Catholica
Have you ever seen Catholics make a cross gesture with one of their hands? Well, it’s called making the Sign of the Cross.
How to Make the Sign of the Cross #
The goal is to make a shape of the Cross on your body. Using your right hand, touch your…
1. Forehead.
2. Chest.
3. Left shoulder.
4. Right shoulder.
If you want, you can also make this shape with your right hand…
This is called the hand of Benediction and is seen in ancient Christian art. The two upright fingers, pressed together, represent how Jesus is both fully God and fully man, united together in His one person. The bottom three fingers represent the Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.1
It’s a traditional hand gesture for blessings. Although some scholars think it may originate from someone who had nerve damage in their hand! 2
If you don’t want to do that, you can just make this gesture instead.
Signing the Cross throughout History #
As you can probably tell, you can sign the Cross in different ways, and Christians have throughout history. The oldest surviving mention goes back to Tertullian in the early 3rd century.
“At every forward step and movement, at every going in and out, when we put on our clothes and shoes, when we bathe, when we sit at table, when we light the lamps, on couch, on seat, in all the ordinary actions of daily life, we trace upon the forehead the sign”. 3
Note that the signing of the Cross was on the forehead. This goes back to Bible verses such as Ezekiel 9:7 and Revelation 7:3, 9:4, and 14:1, which describe God’s seal being on peoples’ forehead.
But Tertullian also tells us about a woman signing the Cross over her bed,4 and in 404AD, St. Jerome tells us that Christians were signing the Cross on their mouth and chest too5 —Catholics still do this for the Gospel reading at mass!
Right to Left #
By the 9th century in the East, the signing of the Cross was done over the body like this, with the hand of Benediction:
- Forehead.
- Chest.
- Right shoulder.
- Left shoulder.
This was in response to the Monophysite heresy, which taught that Jesus only had one nature. Catholics wanted to emphasise the two natures of Christ, and the hand of Benediction, signed over the body, clearly showed this.4
But notice that they signed the right shoulder first instead of the left. This seems to have been the original way of making the larger Cross sign that we’re used to today.
Left to Right #
Western Christians began to copy the East, but some started signing left to right instead.4 There was diversity for a while. Pope Innocent III in the 12th century mentions the sign of the Cross over the body, but he doesn’t say which shoulder should come first.
By the end of the 14th century, Mirror of our Lady, written by the nuns of Syon Abbey in England, has an apparition of Mary teaching the sign of the Cross left to right.4 We can only guess that left to right became common in the West from around here on out.
Today, left to right is how most Catholics sign the Cross, whereas Orthodox Christians sign right to left. Some more traditional Protestant denominations (such as Lutherans and Anglicans) also make the sign of the Cross.
Signing of the Cross meaning #
For Catholics, it signifies those who…
"… belong to him and signifies the grace of the redemption Christ won for us by his cross."
Catechism of the Catholic Church 6
It’s a reminder that we belong to Jesus Christ and how His death on the Cross means we can be forgiven and set free.
Signing the Cross is a sacramental, which is a sacred sign that helps us receive and cooperate with God’s grace.7
Another Way to Pray #
Sometimes people treat the signing of the Cross like it’s a superstitious or strange thing, but really, it’s just another way to pray. The apostle Paul teaches Christians:
“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.”
Romans 12:1.
In my opinion, we don’t just communicate with God through words, or our mind—we’re supposed to use our body too. Signing the Cross is one way to do this.
It’s a powerful prayer. St. Augustine, in City of God tells about a woman who was healed of breast cancer after someone signed the Cross over her.8
So, whichever way you do it, and whatever type of Christian you are, why not start making the sign of the Cross?
Sources: #
1 Tristan, F., Buculei, E. and Boroş, A., 2002. Primele imagini creştine: de la simbol la icoană, secolele II-VI. Meridiane.
2 Futterman, B., 2015. Analysis of the papal benediction sign: the ulnar neuropathy of St. Peter. Clinical Anatomy, 28(6), pp.696-701.
3 Tertullian, late 2nd or early 3rd century. De Corona, chapter 3.
4 Ghezzi, B., 2004. The sign of the cross: Recovering the power of the ancient prayer. Loyola Press.
5 St. Jerome, 404AD. Letter 108, paragraph 21.
6 Catholic Church (1992). Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1235. Available at: https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P58.HTM#$1WR. Accessed on: 06/04/24.
7 Catholic Church (1992). Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1670. Available at: https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P58.HTM#$1WR. Accessed on: 06/04/24.
8 St. Augustine, early 5th century. City of God, Book 22, chapter 8.