Question:
A visiting priest told us that according to the Vatican, it is not proper to hold hands or lift our hands upward when reciting the Lord’s Prayer—that this was reserved exclusively for the priest, who offers the prayer collectively to God for the congregation. If holding hands is in violation of Church practice, then perhaps it needs to cease?
Answer:
In his book, Mass Confusion, Jimmy Akin states, “The Holy See has not ruled directly in this issue. In response to a query, however, the Holy See stated that holding hands ‘is a liturgical gesture introduced spontaneously but on personal initiative; it is not in the rubrics’ . . . For this reason, no one can be required to hold hands during the Our Father” (161). The appendix notes that the practice of holding hands during the Our Father is “discouraged.”
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