We celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity this weekend. The Most Holy Trinity is the central mystery of our faith.
Think about the sign of the cross and how it marks the significant moments of your life. When you were first baptized, the priest, your parents, and godparents made the sign of the cross on your forehead. In doing so, you were claimed for Christ, our Savior. You belong to God as a beloved child. A parent can look on his or her child and say, “You belong to eternal Love – the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.”
Some of my favorite moments are seeing parents teach their children how to make the sign of the cross. “Okay, touch your forehead first, now bring your right hand to the middle of your chest. Okay, now to the right shoulder, now to the left.” Teaching children how to make the sign of the cross teaches them how to pray!
In making the sign of the cross, we remind ourselves and proclaim to others, “I believe in one God, three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.” Each Person is entirely God.
By making the cross, you also proclaim, “I believe in Jesus Christ, who suffered and died for me. I believe in radical love – total, selfless love. I accept this love and I want to participate in this love.”
When you make the sign of the cross, do it slowly and with intentionality. Make the sign of the cross like you mean it. Most of all, make the sign of the cross with love and joy!
Along with baptism and after learning how to make the sign of the cross, there are many special moments when you make the sign of the cross. For example, after you received your first Holy Communion, you made the sign of the cross. In making the sign of the cross after Holy Communion, you say, “I love you, Jesus.”
When you received the sacrament of confirmation, the bishop made the sign of the cross on your forehead with sacred chrism. In confirmation, you were anointed with eternal love – the love of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
When you go to confession and say, “Father, I messed up. I ask for God’s forgiveness. I trust in God’s love. Please forgive me.” The priest raises his hand and making the sign of the cross, says, “I absolve you of your sin, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”
Furthermore, we begin every Mass with the sign of the cross, reminding us that we worship the Most Holy Trinity. At Mass, we participate in the life of the Trinity.
And finally, at your funeral, standing next to your coffin, the priest will make the sign of the cross and sprinkle your coffin with holy water. After the pall is put on the coffin, a cross is often placed on top of the coffin. When incensing the coffin, the priest often makes the sign of the cross over the top of the coffin.
The sign of the cross that marked the beginning of your life in baptism and sustained you throughout your life is finally made over your coffin as the priest commends you into the hands of almighty God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
The sign of the cross reminds you that you were created out of love, sustained by love, and destined for love – the love of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
On a practical level, make the sign of the cross often. Before your prayer, always make the sign of the cross. Make the sign of the cross before you eat, including restaurants before you eat in public.
In short, make the sign of the cross often and do it with confidence, with joy, and most of all, with great love. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
~St. Thérèse, pray for us!