That Thing We Do…

Hello again my dear reader! I hope this article finds you well! I wish to share something with you that I’ve always found fascinating about Catholicism… The Sign of The Cross. It is a part of the faith that always intrigued me, even when I was a Protestant. I think it was also a small part of why I came back home to the faith. As a history buff I fell in love with the ritualism and symbolism of The Catholic faith!

Please note too that it’s not just Catholics that make the sign of the cross. Various liturgical Protestant denominations and Orthodox churches do as well, but I think that when people see someone making the sign of the cross their minds usually go immediately to identifying that person as a “Catholic”. For the purposes of this blog, I shall use the term “catholic” to also refer to any Christian that utilizes this sign. Anyone can and, I believe SHOULD, utilize this powerful tool given to us by The Church (The Catholic Church). So what is this sign that catholics make before and/or after they pray? Where did it come from? What is the purpose of making this sign? Okie dokie… Let’s dive in!

So what is this mysterious and wondrous “thing” we do? Often before and/or after prayers, we will “mark” ourselves using our right hands starting with the forehead… We touch our forehead , then proceed from there to touch the lower – middle part of our chest. From there we bring our hand up across our chest to our left shoulder and move from there to our right shoulder. As we are making this motion we say the prayer… “In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”

Okay, so that’s the literal “what’s happening” when someone marks themselves with this great sign.

Where did this come from? What we call the “Trinitarian Formula” is rooted in Matthew 28:18-20: “Then Jesus approached and said to them, ‘All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.'” We can also find scripture to support the action of making the sign of the cross in Revelation 14:1: “Then I looked and there was the Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with him a hundred and forty-four thousand who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads.”.

From everything I’ve read thus far, it does seem that the actual motion itself has evolved over the centuries. Everything I’ve found has stated that it appears that the first Christians would trace the sign of the cross on their forehead rather than what we do today. There are various methods used throughout history and in different churches but the motion described above is the motion primarily used within the Latin rite of The Catholic Church.

“At every forward step and movement, at every going in and out, when we put on our our clothes and shoes, when we bathe, when we sit at table, when we light the lamps, on couch, on seat, in all the ordinary actions of daily life, we trace upon the forehead the sign.” – Tertullian (160-240 ad)

While the last verse I mentioned does not explicitly refer to the “sign of the cross” as we know it today, it does support the action itself. Making the sign of the cross is considered a “Sacramental” meaning a sacred sign instituted by The Church which prepares a person to receive grace and which sanctifies a moment or circumstance (i.e. before Mass, prayer, before and after receiving the sacrament of Reconciliation and the list goes on). I myself make it whenever I get up in the morning, throughout my day before the many little prayers I say over the course of any given day, before I pretty much do anything that I want to do in the name of a higher power than myself a.k.a. The Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit.

Today’s world is all about “ME! ME! ME!”. It’s almost as if there’s no room made for anyone or anything outside of what concerns ourselves; our own lives (speaking regarding our society, not about any specific individuals). It’s as if we as a society try so hard to do everything in our own names… As if to say: “I’m in control of MY life! NOBODY supposedly in heaven or on earth has the right to tell ME how to LIVE MY LIFE!” Does anyone reading this disagree with the fact that this certainly seems to be where our society is headed? By the way… We’re pretty much already there, just sayin’… But that’s a topic for a different discussion altogether. Moving on!

Now, my dear reader, this is NOT to say that everyone is selfish all the time. While we all have selfish moments, there are people who make an asserted effort to live in a counter-cultural way. So where am I going with this? I think that we need to realize how proud and selfish humanity is capable of being in order to fully appreciate and grasp the full meaning of what we as Christians are saying when we mark ourselves with this majestic sign.

“And Paul perceived her prayer, and made the sign of the cross, and for several days the people entered unhindered, and as many as had sick and vexed by unclean spirits brought them, and all were healed.”- Acts of Xanthippe and Polyxena par 14 (270 ad)

Just an FYI but get ready! I have SOOO MUCH that I want to share with you that I can only HOPE and PRAY that I do adequate justice to Christ’s Church in explaining this glorious sacramental privilege that she has given us.

