The Meaning of the Sign of the Cross

Catholics begin each prayer with the Sign of the Cross, but what does this act mean?

How to Make the Sign of the Cross

Start with your right hand on your forehead and move it to your heart or stomach. Then tap your left shoulder and move your hand to your right shoulder.

While tracing the cross, we pray:

Forehead: "In the name of the Father"
Heart: "and of the Son"
Shoulders Left to Right: "and the Holy Spirit"
"Amen."

The Meaning of the Sign of the Cross

The Sign of the Cross is a prayer all to itself. It is used as a blessing. It is, in fact, a sacramental that prepares us for grace in the sacraments and in our prayers.

The meaning of the Sign of the Cross expresses the two most important mysteries of the Christian faith:

1. Jesus Christ suffered and died for us.

We trace the cross on our bodies to remember Jesus Christ's death on the cross. We also remember how Jesus called all Christians to "take up your cross daily and follow me." This cross was first given to us in our Baptisms when the cross was traced on our foreheads as a sign that we have died and risen with Jesus Christ.

2. The Holy Trinity

While we trace the cross with our hands, we say "In the name of the Father and the of Son and of the Holy Spirit."

God is a Trinity of three Persons. God is three in one. When Jesus sent out his Apostles at the end of the Gospel of Matthew, he told them to baptize "in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit" (Mt 18:19). We invoke the name of the Triune God when we pray.

The Origin of the Sign of the Cross

The earliest version of this practice appeared as the tracing of the cross on one's forehead much like we continue to do during the liturgy before listening to the Gospel reading. This was done during Baptisms and the Church Fathers indicate that it was a practice that has been passed down from the Apostles.


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