Thanks for the info. Crossing oneself is an outward prayer just like folding hands and bowing head in prayer. Blessing comes from God or in the person of Christ, the priest, who makes the sign of the cross over us or on to us [such as Ash Wednesday or Unction]. To bless ourselves is to remind us of the holy Cross. I see it as a humble gesture of asking Christ to protect us.
Young at heart!
but a bit weak in the knees.Trivia of the day: Latin (and I include Anglican) bishops tend to make three signs of the cross when giving a liturgical blessing ("… the blessing of God Almighty, the + Father, the + Son, and the + Holy Spirit…") as opposed to the single sign which priests make.
While Lutherans may not believe in receptionism as the term is commonly used, the confessional Lutheran doctrine is not far from it. The principle given in the Formula of Concord is nihil habet rationem sacramenti extra usum a Christo institutum. What this means is that, for Lutherans, the efficacy of the sacrament is limited to the “use of the sacrament,” which they define as the consecration, distribution and reception. Apart from these three things, there is no sacrament, and they condemn the Catholic belief that Christ’s presence persists:
While Lutherans do not believe in “receptionism,” the Lutheran doctrine could be meaningfully called receptionism since the presence of Christ is limited to the “use” of the sacrament, which does not extend beyond the reception of the congregation. I created a thread giving the Lutheran view on this issue so as to not derail a thread about the sign of the cross with eucharistic controversies.
I’ve seen some people bless themselves in a mocking way, and I make sure to never do that. I only bless myself when I am praying, or upon entering a Church. I make the Sign of the Cross where you touch your head, heart, left shoulder, right shoulder. I don’t know if that is what you are referring to as the traditional Western Church way, or if it is different.
Not at all. The heterodox teaching of receptionism specifically teaches that the body and blood of Christ are not on the altar as a result of the consecration.
EC,I was mainly referring to the laity rarely genuflecting in Lutheran churches, My observations are that the clergy typically genuflect at the consecration, as my pastor does but agree that if a parish reserves the Sacrament, genuflection is the proper gesture for all who can do it. Getting down on one knee is the easy part; it is harder standing back up at my age!
Except that the Latins (western) make it left first, then right.
To summarize what I said in the other thread, Lutherans do not believe in receptionism according to the usual definition, but the Lutheran confessions seem to teach that the treal presence of Christ is confined to a single Lord’s Supper and terminates with the reception of the congregation. For example, the Formula of Concord condemns the Catholic belief that the Real Presence endures when the Sacrament is carried (to the sick) in a pyx. Since the LCMS has a similar practice as Catholics do with regard to communion of the sick, I don’t know how to read this, even if I stretch the bounds of interpretation, as anything other than a denial of the real presence outside of the service. If you think ther is a different meaning of this passage, please share in the other thread.
Maybe he meant from the perspective of an observer.
Perhaps, but still, I felt like saying just in case he had it wrong all this time.
I think EC knows it is left to right. I think he simply miswrote it. But I understand your desire to correct the misstatement.