Sign of the Cross With the Thumb?

[Melodeonist]

In Mass, I noticed that before reading the Bible, the Priest, and all the parishioners made the Sign of the Cross with their thumb.

How does one do this? Is it different from the normal Sign of the Cross?

 

[opus101]

Before the Gospel, the Sign of the Cross is traced on the forehead, lips and heart with the silent prayer asking God to be on our minds, lips and hearts.

 

[TheSurvivor]

Before the Gospel, the Sign of the Cross is traced on the forehead, lips and heart with the silent prayer asking God to be on our minds, lips and hearts.

I think this prayer is asking that the Gospel be ever in…

 

[St_Francis]

Oh, boy. When I returned to the Church, I had two little ones, and it was *months *before I noticed people were doing that, and I was very embarrassed to ask! (before the internet, where everyone could find everything )

Onemakes a tiny cross by putting the outmost parts of the index finger perpendicularly under the thumb, so it looks like a cross. Then use the tip of the thumb to form the cross on the forehead, over the lips, and over the heart.

And the prayer is: May the Word on God be in my mind, on my lips, and in my heart—Amen.

You can ask God to accept the motions as the spoken prayer, because people say Glory be to God while doing it and that can be confusing

 

[GoGoDiego]

We cross ourselves during the gospel on the forehead, on the lips and the breast so that we may ponder the word, proclaim the word and live the word which is Christ himself.

And during the invitatory while we pray the Divine Office, we cross our lips so that God may open our lips and proclaim his praise the whole day.

 

[Bookcat]

In Mass, I noticed that before reading the Bible, the Priest, and all the parishioners made the Sign of the Cross with their thumb.

How does one do this? Is it different from the normal Sign of the Cross?

In the early Church for the sign of the cross they did a + on the forehead-- I still use this personally in addition to the common form now…

“Be the cross our seal, made with boldness by our fingers on our brow and in every thing; over the bread we eat and the cups we drink, in our comings and in goings; before our sleep, when we lie down and when we awake; when we are travelling, and when we are at rest”. St. Cyril of Jerusalem

The large Latin Cross we do now often - developed later.

And regarding the sign of the cross per se:

“Making the sign of the cross – as we will do during the blessing – means saying a visible and public “yes” to the One who died and rose for us, to God who in the humility and weakness of His love is the Almightly, stronger than all the power and intelligence of the world.”

-Pope Benedict XVI
Angelus
September 11, 2005

He also talks about it when he was Cardinal in the Spirit of the Liturgy…as a renewal of baptism…as a shield…etc…go read that chapter

 

[asia53]

With the thumb-small cross on the forehead—"May we receive in our minds,

                    -small cross on the lips-----------announce it with our lips,

                   -small cross on the heart---------and keep in our hearts."