Sanctifying every moment and praying without ceasing
“‘Hear O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love ADONAI your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These words, which I am commanding you today, are to be on your heart. You are to teach them diligently to your children, and speak of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down and when you rise up. Bind them as a sign on your hand, they are to be as frontlets between your eyes, and write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.“
Deuteronomy 6: 4-9
“Rejoice always, pray constantly, in everything give thanks; for this is God‘s will for you in Messiah Yeshua.“
1 Thessalonians 5: 18
“As thou takest thy seat at table, pray. As thou liftest the loaf, offer thanks to the Giver. When thou sustainest thy bodily weakness with wine, remember Him Who supplies thee with this gift, to make thy heart glad and to comfort thy infirmity. Has thy need for taking food passed away? Let not the thought of thy Benefactor pass away too. As thou art putting on thy tunic, thank the Giver of it. As thou wrappest thy cloak about thee, feel yet greater love to God, Who alike in summer and in winter has given us coverings convenient for us, at once to preserve our life, and to cover what is unseemly. Is the day done? Give thanks to Him Who has given us the sun for our daily work, and has provided for us a fire to light up the night, and to serve the rest of the needs of life. Let night give the other occasion of prayer. When thou lookest up to heaven and gazest at the beauty of the stars, pray to the Lord of the visible world; pray to God the Arch-artificer of the universe, Who in wisdom hath made them all. When thou seest all nature sunk in sleep, then again worship Him Who gives us even against our wills release from the continuous strain of toil, and by a short refreshment restores us once again to the vigour of our strength. Let not night herself be all, as it were, the special and peculiar property of sleep. Let not half thy life be useless through the senselessness of slumber. Divide the time of night between sleep and prayer. Nay, let thy slumbers be themselves experiences in piety; for it is only natural that our sleeping dreams should be for the most part echoes of the anxieties of the day. As have been our conduct and pursuits, so will inevitably be our dreams. Thus wilt thou pray without ceasing; if thou prayest not only in words, but unitest thyself to God through all the course of life and so thy life be made one ceaseless and uninterrupted prayer.”
Saint Basil the Great (330-379)
Saint Dominic de Guzmán and the sign of the cross
“‘I… I‘ve often noticed how Father Dominic makes the Sign of the Cross‘, (Brother Philip) said shyly. ‘In fact, it‘s that which first attracted me to him.‘ At the young novice‘s words, the members of the little group looked at one another. How true! Father Dominic did make the Sign of the Cross in a manner not usual to other people…
Mary Fabyan Wyndeatt: Saint Dominic. Preacher of the Rosary and Founder of the Dominican Order, TAN Books 2013, e-book edition, p. 132-134
‘He seems to be… well, seeing something as he makes it‘, observed Brother Sixtus after a moment. ‘And thinking, too.‘
‘Yes. And have you noticed how many times a day he makes it?‘
‘Oh, it must be dozens of times!‘
‘Yes, and as carefully and lovingly each time.‘ For a moment no one spoke. Then Brother Tancred turned thoughtfully to his companions. ‘Suppose that in the future we try to make the Sign of the Cross with real devotion‘, he suggested. ‘You know, it could mean the meriting of many new graces which the Lord has been wanting to give us for a long time.‘ ‘Yes!‘ cried Brother Philip. ‘Let‘s try!‘
So it was agreed. And as the days passed, the wonder caused by Dominic‘s miracle of raising the dead boy to life was no greater than that aroused by the fresh insight which his followers were receiving into the extraordinary power for good in a simple prayer which they had known since childhood but had never really appreciated until now – the Sign of the Cross.
‘When we go out to preach, we must tell everyone about it‘, they decided. ‘So few people ever take the trouble to offer it properly.‘
‘Yes, and what a pity! For the Sign of the Cross is very easy to make and to say – even for the sick and old people.‘
‘That‘s right. And it‘s not too hard for children, either – even very small children.‘“
I read this passage some weeks ago in a book on the life of Saint Dominic de Guzmán written for children and teenagers. It stuck with me: the simplicity and the power of the sign of the cross, and how easily it can be integrated into our lives.
