Mass custom

[MGP1953]

Hello,
I would like to know the origin and meaning of a custom performed during the Mass.
What is the meaning of making three (3) crosses just prior to reading the gospel, one on the forehead, one on the lips and one over the heart?
Where did this custom originate?

 

[Immacolata]

I’m not sure where the custom originated, but I’ve read that it symbolizes understanding (forehead) the Gospel, speaking (lips) the Gospel, and loving (heart) the Gospel. Some accompany it with a prayer: “May the Lord be on my mind, on my lips and in my heart.”

 

[Actaeon]

I’m not sure where the custom originated, but I’ve read that it symbolizes understanding (forehead) the Gospel, speaking (lips) the Gospel, and loving (heart) the Gospel. Some accompany it with a prayer: “May the Lord be on my mind, on my lips and in my heart.”

I can’t answer exactly when it started, but according to this article, the practice began as the congregation mimicking the actions of the minister at that point of the mass… However, one should note that at least the current iteration of the GIRM (if not previous versions, I don’t know) indicate that the congregation is SUPPOSED to mimick the minister on this point. I believe it is section 134-135.

 

[mikelionheart]

in the 200s Tertullian said “We Christians wear out our foreheads with the sign of the cross”.

 

[ilySHJ]

I was taught to say:

“May I keep the Word of God in my thoughts +,
on my lips +,
and in my heart +.”

And the meaning behind it was along the lines of … Christ died on the cross, so I’m making the sign of the cross for each of the following intentions …
that God’s Word will be everpresent to rule my thoughts, always on my mind,
on my lips that I may speak the Gospel to others,
in my heart that I may love God’s Word.

as for its origin, I’m not sure. It doesn’t seem to be mimicking the priest as he’s tracing a cross on the Gospel. There are other times during Mass when we all make the Sign of the Cross together.

 

[japhy]

Here’s my answer from a similar question back in August:
Tracing the Sign of the Cross
As we say [Glory to you, O Lord], we trace three small crosses on our bodies: one on our forehead, one on our lips, and one over our heart. Associated with this gesture is a silent prayer which, although not written in the Missal, has been handed on for centuries:

May the word of the Lord
be in my mind, . . (Phil. 4:7; Heb. 10:16)
on my lips, . … . (Deut. 30:14; Rom. 10:8-10)
and in my heart. . (Ps. 119:11; Ezek. 3:10; Luke 2:19)One variant of that silent prayer is: “May the Gospel guard my mind, bless my lips, and stay in my heart.” The idea is the same. The Douay Catechism explains the significance of this gesture this way: They sign themselves on their foreheads, to signify they are not, nor will be ashamed to profess Christ crucified: on their mouths to signify they will be ready with their mouths, to confess unto salvation: and on their breast to signify that with their hearts they believe unto justice. (p. 128)
This prayer reminds us of how attentive we must be to the Gospel.

Mind. We cannot let it go in one ear and out the other, it must remain in our minds. We cannot simply know of the Gospel, we must know the Gospel. It is not enough to know about Jesus Christ, we must know Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Redeemer of all men. If God’s Word is in our minds, it will direct our actions and give us true peace of mind. Remember that Christ tells us that the greatest commandment is to love God with, among other things, all our mind. (cf. Luke 10:27)

Lips. In the letter of St. James, we are told about how the tongue is a truly vicious organ: The tongue is a fire. The tongue is an unrighteous world among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the cycle of nature, and set on fire by hell. … With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brethren, this ought not to be so. (Jas. 3:6-10)
We must guard our language carefully so as never to speak contrary to the Gospel. This means more than just avoiding blasphemy or denying Christ, this means making sure we are not false witnesses to Christ by the words we use. St. Paul exhorts the Ephesians, “Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for edifying, as fits the occasion, that it may impart grace to those who hear.” (Eph. 4:29) And to the Colossians he wrote that they should put away “anger, wrath, malice, slander, and foul talk” from their mouths. (Col. 3:8) Jesus Christ, in His Sermon on the Mount, preached that “whoever insults his brother shall be liable” to judgment. (Matt. 5:22)

** Heart.** A well-known psalm pleads with us not to harden our hearts when we hear the voice of the Lord. (cf. Ps. 95:8) Jesus, in His parable of the sower and the seed, refers to the seed (“the word of the kingdom”) as being sown in the hearts of those who hear it. (cf. Matt. 13:19) He warns us that it is not what goes into a man that defiles him, but what comes out of his heart. (cf. Mark 7:18-22) We also read that the Blessed Virgin Mary, in the midst of all the commotion surrounding the birth of Jesus, “kept all these things, pondering them in her heart.” (Luke 2:19) The words for “kept” and “pondering” could also be translated as “treasured” and “encountered,” and this is what we are to do with the word of God: treasure it in our hearts, not to think of it fondly every now and then, but to truly encounter it.

From Praying the Mass: The Prayers of the People, pp. 64-65
​

 

[John_Lilburne]

The General Instruction of the Roman Missal (GIRM) has changed over the years. In the 1969, 1970, 1972 and 1975 editions it had just the priest doing this:
“95. … making the sign of the cross with his thumb on the book and on his forehead, mouth and breast.” (Documents on the Liturgy 1963-1979, Liturgical Press, Minnesota, 1982, ISBN 0-8146-1281-4, pages 465 and 490).

The Ceremonial of Bishops, decreed on 14 September 1984, had a different instruction:

“Reverence toward the gospel
74. While the gospel reading is being proclaimed at Mass, at a celebration of the word, and at a prolonged vigil, all stand and, as a rule, face the reader. …
At the ambo the deacon stands facing the people and, with hands joined, says the greeting; then with his right thumb he makes the sign of the cross, first on the book at the beginning of the gospel passage that he is about to read, then on his forehead, lips and breast saying, A reading from the holy gospel. The bishop signs himself in the same way on forehead, lips, and breast, and all present do the same.”
(Ceremonial of Bishops, Liturgical Press, 1989, ISBN 0-8146-1818-9, pages 37-38.)

Since 2002 the GIRM also has everyone making the three crosses:
“134. … Then he says, A reading from the holy Gospel, making the Sign of the Cross with his thumb on the book and on his forehead, mouth, and breast, which everyone else does as well.”
(Roman Missal, English translation according to the third typical edition, approved for use in the dioceses of Australia, England and Wales, and Scotland, published by Catholic Truth Society, in 2010, ISBN 9781860827303, page 64.)