Reflection: The Sign of the Cross

Saint Ephrem, the Syrian, liked to compare our life to the fingers of a hand, both to emphasize that its length is no more than a span, and to indicate that each phase of life, like the different fingers, has its particular character, and “the fingers represent the five steps by which man advances.”

In one of Saint Ephrem's hymns, he speaks of the pearl as a symbol of the riches and beauty of faith: "I placed the pearl, my brothers, on the palm of my hand, to be able to examine it. I began to look at it from one side and from the other: it looked the same from all sides. Thus is the search for the Son inscrutable, because it is all light. In its clarity, I saw the Clear One who does not grow opaque; and in His purity, the great symbol of the Body of Our Lord, which is pure. In His indivisibility, I saw the truth which is indivisible."

The pearl of great price is a symbol of our faith! In the spiritual life and in our life of prayer, we are searching for God and God is always searching for us!  God is a Divine mystery.  As we search for Him, we can never fully find Him. The closer we come to God, the more we seek Him, the more we desire to know Him. Sometimes, God gives us glimpses of Heaven.  When we get to Heaven, we will know Him fully and rest in His Divine Presence.  May we keep seeking the pearl of great price!

With the Sign of the Cross, we send a visible sign to the world, a sign of our faith, and we follow the advice of Saint Ephrem of Syria (died A.D. 373):

"Mark all your actions with the sign of the life giving Cross. Do not go out from the door of your house till you have signed yourself with the Cross. Do not neglect that sign whether in eating or drinking or going to sleep, or in the home or going on a journey. There is no habit to be compared with it. Let it be a protecting wall round all your conduct, and teach it to your children that they may earnestly learn the custom."

The Sign of the Cross
In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Signum Crucis
In Nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti. Amen.

I recall a time when there were some workers at my home. When the first one, Robert, came in the door, he said in a bellowing voice, "Where's the holy water?" I have a holy water font at my front door and it apparently had run dry. I came to the door with holy water in hand and filled it. Robert smiled, gave me a thumbs up, placed his hand in the holy water and said, "In Nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti. Amen." Then, he told me he loves the Latin Mass. He asked me if I knew about True Devotion to Mary. I said yes and I asked him he was consecrated to Jesus through Mary and he said yes. I told him I am too.

How awesome is our God! Robert went about his work. I had to leave my home for a little while and when I returned, Robert was standing outside, waiting for me. He told me how he had been very involved with the Consecration in his parish but how he felt recently that he was slipping away. When he walked into my home and saw the holy water font and the images of Jesus and Mary, he knew they were speaking to him, calling him back.

Isn't God so good! The Lord showed me through this encounter with Robert how He is always seeking us. God also showed me that when your life is consecrated to Jesus through Mary, they will not let you go!

Lord, grant that we may lovingly accept Your Will, and place ourselves each day in Your merciful Hands. Mary, Our Mother, pray for us, “now and at the hour of our death.” Keep us ever close to Jesus, your Beloved Son, the Lord and Giver of life. Amen.