What Is the Correct Posture During the Our Father?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Moneyball
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
Our pastor (about five years) gave us a page of instructions in the bulletin. It included things like “Don’t hold hands during the Our Father, it is not a football huddle… people should wear clothes that show respect for the occasion…” Etc. Our parish still doesn’t hold hands even five years later. I think people were relieved to get that page of instructions. I know I was! 😁
 
I might make a note of it to my pastor. It would be good for the parish to “shape up” before he retires.
 
He is a brave priest. I am sure brickbats are thrown at him by some people. As long as he did not show any biasness toward any spirituality, then it was easier for the people to accept such comment.
 
He was hard-core old-school, ordained before Vatican II. Very clear, preached about sin and how to avoid it. Conservative liturgically. He was very much beloved and our parish was booming when he was our pastor!
 
If the Mass the the most perfect prayer and Paul writing to bishop Timothy says
1 Timothy 2:8 I desire then that in every place the men should pray, lifting holy hands without anger or quarreling;
What other place than in the Mass do we pray the prayer our LORD taught us so where more appropriate to raise holy hands in prayer? If so raising hands in prayer at the Our Father is divinely directed and unless the Church directly says not to raise our hands, I will continue to do so.
Grace and peace,
Bruce
 
Bruce_Killian said:
If the Mass the the most perfect prayer and Paul writing to bishop Timothy says
1 Timothy 2:8 I desire then that in every place the men should pray, lifting holy hands without anger or quarreling;
What other place than in the Mass do we pray the prayer our LORD taught us so where more appropriate to raise holy hands in prayer? If so raising hands in prayer at the Our Father is divinely directed and unless the Church directly says not to raise our hands, I will continue to do so.
Grace and peace,
Bruce
Click to expand...
“Divinely directed”? Hardly. That position simply makes no sense. We don’t look to references like that for rubrics in the Liturgy.

The Church has said over and over again that no one, not even a sacerdos (bishop or priest) may add, remove, or change ANYTHING in the liturgy on his own authority.

The rubrics, as well as the totality of our liturgical tradition, do state (beyond any doubt) that the orans posture is reserved to the celebrant—at Mass, that is the priest.
 
From my perspective, and mine alone…I wandered away from the Catholicism for a long stretch and started attending a reformed theology church…not charismatic, but let’s say exuberant at times. Mostly Luther’s teaching.
Now that God has led me back to the true Church, I find it very hard to hold my hands up and outstretched during the Lords Prayer.
I personally do not like to because to takes me out of the moment and my mind goes back to that time when I was unfaithful to the church.
I do not fault anyone for following the current teaching. What is bothersome though, as I pray with my head bowed and hands together in humility, I now have the extra burden of thinking I am doing something wrong by not following the current rules.

I still struggle with saying the old responses also…but I pray that God guides my heart, my mind and spirit to submit faithfully to His word…

Just my .02

M
 
FrDavid96 said:
“Divinely directed”? Hardly. That position simply makes no sense. We don’t look to references like that for rubrics in the Liturgy.

The Church has said over and over again that no one, not even a sacerdos (bishop or priest) may add, remove, or change ANYTHING in the liturgy on his own authority.

The rubrics, as well as the totality of our liturgical tradition, do state (beyond any doubt) that the orans posture is reserved to the celebrant—at Mass, that is the priest.
Click to expand...
Father David,
I am not a liturgist but I am adept in the Sacred Scriptures. Every catholic Mass I have been in since at least since 1980, most in the congregation have held up their hands during the Our Father. (I go to daily Mass). So there has clearly not been a general teaching not to do so disseminated at least in California and the 20 or so States and 20 or so countries I have traveled to. If this is not the teaching of the Church it has become a defacto practice. Could the Holy Spirit be guiding the Church in restoring a practice of raising hands during prayer that He breathed?
Grace and Peace,
Bruce
 
Bruce_Killian said:
40.png
FrDavid96:
“Divinely directed”? Hardly. That position simply makes no sense. We don’t look to references like that for rubrics in the Liturgy.

The Church has said over and over again that no one, not even a sacerdos (bishop or priest) may add, remove, or change ANYTHING in the liturgy on his own authority.

