A Look at the Mass: The Sign of the Cross

"I bind unto myself today, the strong name of the Trinity, by invocation of the same, the Three in One and One in Three." - St. Patrick's Breastplate

How often the sign of the cross is present within the Liturgy! It is seen, not only at Mass, but in all of the Sacraments. In Baptism we are signed with it. In Confirmation we are sealed with it. It blesses those embarking on their vocations in Marriage and Holy Orders. For the spiritual sick, they are absolved from their sins through it. For the physically sick, they are anointed with it for strength. How appropriate then that it is through the sign of the cross that we begin the Mass, the greatest thing man can participate in on this earth! 

Historically speaking, the introduction f the sign of the cross at the beginning of Mass appeared quite late. It wasn't until the late Medieval Ages that it started to be used as a blessing formula at the beginning of Mass. 

This is how we must view the sign of the cross at the beginning of Mass - as a blessing formula. It is not a sacramental blessing, as the one at the end of Mass is, however, in the sense that it declares what we are about to do to be a holy act and beg the mercy and grace of God upon us, it is. Jungmann explains it as, "We begin the holy action in the power that comes from the triune God through the Cross of Christ (296)." The Trinity, the source of all grace and blessings, and the Cross are essential concepts for the Mass. The Mass is the offering of God the Son to God the Father in and through the power of the Holy Spirit on the Cross. 

This is what we are to recall when we begin the Celebration of Mass. It is both a Sacrament and a Sacrifice. The sign of the cross recalls this. Grace is offered to us, but there is also an offering on our part. This offering is the offering of our very selves, symbolized by the Cross. To crucify a man is to force him to give everything he has as a penalty, namely his life. However, as Jesus willingly mounted the Cross, so are we called to mount it, in offering our entire selves to God through the Mass. 

Jungmann also notes the connection to Baptism which can be taken from this formula and gesture (296). We were baptized, as Jesus commanded (Matthew 28:19-20), in the name of the Trinity, and received into the Church. This initiation is consummated whenever we receive our Lord in Holy Communion; we are made one with Him. It is well then to remember this at the beginning of Mass, that what was begun in us in Baptism is being brought to perfection through the Holy Mass.

The final point I wish to bring up is that this is a reminder of our final end. What we celebrate here on earth, veiled, is celebrated unveiled in the Heavenly Liturgy. As stated above, it is the offering of the Son to the Father in the power of the Holy Spirit. We are made one with this offering, and consequently with the Trinity through this action. The Trinity, as our final end, is accessed through the offering of the Mass. 

All historical information taken from:
Rev. Joseph A. Jungmann, S.J. The Mass of the Roman Rite: Its Origins and Development. Volume 1. Part III: The Prayers at the Foot of the Altar as a Unit, 290-298. Translated by Rev. Francis A. Brunner, C.SS.R. (Christian Classics: Notre Dame, Indiana, 1951).