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Verse: Bible Quotes | Catholic Songs | Holy Prayers
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History of a Christian Prayer. The Sign of The Cross.
A Call to Christian Unity and Humility, by Frederick Pogorzelski.
Please, make "The Sign of The Cross" in a spirit of charity, reconcillation, and Christian unity.
Philippians 2:1, 2 "...If, therefore, there is any comfort in Christ, any encouragement from charity,
any fellowship in the Spirit, any feeling of mercy,
2. fill up my joy by thinking alike, having the same charity, with one soul and one mind..."The Sign of The Cross.
In the name of the Father,
And of the Son,
And of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.Help from the Holy Bible.
Gal. 6:14 "...But far be it from me to glory except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world..."
Ezechiel 9:4 "...Pass throught the city [through Jerusalem] and mark an X on the foreheads of those who moan and groan over all the abominations that are praticed within it..." {Footnote: Ezechiel is pre-eminently the prophet of personal retribution; the innocent inhabitants of Jerusalem are to be spared when the idolatrous are punished. An X: literally, the hebrew letter taw, which had the form of a cross.} Douay-Rheims Bible, 1962 Edition, page 964.
[The Greek letter TAW or TAU, is in the form of a cross, equivalent to the English letter capital "T".]Apocalypse Chapter 7 {Sealing of the Spiritual Israel.} Apocalypse 7:4 "...Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads..." Douay-Rheims Bible, 1962 Edition, page 330.
Apocalypse 9:4 "...And they were told not to hurt the grass of the earth or any green thing or any tree; but only the men who do not have God's seal upon their foreheads..." Douay-Rheims Bible, 1962 Edition, page 332.
Apocalypse 14:1 "...And I saw, and behold, the Lamb was standing upon Mount Sion, and with him a hundred and forty-four thousand having his name and the name of his Father written on their foreheads..." Douay-Rheims Bible, 1962 Edition, page 336.
Help from some Early Church Fathers on making the Sign of the Cross:
Tertullian before 226 A.D. "we trace upon the forehead the sign." Tertullian "The flesh is signed so that the soul too may be fortified." St. Cyprian before 259 A.D. "That in the sign of the cross is salvation to all who are marked on their forheads." St.Cyprian "Women did not benefit from the sign [of circumcision]. However, all are sealed by the sign of the Lord. Origen before 285 A.D. "The sign made by Christians on the forehead, which all believers make whatsoever work they begin upon, especially at the beginning of prayers." {A Christian apologist of the fourth century 250 A. D. - 325 A. D., and Ante-Nicene Church Father. A prominent teacher of rhetoric and late convert to Christianity he tutored emperor Constantine's son, Crispus.} Lactantius, The Divine Institutes, Book 4, Chapter XXVI before 311 A.D. "...Nor ought any one to be ignorant of this, that He Himself, speaking before of His passion, also made it known that He had the power, when He willed it, of laying down His life and of taking it again. Therefore, because He had laid down His life while fastened to the cross, His executioners did not think it necessary to break His bones (as was their prevailing custom), but they only pierced His side. Thus His unbroken body was taken down from the cross, and carefully enclosed in a tomb. Now all these things were done lest His body, being injured and broken, should be rendered unsuitable for rising again. That also was a principal cause why God chose the cross, because it was necessary that He should be lifted up on it, and the passion of God become known to all nations. For since he who is suspended upon a cross is both conspicuous to all and higher than others, the cross was especially chosen, which might signify that He would be so conspicuous, and so raised on high, that all nations from the whole world should meet together at once to know and worship Him. Lastly, no nation is so uncivilized, no region so remote, to which either His passion or the height of His majesty would be unknown. Therefore in His suffering He stretched forth His hands and measured out the world, that even then He might show that a great multitude, collected together out of all languages and tribes, from the rising of the sun even to his setting, was about to come under His wings, and to receive on their foreheads that great and lofty sign. And the Jews even now exhibit a figure of this transaction when they mark their thresholds with the blood of a lamb. For when God was about to smite the Egyptians, to secure the Hebrews from that infliction He had enjoined them to slay a white lamb without spot, and to place on their thresholds a mark from its blood. And thus, when the first-born of the Egyptians had perished in one night, the Hebrews alone were saved by the sign of the blood: not that the blood of a sheep had such efficacy in itself as to be the safety of men, but it was an image of things to come. For Christ was the white lamb without spot; that is, He was innocent, and just, and holy, who, being slain by the same Jews, is the salvation of all who have written on their foreheads the sign of blood-that is, of the cross, on which He shed His blood. For the forehead is the top of the threshold in man, and the wood sprinkled with blood is the emblem of the cross. Lastly, the slaying of the lamb by those very persons who perform it is called the paschal feast, from the word "paschein," because it is a figure of the passion, which God, foreknowing the future, delivered by Moses to be celebrated by His people. But at that time the figure was efficacious at the present for averting the danger, that it may appear what great efficacy the truth itself is about to have for the protection of God's people in the extreme necessity of the whole world. But in what manner or in what region all will be safe who have marked on the highest part of their body this sign of the true and divine blood, I will show in the last book.
