The Sign of the Cross

"Why do Catholics cross themselves? Is this in the Bible?"

4 Scripture passages2 objections answered2 Church Father quotes

The Short Answer

Catholics make the sign of the cross to profess faith in the Trinity and in Christ's saving death. This ancient gesture dates to the earliest Christians and is a powerful prayer in itself—invoking Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Quick Overview

When you cross yourself—forehead to chest, shoulder to shoulder—you're doing three things: professing faith in the Trinity (Father, Son, Holy Spirit), remembering your baptism (you were signed with the cross then), and asking God's blessing. It takes two seconds but says so much!

Biblical Evidence

What the Scriptures say

Ezekiel 9:4

"Go through the midst of the city... and mark Tau upon the foreheads of the men that sigh."

Why This Matters

God commands a mark (the Hebrew letter Tau, shaped like a cross) on the foreheads of the faithful. Early Christians saw this as prophecy of signing with the cross.

Revelation 7:3

"Hurt not the earth, nor the sea, nor the trees, till we sign the servants of our God in their foreheads."

Why This Matters

God's servants are 'signed' on their foreheads. The early Church understood this as the sign of the cross.

Revelation 14:1

"Having his name, and the name of his Father, written on their foreheads."

Why This Matters

The Lamb's followers have the Father's name on their foreheads. The sign of the cross invokes both Father and Son.

Galatians 6:14

"But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ."

Why This Matters

Paul glories in the cross. Making its sign is a way of professing this glory visibly.

What the Church Teaches

Official Catholic doctrine

The sign of the cross is the most common prayer and gesture of Catholics (CCC 2157). It invokes the Trinity and recalls our baptism. It's both a profession of faith and a request for blessing.

Common Objections

Questions answered

Early Church Fathers

What the first Christians believed

Tertullian

c. 211 AD

"In all our travels and movements, in all our coming in and going out, in putting on our shoes, at the bath, at the table, in lighting our candles, in lying down, in sitting down... we mark our foreheads with the sign of the cross."

— The Crown, 3

St. Cyril of Jerusalem

c. 350 AD

"Let us not be ashamed to confess the Crucified. Let the cross, as our seal, be boldly made with our fingers upon our brow and on all occasions."

— Catechetical Lectures, 13:36

Holy Water

Mass as Sacrifice

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