What do you do during the Our Father at Mass (besides pray)

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SteveGC said:
Where/when did the holding hands originate? Has it slowly evolved from evangelical/charismatic converts into the Church? Or are there instances historically where it’s been done by Catholics themselves?
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Some of the priests I’ve talked to have said the hand holding came about during the Civil Rights movement, at least here in Mississippi, as an outward sign among the faithful of unity and support for the oppressed. This may or may not be the whole story behind it, but it sounds plausible to me, at least in our area. There’s probably a broader explanation as to how it came about across the country perhaps, but I don’t really know the answer to that.
FAH said:
I read an opinion somewhere that I liked, the writer said that holding hands gives a sense of communion with the people around you, when really we should be focusing our minds not on the people around us but on the divine person, our Lord Jesus Christ, who’s body and blood we are moments away from receiving thus we will be in total communion with him.

Also communion is a personal thing. We as individuals come to be strengthened and nourished by our God so why moments before that happens should we be interacting with the people around us instead of focusing our minds solely on the tremendous gift we are about to receive: the body, blood, soul and divinity of Jesus Christ, God incarnate ?
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I disagree, slightly, with the idea that communion is a “personal thing”. We not only come together as individuals to be nourished, but also as a community. By receiving Holy Communion, you are both privately and publicly expressing your communion with Christ, His Church, and your parish community. I do agree with you in the sense that the focus seems to get somewhat interrupted between the Eucharistic Prayer and receiving the Eucharist by the “interaction”. However, as it’s been explained to me, before we can receive the Eucharist worthily, we must ask for forgiveness, and forgive others - which we do by reciting the Our Father, and exchanging the Sign of Peace. (All of this, of course, assumes no mortal sin is present…).
 
msugeotech said:
Some of the priests I’ve talked to have said the hand holding came about during the Civil Rights movement, at least here in Mississippi, as an outward sign among the faithful of unity and support for the oppressed. This may or may not be the whole story behind it, but it sounds plausible to me, at least in our area. There’s probably a broader explanation as to how it came about across the country perhaps, but I don’t really know the answer to that.

I disagree, slightly, with the idea that communion is a “personal thing”. We not only come together as individuals to be nourished, but also as a community. By receiving Holy Communion, you are both privately and publicly expressing your communion with Christ, His Church, and your parish community. I do agree with you in the sense that the focus seems to get somewhat interrupted between the Eucharistic Prayer and receiving the Eucharist by the “interaction”. However, as it’s been explained to me, before we can receive the Eucharist worthily, we must ask for forgiveness, and forgive others - which we do by reciting the Our Father, and exchanging the Sign of Peace. (All of this, of course, assumes no mortal sin is present…).
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Thanks for sharing that.

I found an interesting take on this from CA president, Karl Keating. In a 2006 letter, he wrote:

ORIGINS OF HAND-HOLDING

The current issue of the “Adoremus Bulletin” says this in response to a query from a priest in the Bronx:

“No gesture for the people during the Lord’s Prayer is mentioned in the official documents. The late liturgist Fr. Robert Hovda promoted holding hands during this prayer, a practice he said originated in Alcoholics Anonymous. Some ‘charismatic’ groups took up the practice.”

My long-time sense had been that hand-holding at the Our Father was an intrusion from charismaticism, but I had not been aware of the possible connection with AA. If this is the real origin of the practice, it makes it doubly odd: first, because hand-holding intrudes a false air of chumminess into the Mass (and undercuts the immediately-following sign of peace), and second, because modifications to liturgical rites ought to arise organically and not be borrowed from secular self-help groups.

Periodically, on “Catholic Answers Live” I am asked about hand-holding during Mass and explain that it is contrary to the rubrics. Usually I get follow-up e-mails from people who say, “But it’s my favorite part of the Mass” or “We hold hands as a family, and it makes us feel closer.”

About the latter I think, “It’s good to feel close as a family, but you can hold hands at home or at the mall. The Mass has a formal structure that should be respected. That means you forgo certain things that you might do on the outside.”

About the former comment I think, “If this is the high point of the Mass for you, you need to take Remedial Mass 101. The Mass is not a social event. It is the re-presentation of the sacrifice of Calvary, and it is the loftiest form of prayer. It should be attended with appropriate solemnity.”
 
