THE ORANS
It started with the charismatics. Look at me, my hands are boldly extended, I pray like a priest. What is with people praying in the orans posture during the mass? Are they so set apart from the rest of the congregation that they have to draw attention to themselves? Are they displaying some hidden objection against the male exclusiveness in Holy Orders? Are they pursuing the charismatic agenda to clericalize the laity? Or are they simply following the instruction of some mission priest who told them during some retreat that this was the way to pray at mass?
True, there is no explicit rule against it; the orans posture is not even mentioned in the GIRM! There is no rule against standing on the head or flapping the arms either, but PRUDENCE would stop most people from doing any of those things during the mass. But hey nothing will stop a charismatic on a mission and don’t you know they are on a mission to witness to the rest of us spiritually stunted Catholics?
GIRM paragraphs 43 and 160 deal with posture during the Mass, and the only posture specified for the congregation is during the Lord's Prayer – which is standing. It says nothing at all about what people are to do with their hands. Standing means standing and doesn’t have anything to do with your arms. So there is no change from the past.
Keep in mind though that no one, not even a bishop has the authority to introduce novelties to the Catholic liturgy. (#390, General Instruction to the Roman Missal).
Furthermore, Canon 846 §1 states that in celebrating the sacraments the liturgical books approved by competent authority are to be observed faithfully; accordingly, no one is to add, omit, or alter anything in them on one’s own authority. To introduce new rites or gestures into the liturgy would require a two-thirds majority vote in the Conference of Bishops and the approval of the Holy See. To this day neither the US Conference of Bishops nor the Holy See has introduced new posture for the congregation during prayer. So the practice is not expressly forbidden; the same way that standing on the head or flapping the arms are not forbidden either.
Customarily in the Church a bishop or priest addresses prayers to God while standing with hands slightly raised and outstretched (Ceremonial of Bishops, number 104).
Deacons and non-ordained members of the faithful may not use gestures or actions which are proper to the priest celebrant. It is a grave abuse for any member of the non-ordained faithful to "quasi preside" at the Mass (Instruction on Collaboration, Practical Provisions 6 §2).
With a view to uniformity in gestures and postures during Mass, the faithful should follow the directions indicated in the Missal (General Instruction on the Roman Missal #43).
For the laity praying in the orans position during the Lord’s Prayer or at any other time during the mass is a novelty. The orans posture has NOT been authorized by the Church for the laity to use.
In Cannon Law, if a posture is directed for the priest but is not directed as a posture for the laity, it is a priestly gesture. According to Vatican documents, the orans is directed to the priest; therefore it is a priestly gesture.
Regardless where you live, in the Latin Church, EVERYTHING is prescribed for the Mass, because the liturgy is the prayer of not just one person, one community of priest and congregation. It is the prayer of the entire Roman Catholic Church, the entire Mystical Body of Christ. So whether you are from Toronto, Seattle or Spain, if you are not the priest, don’t use the orans (priestly) gesture during the mass! If you don’t believe me read on, because Adoremus, James Akin, Cardinal Arinze, Catholic Answers ‘Ask an Apologist’, EWTN, USCCB, and the Vatican (not exactly in that order) says essentially the same thing: Lay people should not be using the Orans Posture during the mass! You didn't know that? Now you do.
Adoremus:
About that Orans Posture
What is it? What does the GIRM say? Can a bishop require it?
“The posture of the people during prayer at Mass is not one of the items in the GIRM list that bishop may change on his own authority (see GIRM 387). Thus it is not legitimate for a bishop to require people to assume the orans posture during the Our Father.” Article
B.Donovan, STL, apologist EWTN:
"The Orans is not discussed in the GIRM. Taken by itself it is not a licit posture for the laity, since it is associated in the liturgical rites with priests when they speak on behalf of all. Most of the time the only one doing it is the presider, except when concelebrants speak parts of the Eucharistic Prayer, or, when they all pray the Our Father.
Some liturgists have taken the position that it is better to have the laity do something other than hold hands at the Our Father (which is definitely wrong and proscribed by Rome), so let's have them do the orans. The postures of the laity are not spoken of much at all in the rubrics, so it appears to be a harmless custom to introduce. However, I do not think this is true. When this solution is adopted you end up with the anomaly that the priest and the people are doing the orans, but the deacon is not. This says sacramentally that the priest and people are interceeding, but the deacon is not? To correct it, so that the orans at the Our Father becomes a generic sign of the entire Mystical Body interceeding (and in principle that would be seem to be possible), would require an adaptation of the rubrics for the United States by the Holy See. To my knowledge such an adaptation has not been obtained." New GIRM Postures
James Akin apologist, Catholic Answers:
“Neither may deacons or non-ordained members of the faithful use gestures or actions which are proper to the same priest celebrant. It is a grave abuse for any member of the non-ordained faithful to "quasi-preside" at the Mass while leaving only that minimal participation to the priest which is necessary to secure validity [ICP, Practical Provisions 6~2] The ICP is the reference. It's from the Vatican.” 'Mass Confusion' by James Akin pg 202
Cardinal Francis Arinze: points out that the liturgical norms were developed and prescribed to protect the sacred mysteries. So actions outside of the prescribed norms present the risk of diffusing these mysteries Source
EWTN:
Orans Posture
The following explains the origin of the Orans position, in which the priest intercedes during the liturgy on behalf of all. In the last couple decades this posture of praying with hands extended and lifted upwards has become a popular prayer posture for many laity, especially in the Charismatic Renewal.” Well wonders never cease!
