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| Pope Benedict XVI makes the sign of the cross during a 2010 general audience in Paul VI Hall at the Vatican. CNS photo by Paul Haring |
Six overlooked ways in which making the
ancient sign opens Catholics to life-transforming graces
By Bert Ghezzi - OSV
Newsweekly, 3/25/2012
I used to make the
sign of the cross casually as a nice gesture for beginning and ending my
prayers. But about a decade ago, probably nudged by the Holy Spirit, I took it
more seriously.
I began to sign
myself more frequently with faith and reverence. I did not think much about it,
but after a year I noticed that I seemed to be doing measurably better in my
Christian life. I was praying with more passion, resisting my bad inclinations
somewhat more effectively, and relating to others more kindly.
When I asked myself
what had produced these positive results, I decided the only thing I was doing
differently was praying the Sign of the Cross more fervently. Pretty good, I
thought, for just signing myself reverently, and I realized that the Sign of
the Cross is not merely a pious gesture. It is a powerful prayer. So I studied
about it in Scripture, the Church Fathers and saints, and Catholic
teaching.
In my study, I
discovered six perspectives on the Sign of the Cross that revealed why making
it opens us to life-transforming graces. I share them here, confident that once
you grasp them, you will make the gesture with more faith and experience its
great blessings.
Mini-creed
The Sign of the Cross
is a profession of faith in God as he revealed himself. It serves as an
abbreviated form of the Apostles’ Creed. Touching our forehead, breast and
shoulders, we declare our belief in the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We are
announcing our faith in what God has done — the creation of all things, the
redemption of humanity from sin and death, and the establishment of the Church,
which offers new life to all. When we sign ourselves we are making ourselves
aware of God’s presence and opening ourselves to his action in our lives. That
would be enough, wouldn’t it? But there is much, much more.
Six Signings
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I invite you right now to imprint in your heart
these six truths about the Sign of the Cross by making it with me six times,
each time applying one of the perspectives.
First, let’s sign ourselves
professing our faith in God.
Second, let’s mark our selves
remembering that we died with Christ in baptism.
Third, let’s make the sign to
declare that we belong to Christ and that we will obey him.
Fourth, let’s sign ourselves to
embrace whatever suffering comes and to celebrate our suffering with Christ
for the Church.
Fifth, let’s make the sign of the
cross as a defense against the devil and as an offensive advance of God’s
kingdom against him.
Sixth, let’s make it to crucify our
flesh and to put on Christ and his behaviors.
I often go through these signings in my morning
prayer and recommend that you try it, too.
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Renewal of baptism
First-century
Christians began making the sign of the cross as a reminder and renewal of what
happened to them when they were baptized. It still works the same way for us.
When we sign ourselves we are declaring that in baptism we died sacramentally
with Christ on the cross and rose to a new life with him (see Rom 6:3-4 and Gal 2:20). We are
asking the Lord to renew in us those baptismal graces. We are also
acknowledging that baptism joined us to the body of Christ and equipped us for
our role of collaborating with the Lord in his work of rescuing all people from
sin and death.
Mark of discipleship
At baptism the Lord
claimed us as his own by marking us with the Sign of the Cross. Now, when we
sign ourselves, we are affirming our loyalty to him. By tracing the cross on
our bodies, we are denying that we belong to ourselves and declaring that we
belong to him alone (see Lk 9:23). The Church Fathers used the same word for
the Sign of the Cross that the ancient world employed to indicate ownership.
The same word named a shepherd’s brand on his sheep, a general’s tattoo on his
soldiers, a householder’s mark on his servants, and the Lord’s mark on his
disciples. So signing ourselves recognizes that we are Christ’s sheep and can
count on his care; his soldiers, commissioned to work with him in advancing his
kingdom on earth; and his servants, dedicated to doing whatever he tells us.
Acceptance of suffering
Jesus promised us,
that suffering would be a normal part of a disciple’s life (see Lk 9:23). So, when
we mark our bodies with the sign, we are embracing whatever pain comes as a
consequence of our faith in Christ. Making the sign is our “taking up the cross
and following” him (Lk 9:23). But at the same time it comforts us with the
realization that Jesus, who endured the crucifixion for us, now joins us in our
suffering and supports us. Signing ourselves also announces another significant
truth: With St. Paul, we are celebrating that our afflictions as members of the
body of Christ contribute to the Lord’s saving work of perfecting the Church in
holiness (see Col 1:24).
Move against the devil
When the devil sent
Jesus to the cross, he mistakenly believed he had won a great victory. Instead,
the Lord surprised him with an ignominious defeat (see 1 Cor 2:8).
From the first Easter morning through the present, the sign of the cross makes
the devil cower and flee. So on one level, making the sign is a defensive move,
declaring our inviolability to the devil’s influence. But more importantly, the
sign is also an offensive weapon, helping us reclaim with Christ all that Satan
lost at the cross. It announces our cooperation with him in the indomitable
advance of the kingdom of God against the kingdom of darkness.
Victory over the flesh
In the New Testament,
the word flesh sums up all the evil inclinations of our old nature that persist
in us even after we die with Christ in baptism (see Gal 5:16-22). Making
the sign of the cross expresses our decision to crucify these desires of the
flesh and to live by the Spirit. Like tossing off a dirty shirt or blouse, making
the sign indicates our stripping ourselves of our evil inclinations and
clothing ourselves with the behaviors of Christ (see Col 3: 5-15).
The Church Fathers
taught that the Sign of the Cross diffused the force of powerful temptations
such as anger and lust.
So no matter how
strongly we are tempted, we can use the Sign of the Cross to activate our
freedom in Christ and conquer even our besetting sins.
Bert Ghezzi is the
author of numerous books, including “The Sign
of the Cross: Recovering the Power of the Ancient Prayer” (Loyola Press, $9.99).
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