I’ve been having a good time on the new Catholic Answers forum. They are now starting to take up a number of topics of contention. I’ve just added this post to a thread on holding hands during the Lord’s prayer.
Let me start by saying that, if you grab my hand during the Our Father, I will wipe my nose with your hand. No matter what the intent, no one has the right to add something to the Mass that is not in the rubrics. If it isn’t in the book, don’t do it. It doesn’t matter what kind of feelings it gives you. I’m sure that holding hands during the Our Father is not grave matter, but it still requires obedience.
I’ve heard people say, “The rubrics don’t say we can’t do it.” However, please understand the nature of liturgical law. The rubrics also don’t say that we can’t:
- Draw pictures on the pews with a magic marker.
- Say “What’s up, God?” instead of “Amen” after the prayers.
- Tell the guy in the pew next to you your sins during the Penitential Rite.
- Chew gum during Mass. Then don’t bother to spit it out as you receive Communion (although this probably breaks the Eucharist fast, and would be outright sacriligious during the reception of Communion).
- Light a match to the hymnal.
- Perform the Scripture readings as a skit.
However, I can envision that few, if any, people reading this thread would actually consider any of the above acceptable. In fact, in the case of the second and third points, the rubrics specifically say to do something else. My point is that there is no way that the rubrics can be written to prohibit everything that someone will try to do, especially considering the strange things that have happened in American liturgies. Therefore, they normally only state what is permitted. Anything else isn’t permitted.
There are some really good other posts on the topic. Here is one that contains official documentation, and here is one by Karl Keating.