It's Thursday and that means it's time to learn more about the Catholic faith. Today's topic: The Sign of the Cross.
While some may think the Sign of the Cross is just a warm-up exercise, it is in fact a prayer in itself. It came into use as a religious gesture in the Middle Ages and takes several forms. The most commonly recognized is when a person traces the cross with their right hand starting from the forehead, ("In the name of the Father . . .") down to the breastbone ("and of the Son . . .) followed by first the left and then the right shoulder ("and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.")
The Sign of the Cross is typically used to begin and end other prayers. However, it is also made upon entering and leaving the church and several times during the Mass. Some people even pray it in isolation as a blessing or means of comfort. So what is it that we are actually saying with when we make this prayer?
We make the Sign of the Cross as a profession of our faith and a statement of our belief in the Trinity--the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The gesture reminds us of Christ's sacrifice and the ultimate gift of our salvation while also professing to the world that we children of God. It is a public witness of our faith.
"This ancient Christian gesture reminds the baptized that we are sealed in Christ--we belong to him--and that we are to do all things in God's name."
[Source: Fr. Dominic Grassi and Joe Paprocki, Living the Mass: How One Hour a Week Can Change Your Life, Loyola Press ©2005]
In case you were wondering, the Sign of the Cross is not just a "Catholic thing." Other faiths, such as Eastern Orthodox, Anglicans, Lutherans, and a few other Protestant denominations also profess their faith using this gesture.
"Let us not then be ashamed to confess the Crucified. Be the Cross our seal made with boldness by our fingers on our brow and in everything; over the bread we eat, and the cups we drink; in our comings in, and goings out; before our sleep, when we lie down and when we awake; when we are on the way and when we are still. Great is that preservative; it is without price, for the poor's sake; without toil, for the sick, since also its grace is from God. It is the Sign of the faithful, and the dread of evils; for He has triumphed over them in it, having made a shew of them openly; for when they see the Cross, they are reminded of the Crucified; they are afraid of Him, Who hath bruised the heads of the dragon. Despise not the Seal, because of the freeness of the Gift; but for this rather honor they Benefactor."
~St. Cyril of Jerusalem, A.D. 315–386
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