The Meaning of the Sign of the Cross
Translated from: katolisitas.org
The sign of the cross has a very profound meaning, namely 1) the oneness of God the Trinity, 2) the cross shows God's justice, which shows how cruel the consequences of our sin were, that God Himself redeemed them by dying on the cross (cf. Gal. 3:13. ); 3) the cross shows God's greatest love, namely that He gave His life for us (John 15:13) so that we could be saved and have eternal life (John 3:16); 4) the cross which is a sign of the salvation and victory of Christians, which is caused by Christ's victory over sin and death. So the sign of the cross is a biblical symbol (cf. Ezek. 9: 4, Exod. 17: 9-14, Rev. 7: 3, 9: 4 and 14: 1), and not something that contradicts Jesus' teachings. Even the Apostle Paul himself boasted in the proclamation of the cross of Christ (Gal. 6:14), so it is only natural that we as followers of Christ carry the meaning of this sign of the cross wherever we are.
Historically, it is known that the Sign of the Cross is indeed an early church tradition, which began around the 2nd century based on the testimony of the Church Fathers, especially Tertullian, who was continued by St. Cyril of Jerusalem, St. Ephrem and St. John Damascus. So even though we don't read the teaching about the sign of the cross carried out by the apostles in the Bible, that does not mean that this sign of the cross is not based on the Bible.
Because, after all, the meaning contained in the making of the sign of the cross is centered on Christ, to remind believers of the salvation that can be obtained by the merits of the crucified and risen Christ. So the sign of this cross for Christians is a sign that we must carry everywhere as a sign that reminds us of the cross of Christ which saves us. This tradition is similar to the Jewish tradition of using "tefilin", which is a kind of black box containing Bible texts, which they tie around their foreheads, as an implementation of the commandment in Deut. 6: 4-8: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart. and with all your soul and with all your strength. What I command you this day you must pay attention to, you must teach it over and over again to your children and talk about it when you sit in your house, when you are on the way, when you lie down and when you get up. Thou shalt also tie it as a sign on your hands and it shall be a symbol on your foreheads… ”This mark on the forehead is also mentioned in Ezek. 9: 4.
Sign of the Cross according to the Church Fathers
So for Christians, the tradition of making the sign of the cross has taken root for a long time, even from the Old Testament Bible, and also the New Testament, namely from the book of Revelation 7: 3; 9: 4; 14: 1. Rooted from this teaching of the Scriptures, the Church Fathers taught thus:
1) Tertullian (2nd century) taught in De cor Mil, iii: "In our journey and our movements, when we enter or leave, ... .. while lying down or sitting, whatever work we do we mark our foreheads with a sign. cross."
2) St. Cyril of Jerusalem (315-386) in Catecheses (xiii, 36) taught, “So, let us not feel ashamed to declare Jesus crucified. Let the sign of the cross be our seal, made with our fingers, on the forehead ... of our food and drink, when we enter or leave, before sleeping, when we lie down and when we wake up when we travel or when we rest. "
3) St. Ephrem of Syria (373) taught, “Mark all your activities with the sign of the life-giving cross. Do not go out of the door of your house until you have marked yourself with the sign of the cross. Do not ignore this sign, whether before eating, drinking, sleeping, at home or traveling. There is no better habit than this. Let this be a pot that protects all your deeds, and teach this to your children so that they can learn to apply this habit. "
4) St. John Damascus (676-749) taught, “The sign of the cross is given as a sign on our foreheads,…. because by this sign we believers are distinguished from those who do not believe. "
Indeed, in terms of how to make the sign of the cross there has been a development, because at first the sign of the cross was only made on the forehead, but later it was also taught to make a cross on the mouth (St Jerome, Epitaph Paulae) and on the heart (Prudentius, Cathem., Vi, 129). The sign of the cross as we know it today, as clearly taught by Pope Innocent III (1198–1216), was thus:
“The sign of the cross is made with three fingers, because the signing is done together with the invocation of the Trinity. … This is how it is done: from above to below, and from the right to the left, because Christ descended from the heavens to the earth, and from the Jews (right) He passed to the Gentiles (left). Others, however, make the sign of the cross from the left to the right, because from misery (left) we must cross over to glory (right), just as Christ crossed over from death to life, and from Hades to Paradise. [Some priests] do it this way so that they and the people will be signing themselves in the same way. You can easily verify this - picture the priest facing the people for the blessing - when we make the sign of the cross over the people, it is from left to right… "
How to make the sign of the cross
There are several ways to make the sign of the cross. What is most important here is the meaning it wants to convey, and the appreciation of the person who made the sign of the cross. So the detailed method doesn't really matter, such as whether to make it with two fingers (the index finger and middle finger, which symbolizes the two natures of Jesus, namely God and man) or three fingers (which symbolizes the Trinity), or the five fingers (symbolizes the five wounds) -the wound of Jesus on the cross). Or the direction of the cross is to the right first then left (as is done by the Eastern and Orthodox Churches) or to the left first and then to the right (as has been done by the Roman Catholic Church).
Generally the way is this:
With two or three (or five fingers) fingers of the right hand on the forehead (while saying: "In the name of the Father"), the hand then to the chest - symbolizing the heart or the stomach - points to Jesus' wound on His stomach or the womb where Jesus was conceived by Our Lady (while saying "and the Son", then the hands go to the left and right shoulders (saying "and the Holy Spirit" Amen). And the hands are closed again.
When do we make the sign of the cross?
1) At the time before and after we pray.
2) When we pass every Catholic church building, to honor the presence of the Lord Jesus in the tabernacle.
3) When entering the church (make the sign of the cross with holy water)
4) Times when you are facing fear (for example: when you hear ambulance sirens, fire cars) or when you receive news of the grief of someone who has died.
5) When we see the Cross of Christ, or at other times to honor Christ, ask Him for help,
6) When trying to cast out temptation, fear and ward off the influence of evil powers.
7) When the father, as the priest in the family blesses his children, he can mark the children with a cross on their foreheads, for example before the children go to school or before they go to sleep at night.
Hopefully we can live up to the meaning of the sign of the cross, and make the sign of the cross a part of our own lives. Every time we make the sign of the cross we remember and honor Christ, who by His love was willing to give His life on the cross to atone for our sins. May we say together with the Apostle Paul, "But 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." (Gal 6:14)
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