Sunday, June 16, 2013
Deacon Robert Banet
Why do you hold your fingers that way?
What way?
You know, with your thumb holding the two fingers.
Oh, that. Well, that’s the way some people make the sign of the cross.
Please explain.
When you hold those two fingers with the thumb, that gives you a three.
A three?
Yes, three for the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.
OK. I get that. That leaves the two fingers making the victory sign.
You could call it that. You could also say the two fingers stand for the two natures of Christ: He is true God and true man.
I see. The Holy Trinity and the Incarnation.
Right. The two most fundamental beliefs of our Catholic faith.
That’s amazing.
And if that’s not enough, the Sign of the Cross itself ought to remind us of our salvation. Jesus died on the cross to save me from Hell.
And that’s something we do not want to take for granted.
Yes. And there’s more.
Go on.
Itr can remind us of our baptism. We were baptized in that name.
And that should remind us of the Creed that others made at our baptism. A Creed that we knew nothing about at the time. But now as adults, we can think of that time and we can consciously say, Yes, I believe in those strange and wonderful truths.
You know, Charlie, I think I’m going to start making the Sign of the Cross your way.
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit…