An Enncrave Compilation
Raising of Hands During ‘Our Father.’ “At Mass, only the priest raises hands during ‘Our Father.’
Raising of Hands During ‘Our Father.’
There has been a great deal of unnecessary confusion about the posture that various people use for the “Our Father.” I’ve seen people folding their hands by themselves, or simply raising their open-palmed hands a little or raising them high in the air. It has never been part of the liturgical tradition to hold the hands of other people during Mass. The practice seems to have started unofficially sometime during the 1970s. The bottom line is that it is inappropriate. The priest is supposed to raise or extend his hands in the orans position during certain prayers at Mass. Orans is a Latin word meaning “praying” and refers to the way the ancients beseeched and thanked God with arms outstretched. This orans position of the priest is required of him as the main celebrant of the Mass during the “Our Father.”
The “Our Father” is not to be reduced to a community prayer. It is more than that because it is the preparation for Holy Communion. The “Our Father” is a time to join hearts, not hands, in praising and beseeching God’s mercy and love.” – an excerpt from https://catholictimescolumbus.org/news/father-paul-keller-op-s-t-d/at-mass-only-priest-raises-hands-during-our-father
https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/library/holding-hands-at-the-our-father-4289
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