Hand Holding During the Lord’s Prayer



Dear Catholic Exchange:

Is it proper to hold hands with your family during the Our Father?

Mr. Rowland

Dear Mr. Rowland,

Peace in Christ!

While the gesture itself is not expressly prohibited for individuals, the priest may not lead the assembly to this gesture. The Church describes holding hands during the Lord’s Prayer as “a liturgical gesture introduced spontaneously but on personal initiative; it is not in the rubrics.” It might be argued that the gesture is allowable if not imposed on others, but for the priest to purposefully lead the assembly to this gesture is contrary to the rubrics of the Mass.

The Church has clearly stated (Notitiae, vol. 11 (1975), p.226; reprinted in Documents on the Liturgy (DOL) 1502, n. R29) that holding hands during the Lord’s Prayer must not substitute for expressing the sign of peace:

Query: In some places there is a current practice whereby those taking part in the Mass replace the giving of the sign of peace at the deacon’s invitation by holding hands during the singing of the Lord’s Prayer. Is this acceptable?

Reply: The prolonged holding of hands is of itself a sign of communion rather than of peace. Further, it is a liturgical gesture introduced spontaneously but on personal initiative; it is not in the rubrics. Nor is there any clear explanation of why the sign of peace at the invitation — “Let us offer each other the sign of peace” — should be supplanted in order to bring a different gesture with less meaning into another part of the Mass: The sign of peace is filled with meaning, graciousness, and Christian inspiration. Any substitution for it must be repudiated.



Holding hands, then, is not a prescribed part of the Church’s rubrics for the Mass. Therefore, the posture should not be imposed upon the faithful.

A new edition of the Roman Missal is due to be issued in the near future. According to the U.S. Bishops’ Committee on the Liturgy, “the recently approved revised Sacramentary [i.e., Roman Missal] does provide for the use of the orans gesture by members of the assembly during the Lord’s Prayer.” One effect apparently desired by the U.S. Bishops in proposing the use of the orans posture is to re-direct the faithful from holding hands during the Lord’s Prayer:

The Bishops’ Committee on the Liturgy expressed a strong preference for the orans gesture over the holding of hands, since the focus of the Lord’s Prayer is a prayer to the Father and not primarily an expression of community and fellowship.
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