The Sign of the Cross

Most societies have a badge of their own and the Church’s badge is the Cross.  It has been used by Christians probably since the days of the Apostles themselves, and when you go into a church today you do not have to look far before you see a Cross.  The most noticeable one is the Cross on the altar, but besides that you will find it carved in different parts, or embroidered on material or stamped on the covers of hymn books and prayer books.

Jesus loves us so much that he died on the Cross to bring us to God, and so the Cross reminds us of all he has done and suffered for love of us.

When people are baptised the priest traces the sign of the Cross on their forehead to show that they now belong to Jesus.  And the priest says:

“Do not be ashamed to confess the faith of Christ crucified”. (1)

This means that those who belong to Jesus must be proud of it.  One way in which we show this is by making the sign of the Cross openly and publicly when we finish saying the Creed.  The Creed puts in a few words what we know and believe about Jesus, and we stand up when we say it in order to let everyone see that we are ready to stand up for him and the Christian Faith.

We make the sign of the Cross with our right hand.  As we say “In the Name of the Father” we touch our forehead.  When we say “and of the Son” we touch our breastbone.  Finally, as we say “and of the Holy Spirit”, we touch our left and right shoulders.