Since I had also asked about Rome’s guidance, I came across this in my search and thought I would share. From Catholic apologist Tim Ryland:

Show of Hands
By Tim Ryland

Due to an editorial oversight (mine), the article “The Ten Most Common Liturgical Abuses” in our January 1999 issue stated that the Holy See has prohibited the practice of holding hands during the Lord’s Prayer at Mass. Since we have continued to receive questions on this issue from both sides of the aisle-those who like to hold hands and those who don’t-we revisited the source cited by the article as prohibiting the practice. Bottom line: The Holy See has used language discouraging the practice, but it has not explicitly forbidden it.

The source is a question-and-answer article that appeared in Notitiae, the official publication of the Sacred Congregation for the Sacraments and Divine Worship. Our article cited a reply given by the Holy See concerning whether it is permissible to replace the exchange of a sign of peace with handholding at the Our Father. Here is the passage in full:

"Query: 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 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 ‘Let us offer each other the sign of peace’ 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” (Notitiae 11 [1975] 226, DOL 1502, no. R29).

As you can see, the phrase “it must be repudiated” refers to the substitution of the individual exchange of the sign of peace for something else, not to the actual holding of hands during the Lord’s Prayer. Nevertheless, the reply does use language that discourages handholding during the Lord’s Prayer-“it is a liturgical gesture introduced spontaneously but on personal initiative; it is not in the rubrics.” Canon law prohibits us from introducing new elements and rites into the liturgy: “The liturgical books approved by the competent authority are to be faithfully observed in the celebration of the sacraments; therefore, no one on personal authority may add, remove, or change anything in them” (CIC 846, para. 1). This implies a rejection of the practice.

Incidentally, while another rite cannot replace the individual exchange of a sign of peace, there is no mandate that the sign of peace occur at all. The rubrics state, “Then the deacon (or the priest) may add: ‘Let us offer each other the sign of peace.’” But it’s a practice so deeply ingrained in this country it would seem bizarre to most people to discontinue it.
 
Interesting findings. My wife and I don’t hold hands, but I would say a majority of the people do. And, by majority, I simply mean greater than half - not “almost everyone but us”. However, it does seem to be limited to just families - not people reaching out to strangers, etc., trying to get them to hold hands. I really don’t have an opinion one way or another, as it doesn’t bother me personally. Should it? 🤷
 
I always keep my hands folded in prayer unless my wife is at Mass with me in which case I hold hands.
 
Few hold hand in my parish. Many assume the orans position. I fold my hands. The most common position is probably the orans. Don’t get me started.🙂
 
I bow my head, fold my hands and pray.

Most of the people in my parish hold hands and if someone next to me reaches to take my hand I allow it - it’s an act of charity not to embarrass that person or reject them. Mostly, though, people are respectful of my posture and don’t try to grab my hand.
 
We don’t hold hands at my parish, and only a couple people do the orans posture.
 
johnnykins said:
Few hold hand in my parish. Many assume the orans position. I fold my hands. The most common position is probably the orans. Don’t get me started.🙂
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What’s odd about this is that at the church I attended while in college (where I also went through RCIA), the priest tried to get every single person to pray the Our Father in the orans position. At the Sunday evening Mass (celebrated in the college chapel), he explained this to the students as something the Bishop actively encouraged (a great number of students coming from the Pittsburgh diocese, where I now live and almost nobody does the orans position, though I have seen hand holding in a few parishes). :eek: I don’t know how true that was, but after that priest was reassigned we didn’t hear anything one way or the other from our new one. 🤷

Since that was my initial instruction, that’s what I used to do, but after reading on here (and learning that some of the other things this priest encouraged weren’t exactly legit), I’ve become uncomfortable with the practice and just rest my hands on the pew in front of me (unless I’m holding a squirmy baby! ;))
 
What is the orans position? In my archdiocese, I believe a great majority of the parishes hold hands during the Our Father. I understand that it’s repudiated if it substitutes the sign of peace, but it doesn’t. Usually, once the Our Father is finished, we do the sign of peace (which I sometimes dislike along w/ handholding because certain people who are sick somehow think they have germless hands).
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I have tried to not hold hands during the Our Father but I think people often think you're supposed to because they extend their hands to me (upon which I am forced to oblige) or look at me like I'm rude for having my hands folded or extended in a way that doesn't encourage handholding. I've had family or friends ask me why I didn't want to hold their hand! Some people even squeeze the other person's hand at the "Amen," I don't know what that's all about! I can understand why people think this is okay, as I've often heard the priest celebrating a mass say, "let us now join hands for the Our Father."

