Am I allowed to make the sign of the fross that the priest does?

[newcalling]

Hi!

You understand that not knowing about the Doctrine of the Church and investigating it has nothing to do with legalism or conservativism; and you know that we are free to hold certain personal practices that do not detract from the Faith, right?

IE: I use holy water to make the sign of the Cross and I carry a Crucifix with me at all times… as long as I do not demand that everyone else do as I do, how is that wrong?

Yet, once we speak about Church Doctrine, we must make sure that we follow her Teachings.

Mom was a Third Order Franciscan… but she also joined other groups/Ministries; the Beauty of the Church is that we have a plethora of choices to follow in the footsteps of Christ… all converging in the Doctrinal Teachings of the Church.

I am glad that you can find Beauty in the Church, even and in spite of the practices that you do not understand or deem important/necessary. Welcome Home!

Maran atha!

Angel

By legalism I mean things such as certain gestures or postures being for priests and/or deacons only, exactly how one should take the Eucharist (I prefer on the tongue, but others have their reasons for in the hand) and things of that nature. I know they’re in church documents, and that particularly bothers me. The ultra conservative stuff is a related, but separate issue. I also don’t see Latin as a particularly holy language. It’s beautiful, but the Romans were awful and Yeshua spoke Aramaic and probably Hebrew. Anyway, I don’t want to sidetrack this thread, and my thoughts on it all aren’t organized enough to start a separate thread on the subject. I just think it’s overly legalistic to say a lay person shouldn’t draw the sign of the cross in the air.

 

[jcrichton]

By legalism I mean things such as certain gestures or postures being for priests and/or deacons only, exactly how one should take the Eucharist (I prefer on the tongue, but others have their reasons for in the hand) and things of that nature. I know they’re in church documents, and that particularly bothers me. The ultra conservative stuff is a related, but separate issue. I also don’t see Latin as a particularly holy language. It’s beautiful, but the Romans were awful and Yeshua spoke Aramaic and probably Hebrew. Anyway, I don’t want to sidetrack this thread, and my thoughts on it all aren’t organized enough to start a separate thread on the subject. I just think it’s overly legalistic to say a lay person shouldn’t draw the sign of the cross in the air.

Hi!

I understand what you are saying; I think that because of the potential abuse that can take place there are certain requirements that only a Priest can “perform xyz,” etc.

…but I do see your point as too many times people could go on for reasons other than actual Doctrinal Teachings.

Maran atha!

Angel