Can Roman Catholics do the Sign of the Cross Right to left?

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adawgj

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This might be a dumb question but I like to do the sign of the cross like this :byzsoc:

than like this :signofcross:

So is it ok to do it even though the Roman way is left to right?
 
adawgj said:
This might be a dumb question but I like to do the sign of the cross like this :byzsoc:

than like this :signofcross:

So is it ok to do it even though the Roman way is left to right?
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Why do you want to do it backwards? :signofcross:
 
Well I am a convert so I am not an expert but I believe the roman catholic does it right to left and the orthodox church does it
left to right. Is it ok? I believe they would like everyone being uniform when making the sign of the cross but that is just my opinion.

I am left handed so it would be easier for me to do it the other way.
 
I do it bottom, top, right, left…hasn’t even been noticed by others I don’t think (or much care).
 
adawgj said:
This might be a dumb question but I like to do the sign of the cross like this :byzsoc:

than like this :signofcross:

So is it ok to do it even though the Roman way is left to right?
Click to expand...
Of course it’s okay. The Byzantine Catholics do that all the time.

Just make sure you do it right. Also put your thumb, index, and middle finger together and close your pinkie and ring finger into your palm (as compared with the Roman open palm).

That said, if you’re Roman, why not do it the Roman way? The only time I do the Byzantine sign of the cross is when I’m actually at a Byzantine service.
 
adawgj said:
This might be a dumb question but I like to do the sign of the cross like this :byzsoc:

than like this :signofcross:

So is it ok to do it even though the Roman way is left to right?
Click to expand...
This is allowed only as an “in-house sobriet test” when significant quantities of unconsecrated altar wine have been inbibed. 😉 Lol.

Doing the sign of the cross (correctly) means covering oneself in prayer and dedicating whatever comes next to the Lord. Which is VERY Good!

God makes some people left-handed. <( which may be a dumb observation and not that relevant but …) Knowing this shall we concoct a little controversy about if the sign should be made by one’s STRONG hand or weak hand? I think not.

“In this sign conquer …” < famous quote about the sign. Given in Latin. In the sky. To Constantine. JUST before he had all his soldiers put the sign of the cross all over their armor. And won the battle that made him the unchallenged Roman Emperor. Then subsequently ended all official persecutions of the Church.

IMO " … you are good". In FACT - even if you beg the question “… why do you do it THAT way?” You may have an open door to share your faith - as you respectfully answer that question. :):tiphat:

:crossrc::byzsoc::heaven:
 
7_Sorrows said:
Well I am a convert so I am not an expert but I believe the roman catholic does it right to left and the orthodox church does it
left to right. Is it ok? I believe they would like everyone being uniform when making the sign of the cross but that is just my opinion.

I am left handed so it would be easier for me to do it the other way.
Click to expand...
Byzantine-rite Catholics do it all the time, so no, it’s not about being Catholic.
 
adawgj said:
This might be a dumb question but I like to do the sign of the cross like this :byzsoc:

than like this :signofcross:

So is it ok to do it even though the Roman way is left to right?
Click to expand...
I do it that way even though I am Roman Catholic. However, I am the only Roman Catholic in a house full of Byzantines. I also make sure that when I do the sign of the cross, it is nice and big, all the way down to the navel.
 
heaven forbid you should do it the wrong way… hhell fire and brimstone stuff right there
 
I know its off topic but …

don’t quote me but ive heard that if you stand in front of a mirror, say the our father three times backwards then guess who will appear behind you right away???

all I’m saying is it wont be god the father

peeeeeeeeek abooooooo!

anyway don’t think I’ll bother giving it a try:eek:
 
of all the Catholics in Communion with the Pope, only the Latin (western) Churches go left to right. The Eastern Catholics do right to left.

The Latin Church is mostly comprised of the Roman Rite, however, it also comprises the:
Ambrosian Rite in Milan
Rite of Braga in northern Portugal
Mozarabic Rite in Toledo, Spain
etc.

The Eastern Church contains many more Rites and they do right to left.