Chapter XXVII.-Of the Wonders Effected by the Power of the Cross, and of Demons. At present it is sufficient to show what great efficacy the power of this sign has. How great a terror this sign is to the demons, he will know who shall see how, when adjured by Christ, they flee from the bodies which they have besieged. For as He Himself, when He was living among men, limit to flight all the demons by His word, and restored to their former senses the minds of men which had been excited and maddened by their dreadful attacks; so now His followers, in the name of their Master, and by the sign of His passion, banish the same polluted spirits from men. And it is not difficult to prove this. For when they sacrifice to their gods, if any one bearing a marked forehead stands by, the sacrifices are by no means favourable. "Nor can the diviner, when consulted, give answers..." And this has often been the cause of punishment to wicked kings. For when some of their attendants who were of our religion were standing by their masters as they sacrificed, having the sign placed on their foreheads, they caused the gods of their masters to flee, that they might not be able to observe future events in the entrails of the victims. And when the soothsayers understood this, at the instigation of the same demons to whom they had sacrificed, complaining that profane men were present at the sacrifices, they drove their princes to madness, so that they attacked the temple of the god, and contaminated themselves by true sacrilege, which was expiated by the severest punishments on the part of their persecutors. Nor, however, are blind men able to understand even from this, either that this is the true religion, which contains such great power for overcoming, or that that is false, which is not able to hold its ground or to come to an engagement..." ST. Cyril of Jerusalem before 386 A.D. Catechetical Lecture 13. "...36. 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(6). 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(7); for when they see the Cross they are reminded of the Crucified; they are afraid of Him, who bruised the heads of the dragon(8). Despise not the Seal, because of the freeness of the gift; out for this the rather honour thy Benefactor...." St. Ambrose before A.D. 398 "The catechumen believes also in the cross of our Lord Jesus, with which (cross) also he is signed." St. Jerome before A.D. 421 "Let the banner of the cross be planted on thy forehead's." St. Augustin before A.D. 431 "What is the sign (or seal) of Christ, but the cross of Christ? Which sign, unless it be applied, whether to the forehead of believers..." On making the Sign of the Cross. Help from Martin Luther, before 1546 A.D. Luther's Little Instruction Book, Appendix I. (The Little Catechism of Martin Luther.) DEVOTIONS. How a Father Should Teach His Household to Conduct Morning and Evening Devotions.
Morning Devotions.
As soon as you get out of bed in the morning, you should bless yourself with the sign of the Holy Cross and say: May the will of God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit be done! Amen. Then, kneeling or standing, say the creed and pray the Lord's Prayer..."
The Evening Devotions.
When you go to bed in the evening, you should bless yourself with the sign of the Holy Cross and say: May the will of God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit be done! Amen. Then, kneeling or standing, say the creed and pray the Lord's Prayer..."
Profession of Faith.
We believe in one God,
the Father, the Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all that is seen and unseen.
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God,
eternally begotten of the Father,
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made, one in Being with the Father.
Through him all things were made.
For us men and for our salvation
he came down from heaven
by the power of the Holy Spirit
he was born of the Virgin Mary, and became man.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered, died, and was buried.
On the third day he rose again
in fulfillment of the Scriptures; he ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead,
and his kingdom will have no end.
We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son.
With the Father and the Son he is worshipped and glorified.
He has spoken through the Prophets.
We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.
We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
We look for the resurrection of the dead,
and the life of the world to come.
Amen.
Pray Always.
FRANCISCAN PRAYER.
STATIONS OF THE CROSS.
1. Jesus is condemned to death.
Jesus, help me to avoid sin and to be worthy
of my Christian vocation.
2. Jesus bears his cross.
Jesus, let me suffer for sinners in union with you.
3. Jesus falls the first time.
Jesus, help me to rise to new life through repentance.
4. Jesus meets his mother.
Jesus, may we know Mary's presence,
especially when we are sad.
5. Jesus is helped by Simon.
Jesus, may I help others as Simon
helped you.
6. Veronica wipes the face of Jesus.
Jesus, let me console and refresh
those who are in need.
7. Jesus falls a second time.
Jesus, encourage me to trust in you when
I fall.
8. Jesus speaks to the women.
Jesus, hear my prayer and comfort those
who have no one to comfort them.
9. Jesus falls a third time.
Jesus, strengthen my trust in you
when I'm tempted by despair.
10. Jesus is stripped of his garments.
Jesus, enfold me in your love
when I need you most.
11. Jesus is nailed to the cross.
Jesus, keep me close to you
from this moment until I die.
12. Jesus dies on the cross.
Jesus, be with me when I die
and show me your face in heaven.
13. Jesus is taken from the cross.
Jesus, let me bring hope to those who mourn.
14. Jesus is laid in the tomb.
Jesus, I pray for my loved ones who
have died.
May we all be together one day
at your heavenly banquet.
Amen.
The Our Father
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name;
thy kingdom come; thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this say our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses
as we forgive those who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
Amen.Bibliography:
A Dictionary of Early Christian Beliefs, by David E. Bercot, Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, Massachusetts.
The Sign of the Cross by Bert Ghezzi, Loyola Press, Chicago.
New Advent Catholic Encyclopedia, http://www.newadvent.org
Christian Classics Ethereal Library at Calvin College
http://www.ccel.org/fathers2/ANF-07/TOC.htm
http://www.ccel.org/fathers2/NPNF2-07/TOC.htm
The Fathers on The Sign of The Cross. http://www.catholicapologetics.net/apolo_140.htm
Traditional Catholic Apologetics. http://www.catholicapologetics.net