Pastor’s Corner – July 23

Pastor’s Corner – July 23

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ Jesus,

The importance of reverence during the Mass is an essential part of our faith.  We take for granted so many of our traditions that we fail to recognize the significance of disrespect to God, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit and to the Church.  Even the simplest actions of our faith can be taken for granted when we are lax in our faith life.  Let’s look at one of our sacred traditions that seem so simple yet is so rich in faith. 

The Sign of the Cross is a prayer itself and should not be rushed through to the next prayer.  The Catechism of the Catholic Church in number 2157 says the following about this prayer: “The Christian begins his day, his prayers, and his activities with the Sign of the Cross – “In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.”  The baptized person dedicates the day to the glory of God and calls on the Savior’s grace which lets him act in the Spirit as a child of the Father.  The sign of the cross strengthens us in temptations and difficulties.”

“Making the Sign of the Cross may be the most common of all actions that Catholics do. We make it when we begin and end our prayers; we make it when we enter and leave a church; we start each Mass with it; we may even make it when we hear the Holy Name of Jesus taken in vain and when we pass a Catholic church where the Blessed Sacrament is reserved in the tabernacle.

 So we know when we make the Sign of the Cross, but do you know why we make the Sign of the Cross? The answer is both simple and profound.

 In the Sign of the Cross, we profess the deepest mysteries of the Christian Faith: the Trinity—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—and the saving work of Christ on the Cross on Good Friday. The combination of the words and the action are a creed—a statement of belief. We mark ourselves as Christians through the Sign of the Cross.

 And yet, because we make the Sign of the Cross so often, we may be tempted to rush through it, to say the words without listening to them, to ignore the profound symbolism of tracing the shape of the Cross—the instrument of Christ’s death and our salvation—on our own bodies. A creed is not simply a statement of belief—it is a vow to defend that belief, even if it means following Our Lord and Savior to our own cross.” (ThoughtCo.com)

 We can reflect upon our daily lives and recall how often we see people “signing” themselves asking God for a blessing or giving thanks for what He has done for them.  In Baptism we trace the sign of the cross on the child’s forehead claiming him/her for Christ.  The Catechism says in number 1235 “The sign of the cross, on the threshold of the celebration, marks with the imprint of Christ the one who is going to belong to him and signifies the grace of the redemption Christ won for us by His cross.”  We begin our lives in Christ with the sign of the cross and we continue to ask for His blessings throughout our faith lives. 

May God’s Blessings be with all of you, “In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit! Amen.”

Fr. David