If you do right to left in a Roman Rite Church, many people will be confused, unless they are familar with out Eastern Catholic parishes.

NOTE: While Eastern and Oriential Orthodox also do right to left, I’m not talking about them. Eastern Catholics are 100% in communion with the Pope.

But I suggest, when in Rome, do as the Romans do. 😃

God Bless.
 
celtspirit said:
heaven forbid you should do it the wrong way… hhell fire and brimstone stuff right there
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Both left to right and right to left are correct and used within the Catholic Church. The West does left to right, while East does right to left.

Another way of looking at it is like this. If you consider you head representing north on a compass, in the West we Cross ourselves West to East while Catholics in the East Cross themselves East to West.

😃

God Bless.
 
Not during mass in the Latin rite. Here you use five fingers extended, up down, left right. I think you can find this in Caeremoniale Episcoporum, the book of the Latin rite liturgy, ask me and I’ll look it up exactly where.

Private devotion or at Eastern liturgies are fine for the other way.
 
Byzantine tradition is right to left, but the Oriental traditions (Coptic, Armenian, ect) are left to right. The Roman tradition used to be right to left as well, but gradually changed to left to right.

It really doesn’t matter, unless you are worried about standing out.

God bless!
 
An argument that the sign of the cross should be made from left-to-right in Roman-rite churches:

It’s not that there’s intrinsically anything better about making the sign of the cross one way or the other. But the liturgy is, among other things, about the scattered sheep being gathered into one sheepfold with one shepherd. The words and actions performed by the community show forth the unity among them and at the same time bring about that unity. The liturgy is not the time to indulge personal preferences and idiosyncracies, but to participate in a sacred action that manifests the unity of the Body of Christ.

I can’t quite come up with the quotation, but St. Bernard of Clairvaux in his Steps of Pride and Humility says something like (paraphrase) ‘The proud monk takes greater delight in fasting alone for one day than in fasting for an entire week with the rest of the community.’

The idea being that, sometimes it’s greater mortification to put the community’s practice ahead of one’s personal preferences.
 
CharlesdeFoucld said:
An argument that the sign of the cross should be made from left-to-right in Roman-rite churches:

It’s not that there’s intrinsically anything better about making the sign of the cross one way or the other. But the liturgy is, among other things, about the scattered sheep being gathered into one sheepfold with one shepherd. The words and actions performed by the community show forth the unity among them and at the same time bring about that unity. The liturgy is not the time to indulge personal preferences and idiosyncracies, but to participate in a sacred action that manifests the unity of the Body of Christ.

I can’t quite come up with the quotation, but St. Bernard of Clairvaux in his Steps of Pride and Humility says something like (paraphrase) ‘The proud monk takes greater delight in fasting alone for one day than in fasting for an entire week with the rest of the community.’

The idea being that, sometimes it’s greater mortification to put the community’s practice ahead of one’s personal preferences.
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strongly agree with this
 
The sign of the cross - whether done right to left, or left to right - is the sign of the cross. You can do it either way. How you do the sign of the cross, or even whether you do it, isn’t a matter of church law; it is a matter of piety. Which way you do it is determined by your own affinity.
 
Sorry folks, during mass, it does make a difference which way you do the sign of the cross. That is why it has been put in the liturgical legislation. It is good that there is uniformity in the liturgy, this is why we have liturgical legislation in the first place. There is a deep meaning in the latin way of doing the sign of the cross. The five extended fingers represent the five wounds of Christ, and from moving from left to right, we remember how we are moved by these wounds from condemnation to salvation.

You can find the legislation in the Ceremonial of the Bishops (Caeremoniale Episcoporum) in article 108, footnote 81. I can only find a latin or an italian version online, but this is my translation:
When [the bishop] blesses himself, he brings his right hand to himself, with all his fingers together and extended, and does the sign of the cross, from the forehead, to the chest, then from the left shoulder, to the right shoulder.
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Here it is in italian (pdf):

liturgia.it/Cerimoniale.pdf
 
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