One of a child’s first formal prayers that they learn is the “Sign of the Cross.” This prayer is a short but powerful prayer. It calls on the Trinity as they make the sign of the cross upon themselves.
Fr. Thomas used to tell us that as soon as we wake up in the morning that it is a good idea to make the sign of the cross and say, “I belong to the Father, and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.” He said we often wake up acting like a pagan, and we should quickly say this prayer. It reminds the enemy of our souls that we belong to God, and the enemy flees at the sight and sound of this prayer. It also reminds us that we were, and remain, sealed with the sign of the cross at baptism.
Years ago Fr. Thomas prayed with a young girl who was under severe attacks of the evil one and was unable to function in everyday life. Her parents had taken her to various doctors with no good results. Finally, one doctor sent her to Fr. Thomas. The first thing Father did was have her and her family members say, “I belong to the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit,” while making the sign of the cross upon themselves. He had them say it over and over again: “I belong to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.” Little by little, yet quite quickly, she was healed and could live life normally again. Praise the Lord!
At one time I read the Diary of St Maria Faustina from cover to cover. I remember that somewhere in that book she wrote that when she was tempted or felt attacked by the devil, she would say and make the sign of the cross, and the evil one would flee.
Whenever you are on an airplane, you will most likely hear the pilot say to the flight attendants, “Cross check.” That is an instruction to the flight attendants to set the doors to automatic mode. The cross check means that after arming their assigned door, the flight attendant should check that the opposite door should also be armed. Some friends of ours told us that when they fly and hear the words, “cross check,” they make the sign of the cross. The next time Mike and I flew we did the same. We thought it was a cute but smart idea before we take flight.
God has equipped us with such a small but powerful prayer. Let’s use it often and pass it on to our children.
God bless,
Mary Ann / Mother Hen
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