Q. During the Our Father at Mass some people hold hands and raise them at the end of the Our Father. Are we supposed to do that as Catholics?
A. An interesting question that has a lot of caveats, thanks for asking it.
Official Church teaching is ambiguous on this matter. That is, The United State Conference of Catholic Bishops’ directive states “no position is prescribed in the Roman Missal for an assembly gesture during the Lord’s Prayer.”
Therefore the practice appears to be neither prescribed nor forbidden.
So for some, if the Roman Missal (the book of prayers for Mass that sits on the altar) is silent on the matter then the answer is no – parishioners should not hold hands during the Our Father.
The practice of holding hands during the Our Father varies across the United States. In some regions it is common practice and in other areas you almost never see it.
In the Catholic blogosphere, where things like this are debated, you have positions on both ends of the spectrum. Some hold the view that there should be no additions to liturgical practice that are not prescribed.
Others will argue that the holding hands is a sign of unity of the believing community during the prayer that Jesus gave His disciples.
The origins of holding hands during the Our Father remain largely unknown. Some see it as an American Protestant concept brought into Catholic worship. American bishops have weighed in, pro and con and in-between, but they have declined to address the issue as a full body – the United States Catholic Conference of Bishops.
As a pastor of many years I believe the majority of people are uncomfortable holding hands during the Our Father. I also think what is called the Orans position (the priest holding his hands extended during the praying of the Our Father) is a part of the liturgy specifically reserved to the priest. The Roman Missal says: After the Eucharistic Prayer is concluded, the priest, with hands joined, says alone the introduction to the Lord’s Prayer, and then with hands extended, he pronounces the prayer together with the people (GIRM 152).
Again, there seems to be no provision for the congregation to assume the Orans posture themselves, neither is it forbidden. However, there is repeated admonition in the liturgical documents of the Church that gestures ought not to be introduced into the liturgy without appropriate authorization from the Church, and that the respective roles of clergy and laity ought not to be obscured.
Holding hands during the Our Father is not a common practice in most of the parishes in the Diocese of Lincoln. Therefore, I do not believe that we should do it because it would be a new liturgical innovation that is not prescribed that would add confusion where it is not needed and could make some people uncomfortable.
There is nothing I enjoy more than celebrating Mass every day. I believe celebrating the Mass just as the Church asks us to do it in the Roman Missal is a beautiful way of celebrating Christ’s Passion, Death and Resurrection.
This question was answered by a priest of the Diocese of Lincoln. Write to Ask the Register using our online form, or write to 3700 Sheridan Blvd., Suite 10, Lincoln NE 68506-6100. All questions are subject to editing. Editors decide which questions to publish. Personal questions cannot be answered. People with such questions are urged to take them to their nearest Catholic priest.
