From a reader:
I’ve recently had an “argument” over whether it’s licit to hold hands during the Our Father during Mass.
I’ve always been taught that this posture was not a part of the rubrics and should not be done.
I’ve also been to many-a-parish where the priest ASKS people to hold hands (then holds hands with the altar girls) during this time.
It is not illicit to hold hands during the Our Father, or at any other time during Mass, for that matter. I don’t have a problem with a couple holding hands or a mother holding her child’s hand during Mass.
What is illicit is for the priest or any other sacred minister to invite people to do this during Mass. There is no direction for the priest et al. to give such a direction. It is not to be done.
Furthermore, it is rude to try to impose this non-liturgical practice on anyone, whether they are amenable or not.
