it is important to find moments throughout the day to open your heart to God, even with simple and brief prayers.”
— Pope Francis
Two
Catholic Prayers
1. How to Pray the Sign of the Cross
There are three common ways of making the Sign of the Cross. The most prevalent one in personal devotion is known as the large cross. We begin by touching the forehead with the tip of the right hand. Then we proceed to the middle of the chest and finally to both shoulders, first the left and then the right. While making the Sign of the Cross we say,
In the name of the Father,
and of the Son,
and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The second form is called the small cross. This is the most ancient form of the gesture. Here the thumb is used to trace a cross on the forehead. Today, this form is used in both Baptism and Confirmation. In Baptism, the minister, parents, and godparents all trace the Sign of the Cross on the child. In Confirmation, the bishop or priest traces the cross with the oil of chrism on the forehead of the recipient.
The third form is used in extending a blessing. In this formula, the priest or minister traces the Sign of the Cross in the air and prays over the person or object that is being blessed.
In current practice in the Western Church, the right hand is slightly cupped as the Sign of the Cross is made — though there are variations. In the fifth century, the Church was plagued by a heresy that claimed Christ had only one nature. Partly in reaction to this heresy, people began to make the large cross by using two fingers. This was a sign of their belief in the two natures of Christ. Sometime later, in the East, people began to use the thumb, index finger, and middle finger, pressed together at the fingertips, to make the hand movement. Those three fingers together symbolized the Trinity and Unity of God, while the two fingers folded against the palm of the hand symbolized the two natures of Jesus Christ, both divine and human. This practice is still prevalent in the Eastern Churches.
“Holy God, Holy Strong One, Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us.”
— Common Invocation of the Eastern Churches
You may on occasion see someone kiss his or her fingers after completing the Sign of the Cross. This is common in Hispanic cultures. If you look closely, you’ll notice that person is making a second Sign of the Cross by placing the thumb across the index finger. The kiss that ends the gesture is a sign of devotion to the cross.
The cross has been the symbol of Christians from the first centuries. As St. Paul says in his letter to the Galatians: “May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world” (6:14, NABRE). Making the Sign of the Cross proclaimed belief in the faith.
In the Book of Revelation, the sacred author states that the faithful will be recognized by the “seal of God upon their foreheads” (9:4). Some commentators have identified this with the Sign of the Cross. In earlier ages, this scriptural connection was more explicit, as the gesture was called the “sign of Christ” and the “seal of the living God.”
A Gesture That Helps Us
Sometimes, baseball players make the Sign of the Cross before stepping up to bat. Is this superstition, habit, devotion, or a silent prayer? Depending on the attitude of the person, it can be any of these.
The Sign of the Cross can remind us of who we are. Christ has redeemed us through the cross. His sacrifice has given us new life. That fact influences our approach to all aspects of life, from waking up to playing sports. So, to make a Sign of the Cross before beginning our prayer, work, or any aspect of our daily activity gives us perspective. It can draw our thoughts to center on the person we have become in Christ and the relationship that we have with God.
Spiritual writers speak of the Sign of the Cross as a source of strength in times of temptation and difficulties. This is not to be taken in a superstitious way. Rather, the act is a silent prayer by which we place ourselves under the protection of the triumphant cross of Christ.
Many people bracket their prayers with the Sign of the Cross. We begin to pray by this gesture that acknowledges that we belong to Christ and that we come into God’s presence through the redemptive grace of the cross. The same sign ends our prayers as we put on the shield of faith to go forth to live the Christian life in the world.
The Sign of the Cross
“Bless yourself with the Sign of the Cross, to chase away the fiend with all his devils. For, as Chrysostom says, whenever the devil sees the sign of the holy cross, he dreads it as the staff with which he is beaten. And in this blessing you begin with your hand at the head downward, and then to the left side and believe that our Lord Jesus Christ came down from the head, that is from the Father into earth by His holy incarnation, and from earth into the left side, that is hell, by His bitter Passion, and from thence into His Father’s right side by His glorious Ascension.”
— Twelfth-century instructions to Bridgettine Nuns of Sion
“In all our travels, in our coming and going out, in putting on our clothes and our shoes, at table, in going to rest, whatever employment occupies us, we mark our forehead with the Sign of the Cross.”
— Tertullian
“My son, mark all your actions with the sign of the life-giving cross. Do not go out from the door of your house till you have signed yourself with the cross. Do not neglect that sign whether in eating or drinking or going to sleep, or in the home or going on a journey. There is no habit to be compared with it. Let it be a protecting wall round all your conduct, and teach it to your children that they may earnestly learn the custom.”
— St. Ephrem of Syria
“Blessed is our God at all times, now and always and forever. Amen.”
— Byzantine invocation used when making the Sign of the Cross
2. How to Pray the Basic Prayers: Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be
Memorized formal prayers can play an important part in your spiritual life. Three prayers especially have been held in high esteem through Christian history, and so they merit our special attention as we begin to pray. We must remember that prayer is a “raising of the mind and heart to God.” Specific words, therefore, have a secondary place. The simple pronunciation of the name Jesus, when said with meaning and devotion, can be more prayerful than the recitation of a book of prayers, if they are said with lack of recollection and intention.
Still, forms can be quite useful. When the heart or mind desires to call out to God, whether in joy or in sorrow, in petition or in difficulty, we’ll often find it helpful to join our thoughts and affections to words. Here, memorized prayers, especially the three we are considering, can come in handy.
Moreover, repeating these prayers does not diminish their value. No one ever tires of hearing a loved one say, “I love you.” Any prayer said with devotion
