Holding Hands

[iggyjoan]

I personally love it. I feel it gives a whole sense of unity with the church. And plus onetime I got to hold this really cute guy's hand.

Just Kidding. Maybe. I really do like it though

[Resurrexi]

Quite frankly if one is thinking more about the person he or she is holding hands with than about the petitions of the Lord's Prayer he or she is praying, that's not a good thing, and therefore, because holding hands is such a near occasion of distraction, it should not be done during the Our Father.

[Jaime]

When I was doing youth ministry, we would sometimes hold hands and pray before a retreat or an event. I would pretend to sneeze into my hand right before we'd pray

[cathoholic_anonymous]

I've never been in a church that has hand-holding during the Our Father. I hadn't even heard of it until I saw this thread. Is it a common thing?

[Noel's angel]

The only time I ever saw it was in Lourdes and I refused to do it. It's pointless. We are all praying with one voice, we don't need to hold hands to make us more of a 'community'. It's like a football team going out and holding hands half-way through the game...silly.

[iggyjoan]

[quote name='StThomasMore' post='1413467' date='Nov 2 2007, 10:59 PM']Quite frankly if one is thinking more about the person he or she is holding hands with than about the petitions of the Lord's Prayer he or she is praying, that's not a good thing, and therefore, because holding hands is such a near occasion of distraction, it should not be done during the Our Father.[/quote]

Did you not see the "Just Kidding"?

[Brigid]

I spent most of my single-digit years at a church where hand-holding is huge - people go out into the aisles to hold hands with everybody, and raise their hands high above their heads for the "for the kingdom..." part. It was also sung. I thought that all the hand-holding, etc. was normal. My parents were pretty uncomfortable with it from the start, but went with it so we didn't stand out or further distract people, and so they wouldn't have to explain to their little kids that the whole parish probably shouldn't be doing what they're doing.

When I was ten, I moved to where I am now, and I was pretty surprised. The Our Father was not sung, and not everybody hold hands and went into the aisles. some families held hands, and some didn't. my family, to my utter confusion, stopped holding hands altogether. eventually I decided that it wasn't a big deal, but I never forgot about it.

sometime recently, I asked around and learned more about it. I don't believe that anyone should hold hands during the Our Father during Mass. like Noel said, we don't need to hold hands to make us more of a community. we're already united through the Eucharist - and that's more powerful than anything we could do. I've also found that it's a whole lot easier to focus on the prayer when you're not distracted by how warm or cold or sweaty or germy someone else's hand is.

[kateri05]

[quote]There was even a change in the last missal that changed stated that we are to stand during the response "Lord I am not worthy to receive..."[/quote]

no there isn't



and st. thomas more, the GIRM includes rubrics for the positions of the faithful as well, FYI

[Resurrexi]

[quote name='iggyjoan' post='1413814' date='Nov 3 2007, 06:11 PM']Did you not see the "Just Kidding"?[/quote]

Sorry if that comment sounded like it was aimed at you. It was more aimed at the fact that it could be distracting to someone.

[Proud2BCatholic139]

To me, if you actually think about the prayer and what it means, that is your own personal time with God.
This is our time for our personal prayer, to amend our lives, and to strive for holiness. Therefore, I see holding hands as a form of disrespect.
So, at a parish where they hold hands...I bow my head down, close my eyes, and fold me hands together.

[Lil Red]

[quote name='Proud2BCatholic139' post='1413990' date='Nov 3 2007, 10:42 PM']So, at a parish where they hold hands...I bow my head down, close my eyes, and fold me hands together.[/quote]
me too

[Mercy me]

Actually standing during the response "Lord I am not worthy to receive you..." was a change inthe new GIRM. I know that most parishes don't do it but that doesn't mean that we aren't supposed to. It is in the missalettes that most parishes have.

[cathoholic_anonymous]

[quote name='Mercy me' post='1414011' date='Nov 4 2007, 06:24 AM']Actually standing during the response "Lord I am not worthy to receive you..." was a change inthe new GIRM. I know that most parishes don't do it but that doesn't mean that we aren't supposed to. It is in the missalettes that most parishes have.[/quote]

Why is this? I'm interested in the symbolism behind our postures in the liturgy. In my church we kneel at this part. Even on the days when kneeling is almost impossible and I have to use my walking pole to stand, I always find myself slipping to the floor at this point - the words themselves seem to exert a pull over me.

[Mercy me]

[quote name='Mercy me' post='1414011' date='Nov 4 2007, 01:24 AM']Actually standing during the response "Lord I am not worthy to receive you..." was a change inthe new GIRM. I know that most parishes don't do it but that doesn't mean that we aren't supposed to. It is in the missalettes that most parishes have.[/quote]

Ignore the dumb blond who can't get the parts of the mass right. I am sorry for any confusion. I should have been asleep rather than posting at that hour. Please accept my apologies.

The change was during the preparation of the gifts at "May the Lord accept the sacrafice at your hands for the paise and glory of his name, for our good and the good of all his church." We used to stand after that now we stand to pray that.

[Lena]

[i]It's like a football team going out and holding hands half-way through the game...silly.[/i]


That's kind of funny. At half-time, the high school football team (of which my bro plays on) all walk onto the field holding hands.

I don't think it's pointless at all, for me it doesn't detract from the Lord's Prayer but rather increases my awareness of the purpose of Mass to gather as a community to be in God's presence.