Mandatory sign of the cross

[andcook]

Are we required to make the sign of the cross before and after we pray?

 

[TK421]

No. It is a pious practice.

 

[Maxwell03]

Not really and the sign of the cross isn’t only used before and after prayer.

 

[andcook]

Thanks! How do I close a topic?

 

[thistle]

Thanks! How do I close a topic?

"This topic will close 14 days after the last reply.

 

[Francis]

@andcook Its a good thing to do so,we get grace, outward sign and in-word grace each time you do so.

Catholicism. The sign of the cross is a prayer, a blessing, and a sacramental. … The Christian begins his day, his prayers, and his activities with the Sign of the Cross: “In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.”

http://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p2s2c4a1.htm

PART TWO
THE CELEBRATION OF THE CHRISTIAN MYSTERY

SECTION TWO
THE SEVEN SACRAMENTS OF THE CHURCH

CHAPTER FOUR
OTHER LITURGICAL CELEBRATIONS

ARTICLE 1
SACRAMENTALS

1667 "Holy Mother Church has, moreover, instituted sacramentals. These are sacred signs which bear a resemblance to the sacraments. They signify effects, particularly of a spiritual nature, which are obtained through the intercession of the Church. By them men are disposed to receive the chief effect of the sacraments, and various occasions in life are rendered holy."173
IN BRIEF

1677 Sacramentals are sacred signs instituted by the Church. They prepare men to receive the fruit of the sacraments and sanctify different circumstances of life.

1678 Among the sacramentals blessings occupy an important place. They include both praise of God for his works and gifts, and the Church’s intercession for men that they may be able to use God’s gifts according to the spirit of the Gospel.

1679 In addition to the liturgy, Christian life is nourished by various forms of popular piety, rooted in the different cultures. While carefully clarifying them in the light of faith, the Church fosters the forms of popular piety that express an evangelical instinct and a human wisdom and that enrich Christian life.

1 Corinthians 14:40 but all things should be done decently and in order.

1 Timothy 4:4 For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected, provided it is received with thanksgiving; 5 for it is sanctified by God’s word and by prayer.

 

[Francis]

21 Things We Do When We Make the Sign of the Cross

21 Things We Do When We Make the Sign of the Cross

The Sign of the Cross is a simple gesture yet a profound expression of faith for both Catholic and Orthodox Christians. As Catholics, it’s something we do when we enter a church, after we receive Communion, before meals, and every time we pray. But what exactly are we doing when we make the Sign of the Cross? Here are 21 things:

1. Pray. We begin and end our prayers with the Sign of the Cross, perhaps not realizing that the sign is itself a prayer. If prayer, at its core, is “an uprising of the mind to God,” as St. John Damascene put it, then the Sign of the Cross assuredly qualifies. “No empty gesture, the sign of the cross is a potent prayer that engages the Holy Spirit as the divine advocate and agent of our successful Christian living,” writes Bert Ghezzi. CONTINUE READING