The Sign of the Cross: Recovering the Power of the Ancient Prayer

The Sign of the Cross has its origins in the early centuries of the Church and is still used by millions of Christians worldwide today. However, it is all too easy to make this gesture in a habitual and superficial manner at the beginning and finish of a prayer, oblivious to its profound meaning.

Bert Ghezzi reminds us in The Sign of the Cross: Recovering the Power of the Ancient Prayer that the sign of the cross is a prayer in and of itself, with enormous spiritual power. Ghezzi affirms that this simple but significant gesture opens us to God, renews our Baptism, and serves as a symbol of Christian discipleship, repelling the devil and assisting us in resisting our self-indulgence and proclivity toward sin.