Sign of the Cross?

  • Thread starter Thread starter JacquelineGrace
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
J

JacquelineGrace

Guest
Hi everyone!

I am new to the forum and to the faith (will be going through RCIA this Sept).

My family was brought up Protestant (Baptist/Methodist) and we always say grace before meals. In our journey into the Catholic faith, a question has been raised. I know that Catholics make the Sign of the Cross after a meal. We would like to do that but is it okay for us to do so also although we are not officially Catholic yet?

Thank you so much! 🙂

JacquelineGrace
 
You bet! The sign of the cross, the rosary, and many other prayers and practices associated with the Catholic church are not reserved only for its members, but are for all Christians. The only thing you may not do is receive the Eucharist, but I’m sure you are aware of that, since you’ve already sought an RCIA course.

Welcome home, sister!
 
Fantastic! I have begun praying the rosary already and I am glad to know that it not reserved to official Catholics only also! Yes, I do know about the Eucharist.

Thank you so much! It is good to be home! 🙂
 
So this has been answered, so I’d like to ask a related question. Many people with Hispanic background kiss their hand after they make the sign of the cross, and I understand this is a sign of reverance but… Can I do it too? I think it’s awesome.

And hey! Welcome Home, that’s so AWESOME that your entire family is taking the leap! God bless!
 
Absolutely!!! Welcome to the faith! I’m 52 now and was born Catholic but spent 51 years, 39 since my confirmation, essentially ignoring God, certainly not putting him first. Then last year during a somewhat difficult time, I decided to start attending Mass. The day I did, I grabbed a bulletin on the way out and when I read it, I saw a notice about a men’s renewal weekend called Christ Renews His Parish. I decided to go on it and had the most intensely religious experience you could possibly have and have been filled with the grace of the Holy Spirit ever since. I have never felt such peace in my life since I have returned to the Lord and placed him first in my heart. If after you become fully initiated into our faith your parish offers a renewal program, I wholeheartedly encourage you to participate. It will change your life for the better.
 
And the early Protestants all tended to keep the Sign of the Cross at first (Luther certainly kept it).

In 200 AD, Tertullian wrote that “Christians wear their foreheads out” making the Sign of the Cross which, at that time, was a mark made on the forehead by one’s thumb or index finger. The Roman Catholic Church has kept this practice to this day.

Also, the popular “hot cross buns” were used during Lent and were considered “pre-blessed” because of the cross on them.

You can also make the Sign of the Cross over people and things to bless them, leaving from and arriving at home or church etc.

Alex
 
Any prayer that is OK for the laity, can be used by any person of any religion. So can any external sign that Roman Catholics use. Unfortunately, a lot of it is superstitious in nature, rather than actually being prayerful. All too often, things like kissing your hand, etc. just become something you do, without any real thought behind WHY you do it.

I know people that do this, and believe it would be bad luck not to. They have a very hard time understanding that it has nothing to do with “luck”, etc.

Just try hard not to let any prayer, sign, etc. just become a routine thing that you “do”, without actually thinking about WHY you do it.
 
Thank you all for your answers!

Alex,

Thank you for relating the historical aspect. It is sad that some Protestants have turned from this practice.

So to understand your comment better, Catholics cross themselves when the leave their house to go somewhere as a form of protection/blessing? Also, (bear with me, I am new at all this) I thought priest/bishops etc were the only ones allowed to bless with the Sign of the Cross. How does one apply this to others? Does this mean I can bless my brother before he goes to college, my dad’s car before he drives to work and food before I eat using the Sign of the Cross?

Thanks!

JacquelineGrace
 
Yes welcome home. I am a cradle Catholic as well and make the sign of the cross for various things. I have never heard that it was only reserved for meals. I’m not sure that kissing the thumb crossed with the index finger before making the sign is a strictly hispanic thing. I wonder if the association with meals might come from seeing Catholics say grace over a meal in a restaurant.