So what does it mean when we mark ourselves with the sign of the cross? My dear reader, while this sign may mean “peanuts” to some people and while there are times every one of us makes this sign without thinking or out of habit, we should keep in mind that it means that we are saying “NO” to the world! We are displaying an outward physical sign that whatever comes next or whatever just happened (whether big or small) did not occur in our own name but in the name of The Father, The Son, and of The Holy Spirit!

Something else we should keep in mind when we make this sign, especially in public, is that this sacramental, in its truest form when performed in an intentional manner, glorifies The Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit as this is in and of itself a chance to witness to those around us! To let others know that it’s okay to be different, it’s okay to show the faith and to be a visible sign of Christ’s presence and grace in the immediate world around us… That is what we’re called to be! Am I the only one excited here?! This is AWESOME STUFF!

“Everyone who acknowledges me before others I will acknowledge before my heavenly Father. But whoever denies me before others, I will deny before my heavenly Father.” – Matthew 10:32-33

With this “gesture” we mark our bodies with the sign of Jesus’ cross. It’s not just a “cognitive” move, but one of purposeful movement in order for us to give glory to God our Creator! We should make this move full of purpose and with a desire from the deepest parts of ourselves to be ONE with Christ in His suffering on His cross which in turn helps us carry our own “crosses” in our daily lives.

Something that I’ve heard Bishop Barron say, that I really love, is: “We are proclaiming ourselves ‘marked’ as belonging to Christ by virtue of our baptism.” When we mark ourselves with this powerful sacramental, we recall that our baptism brought us into Christ’s kingdom and that we’re all brothers and sisters in Christ through the Holy Spirit in service to The Father…

“Let us, therefore, not be ashamed of the Cross of Christ; but though another hide it, do thou openly seal it upon thy forehead, that the devils may behold the royal sign and flee trembling far away. Make then this sign at eating and drinking, at sitting, at lying down, at rising up, at speaking, at walking: in a word, at every act. For He who was here crucified is in heaven above.” – Cyril of Jerusalem Catechetical Lecture 4 par 14 (315-186 ad)

Something else I think is really cool is that according to the Catechism of The Catholic Church, in paragraph 2157, making this sign also gives us power over temptations and difficulties that we face! Isn’t that incredible?! I think so! Every one of us takes this powerful, majestic, sacred and glorious representation of God’s grace for granted because at some point or another it becomes a habit… I know I have felt that way before. There are days when I just make the motions (especially when I’m in a hurry) or catch myself doing it out of habit and I have to stop for a second… I ask God for forgiveness and thank Him for giving me His bride, The Church, which gave me this sacramental to use for His glory on earth.

Finally, my last thought… Every time I make the sign of the cross in an intentional manner, I am humbled beyond words. I am reminded of what Christ did for me… He suffered… He died… For ME! For YOU! HE used the cross, a humiliating and excruciatingly painful way to suffer and die, in order to suffer and painfully die for every one of us… He turned that humiliating, excruciatingly painful torturous cross into a weapon to overcome death… Now we must use it, as His soldiers and messengers on Earth, to overcome evil, indifference and injustice by truly understanding what it means to make the sign of the cross and by using it with meaning and intentionality all throughout our day no matter where we are or who we are with…

“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 on 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 rise up; when we are in the way, and when we are still. Great is that preservative; it is without price, for the sake of the poor; without toil, for the sick; since also its grace is from God. It is the Sign of the faithful, and the dread of devils: for He 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 bruised the heads of the dragon. Despise not the Seal, because of the freeness of the gift; out for this the rather honor thy Benefactor.” – Cyril of Jerusalem Catechetical Lecture 13 par 36 (315-186 ad)

Until next time my dear reader…

Your Humble Servant in Christ,

William