The Sign of the Cross is a simple motion and profound gesture at the same time.
An important sacramental, it is a practice and a prayer that goes back to the early Church when it was performed by the early Church Fathers and taught to the faithful.
Because we are marking ourselves as Christians and professing the essential mysteries of our faith, we should never mindlessly rush through the motions or the words.
Instead we should bless ourselves prayerfully and purposefully.
Back to basics:
The Christian begins his day, his prayers, and his activities with the Sign of the Cross: “In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.” The baptized person dedicates the day to the glory of God and calls on the Savior’s grace which lets him act in the Spirit as a child of the Father. The Sign of the Cross strengthens us in temptations and difficulties.
Catechism of the Catholic Church 2157
Expressing the two chief mysteries of our faith:
Marking our bodies with a special sign:
Then I saw another angel ascend from the rising of the sun, with the seal of the living God, and he called with a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm earth and sea, saying, “Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God upon their foreheads. And I heard the number of the sealed, a hundred and forty-four thousand sealed, out of every tribe of the sons of Israel.”
Revelation 7: 2-4
Publicly proclaiming our “Yes” to the God who loves us:
Making the sign of the Cross when we wake, before meals, in facing danger, to protect against evil, in the evening before we sleep, means telling ourselves and others whom we belong to, whom we want to be. This is why it is so important to teach children how to make the sign of the Cross properly. And as we do upon entering a church, we can also do so at home, by keeping a bit of holy water in a suitable little vase — some families do so: this way, each time we come in or go out, by making the sign of the Cross with that water we remember that we are baptized. Do not forget, I repeat: teach the children how to make the sign of the Cross.
Pope Francis, General Audience, April 18, 2018
It all means something:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRDCWacBAcY
The Truth, Goodness, and Beauty of the Catholic Church
The call to be a disciple is a call to change:
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