4Real Forums: "Our Father" question

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Topic: "Our Father" question

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myheaven1967
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Posted: July 01 2013 at 8:04am \| IP Logged

I know this may sound an odd question but when and why did the Church start raising their hands/arms during the Our Father Prayer during Mass? Why did this change come about?
This has baffled me for years, and I never know who to ask this.

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Jill: Wife to Kurt, mother to 1 dd and 4 ds

JennGM
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Posted: July 01 2013 at 8:31am \| IP Logged

Without going into a liturgical tirade, I can say simply it is not in the rubrics, it is not liturgically prescribed, hence it is not liturgically correct. It is just a "popular" act done by the people, probably stemming from the "touchy-feely" movements of the 60s and 70s.

Father William Saunders addresses this question and answers so beautifully. I highly recommend it!

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Jennifer G. Miller
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myheaven1967
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Posted: July 01 2013 at 9:10am \| IP Logged

THANK YOU!! I kept wondering where this came from. I do not remember it as a child at all. Only since returning to the Church when I was pregnant with one of my sons did I come across this.

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Jill: Wife to Kurt, mother to 1 dd and 4 ds

CrunchyMom
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Posted: July 01 2013 at 9:10am \| IP Logged

Specifically, I think that raising the hands or arms (rather than holding hands) is in imitation of the priest's prescribed *orans* position. I've read a few different takes on this. Some priests have encouraged the orans posture as an alternative to holding hands, but others feel that it is inappropriate to imitate the priest's rubrics during the liturgy. For instance, a deacon assisting the priest during mass would not be allowed to assume that position, so why would the laity do it?

However, it is an ancient posture for prayer, and there is no reason one could not use it privately. The controversy comes from those who object to its use in the liturgy since our gestures mean something specific in the liturgy, and this particular gesture in this context is symbolic of the priest offering the prayers of all the people in his unique role.

I've always shared the opinion of the priest that Jenn links to. I think people moved by the culture of the 1960s felt holding hands inspired unity, but its addition implies we need more unity or that it is the height of unity, when the ultimate unity is actually communion. Likewise, substituting hand holding with another extra motion is unnecessary.

I think that different diocese around the world address this in different ways with some bishops asking for permission to allow the people to add this and others asking their people *not* to assume this position. It isn't really a black or white issue, but I'm pretty sure that this is the popular reason given for why people started to adopt this practice.

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Lindsay
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