Why do we make the Sign of the Cross with our right hand?

[InspiritCarol]

But if your son wants to do it with his left, there’s no reason he can’t.

Rest assured, we won’t be uptight about it. When we realized he was doing it left-handed due to natural inclination and not just because he didn’t know better, we stopped calling it the “wrong hand”, and gently started to remind him that he use his “cold water hand”. That is, the side the cold water faucet is on.

Why not? That is the best response for a five-year old.

I agree, they need to recognize authority, but I always know the reason to some degree. In this case I had nothing on which to assert that authority, and that is an uncomfortable place to be.

well the explanation my south paw siblings got from the good sisters, who used example and persuasion, not rulers btw, was that if you are doing it left-handed while every one else does it right handed, you will poke your neighbor in the eye with your elbow.

:clapping: This makes the most practical sense and is demonstrable as well. And this is a fantastic point as well

As he grows up, he’s going to have lots of fun being ambidextrous. You might as well get him used to using his right hand.

This helps me feel like it’s an important practice to encourage for his own small benefit.

The reason for the right hand [IMO] is simply that most folks are RIGHT-HANDED

If we know and think about what we are doing; God does Not care which hand is used:thumbsup:

God Bless,
Pat

Aw now, Pat, I can’t go and tell my toddler to do something ‘cause everyone else is doing it. Can you imagine how THAT one would come back to bite me? (Of course you didn’t mean it that way, but I have to point it out).
Yes, I agree that God sees and knows our intentions, but what is the saying? The road to hell is paved with good intentions. Though in this case, it may be fine to explain to a five year old, I don’t like the expectation it set up for him. Again, I can see this one coming back to bite me in the future when he tries to tell me that he didn’t mean to (fill in the blank).

Left-handed people used to be punished for using their left hand because of the association of the devil and the left hand. Sinister is derived from the Latin word, sinistra, which means on the left or left hand. It was also believed that the devil baptized people with his left hand. Simply being left-handed wasn’t tolerable in church history, therefore using one’s left hand to make the sign of the cross would be punished severely.

My husband was able to track down similar information. I seem to recall learning as much. This is one of those I’ll keep to myself for a few years I think. I don’t want my son to accidentally think that left==bad. You know?

… it would be unwise to take it upon ourselves to start teaching our children to do things differently because they’re left handed.

This is very true. Even if I don’t get an explanation that satisfies me, I will follow tradition before presuming to alter it without authoritative reassurance that I am not doing some unknown harm. Look how many centuries we went w/o a better explanation for the Deuterocannon than: “Because a few guys a long time ago said so”. Now we have extensive archeological evidence to support that those books were part of Jesus’ scripture, but that’s only been since ~1960.
I do appreciate what you are saying regarding

and

None of these superstitions in any way support the position that the sign of the cross *must *be made with the right hand … Show me a Church document to prove it.

But, since it IS overwhelmingly done in this fashion and WAS thought at one time to be of tantamount importance, it seems to onus is on the one who would change tradition to show it’s now okay. Do you see the sense in that?

Thank you “Mrs Sally”, “Catholic90” and “(name removed by moderator)” for those important data-points. They are reassuring that I don’t need to be terribly uptight about this.

Yes, if they are “superstitions”. I haven’t seen anything confirming or denying this. I prefer to “err on the side of caution” and will try to encourage my son to use his “cold water hand” for the sign of the cross and I will feel good about doing this because it will help him integrate better in society in general.
That is just my conclusion from all of this and I am not condemning those who do use their left hand … until you poke me in the eye with your elbow, that is.

 

[joclucsylv]

Unless there’s an impediment, we’re not supposed to use our left hand. I’m left handed, and I struggled with making a proper sign of the cross up until I was around 9 or 10.

The way the priest explained it to me was that we use our right hand because Jesus sits on the right hand of God. It’s the same for left handed priests. Priests must do blessings with their right hand as well. Even when they’re doing the consecration, they do it right handed, even the left-handed priests. Those who receive communion in the hand are to use their right hand to place it in their mouth. (I receive COTT now, but before, no one told me this until the priest caught me doing it and made an example out of me in the next week’s sermon on how to receive communion properly.)

Tell your son we use our right hand because Jesus sits at the right hand of the Father. As he grows up, he’s going to have lots of fun being ambidextrous. You might as well get him used to using his right hand.

I LOVE THIS RESPONSE!!! THANK YOU!!

 

[lon]

While there are all sorts of explanations that people may think up, basically I’m guessing that it’s a convention because most people are right-handed. We shake hands with our right hands, because if people did it differently it would be awkward. When it comes to situations where finer motor-control may be needed (writing, perhaps eating, shooting, batting, etc.), then there is a good reason to do what comes naturally. But for simple things where there is no need for fine control, why flout convention? Does one buy special left-handed shirts and trousers? Or does one learn to button shirts and zip trouser flys designed for right-handed people? How much fine motor control is needed to make the Sign of the Cross? If it’s truly awkward to do it right-handed (which I’m guessing would be an unusual degree of left-handedness), then by all means do it left-handed. Otherwise, how hard is it to use the right-hand?

I think the Orthodox and Eastern Catholics make the Sign of the Cross differently from Latin Catholics - while they use the right hand, they touch the right shoulder before the left shoulder. Kind of a mirror image, so to speak. So there is no absolutely correct way to do it. But I think the old saw, “When in Rome, do as the Romans do” applies.