On an off topic note, I either heard someone say it or may ahve read it on this forum that the origins of the sign might have served as an early code for Catholics to identify each other during the persecutions. A secret handshake of sorts. I did some research but I remember that the best I could find was that the origins are mysterious. Lost in time. I would appreciate whatever elucidation anyone cares to offer on this. It might be more appropriate to start another thread in order to avoid hijacking this one. Apologies to the OP.
 
The_Old_Medic said:
Any prayer that is OK for the laity, can be used by any person of any religion. So can any external sign that Roman Catholics use. Unfortunately, a lot of it is superstitious in nature, rather than actually being prayerful. All too often, things like kissing your hand, etc. just become something you do, without any real thought behind WHY you do it.

I know people that do this, and believe it would be bad luck not to. They have a very hard time understanding that it has nothing to do with “luck”, etc.

Just try hard not to let any prayer, sign, etc. just become a routine thing that you “do”, without actually thinking about WHY you do it.
Click to expand...
I completely understand the implications that the Sign carries. I would not do it simply for show. I believe it serves as a very reverent form of worship and witness. Thank you for pointing this out though. Very important! 👍
 
Big_Ro said:
Yes welcome home. I am a cradle Catholic as well and make the sign of the cross for various things. I have never heard that it was only reserved for meals. I’m not sure that kissing the thumb crossed with the index finger before making the sign is a strictly hispanic thing. I wonder if the association with meals might come from seeing Catholics say grace over a meal in a restaurant.

On an off topic note, I either heard someone say it or may ahve read it on this forum that the origins of the sign might have served as an early code for Catholics to identify each other during the persecutions. A secret handshake of sorts. I did some research but I remember that the best I could find was that the origins are mysterious. Lost in time. I would appreciate whatever elucidation anyone cares to offer on this. It might be more appropriate to start another thread in order to avoid hijacking this one. Apologies to the OP.
Click to expand...
Yes, I believe that it probably where I saw it first (restaurant).

No apologies necessary. I would also appreciate any information on the topic you mentioned.
 
JacquelineGrace said:
Thank you all for your answers!

Alex,

Thank you for relating the historical aspect. It is sad that some Protestants have turned from this practice.

So to understand your comment better, Catholics cross themselves when the leave their house to go somewhere as a form of protection/blessing? Also, (bear with me, I am new at all this) I thought priest/bishops etc were the only ones allowed to bless with the Sign of the Cross. How does one apply this to others? Does this mean I can bless my brother before he goes to college, my dad’s car before he drives to work and food before I eat using the Sign of the Cross?

Thanks!

JacquelineGrace
Click to expand...
Anyone can bless anything with the Sign of the Cross. This is most powerfully and obviously shown in that anyone (even an atheist) can perform a valid baptism in an emergency, assuming that the correct intention and form is used. A person may feel that a blessing provided by a priest or religious person holds more ‘power’ than that provided by a layperson, but since the power of a blessing comes from God alone, only he knows how much power is instilled in a particular blessing, regardless of the blesser. Because of this, I look at a blessing as more of a prayer or supplication based on my intention in giving or receiving a blessing. For example, if I am having a rosary blessed and my intent is to pray the rosary more often, then the blessing is a sort of prayer for the grace to pray the rosary more often. If I am blessing a car and my intent is to keep the occupants safe, then it is a sort of prayer for their safety, and I think it ‘sticks with’ the vehicle through all its owners and occupants. Whether or not these blessings are effective in the manner they are intended depends on God’s will, just as the way our prayers are answered (or not) depends on His will.

Here is an interesting article on the history of the Sign of the Cross.
 
JacquelineGrace said:
Thank you all for your answers!

Alex,

Thank you for relating the historical aspect. It is sad that some Protestants have turned from this practice.

So to understand your comment better, Catholics cross themselves when the leave their house to go somewhere as a form of protection/blessing? Also, (bear with me, I am new at all this) I thought priest/bishops etc were the only ones allowed to bless with the Sign of the Cross. How does one apply this to others? Does this mean I can bless my brother before he goes to college, my dad’s car before he drives to work and food before I eat using the Sign of the Cross?

Thanks!