I kind of go both ways on this position. I don't like it, and if people expect me to do it I like to rebel and not hold their hand.:p But at the same time I don't see it as some sort of scandal. I don't know what the orans position means, but it seems some people find it scandalous as well. The handholding sure doesn't take my focus off of Jesus and what is happening in the mass; there are many random things that can take a person's focus off of mass. I don't understand the whole "charismatic intrusion" thing though. Makes it seem like being a charismatic worshiper is wrong and intrusive (it is for those who understand nothing of it). That said, I've known many charismatic Catholics (not converts but born and raised Catholic) who don't hold hands at mass so I don't think they are to blame.
Anyway, the way I see it, as much as I don't think handholding during the Our Father should be encouraged, why is it such a big deal for those who do if they aren't doing it out of disobedience and are completely focused on what's going on at the Mass etc.? Somehow I don't think Jesus would be pretty upset if He found a whole parish holding hands while praying to our Father. :confused:
 
It is the posture the priest takes when he offers prayers, palms up with the arms somewhat elevated. I have been told that the posture is only for the celebrating priest and may not be properly used by the laity. If that is incorrect, please feel invited to let me know.

When my family does the Our Father, we never do the hand-holding. We do the palms together with the thumbs crossed. I have seen postings on the site in which the Vatican is quoted as saying that the hand-holding should be discouraged. Again, I am hardly the leading expert on this and am open to correction.
 
The custom at one parish is to hold the interior hands, the person on the end holds up the unoccupied hand in the orans position. If you are the “piggy in the middle,” you are holding both hands.

When the phrase, “For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours, now and forever,” is spoken, we elevate our hands, the ones being held and the ones in the orans position, if you are on the end of the row or the outside member of your family.

At the other parish (much more orthodox), very few people hold hands and I have yet to notice any solo folks with their hands up. At the weekday Mass, almost no one holds hands (a lot of singles attend) and I am very happy not to have to join hands like I’m going to play “Red Rover.” I do not like this aspect of the Mass although I love to recite the Our Father in unison. But having been away from the Church for over 20 years, I just thought that was something I’d have to accept and adapt to, until I went to the other parish and saw it was optional.

It certainly does have a sort of charismatic feel to it.
 
As a convert, the holding hands thing was new to me. I never cared for it at all and discontinued after reading numerous postings on CA.

Many have said that they felt forced into holding hands and were none too happy about it. Lately I have noticed that more people seem to be reverting to the folded hands posture. I have no idea why, but I notice that I can be more intense in my prayer if I am not holding hands. To be perfectly honest, if I am holding hands, I am pretty close to doing nothing more than reciting.
 
I don’t understand the need to hold hands. When did that practice become so common and why?
Tomas
 
Someone once posted that this hand holding came out of AA and crossed into the Church, unofficially of course. I had the impression that it started in the sixties, though I cannot point to where I got that idea.
 
I keep my hands folded in prayer.I am not fond of having to hold hands with other people it is a germ phobia for me.Our church sings the Lords Prayer,and our priest usually invites the children up to the altar with him to sing it.
 
At my parish everyone used to hold hands. When swine flu was a going around a couple years ago, people started just holding their hands open. Some people now still hold hands, but it’s usually only between family members.
 
I fold my hands in prayer. I notice more people are doing that, and less are holding hands.
 
TheRealJuliane said:
The custom at one parish is to hold the interior hands, the person on the end holds up the unoccupied hand in the orans position. If you are the “piggy in the middle,” you are holding both hands.

When the phrase, “For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours, now and forever,” is spoken, we elevate our hands, the ones being held and the ones in the orans position, if you are on the end of the row or the outside member of your family.
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This is what our parish does. 😦 I have a hard time going from holding someone’s hand to shaking it. It seems like a move backwards. 🤷
 
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