake hands rather the altar servers come down from the altar and at each pew they start the sign of peace for EVERY pew. They turn to the first person with there hands together and that person touches the outside of their hands with their own hands and then that person puts there hands together and the person next to them touches the outside of their hands and so forth down the pew.

 

[Kielbasi]

holding hands during the OF comes from Alcoholics Anonymous protocol, perhaps the church has a lot of recovering folks among their attendees?

 

[Wesrock]

There’s nothing in the mass instruction about holding hands or any other prescribed hand/arm posture, and it varies from parish to parish. I’d say follow custom and what you’re comfortable with. People certainly shouldn’t be forcing their hands into other peoples’ hands, though.

Some people are vehemently against hand holding during the Our Father, by the way…

 

[Faith1960]

We’re not supposed to hold hands. That’s not a prescribed posture for the laity.
Some places just start it up and it’s almost impossible to get them to stop.
The prayer is what is important, not what you are doing during it.

I myself find it really distracting and people grab my hand, wrench if from me, twist my arm, and other and in general do a pretzel like maneuver to get me to hold hands.

No bueno.

They twist your arm and do pretzel-like maneuvers?

 

[otjm]

We’re not supposed to hold hands. That’s not a prescribed posture for the laity.
Some places just start it up and it’s almost impossible to get them to stop.
The prayer is what is important, not what you are doing during it.

I myself find it really distracting and people grab my hand, wrench if from me, twist my arm, and other and in general do a pretzel like maneuver to get me to hold hands.

No bueno.

ah, c’mon. we have been down this route before.

 

[otjm]

True. Why would it even mention something that is not foreseen to occur? All the more reason not to do it.

Given that holding hands has been around since about 1964-1965, it would be beyond factious to say that it is not foreseen…

 

[otjm]

Clare is correct. The GIRM (General Instruction of the Roman Missal) discourages if not outright states it is not proper to hold hands. Given that, I can see families (Mother, Father and Children) holding hands as a family bonding measure. I don’t think the Lord is going to be upset.

My :twocents:

Hogwash.

Archbishop Chaput (not exactly a liberal) answered this in a public letter. and he knows more liturgy than most people.

There is nothing in the GIRM as to hands of the laity in relation to this. At least two, if not three versions of the GIRM have been released by Rome since the mid 60’s, as well as other documents concerning liturgical rules and praxis and not one of them has addressed it.
And if you disagree with this, please cite your sources.

 

[otjm]

holding hands during the OF comes from Alcoholics Anonymous protocol, perhaps the church has a lot of recovering folks among their attendees?

actually, it came from the Catholic Charismatic movement, along with using the orans posture.

 

[johnnyc176]

They twist your arm and do pretzel-like maneuvers?

Hey I can see that happening. I was traveling and so went to Mass in an unfamiliar parish and that part of the Mass came up. I folded my hands in prayer and all of a sudden the guy on my left went for my hand and the lady on my right started hitting my arm and gesturing to move out of the pew lol. I’m like what the heck. What they did there was move into the aisle and hold hands across aisles. So I had one guy pulling me and a lady pushing me lol. I was near the back so I just made a quick turn and headed for the back.