The rubrics, as well as the totality of our liturgical tradition, do state (beyond any doubt) that the orans posture is reserved to the celebrant—at Mass, that is the priest.
Click to expand...
Father David,
I am not a liturgist but I am adept in the Sacred Scriptures. Every catholic Mass I have been in since at least since 1980, most in the congregation have held up their hands during the Our Father. (I go to daily Mass). So there has clearly not been a general teaching not to do so disseminated at least in California and the 20 or so States and 20 or so countries I have traveled to. If this is not the teaching of the Church it has become a defacto practice. Could the Holy Spirit be guiding the Church in restoring a practice of raising hands during prayer that He breathed?
Grace and Peace,
Bruce
Click to expand...
I live in California and have attended Mass in at least 10 states and 4 foreign countries. I have only occasionally seen this practice, mostly outside of the diocese in which I live. It certainly isn’t the norm (with the exception of the LA Archdiocese, where it has occurred in nearly every parish I’ve visited). I always wondered at how two people can have such vastly different experiences. 😁 It’s just an observation. I don’t have a dog in this fight. I don’t assume the orans posture and it doesn’t bother me when others do, although I do feel a bit of pressure when “everyone” is doing it.
 
Last edited:
It is amazing that two people can have vastly different experiences. I have experienced this with classmates. They will say that they were never taught it in school. Yet I remember being taught it in school.
I remember the first time a priest told us to hold hands at the Our Father. When we moved to another parish it was also practiced there. We only held hands for the Our Father eventually the priest had us hold through the doxology. Eventually people started raising their hands at the doxology. No one at my parish does the Orans position unless there is no one to hold hands with. Another parish I attend, I understand that they were told not to hold hands but to assume the Orans position. Over time people went back to holding hands but others still use the Orans. It has become half and half of the congregation holding hands or Orans position.
 
Well I did see dancing girls in the Mass at the LA Religious Ed Congress on Youth Day. Still can’t entirely erase the memory…
 
Last edited:
What I’ve noticed is that our Deacons do not assume the Orans posture, so I’ve made it a habit of not doing it either. I did a little research and the Deacon is not suppose to according to the rubrics. I get the impression that if the Deacon isn’t suppose to put his hands out, it’s something I shouldn’t be doing either. It seems right to follow the Deacon’s example out of respect for him and our Priest. While there’s not a fast rule against laity doing it, it seems a bit pretentious, even though I know most don’t mean to be.
 
I love that my parish holds hands with one another! It is a very powerful gesture! It demonstrates brotherly affection, and unity.

I dont always assume my neighbor is comfortable with it, so its always an offer.
 
What is smartest is to follow the posture of the Altar Servers. During the prayers of the Mass, the servers will stand with hands in the “praying hands” position.
 
Pup7 said:
I know we’re not supposed to do it, and I don’t - and to be honest, the first time I saw it I thought, why are they imitating the priest?
Click to expand...
I saw so many people doing it when I returned to Church after a long absence, that I adopted the posture. I’d been holding hands with a friend, with one hand while raising my other hand. Now for the last few weeks I’ve stopped praying like that and have been folding my hands instead. I think I feel more comfortable folding my hands.
 
I was just looking at a document put out by the CCCB at the time the new Missal was promulgated. Here is what the document (GiRM Pastoral Notes) says at #259 “The Lord’s Prayer”:
  1. The Communion Rite begins with the community praying of the Lord’s Prayer. Throughout this prayer it honours Jesus’ injunction to pray as he taught his disciples. In the Communion Rite, this prayer eloquently witnesses to forgiveness and reconciliation, to the unity of the assembly and of the whole Christian people, and leads the community into communion of life in the triune God.
    • The Lord’s Prayer may be sung if the assembly can sing the whole prayer
    comfortably. When the Lord’s Prayer is sung, it is appropriate to sing the
    doxology as well.
    • The integrity of the text is always to be maintained. Hence, the text is never
    altered to suit a melodic line.
    • Care should be taken that singing the Lord’s Prayer does not take away from
    the importance and centrality of the Eucharistic Prayer that immediately
    precedes it.
    •The assembly may assume the orans gesture for the Lord’s Prayer, which is a more traditional one than holding hands. Holding hands is a gesture that belongs more properly to the Sign of Peace that follows.
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
I don’t do it. I am not a Priest. I have only done it once when the person next to me grabbed my hand.
 
No we need to tell them to obey the rules and follow the proper way of saying the Our Father at Holy Mass by not taking the Orans gesture reserved for the Priest only
 
Last edited:
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top