I Saw the Sign

You’re watching the latest disaster-based blockbuster movie.  Just as the movie’s hero, his love interest, and their witty one-lining next-door neighbor catch their first dramatic glimpse of the giant fire-breathing, chicken-headed lizard, you notice someone in the crowd of awed spectators make the Sign of the Cross.  Were they Catholic?  Who knows?  It seems like no matter your faith or circumstances—whether you’re an NBA superstar about to take a game-tying free throw, a college student about to fake his way through a mid-term that he would’ve studied for (had he not pulled an all-nighter trying to get just a LITTLE bit further in “Call of Duty: Black Ops”), or disaster movie Character X pondering whether it’s more troublesome that the fire-breathing, chicken-headed lizard breathes fire, or that it’s a chicken-headed lizard—the Sign of the Cross is humanity’s go-to, last-ditch cry for help.  For Catholics, it’s a bit more meaningful than that.

The Sign of the Cross typically begins and ends “formal” prayer in the Catholic faith.  But many don’t know its roots, present uses, or even the particulars of the traditional ways to make the Sign.  Like so many other things in life, when we do certain actions over and over again, they become routine, and eventually begin to lose their meaning to us if we don’t take the time to remember why we do what we do.  Here’s hoping this can bring us back to the meaning of why we make the Sign of the Cross.

The general figure of the Sign of the Cross is, of course, reminiscent of the suffering of Christ on the cross of his crucifixion.  In Catholicism, we often use gestures, pictures, and symbols to remind us of greater truths of our faith.  In the case of the Sign of the Cross, it is a gesture we make to remind us of Christ’s physical sacrifice and death.  But the symbolism of the whole act of “Signing” ourselves doesn’t stop with the overall cross pattern.  The configuration of our fingers in the traditional forms lends itself to remind us of further, deeper truths.

In one form (most historically linked to Western/Latin-Rite Catholicism) the five fingers of our right hand are separated into two groups.  The thumb folds in to meet the ring finger and the pinky, forming a group of three representing the three persons of the Trinity: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.  The index and middle fingers are held together and point straight out, representing the two natures of Christ—Fully Human & Fully Divine.

In another form (more historically linked to Eastern Catholicism), the first three fingers (thumb, index finger, and middle finger) point outward from our hand, touch together, and are meant to represent the three persons of the Trinity.  The last two fingers (ring finger, and pinky) are separated from the other three by folding them down against our palm and are meant to represent the two natures of Christ.  Diving further into this tradition, the first three fingers do not merely touch their tips together, but in fact, have a further, more meaningful configuration.  First, the index finger should point away from the hand at (almost) a 90 degree angle, then the thumb should (comfortably) rest under it.  Finally, the middle finger should curve around to where the outside of the thumb touches the knuckle of the middle finger closest to the finger tip. (Go ahead and try it…I’ll wait…)  Got it?  Ok, now for the meaning.  (Remember…nothing we do in the Catholic Faith is done without meaning.)  The index finger is straight, and is meant to be like the letter “I.”  The crossing of the thumb and middle finger is meant to resemble the letter “X.”  The middle finger alone is meant to curve around to resemble the curve of the letter “S.”  The letters “IXS” are the initials of one of the titles for Christ, “Jesus Christ, Savior”…or in Greek: Iesus Cristos Soder.

So for the full Sign of the Cross, use your right hand to touch your forehead while saying, “In the name of the Father;” touch your chest while saying, “…and of the Son;” and touch your left, then right shoulders while saying, “…and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.” (“Amen” coming from the Hebrew verb “aman,” meaning “to strengthen, or to confirm.”)  Also note that Eastern Catholics (and Orthodox) touch their right shoulder, then left.  (Any insight as to why this is, is more than welcome in the comment section.)

There are also a few less frequently used forms of the Sign of the Cross, though they each have their unique importance and use.  One is the act of tracing a cross with the thumb, such as prior to the reading of the Gospel at Mass, when the congregation traces the a cross over their foreheads, lips, and heart as a prayer that the Word of God may be on our minds, lips, and hearts at all times.  There is also the Sign of the Cross made by ordained ministers (Deacon, Priest, or Bishop) to bless people or objects where (in a formal manner) they will either point a straight right hand upward (with their palm facing to the left); or point two fingers (index and middle) straight up, and fold down and group the thumb, ring finger, and pinky (again, signifying the two natures of Christ, and the three persons of the Trinity) and trace a cross shape over—or in the direction of—the person or object they intend to bless.  There is also the practice of using some blessed or holy object (such as a cross or crucifix) to trace the cross in the air as a form of blessing.  Also, in the Beneciction (from the Latin “benedictus” meaning “blessing”) of Eucharistic Adoration, the Priest will hold the Monstrance (from the Latin “monstrare” meaning “to show” –the word where we get some English words like “demonstrate”) containing the Eucharist, and use IT to make the Sign of the Cross on those gathered.

Although the Sign of the Cross is mostly portrayed in the world as being “a Catholic thing,” Catholicism is not the only faith that uses the Sign of the Cross.  Anglican, Lutheran, and Orthodox churches also widely use it.  Other faiths, such as the United Methodist Church, do not definitively require nor reject the practice, but encourage individuals to use it in their personal prayer, should the individual find it to have great personal meaning.  Other churches avoid it at altogether, in attempts to distance themselves from the Catholic Church.

So there you have it…a brief synopsis of why we use the Sign of the Cross and how to “properly” do it.  Although if you forget to “pretzel-ize” your fingers before making the Sign of the Cross, I’m sure God’s ok with that.