I think mine is the frenzied preoccupation with appearances: "Hey, we're holding hands -- see how united we are!" "Hey, we're bustling around, 'helping' the priest -- that's active participation for ya!" "See! My hands are in the orans position -- everyone can see how holy I am!" "See us sit in a semicircle around the altar -- like kindergarten kids. We're a real community!"
There's a lot of superficiality in the information age. Appearances can, of course, be important, but I think there's a strong tendency to be immensely satisfied with just the appearance.
You nailed it, my FRiend.
The orans thing is sad for me. If I saw people doing it with gusto, it might be different (although in the liturgy this is a prayer posture reserved for the priest, unless it’s a LifeTeen or Charismatic Mass).
What I see is all the women, flipping their hands out and holding, while the men sheepishly turn palms up.
I had to laugh this weekend. There was a 50ish couple two pews in front of us. The woman had one palm up and held her husband’s hand with the other. The husband had his free hand clenched behind his back. Oh he was feeling prayerful!!