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Views from the Choir Loft

The Centrality of the Sign of the Cross

Fr. David Friel · May 27, 2018

BOUT fifteen years ago (which, for someone my age, is quite some time ago), a priest pointed out to me the inescapability of the Sign of the Cross in the form of Mass we now call the Extraordinary Form. The Sign of the Cross, of course, is not absent from any of the Church’s liturgies, but the prominence of this gesture in the Extraordinary Form often catches the attention of people who participate in such a Mass without much familiarity with it. Similarly, by comparison to the current Book of Blessings, the Sign of the Cross is much more omnipresent in the older Roman Ritual.

I’ve written elsewhere about the centrality of the Communion of Saints in the Extraordinary Form, and I think something parallel can be said for the Sign of the Cross.

From signing oneself at the Misereatur to the incensing of the gifts during the offertory to the pouring of water and wine into the chalice over the cross on its base, the Sign of the Cross is one of the most notable features of the ceremonial ritual of the Extraordinary Form.

Consider what St. Francis de Sales has to say about the manifold applications of this most basic Catholic prayer:

The Sign of the Cross . . . [is] a plea for God’s help. St. Jerome, writing to his spiritual daughter, said, “With every work, with all of your comings and goings, may your hand make the Sign of the Cross.”

St. Ephraim said, “Whether you sleep or wake, travel or work, eat or drink, sail on the sea or cross a river, cover yourself with this breastplate, clothe and encircle your limbs with the saving sign, and evils will not meet you.”

And Tertullian: “At every change of place and movement, every going out and coming in, when dressing, when putting on shoes, at the bath, at the table, when carrying a lamp, upon entering a room, and in every action that life requires, we touch our forehead with the Sign of the Cross.”

“Make this sign,” St. Cyril said, “eating, drinking, sitting, standing, going outside, walking, in sum: in all of your affairs.” And, elsewhere, “Have therefore no shame of confessing the crucifix, but with confidence let us impress the Sign of the Cross with our fingers upon our forehead, and may the Sign of the Cross be made in all things, eating, drinking, coming in, going out, before sleep, sitting, standing, doing, and remaining idle. For it is a great defense, which for the sake of the poor is given away freely, and for the sake of the weak is made without difficulty, this grace being from God, as the sign of the faithful and to bring fear to the devils.”

St. John Chrysostom: “The Cross shines everywhere, in places inhabited and uninhabited.”

St. Ambrose: “All of our works should be done with the Sign of the Cross.”

. . . Who does not know that prayer is the general and universal tool of Christians, proper to all of our affairs and works, for every encounter and all of the actions of our life? The Sign of the Cross, then, is nothing other than a brief and lively exterior prayer by which God is invoked, and, as a result, it is proper for all of our doings and plans. 1

HE NUMEROUS Signs of the Cross in the Extraordinary Form do not strike me as examples of the “useless repetitions” (repetitiones inutiles) which Sacrosanctum Concilium sought to avoid (SC, no. 34). The ubiquity of this prayerful gesture seems, rather, to be an utterly simple method of praising God and a beneficial means of instructing the faithful. It teaches us how to conform every thought, word, and deed to Christ.

May the Cross, the great Sign of our salvation, become an ever more central feature of our Catholic life and prayer!




NOTES FROM THIS ARTICLE:

1   St. Francis de Sales, The Sign of the Cross: The Fifteen Most Powerful Words in the English Language, ed. and trans. Christopher O. Blum (Manchester, NH: Sophia Institute Press, 2013), 17–19.

Opinions by blog authors do not necessarily represent the views of Corpus Christi Watershed.

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Extraordinary Form 1962 Missal, Traditional Latin Mass Last Updated: January 1, 2020

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About Fr. David Friel

Ordained in 2011, Father Friel is a priest of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and serves as Director of Liturgy at Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary. —(Read full biography).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    Luis Martínez Must Go!
    Sevilla Cathedral (entry dated 13 December 1564): The chapter orders Luis Martínez, a cathedral chaplain, to stay away from the choirbook-stand when the rest of the singers gather around it to sing polyphony—the reason being that “he throws the others out of tune.” [Excerpt from “The Life of Father Francisco Guerrero.”]
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Urgent! • We Desperately Need Funds!
    A few days ago, the president of Corpus Christi Watershed posted this urgent appeal for funds. Please help us make sure we’re never forced to place our content behind a paywall. We feel it’s crucial that 100% of our content remains free to everyone. We’re a tiny 501(c)3 public charity, entirely dependent upon the generosity of small donors. We have no endowment and no major donors. We run no advertisements and have no savings. We beg you to consider donating $4.00 per month. Thank you!
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Booklet of Eucharistic Hymns” (16 pages)
    I was asked to create a booklet for my parish to use during our CORPUS CHRISTI PROCESSION on 22 June 2025. Would you be willing to look over the DRAFT BOOKLET (16 pages) I came up with? I tried to include a variety of hymns: some have a refrain; some are in major, others in minor; some are metered, others are plainsong; some are in Spanish, some are in Latin, but most are in English. Normally, we’d use the Brébeuf Hymnal—but we can’t risk having our congregation carry those heavy books all over the city to various churches.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    Pope Pius XII Hymnal?
    Have you ever heard of the Pope Pius XII Hymnal? It’s a real book, published in the United States in 1959. Here’s a sample page so you can verify with your own eyes it existed.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    “Hybrid” Chant Notation?
    Over the years, many have tried to ‘simplify’ plainsong notation. The O’Fallon Propers attempted to simplify the notation—but ended up making matters worse. Dr. Karl Weinmann tried to do the same in the time of Pope Saint Pius X by replacing each porrectus. You can examine a specimen from his edition and see whether you agree he complicated matters. In particular, look at what he did with éxsules fílii Hévae.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    Antiphons Don’t Match?
    A reader wants to know why the Entrance and Communion antiphons in certain publications deviate from what’s prescribed by the GRADUALE ROMANUM published after Vatican II. Click here to read our answer. The short answer is: the Adalbert Propers were never intended to be sung. They were intended for private Masses only (or Masses without music). The “Graduale Parvum,” published by the John Henry Newman Institute of Liturgical Music in 2023, mostly uses the Adalbert Propers—but sometimes uses the GRADUALE text: e.g. Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul (29 June).
    —Corpus Christi Watershed

Random Quote

“Although the Mass contains much instruction for the faithful, it has nevertheless not seemed expedient to the fathers that it be celebrated everywhere in the vernacular. The holy synod commands pastors and everyone who has the care of souls to explain frequently during the celebration of the Masses, either themselves or through others, some of the things that are read in the Mass, and among other things to expound some mystery of this most Holy Sacrifice, especially on Sundays and feastdays.”

— ‘Council of Trent, XII:8 (1562)’

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