The
symbol of Christian faith has ever been and always will be the
Cross, for it is the sign of our redemption
by our Lord Jesus Christ who came to earth to suffer for us and
was crucified upon the Cross. When we wish to show that something
is dedicated to Christ, we mark it with a Cross. The Cross is placed
on church buildings, on the Holy Gospel, on banners, on the graves
of the departed. When we join the three fingers of our right
hand together, it is as if we wanted to say: "I believe
in God, One in the Trinity; in God the Father, God the Son and
God the Holy Spirit; not in one person, but Three Persons; not
in three gods, but One God." When we bend the other two fingers
of our right hand down to the palm it is as if we were saying: "I
believe that our Saviour Jesus Christ, who is at the same time
Real God and Real man - the God-man - came down to earth for our
salvation. "As we make the sign of the Cross, we say the following
prayer:
"In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy
Spirit. Amen", with which we clearly indicate that we belong
to God and serve Him alone. God is always near us, because He is
everywhere. He always sees us, just as He sees everything. But
during prayer, we are especially close to God: we stand before
Him, speak to Him and He listens to us. Because of this, while
praying, we sign ourselves with the Cross more often, especially
before and after each prayer. We also make the Cross upon ourselves
when we enter church, approach a sacred object or kiss an icon,
and many times during church services. We should make the sign
of the Cross in the morning to obtain God's blessing on the day;
in the evening to ask for His protection during the night; at all
the important moments of our life: when in danger, in sorrow, in
joy; before all important undertakings that they may turn out well;
at mealtime to invoke God's blessing and to give Him thanks. We
must never make the sign of the Cross hurriedly and carelessly.
To those who cross themselves in a hurry, without due deliberation,
or who simply wave their hand fanning their breast, St John Chrysostom
says: "the demons rejoice in this frantic waving." On
the other hand, the Cross traced correctly, with faith and reverence,
dispels demons, calms sinful passions, attracts Divine Grace and
gives us the strength to do good. We must never be ashamed of the
sign of the Cross lest Christ be ashamed of us. We are assured
by Christians of all ages, but especially by those of the first
centuries, that we have at our command a very powerful weapon:
the sign of the Cross. Therefore, it is much to be regretted that
we do not make better use of it in our times. Never did the world
array before the children of God enemies so numerous or so insidious
as at the present time. They assail him an every side, not only
with sword and fire, but with false philosophies, with pride of
intellect, with religious indifference, with materialism, with
commodity. It is more difficult for us to combat these enemies
for a lifetime, than it was for early Christians to gain a martyr's
glory in a momentary struggle in the amphitheater. If, for the
first Christians, trained in the school of apostles and their immediate
successors, the frequent use of the sign of the Cross was so necessary,
is it not also indispensable to us? Let us then follow the pious
custom of our fathers in the Faith and make the sign of the Cross
more frequently.
