The 'Our Father': Appropriate gestures for prayer

The Denver Catholic Register ^ | 18 December 2002 | Most Rev. Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M., Cap.

[SMEDLEYBUTLER]

The 'Our Father':
Appropriate gestures for prayer
December 18, 2002

As we stand after singing the "Amen" to the Eucharistic prayer, we come to the beginning of the Communion Rite. This part of Mass includes the "Our Father," the sign of peace, the breaking of the bread, reception of holy Communion and thanksgiving, and the prayer after Communion.

Toward the end of the Eucharistic Prayer, the priest prays, "May all of us who share in the body and blood of Christ be brought together in unity by the Holy Spirit. ... Make us grow in love." We were privileged to be present at the consecration when the bread and wine were changed into the body and blood of Christ. Now we ask to be made, ourselves, into the body of Christ. By baptism, we have already entered into that reality. However, through the example of Jesus' self-giving in love and the nourishment we are about to receive, we long to grow more deeply in communion with one another.

The celebrant invites us to pray the words of Jesus in the "Our Father." This is the prayer Jesus Himself taught us, and because of that, it's the model prayer for the Church. How should we pray it?

A lot has been said in popular writing about our gestures at this point of the Mass. Do we fold our hands, or hold them outstretched, or hold hands with those around us? Some people have surprisingly strong feelings about this issue. Our answer to this question needs to come from the Church's understanding of this moment in the Mass.

The priest stands with his arms outstretched as the prayer begins. The assembly should also stand. There are no options for gestures listed in the General Instruction for this part of the Mass. For many persons, folding their hands during the "Our Father" is the best way to express their prayer. For others, they may hold their hands outstretched. Still others hold hands.

None of these gestures is mandated or forbidden by the Church. So our guiding principles should be respect for the dignity of the Mass, and respect for the freedom of our fellow worshipers.

Some people feel that holding hands during the "Our Father" enhances a sense of community. This is perfectly appropriate — so long as it can be done with dignity and without the unseemly acrobatics that sometimes ensue.

For other people, holding hands is a kind of intimacy they reserve for family members. It makes them uncomfortable to hold hands during Mass, and they prefer not to do it. This is also perfectly appropriate. A parish may have several ways of praying the "Our Father," depending on the people who take part in a specific Mass. No one should feel coerced, and the beauty of the liturgy should always be observed.

We have seen before that the Mass is rich with symbols and signs. The beauty and centrality of the Eucharist, which our Lord entrusted to the Church for all times and all peoples, should always be evident in every celebration of the Mass. Thus, those involved in liturgical education should take special care not to allow their private preferences to influence their work.

The liturgy is the public worship of the whole Church, not merely the local community. And it is God's gift — through Jesus Christ and His Church — to all the faithful, who have a right to the truth and an obligation to ask for it.

[heyheyhey]

It deserves to be repeated:

Those involved in liturgical education should take special care not to allow their private preferences to influence their work.

The liturgy is the public worship of the whole Church, not merely the local community. And it is God's gift - through Jesus Christ and His Church - to all the faithful, who have a right to the truth and an obligation to ask for it.

[Salvation]

Our Father....in Heaven

From CERC

[SMEDLEYBUTLER]

None of these gestures is mandated or forbidden by the Church. So our guiding principles should be respect for the dignity of the Mass, and respect for the freedom of our fellow worshipers.

This is the passage that caught my eye. I wrote Chaput and told him that I thought that that was a loophole that many would try and drive a semi through. Rather than using the GIRM as a guide some priests and liturgists use it to see what isn't mentioned and then exploit said omissions. "The GIRM doesn't say I can't celebrate a clown Mass, so I guess that means that I can." Judging by the response I got, I now know how Scalia feels.

[Atheist2Theist]

There is an upcoming change to this in the new Sacramentary if it is approved by the Vatican.

From the USCCB website: No position is prescribed in the present Sacramentary for an assembly gesture during the Lord’s Prayer. While the recently approved revised Sacramentary does provide for the use of the orans gesture by members of the assembly during the Lord’s Prayer, the revised Sacramentary may not be used until it has been confirmed by the Holy See. I might also note that in the course of its discussion of the this question, 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.

[WriteOn]

good.

[sinkspur]

None of these gestures is mandated or forbidden by the Church. So our guiding principles should be respect for the dignity of the Mass, and respect for the freedom of our fellow worshipers.

Like kneeling at communion, the freedom of our fellow worshipers should be respected.

Good for Chaput. He recognizes that not everything is worth getting in a lather over.

[Coleus]

So, you're allowed to raise your arms during the Our Father?

[Coleus]

Thanks, I guess what really counts is how we live the gospels in our day-to-day lives with our hands up or down, in Latin or whatever really doesn't matter when you come down to it.

I think my church changed to the new Lectionary last year and don't know of the Sacramentary being changed. We now process with only the Book of the Gospels, which is now separate from the Lectioanary, and after the Gospel is read our priests process to a place of reverence where the Book is placed. Then goes back to give the homily.

[Salvation]

B'shem haAv, v'haBen, v'Ruach haKodesh, Elohim echod. Amen.

The Prayer To Our Father
(in the original Aramaic)

Abwûn
"Oh Thou, from whom the breath of life comes,

d'bwaschmâja
who fills all realms of sound, light and vibration.

Nethkâdasch schmach
May Your light be experienced in my utmost holiest.

Têtê malkuthach.
Your Heavenly Domain approaches.

Nehwê tzevjânach aikâna d'bwaschmâja af b'arha.
Let Your will come true - in the universe (all that vibrates)
just as on earth (that is material and dense).

Hawvlân lachma d'sûnkanân jaomâna.
Give us bread (understanding, assistance) for our daily need,

Waschboklân chaubên wachtahên aikâna
daf chnân schwoken l'chaijabên.
detach the ropes of faults that bind us, (Karma)
like we let go the guilt of others.

Wela tachlân l'nesjuna
Let us not be lost in superficial things (materialism, common temptations),

ela patzân min bischa.
but let us be freed from that what keeps us off from our true purpose.

Metol dilachie malkutha wahaila wateschbuchta l'ahlâm almîn.
From You comes the all-working will, the lively strength to act,
the song that beautifies all and renews itself from age to age.

Amên.
Sealed in trust, faith and truth.
(I confirm with my entire being)