No…you are the one who “doesn’t get it.” It is not to be done as a “community” action during the Our Father. This has sprung up over the years, has an unknown origin and was not started by the Church. It has been “added” without the authority of the Church. Probably to not make a mountain out of a molehill they have not made an issue of it but it has caused confusion (with people such as yourself) who see it as “part of the Mass” and apparently they are starting to deal with it. I am quite confident if the OP speaks to his priest about it he will find that there is no objection to someone sitting in the pew and holding the hand of a loved one.I don’t think you get it…
Just because it’s not in the GIRM/RS/etc. does not mean it’s prohibited, nor must it be “instituted.” The OP said this:
Which suggests there will be NO hand-holding allowed at all. The priest doesn’t have that sort of authority.
Hand holding during the Lord’s Prayer is one of those things that everyone thinks is very common yet something that I’ve never experienced at any Mass, across 8 provinces and dozens of parishes, over the last 33 years.I had the opportunity to attend several Masses at World Youth Day in Australia this past summer, and I made an interesting observation: in the big outdoor Masses where various groups of young people were identified by flags of their respective nations, the only groups that I saw holding hands during the Our Father at the Papal Masses were Americans. In fact, other nearby groups from Spain, Germany, and Brazil were staring at our group when most of our members joined hands.
Not disagreeing, but it is just a gesture. Suppose someone is paralyzed and can’t raise their hands. It’s what is in our hearts, that matters to God. Not our outwards gestures and postures.Actually, the wider open and higher the hands the more we desire to receive what God desires for us.
Yes…it’s the US and a few other places where it has popped up.Hand holding during the Lord’s Prayer is one of those things that everyone thinks is very common yet something that I’ve never experienced at any Mass, across 8 provinces and dozens of parishes, over the last 33 years.