In the Name of the Father

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirt.

Amen.

Noah was tested on saying and making the Sign of the Cross at school last week.  Although he has known the sign of the cross, said it, and used it appropriately since he was 2 years old, we have been practicing saying it very articulately and with the reverence it deserves.


Watching Noah reverently and deliberately make the sign of the cross before and after his prayers gave me reason to think about this visible sign of faith... one that is so commonplace to Catholics, but likely foreign to other Christians.


I inwardly cringe when I see a basketball player make the sign of the cross before shooting a free throw or someone on TV make the gesture before doing something dangerous, like bungee jump off of a tall building.  They make it seem like a superstitious gesture.  As if by making the gesture, he will make the free throw or she will be safe as she jumps off of the building.  


The sign of the cross is far from a superstition or a meaningless gesture.  


Plain and simple, the sign of the cross is a prayer.


Although it is traditionally made before and after a prayer is said, it, too, is a prayer.  


And although it may be short and simple, it is a pretty powerful prayer because it symbolically sums up two of the central doctrines of Christianity!  In making the sign of the cross, we recall the image of a cross with our hands... reminding ourselves that the salvation of humankind came through Christ on the cross.  And as we say the words, "in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit", we are reminded of one of the greatest mysteries of our faith - the Trinity.  


So as we make the sign of the cross, we not only call on God and ask for his blessing, we also symbolically proclaim that our salvation came from the cross of Christ, and we verbally profess our faith in a triune God.  


There is nothing superstitious or meaningless about that!


The sign of the cross should never be used in a routine or blasphemous manner for it is a visible expression of our belief and hope in Jesus Christ!


And while it is used primarily by Catholics, it is just a prayer.  One that can be said by anyone.  A simple prayer with a big meaning!

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

Amen.