Why Make the Sign of the Cross at the Gospel?
By Fr. Joseph Roesch (Dec 7, 2007) Q. At Mass, why do we make the Sign of the Cross on our foreheads, lips and hearts right before the Gospel? A. Making the triple Sign of the Cross like this before the Gospel is a longstanding tradition. Surprisingly, though, there is nothing in the rubrics about the laypeople making this sign. The prayers that the priest says silently to himself before and after proclaiming the Gospel can give us a clue. Before the Gospel, the priest bows before the altar and silently prays: “Almighty God, cleanse my heart and my lips that I may worthily proclaim Your Gospel.” After the Gospel, he kisses the Gospel Book and prays: “May the words of the Gospel wipe away our sins.” Through the tradition of the triple cross, we are asking the Lord to bless our minds and our hearts that they will be open to hear the Gospel, so we might proclaim through our lips the good news of Jesus to all the world. Gospel means “good news.” It’s a wonderful tradition to remind ourselv