“In the rubrics the Orans gesture is asked principally of the Main Celebrant, but on those occasions where either a priestly action is done (Eucharistic Prayer) or prayer in common (Our Father) all the concelebrants do it.
It is never done by the Deacon, who does not represent the People before God but assists him who does.
Among the laity this practice began with the charismatic renewal. Used in private prayer it has worked its way into the Liturgy. It is a legitimate gesture to use when praying, as history shows, however, it is a private gesture when used in the Mass and in some cases conflicts with the system of signs which the rubrics are intended to protect. The Mass is not a private or merely human ceremony. The symbology of the actions, including such gestures, is definite and precise, and reflects the sacramental character of the Church's prayer. As the Holy See has recently pointed out, confusion has entered the Church about the hierarchical nature of her worship, and this gesture certainly contributes to that confusion when it conflicts with the ordered sign language of the Mass.”
“Our Father. The intention for lay people using the Orans position at this time is, I suppose, that we pray Our Father, and the unity of people and priest together is expressed by this common gesture of prayer. Although this gesture is not called for in the rubrics, it does at least seem, on the surface, to not be in conflict with the sacramental sign system at the point when we pray Our Father. I say on the surface, however, since while lay people are doing this the deacon, whose postures are governed by the rubrics, may not do it. So, we have the awkward disunity created by the priest making an appropriate liturgical gesture in accordance with the rubrics, the deacon not making the same gesture in accordance with the rubrics, some laity making the same gesture as the priest not in accordance with the rubrics, and other laity not making the gesture (for various reasons, including knowing it is not part of their liturgical role). In the end, the desire of the Church for liturgical unity is defeated.”
“So, while we shouldn't attribute bad will to those who honestly have felt that there was some virtue in doing this during the Mass, it is yet another case where good will can achieve the opposite of what it intends when not imbued with the truth, in this case the truth about the sacramental nature of the postures at Mass and their meaning.” Source
USCCB:
42. The gestures and posture of the priest, the deacon, and the ministers, as well as those of the people, ought to contribute to making the entire celebration resplendent with beauty and noble simplicity, so that the true and full meaning of the different parts of the celebration is evident and that the participation of all is fostered. 52 Therefore, attention should be paid to what is determined by this General Instruction and the traditional practice of the Roman Rite and to what serves the common spiritual good of the People of God, rather than private inclination or arbitrary choice. Source
VATICAN:
INSTRUCTION ON CERTAIN QUESTIONS REGARDING THE COLLABORATION OF THE NON-ORDAINED FAITHFUL IN THE SACRED MINISTRY OF PRIEST
Article 6
Liturgical Celebrations
"§ 1. Liturgical actions must always clearly manifest the unity of the People of God as a structured communion.(89) Thus there exists a close link between the ordered exercise of liturgical action and the reflection in the liturgy of the Church's structured nature.
This happens when all participants, with faith and devotion, discharge those roles proper to them.
§ 2. To promote the proper identity (of various roles) in this area, those abuses which are contrary to the provisions of canon 907 are to be eradicated. In eucharistic celebrations deacons and non-ordained members of the faithful may not pronounce prayers — e.g. especially the eucharistic prayer, with its concluding doxology — or any other parts of the liturgy reserved to the celebrant priest. Neither may deacons or non-ordained members of the faithful use gestures or actions which are proper to the same priest celebrant. It is a grave abuse for any member of the non-ordained faithful to "quasi preside" at the Mass while leaving only that minimal participation to the priest which is necessary to secure validity.
In the same way, the use of sacred vestments which are reserved to priests or deacons (stoles, chasubles or dalmatics) at liturgical ceremonies by non-ordained members of the faithful is clearly unlawful.
Every effort must be made to avoid even the appearance of confusion which can spring from anomalous liturgical practices. As the sacred ministers are obliged to wear all of the prescribed liturgical vestments so too the non-ordained faithful may not assume that which is not proper to them.
To avoid any confusion between sacramental liturgical acts presided over by a priest or deacon, and other acts which the non-ordained faithful may lead, it is always necessary to use clearly distinct ceremonials, especially for the latter.” Source
