I just had to swipe this from Fr Z,
one of my favorite irritants at Mass
quote
c. Special note should also be made concerning the gesture for the Our Father. Only the priest is given the instruction to “extend” his hands. Neither the deacon nor the lay faithful are instructed to do this. No gesture is prescribed for the lay faithful in the Roman Missal; nor the General Instruction of the Roman Missal, therefore the extending or holding of hands by the faithful should not be performed.
unquote
read it all,
Say Amen brother,
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1 December 2011 at 10:02 am
Bully for Bishop Foys!
Don’t hold your breath for any similar decree on this side of the river — unless of course the bishops conference addresses the issue first.
2 December 2011 at 9:57 pm
I find that in our new parish, this is a less common problem than in our former one. However, I’ve been bowing my head and folding my hands during the “Our Father” for months, so I’m seldom aware of what others are doing, and no one is “pushy” about wanting to hold hands. We live in Hamilton now.