‣ The shape of the sign is a reminder of the cross of Christ. In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. ‣ Then I saw another angel come up from the East, holding the seal of the living God. ‣ But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. The sign of the cross was well known in the symbolics of various ancient nations. Galatians 2:20 ESV / 225 helpful votes. Likewise, our word for the letter B is bee, which happens to also be the name for a certain type of insect. The idea of a sign or a seal marking members of the Church as God’s own also surfaces elsewhere in the New Testament. But it just so happens that there is compelling biblical evidence that supports this practice. ‣ And, in Revelation 22:4, while an angel is leading John on a tour of the New Jerusalem that descended out of heaven, he is told that the servants of God who live in the celestial city will have God’s name on their foreheads. (It might help, before proceeding further, to recall that languages have words for the letters in their alphabets. None of the above verses offer specifics. And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Bible verses about Sign Of The Cross. R … ‣ However I should mention that the Bible does not forbid a Christian to make the sign of the cross, meaning that when someone makes the sign of the cross he does not commit a sin. Labs It’s not found in Scripture, but what the sign of the cross is is the person’s way of asking God to bless them, or more accurately, they are blessing … Its witness to a faith that is ever ancient, yet ever new is yet another way the Sign of the Cross symbolizes the heart of what we believe and practice as Catholics. Cite this page: Editor: Stephen Smith. He has appeared on Fox News, C-SPAN and the Today Show and his writing has been published in the Washington Times, Providence Journal, the National Catholic Register and on MSNBC.com and ABCNews.com. For that, we have to go deeper into the Scriptures. The sign of the cross was made simply with the fingers (the index or the thumb) on the forehead or lips or breast (as Latin-rite Catholics do at the beginning of the Gospel lesson) or with the … Y St. Francis, who attended the council, was reportedly so inspired that he embraced the tau (the Greek letter that is the counterpart to the Hebrew letter tav) as the emblem of his order, according to historian Warren Carroll. C It is the movement of the right hand from the forehead to the chest and then left and right upon the shoulders. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Publication date: Dec 17, 2020. It can also be made in the air without touching the person. He welcomes tips, suggestions, and any other feedback at bealenews at gmail dot com. image: Hill of Crosses, Lithuania/Shutterstock, Tagged as: "The sign of the cross is: a confession of faith; a renewal of baptism; a mark of discipleship; an acceptance of suffering; a defense against the devil; and a victory over self-indulgence." S Although often translated as sealed, the Greek word in these three texts is the same as the one used in Revelation 7:3, sphragizō, which one biblical concordance defines as to set a seal upon, mark with a seal, to seal for a number of purposes, including security from Satan and to prove one’s testimony to a person that he is what he professes to be. The Christian faith is distinctively Trinitarian and cross-shaped. F ‣ The book makes two more references to a “sign” on the forehead. ‣ And the virgin's name was Mary. Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Matthew 27:37; Mark 15:26; Luke 23:38; John 19:19 (Matthew 27:37) - "And set up over his head his accusation written, THIS … Obadiah 1:14 | View whole chapter | See verse in context Neither shouldest thou have stood in the cross way, to cut off those of his that did escape; neither shouldest thou have delivered up those of his that … I have been crucified with Christ. ‣ The sign of the cross was made simply with the fingers (the index or the thumb) on the forehead or lips or breast (as Latin-rite Catholics do at the beginning of the Gospel lesson) or with the whole hand over … I always smile at what one considers biblical or not biblical without the … All three verses are clearly describing the sacrament of baptism, according to the Haydock Bible Commentary. The sacramental imagery is unmistakable: it is through baptism that our membership in the Church is “sealed.” And it is in baptism that we receive the “first installment,” if you will, of graces to come through life in the Church—particularly through frequent prayer and reception of the other sacraments. Blog, A rosʹ] never means two pieces of timber placed across one another … The cross is a Trinitarian event. A native of Topsfield, Massachusetts, he graduated from Brown University in 2004 with a degree in classics and history. + The the New American Bible, Revised Edition translates Tav as X. Often these words contain they letter they are naming. How to Make the Sign of the Cross. Commentators, both Catholic and Protestant, have seen Revelation 7:3 as an allusion back to Ezekiel 9:4, where we read God’s instructions to a linen-clad man in one of the prophet’s visions: “Lord said to him: Pass through the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and mark … the foreheads of those who grieve and lament over all the abominations practiced within it.”. 5 Days. The word for its last letter is tav which is also the word for mark. The evidence is hidden in a book whose very name suggests the unveiling of concealed concealed—a book so filled with tales of beasts, a seven-headed dragon, horse-like locusts, and a two hundred million-strong army of fire-breathing steeds that you might have missed where it talks about anything like the Sign of the Cross: the Book of Revelation. Catholic Exchange is a project of Sophia Institute Press. And, even a Protestant commentator in the same century, British Methodist theologian Adam Clarke, lends it some credence. W As then-Cardinal Ratzinger once described it, the Sign of the Cross as the “summing up and re-acceptance of our baptism.”. ‣ While the Bible does not instruct us to cross ourselves, the sign of the cross is not without biblical symbolism. Sign of the Cross Is making the sign of the cross biblical? “And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. The Sign of the Cross simply affirms in gestures the core of the creed—the existence of the Trinity and the crucifixion of Jesus. His areas of interest include Eastern Christianity, Marian and Eucharistic theology, medieval history, and the saints. Topical Bible G Pray for us, for we are sure that we have a clear conscience, desiring to act honorably in all things. The original way to make the sign of the Cross was to use your thumb to trace it on your forehead. ‣ B A term applied to various manual acts, liturgical or devotional in character, which have this at least in common: that by the gesture of tracing two lines intersecting at right angles they indicate symbolically the figure of Christ's cross. ‣ In Revelation 7, John witnesses four angels at the four corners of the earth, holding back storm winds ready to wreak havoc on the earth and sea. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. He cried out in a loud voice to the four angels who were given power to damage the land and the sea, “Do not damage the land or the sea or the trees until we put the seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God.” I heard the number of those who had been marked with the seal, one hundred and forty-four thousand marked from every tribe of the Israelites (Revelation 7:2-4, New American Bible, Rev. St. Jerome’s cross-centered view of Ezekiel 9:4 has continued to be taken seriously since then. Those so marked would be saved from the destructed that was to be visited upon the sinners. Few actions so clearly distinguish a person as a Catholic in our culture as the Sign of the Cross. See here: Ezekiel 9:3-6 the New American Bible… ‣ (For example, see the Haydock Bible Commentary here and Scott Hahn’s book Signs of Life: 40 Catholic Customs and Their Biblical Roots.). All rights reserved. Audios Songs; Videos; Radios; TVs; Chaplets; HolyDivine. Catholic writer Bert Ghezzi says the sign of the cross has six meanings. crossing self, In Roman Catholicism, the sign of the cross is sacramental. Most commonly and properly the words "sign of the cross" are used of the large cross … The cross is thus a sign of both Christ himself and of the faith of Christians. In those days, Christians made the sign of the cross … Such baptismal language strengthens the connection with the Sign of the Cross, which is accompanied by the words, “in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit”—the same words with which we are baptized. Praying the Sign of the Cross traces its origins back to the very early Christians marking a cross on their foreheads. The New American Bible—recognizing that most readers don’t know what a thau is, much less what it looks like—instead says that God instructed the linen-clad man to “mark an X on the foreheads.” Either way, St. Jerome’s interpretation still carries water today in Catholic exegetical circles. 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