Sign of the Cross at Mass

Every liturgical action of the Church includes the sign of the Cross.  It is part of every sacrament, of every blessing, and some Catholics even begin and end their days with a prayer and the sign of the Cross. It is often accompanied by the words, “In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit” (Mt 28:19). Throughout our entire Christian life, especially as we enter Church and bless ourselves with Holy Water, remembering our baptism, and at the beginning of every Mass, we repeat the sign of the Cross with these words, this prayer, which encompasses so much: our Lord’s sacrifice on the Cross, and our new life in communion with the Triune God.
 
After the priest has kissed the altar, and the entrance music has concluded, the first actions and words of the priest and people together are to make the sign of the Cross while the priest says, “In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” Pope Francis, in his recent catechesis on the Mass, said this:
 
“The presiding priest traces the sign on himself, and all the members of the assembly do likewise, knowing that the liturgical act is performed ‘in the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit’. … The Mass begins with the sign of the Cross. The whole prayer moves, so to speak, within the space of the Most Holy Trinity — ‘In the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit’ — which is the space of infinite communion; it has as its beginning and end the love of the Triune God, made manifest and given to us in the Cross of Christ. In fact, his Paschal Mystery is the gift of the Trinity, and the Eucharist flows ever from his pierced Heart. When we make the sign of the Cross, therefore, we not only commemorate our Baptism, but affirm that the liturgical prayer is the encounter with God in Jesus Christ, who became flesh, died on the Cross and rose in glory for us” (December 20, 2017).