Holding Hands

[dominicansoul]

[quote name='Dismas' post='1482145' date='Mar 23 2008, 02:13 AM']St. Paul wrote for us to kiss each other, and Paul meant on the lips! [/quote]

I doubt St. Paul meant we should do this during the Sacred Mass...There are plenty of times to be neighborly and loving with each other outside of Mass. We can kiss as many as we want outside the Mass, not during the Mass...

The Mass is supposed to be total and complete worship of Jesus. *sigh* This is what happened after Vatican II. The Novus Ordo seems to have become a Mass for the People, while the Tridentine (no holding hands, no sign of peace, no awareness of each other, just total attention to the Altar, total absorption into the Sacrifice) is absolutely a Mass for God...

When my fellow Catholics try and hold my hand during the Our Father, I kindly smile and tell them, "I'm sorry, but that's not part of the Holy Mass." Only once have I had one stay after Mass and ask me to explain. The others just didn't hold my hand, and that was that!

[Moosey]

I refuse to hold hands. One thing I hate is when Im clearly bowing my head and clasping my hands together and I have people pulling at my hands and poking me in the ribs. Then I have people calling me a "party pooper' because I won't hold hands with them. I don't care if other people hold hands during the Our Father, but pleeeeeease....leave me alone and respect my preference.

[cmotherofpirl]

[quote name='Moosey' post='1825614' date='Apr 5 2009, 08:43 PM']I refuse to hold hands. One thing I hate is when Im clearly bowing my head and clasping my hands together and I have people pulling at my hands and poking me in the ribs. Then I have people calling me a "party pooper' because I won't hold hands with them. I don't care if other people hold hands during the Our Father, but pleeeeeease....leave me alone and respect my preference.[/quote]
THats the reason I gave up singing in the church choir - I got tired of being made fun of for refusing to hold people's hands.

[Nihil Obstat]

My family (thankfully) doesn't hold hands.
I like this because I'm pretty uncomfortable with it personality-wise, and lately I started wondering about how liturgically sound it is.... so yea, I avoid it, but I'm not sure I have the stubbornness to turn someone down.
I try to look like I'm completely zoned out and focused on the altar. So far it's worked wonderfully. The right little head tilt, hands clasped up at your chest quite deliberately, intense expression.......
...and they wonder why I don't sing too.

[Moosey]

I'm pretty sure it is [u]not[/u] in the rubrics of the Mass. People do it anyway.

I do focus on the altar and clasp my hands to my chest and people still insist on ripping me out of my prayerful state.

[saintwannabe 777]

[quote name='Sammy Blaze' post='80572' date='Dec 25 2003, 10:08 PM']I must say,
for the entire 18 years I've spent on this earth, my parish has always held hands during the Lord's Prayer. To me it's an awesome way of expressing unity as a Church through a prayer to our Heavenly Father. As a matter of fact, as I was singing in our Choir for midnight mass last night, looking down from the choir loft, i was overwhelmed with such a feeling of love and community watching everyone in our church joining hands, lifting up our prayers to heaven.....
I don't see it as hampering but a way of building up a Church community.
But I also believe it is at the discretion of the Parish community. just my thoughts,
Your brother in Christ, ~S.[/quote]

Amen Bro!

[Moosey]

Hmm, I have heard that point of view many times. IMO, I feel more unified by the thought that we are all saying the Lord's prayer together. Holding hands distracts me. I just love the sound of all our voices praying in unison.

[saintwannabe 777]

[quote name='Moosey' post='1825884' date='Apr 5 2009, 11:24 PM']Hmm, I have heard that point of view many times. IMO, I feel more unified by the thought that we are all saying the Lord's prayer together. Holding hands distracts me. I just love the sound of all our voices praying in unison.[/quote]

You don't have to hold hands if you don't want to, but I feel that some people in this board look down on those that are holding hands by saying that holding hands during the Lord's Prayer at Mass doesn't belong