JacquelineGrace
Click to expand...
Dear Servant of Christ,

Yes indeed - we can and should bless ourselves whenever we leave or enter a home, church or anywhere. We should bless ourselves and our food, even if we are in a public place such as a restaurant, before eating or before we drink water (to honour the fact that our Lord was baptized in the waters of the Jordan and that we ourselves reap the great benefits of being baptized in water).

We can also cut a cross in a new loaf of bread (which is where the hot cross bun tradition also came from).

You can and should bless your brother with the Sign of the Cross, your home, your car and the like.

One way of doing this is by saying these words when you bless something with your hand: “This (name the person or object being blessed by you) is being blessed with the Sign of the Holy and Precious Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, In the Name of the Father + and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit + Amen.”

We can bless children etc. My parents blessed me on my wedding day as I knelt before them - they also anointed me with Holy Water and blessed me with an icon. I kissed them both on their hands and then we went to church . . .

We can and should bless our beds with our hands and with holy water if we like before we go to sleep. It is good to bless ourselves while holding our neck Cross or with a rosary Crucifix.

It is always good to ask a priest to bless our homes and other things when they are available, of course. But it is our right as baptized Christians to use the Holy Sign of the Cross to bless all in the Name of our Lord Jesus and to the Glory of God in the Most Holy Trinity, by the intercession of the Holy Virgini Mary and all the Angels and Saints.

And our blessing in this way is POWERFUL. When we were having all kinds of nasty noises in our home, including voices, it was only the Sign of the Cross that I made, while anointing the door posts with Holy Water, that put an immediate stop to all that. I’ve had occasion to do this four times now (always following a minor home renovation).

And do wear a neck Cross blessed by a priest. Cross yourself morning and night with it. It is the sign of our covenant with God and Christ and is most precious as our greatest protection.

Alex
 
Alexander_Roman said:
And our blessing in this way is POWERFUL. When we were having all kinds of nasty noises in our home, including voices, it was only the Sign of the Cross that I made, while anointing the door posts with Holy Water, that put an immediate stop to all that. I’ve had occasion to do this four times now (always following a minor home renovation).
Click to expand...
What an awesome testament to this sign! Thank you for sharing.
 
Alexander_Roman said:
Dear Servant of Christ,

Yes indeed - we can and should bless ourselves whenever we leave or enter a home, church or anywhere. We should bless ourselves and our food, even if we are in a public place such as a restaurant, before eating or before we drink water (to honour the fact that our Lord was baptized in the waters of the Jordan and that we ourselves reap the great benefits of being baptized in water).

We can also cut a cross in a new loaf of bread (which is where the hot cross bun tradition also came from).

You can and should bless your brother with the Sign of the Cross, your home, your car and the like.

One way of doing this is by saying these words when you bless something with your hand: “This (name the person or object being blessed by you) is being blessed with the Sign of the Holy and Precious Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, In the Name of the Father + and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit + Amen.”

We can bless children etc. My parents blessed me on my wedding day as I knelt before them - they also anointed me with Holy Water and blessed me with an icon. I kissed them both on their hands and then we went to church . . .

We can and should bless our beds with our hands and with holy water if we like before we go to sleep. It is good to bless ourselves while holding our neck Cross or with a rosary Crucifix.

It is always good to ask a priest to bless our homes and other things when they are available, of course. But it is our right as baptized Christians to use the Holy Sign of the Cross to bless all in the Name of our Lord Jesus and to the Glory of God in the Most Holy Trinity, by the intercession of the Holy Virgini Mary and all the Angels and Saints.

And our blessing in this way is POWERFUL. When we were having all kinds of nasty noises in our home, including voices, it was only the Sign of the Cross that I made, while anointing the door posts with Holy Water, that put an immediate stop to all that. I’ve had occasion to do this four times now (always following a minor home renovation).

And do wear a neck Cross blessed by a priest. Cross yourself morning and night with it. It is the sign of our covenant with God and Christ and is most precious as our greatest protection.

Alex
Click to expand...
Thank you Alex and k8e308! :hug1:This was a fantastic response! I understand now and will pass this on to the rest of my family.

God bless,
JacqueineGrace :signofcross:
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top