To love God with all
your heart, with all your understanding, with all your strength, and to love
your neighbor as yourself is worth more than all burnt offerings and
sacrifices. Mark 12:33
Reflection
Why do we make the sign of the Cross? Since we were little, Catholics have been taught one of the most basic prayers – one with no words really: the Sign of the Cross. We were taught to use the fingers of the right hand to touch the forehead, the chest, and then both shoulders (left to right), signing our whole bodies with the gesture of the Cross. One could use words or not, but you may wonder why we do this?
In today’s Gospel we have an inspiring answer. Jesus reminds us of the Greatest commandment, the Shema, to love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. As we make the Sign of the Cross, we dedicate our bodies on all four of those points: touching the forehead is to love with all our mind, the chest directs us to love with heart and soul, and our shoulders bear the strength of love, especially when it requires heavy lifting.
We do not sign ourselves for our own good, so that we feel holier. But we do so for the sake of others: i.e. our neighbor. The Sign of the Cross is a preparation of our bodies to meet the Lord in the stranger and to respond with mind, soul, and strength. It is a way of physical conditioning whereby we donate our whole selves to our neighbor.
Go ahead. Make the Sign on yourself and follow the words of Christ: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
Reflection
Why do we make the sign of the Cross? Since we were little, Catholics have been taught one of the most basic prayers – one with no words really: the Sign of the Cross. We were taught to use the fingers of the right hand to touch the forehead, the chest, and then both shoulders (left to right), signing our whole bodies with the gesture of the Cross. One could use words or not, but you may wonder why we do this?
In today’s Gospel we have an inspiring answer. Jesus reminds us of the Greatest commandment, the Shema, to love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. As we make the Sign of the Cross, we dedicate our bodies on all four of those points: touching the forehead is to love with all our mind, the chest directs us to love with heart and soul, and our shoulders bear the strength of love, especially when it requires heavy lifting.
We do not sign ourselves for our own good, so that we feel holier. But we do so for the sake of others: i.e. our neighbor. The Sign of the Cross is a preparation of our bodies to meet the Lord in the stranger and to respond with mind, soul, and strength. It is a way of physical conditioning whereby we donate our whole selves to our neighbor.
Go ahead. Make the Sign on yourself and follow the words of Christ: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
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