Serve the Lord

Why Catholics Make the Sign of the Cross

HISTORY
We find it from the Fathers of the Church as early as the 2nd century (thousands of years before any other denominations were born). In the 4th century, St Basil said that the apostles 'taught us to mark with the sign of the cross those who put their hope in the Lord.' At first the cross was traced on the forehead and later evolved to include marking the breast and each shoulder as well. It was Pope Leo IX in the mid 9th century that gave instruction on making the practice what it still is today.

WHY WE DO IT?
It is far from just a gesture or worse, a superstition. Each time we sign ourselves with the Cross (the symbol of our salvation), we are asking for God's blessing and remembering our baptismal promises. (Matthew 28:19  Go, therefore...  baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.)

CATHOLICS DID NOT INVENT SIGNS & SYMBOLS
Outward signs are important to human beings. The use of symbols and signs is innately human. This is why spouses exchange gifts on Valentine's day as a sign/symbol of their love/affection; why children give gifts on Mother's/Father's day, birthdays etc. For Catholics, the ultimate reality we encounter--the mystery of God--is intangible. And so, Catholics turn toward outward signs as a tangible means of encountering the intangible God.

In the classic movie The Wizard of Oz, Dorothy's companions each sought something that was intangible: For Scarecrow intelligence, Tin Man compassion, Lion courage. When they met the Wizard, he presented them tangible items of the intangible realities they sought: A diploma, heart-shaped clock and medal of courage, respectively. By virtue of these tangible signs, each was able to experience a more real way the intangible qualities they sought and in fact already possessed to some extent. They simply needed to gain awareness of the qualities that were already present. 

References:
A Minute in the Church by Gus Lloyd
Practice Makes Catholic by Joe Paprocki

Do Catholics Worship Mary?

Catholic Basics Series (Post #3)

Why do Catholics emphasize Mary so much?

Catholics believe that WORSHIP is due to God ALONE.

Catholics do, however, VENERATE Mary. In other words, we HONOR our Blessed Mother with great reverence and devotion because she is the MOTHER OF GOD.

Mary is the model of perfect love and obedience to Christ. God preserved Mary from sin, and she conceived our Lord by the power of the Holy Spirit, bringing Christ into our world. Catholics can’t help but honor the Blessed Virgin Mary, who is full of grace, the Mother of God and our Mother, for her “yes” to God that made the Incarnation possible. And without the Incarnation, we would not have salvation.

Mary is the most beautiful model of total submission to the will of God. Catholics do not view Mary as equal to Christ, but rather venerate Mary because of her relationship to Christ. The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains, “Mary’s role in the Church is inseparable from her union with Christ and flows directly from it.”


Something to think about:
How can one, especially Non-Catholics/Protestants, love and respect their own human mothers in this world and yet cannot love, honor, venerate or respect God's mother, the one who gave birth to our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, the Christ whom we worship?

(John 2:3-5)
"And they ran out of wine, since the wine provided for the feast had all been used, and the mother of Jesus said to him, 'They have no wine.' Jesus said, 'Woman, what do you want from me? My hour has not come yet.' His mother said to the servants, 'Do whatever he tells you.'"

Holy Mary, Mother of God, Pray for us.


Click here for Blog's Intro to Catholics Basics
http://letterstolukewarmers.blogspot.com/2014/04/basic-catholic-apologetics-101-for-nom.html
Link Resources
http://www.catholicscomehome.org