Countdown to Lent: Focus on the Mass - The Sign of the Cross

At the start of Mass we all stand and Father Antony makes his entrance into the sanctuary. Once there He invites us to begin “In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit” and we all join him in making the sign of the Cross.

For most of us, the sign of the cross is something that comes very naturally, almost instinctively and we can do it and say the words often without even thinking about what we are doing and why.

When we call on the name of God on the name of Jesus and of the Holy Spirit we are becoming aware of God's presence. We are gathering in His name and reminding ourselves that He is with us. In the early Church this action and these words all on their own were considered a form of prayer.

When we make this sign and speak these words we are taking ourselves back to our own baptism, where we were first claimed by God in His name and marked forever by the sign of His Cross. As Mass begins, we are taken back to that singular moment in time when we were filled with God's grace and began a new kind of life in the Church, the Body of Christ.

We call God “Father, Son, and Holy Spirit”. God gives us His name and gives us permission as His sons and daughters to call on Him. God invites us into his home, saying “Come, be with me.” We are moved out of our regular lives and into a space prepared for us by our loving Father. It is a space where He invites us to be filled with the grace we will need for the week to come, a space where he invites us to be near, to gather at his table and be fed.

But we have to get to Mass on time so we do not miss it. If we come in 5 or 10 or 15 minutes late, we miss this invitation, we miss the joy of calling on our Heavenly Father, and being present as He replies.

What things are keeping you and your family from getting to Mass on time and missing this important start to the celebration? What changes might you make, what help might you ask from God so that you can be more involved and engaged, and take in this grace-filled moment “In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit”?