And while studying Jacob de Voragine‘s article on Saint George of Lydda in his Golden Legend, I noticed how Saint George (and many other saints, of course) “conquered“ evil meant for harming them with the sign of the cross:
“Dacian, now convinced that the infliction of pain was of no avail, summoned a certain magician and said to him: ‘It must be by their magical arts that the Christians make light of our tortures, and they hold sacrifice to our gods to be worthless.‘ The magician replied: ‘If I cannot overcome his spells, let my head be forfeit.‘ Thereupon, relying on his magic and invoking the names of his gods, he mixed poison into some wine and gave it to blessed George to drink; but the saint made the sign of the cross over the wine, drank it, and suffered no harm. The magician then put a stronger dose of poison into the wine, but the saint, again making the sign of the cross over the cup, drank with no ill effect. At this the magician prostrated himself at George‘s feet, begged his pardon with loud lamentation, and asked that he be made a Christian: for this he was beheaded in due time.“
Jacobus de Voragine: The Golden Legend. Readings on the Saints, Princeton University Press 1993, p. 240
“Then the seventy returned with joy, saying, ‘Master, even the demons submit to us in Your name!‘ And Yeshua said to them, ‘I was watching satan fall like lightning from heaven. Behold, I have given you authority to trample upon serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names have been written in the heavens.‘ In that very hour, He was overjoyed in the Ruach ha-Kodesh and said, ‘I praise You, Father, Master of the universe, that You have hidden these things from the wise and discerning and revealed them to infants. Yes, Father, for this way was pleasing to You.“
Luke 10: 17-21
Simple and short prayers are key for sanctifying our daily lives. I decided to share with you a couple of quotes by the Fathers from the first few centuries of the Church concerning the power of the sign of the cross prayer. When reading their descriptions of the practice and the allusions contained therein, we will find that to them it was the implementation of the commandment of God in the book of Deuteronomy quoted above, and that it was seen as a practice of apostolic origin.
The sign of the cross is made over the bread and the chalice of the Most Holy Eucharist, and it is made over us at Holy Baptism, Holy Confirmation and at every Holy Mass. We open and close all our prayers with it, and indeed we can thus open and close whatever we do day in and day out, from morning to nighttime. There is nothing that we cannot sanctify by this simple and short prayer.
Making the sign of the cross on or over our bodies is often accompanied by the brief words in nomine Patri, et Filii, et Spiritui Sancti (in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit), but not necessarily. It can be done with Holy Water, but again not necessarily.
This prayer and blessing is so unique because it makes us bind and offer the moment we are in to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, while engaging our whole self with body, mind and soul, as it is impressed upon our bodies by our right hand, and it is a visible sacred sign chasing demons away.
In antiquity they used to make the sign of the cross by simply drawing a small cross with their right thumb on their forehead. We know this practice from the three little crosses (on forehead, lips, and heart) at Holy Mass before the Gospel Reading. It‘s a good alternative way to make the sign of the cross for any time and place when we feel the need for it during the various moments of our daily lives.
The Church Fathers about the power of the sign of the cross
“At every forward step and movement, at every going in and out, when we put on our our clothes and shoes, when we bathe, when we sit at table, when we light the lamps, on couch, on seat, in all the ordinary actions of daily life, we trace upon the forehead the sign.“
Tertullian (160-240)
“When tempted, always reverently seal your forehead with the sign of the cross. For this sign of the Passion is a symbol openly combatting the devil if you make it in faith, not in order that you may be seen by others, but consciously putting it forth like a shield.“
Saint Hippolytus of Rome (170-236)
“The devil is afraid of us when we pray and make sacrifices. He is also afraid when we are humble and good. He is especially afraid when we love Jesus very much. He runs away when we make the sign of the cross.“
Saint Anthony the Great (251-356)
“By the signing of the holy and life-giving cross, devils and various scourges are driven away. For it is without price and without cost and praises him who can say it.“
Saint Athanasius of Alexandria (296-373)
“But we by the mention of Christ crucified put all demons to flight, whom you fear as if they were gods. Where the sign of the cross is, magic is weak and witchcraft has no strength.“
“With the sign of the living cross, seal all thy doings, my son. Go not forth from the door of thy house till thou hast signed the cross. Whether in eating or in drinking, whether in sleeping or in waking, whether in thy house or on the road, or again in the season of leisure, neglect not this sign; for there is no guardian like it. It shall be unto thee as a wall, in the forefront of all thy doings. And teach this to thy children, that heedfully they be conformed to it.“
Saint Ephrem the Syrian (306-373)
“Let us not then be ashamed to confess the Crucified. Be the Cross our seal made with boldness by our fingers on our brow, and on everything; over the bread we eat, and the cups we drink; in our comings in, and goings out; before our sleep, when we lie down and when we rise up; when we are in the way, and when we are still. Great is that preservative; it is without price, for the sake of the poor; without toil, for the sick; since also its grace is from God. It is the Sign of the faithful, and the dread of devils: for He triumphed over them in it, having made a shew of them openly; for when they see the Cross they are reminded of the Crucified; they are afraid of Him, who bruised the heads of the dragon. Despise not the Seal, because of the freeness of the gift; out for this the rather honour thy Benefactor.“
Saint Cyril of Jerusalem (315-386)
“Let us, therefore, not be ashamed of the Cross of Christ; but though another hide it, do thou openly seal it upon thy forehead, that the devils may behold the royal sign and flee trembling far away. Make then this sign at eating and drinking, at sitting, at lying down, at rising up, at speaking, at walking: in a word, at every act. For He who was here crucified is in heaven above.“
“Of the beliefs and practices whether generally accepted or publicly enjoined which are preserved in the Church some we possess derived from written teaching others we have received delivered to us ‘in a mystery‘ by the tradition of the apostles; and both of these in relation to true religion have the same force.
