Q: In a recent column you wrote that it “wasn’t appropriate” to hold hands during the “Our Father” at Mass, because the Church’s law is silent on this point. But couldn’t you read it the opposite way, meaning that since it’s not actually forbidden then it should be allowed? My family has always held hands during the “Our Father” and I don’t see why we should have to give that up.
A: You make a reasonable point about the Church’s silence in paragraph 81 of the “General Instruction of the Roman Missal” (GIRM) regarding the posture or gestures of the faithful during the “Our Father.” However, I would say there are a few reasons why silence in the Church’s law isn’t necessarily the same thing as a “blank check” allowing for absolute freedom or creativity.
Although many people assume the Catholic Church loves making nit-picky rules, the Church’s law actually works from the standpoint of presuming (for better or worse!) the good faith and common sense of those whom it governs. That is, the Church actually leans more towards under-legislating rather than over-legislating, and often things will only become explicitly prohibited if they are causing serious and widespread problems.
To give a fairly ridiculous example, the Church’s law is also completely silent on whether or not a priest can use bad language or swear words during his homily. Yet, this would clearly be a wildly inappropriate and offensive thing to do! Since it is already so obvious to everyone that a priest shouldn’t swear in his homily, there is no need to make a special rule against this.
Circling back to your concerns, keep in mind that when I receive questions, I only know the limited information of what the writer chooses to tell me. With the earlier column you referenced, it seemed to me that it was a situation where the entire parish had a custom of hand-holding during the “Our Father,” and their parish priest was trying to lead them away from this.
Often when a whole parish has this practice, there can a common misconception that everyone must hold hands in that parish, or even — for those that might not have had the time or interest to read through the “General Instruction of the Roman Missal” for themselves — that hand-holding during the “Our Father” is what the Church actually requires.
If this were what was happening, then the individual parish community would in a sense be creating a new pseudo-law, or essentially adding to the Church’s liturgy on their own initiative which is not licit and is against the very nature of the liturgy as the official prayer of the Church.
In such a scenario, the priest would do well to curb this practice. And it should be noted that, as per GIRM 43: “With a view to a uniformity in gestures and bodily postures during one and the same celebration, the faithful should follow the instructions which the Deacon … or the Priest gives.”
Admittedly, individuals or families that spontaneously and discreetly hold hands among themselves during the “Our Father” is a different situation and more of a gray area. It could be reasonably observed that the Church doesn’t forbid this any more than she forbids other personal gestures during the Mass, like crossing one’s arms during the homily or holding a restless toddler during the general intercessions.
Still, my own thought is that in the case of the Church’s silence on a point of law, it’s always good to try to “think with the Church” and consider the broader nature and purpose of the situation at hand.
While fellowship with our neighbors is praiseworthy, the “task” of praying the “Our Father” at Mass is more about focusing on God and preparing ourselves for holy Communion. So it might be worth prayerfully reflecting on whether holding hands during the “Our Father” furthers this goal, or whether it may potentially distract from it.
Jenna Marie Cooper, who holds a licentiate in canon law, is a consecrated virgin and a canonist whose column appears weekly at OSV News. Send your questions to CatholicQA@osv.com.