 

[InspiritCarol]

:winter: ~lol~
Poor kid’s gonna be *really *confused when he goes someplace that doesn’t have hot/cold running water. Maybe he’d better use both hands when we go camping.

 

[InspiritCarol]

While there are all sorts of explanations that people may think up, basically I’m guessing that it’s a convention because most people are right-handed. We shake hands with our right hands, because if people did it differently it would be awkward.

Not to muddy your point, but there is a reason we use our right hands to shake.
… And hey! I think you have hit on a possible valid explanation too.

In Latin class back in the HS days, I was taught that the handshake originated with the customary gesture of checking for hidden forearm knives. When two men would meet, they would demonstrate good intentions by displaying they were un-armed by grasping each other’s right forearm. The right hand was checked because most people are right handed. (Guess South-paws had an advantage here as they do in many sports as well). This evolved to the “Roman Salute” and to the normal “handshake” in the manner we are accustomed to. I did not keep this text book so I apologize for lack of reference.

Possibly this really is the only reason we “bless” with the right hand. Roman custom. This is pure un-actionable speculation but seems logical nonetheless.

Back to the “muddy” part. There really are reasons for many things we do which we aren’t aware of. Like I said earlier, it’s not generally a good idea to lightly change those customs w/o a very good reason.

 

[InspiritCarol]

Oops. Scratch that last bit of “speculation”.

The right hand preference is from Jewish custom.

These were interesting:
Rabbi Frand on Parshas VaYechi
learningtorah.org/DvarTorah/ViewDvarTorah.aspx?dtID=683

Why is the right hand so important in the Bible?
answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20081119162732AAc4qGv

Jewish Practice: The Blessing
chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/894583/jewish/The-Blessing.htm
Note “The right hand should be slightly more elevated than the left one.”

There’s a ton more stuff.

Now this is a great example of where pagan custom coincides with our religious custom, and here I made the classic blunder of assuming correlation where there was none whatsoever. Sorry.

Again, thanks for all the good responses.

 

[Love_Divine]

While there are all sorts of explanations that people may think up, basically I’m guessing that it’s a convention because most people are right-handed. We shake hands with our right hands, because if people did it differently it would be awkward. When it comes to situations where finer motor-control may be needed (writing, perhaps eating, shooting, batting, etc.),

Funny you mention shooting. I’m becoming a police officer, and we’re only permitted to use the firearms that are issued to us. They issue left-handed holsters, but not left-handed hand guns. (

Does one buy special left-handed shirts and trousers?

No, but I do have a left-handed ruler. (It’s numbered right-to-left)

 

[graceandglory]

Tell your son we use our right hand because Jesus sits at the right hand of the Father. As he grows up, he’s going to have lots of fun being ambidextrous. You might as well get him used to using his right hand.

Yes, but the Eastern Catholic Churches use their left hand. Why is it okay for them ,but not for the Roman Church?

 

[AJV]

Yes, but the Eastern Catholic Churches use their left hand. Why is it okay for them ,but not for the Roman Church?

They do not use their left hand, instead they cross themselves by touching the right shoulder before the left shoulder (Latins and Oriental Catholics do it the other way, left before right)

 

[5Loaves]

In many parts of the world the left hand is considered unclear because it’s used for bathroom duty when toilet paper isn’t. You never eat with that hand or pass something to someone with that hand. I wouldn’t be surprised if this is part of the cultural norm of using the right hand whenever crossing ourselves. For this reason I’ve found it odd that the teaching people receive for receiving Eucharist in the hand is normally given that one received on the left hand and pick up with the right. I guess receiving on the right would entail using the left to eat with so either way involves the left hand. I wonder if Latin Catholics in India and other cultures where the left hand is considered “dirty” ever receive in the hand.

And as AJV said, we Eastern Catholic do use our right hand when making the sign of the cross, but we cross from right to left, as did Catholics of the Latin Church in the past. When we go to the priest for a blessing we have our right hand on top of our left and say “Father, Bless” or “Master, Bless” if it’s a bishop. He signs the cross over our hands repeating his blessing.

 

[Like]

And as AJV said, we Eastern Catholic do use our right hand when making the sign of the cross, but we cross from right to left, as did Catholics of the Latin Church in the past. When we url=http://www.saintelias.com/ca/etiquette/priest.php]go to the priest for a blessing

we have our right hand on top of our left and say “Father, Bless” or “Master, Bless” if it’s a bishop. He signs the cross over our hands repeating his blessing.

Thank you for this link!

 

[thistle]

None of these superstitions in any way support the position that the sign of the cross *must *be made with the right hand or that there is anything in **actual **Church documentation requiring it.

It only supports that people were very ignorant at one time. I also encourage you to look for actual documentation that “The Church” viewed left-handedness this way. Show me a Church document to prove it.

I agree with you. We are NOT forbidden to use our left hand to make the sign of the Cross.
There is nothing in the CCC or Canon Law on this topic therefore we are free to use either. We should use the hand we are most confortable using which would normally be the right for righthanded folks and left for lefthanded folks.
Those opposed should be able to come up with official Church documentation forbidding use of left hand otherwise stop making unsubstantiated claims.

 

[graceandglory]

They do not use their left hand, instead they cross themselves by touching the right shoulder before the left shoulder (Latins and Oriental Catholics do it the other way, left before right)

OF course! Doh! :banghead:
You’re right, I said it wrong!
Thanks!