Saint Basil the Great (330-379)
And these no one will gainsay; – no one, at all events, who is even moderately versed in the institutions of the Church. For were we to attempt to reject such customs as have no written authority, on the ground that the importance they possess is small, we should unintentionally injure the Gospel in its very vitals; or, rather, should make our public definition a mere phrase and nothing more.
For instance, to take the first and most general example, who is thence who has taught us in writing to sign with the sign of the cross those who have trusted in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ? What writing has taught us to turn to the East at the prayer? Which of the saints has left us in writing the words of the invocation at the displaying of the bread of the Eucharist and the cup of blessing? For we are not, as is well known, content with what the apostle or the Gospel has recorded, but both in preface and conclusion we add other words as being of great importance to the validity of the ministry, and these we derive from unwritten teaching.“
“When, then, you make the sign of the cross on the forehead, arm yourself with a saintly boldness, and reinstall your soul in its old liberty; for you are not ignorant that the cross is a prize beyond all price.
Saint John Crysostom (347-407)
Consider what is the price given for your ransom, and you will never more be slave to any man on earth. This reward and ransom is the cross. You should not then, carelessly make the sign on the forehead, but you should impress it on your heart with the love of a fervent faith. Nothing impure will dare to molest you on seeing the weapon, which overcometh all things.“
“When you are about to pass over the threshold of the gateway, say this word first: I leave your ranks, Satan, and your pomp, and your service, and I join the ranks of Christ. And never go forth without this word. This shall be a staff to you, this your armor, this an impregnable fortress, and accompany this word with the sign of the cross on your forehead. For thus not only a man who meets you, but even the devil himself, will be unable to hurt you at all, when he sees you everywhere appearing with these weapons; and discipline yourself by these means henceforth, in order that when you receive the seal you may be a well-equipped soldier, and planting your trophy against the devil, may receive the crown of righteousness, which may it be the lot of us all to obtain, through the grace and lovingkindness of our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom be glory to the Father and to the Holy Spirit for ever and ever – Amen.“
“In every act we do, in every step we take, let our hand trace the Lord’s cross.“
Saint Jerome (347-420)
“Prayer in church is important. The best thoughts and feelings come in church, yes, and the enemy attacks more violently in church, but with the sign of the cross and the Jesus Prayer, you drive him away.“
Saint Barsanuphius of Palestine (died 545)
“Then we should also marvel how demons and various diseases are dispelled by the sign of the precious and life-giving cross, which all can make without cost or effort.“
Saint Peter of Damascus (died 750)
Pope Innocent III (1160-1216) on the sign of the cross
“The sign of the cross is made with three fingers, because the signing is done together with the invocation of the Trinity. (…) This is how it is done: from above to below, and from the right to the left, because Christ descended from the heavens to the earth, and from the Jews (right) He passed to the Gentiles (left). Others, however, make the sign of the cross from the left to the right, because from misery (left) we must cross over to glory (right), just as Christ crossed over from death to life, and from Hades to Paradise.“
Pope Innocent III
Today, it is common in the Latin Rite to make the sign of the cross from left to right with the open right hand, the five fingers symbolizing the five wounds of Christ on the cross.
Pope Innocent III and Saint Dominic de Guzmán knew each other, by the way:
“In August of that same year, the Bishop and Dominic set out on their six-hundred-mile journey to Rome. They traveled on foot, arriving early in September for the opening of the meeting in which Bishop Foulques was so much interested – the Fourth Council of the Lateran.
Mary Fabyan Wyndeatt: Saint Dominic. Preacher of the Rosary and Founder of the Dominican Order, TAN Books 2013, e-book edition, p. 71-72
Of course Dominic was interested in the Council, too, and planned to attend the meetings. But at the first opportunity he sought out the Holy Father privately and set before him the plan which had been the real reason for his coming to Rome. He wanted to found a religious order – one entirely different from any existing in the Church!
‘It would be an Order of preachers and teachers‘, he explained. ‘Oh, Your Holiness! What a great need there is for such an order these days!‘
Pope Innocent the Third looked up in joyful amazement. For years he had hoped for just such news as this.“
Holy Fathers, Saint Dominic de Guzmán, pray for us!