Immersed in Christ: Tuesday, June 15, 2021

"In the Name..."

When we begin the Eucharist "in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit" we enter explicitly into a world of relationship and interaction -- with God.

The Sign of the Cross is the oldest Christian profession of faith. It expresses the meaning, and is the fruit of the cross, on which by Baptism, we died in Christ and rose again with Him as a "new creation." If we understand this, we have some understand of the mystery of Christianity.

The Sign of the Cross expresses the identity we have through relationship with the Three Persons of God. We can use it all week to remind us of who we really are. We can "extend the Mass" by making the Sign of the Cross when we wake up and go to bed, when we sit down at a table, or get into a car, whenever we turn on a computer or pick up a cell phone.

The Mass reminds us to do everything we do "in the name" of the relationship we have with the Father, Son, and Spirit. By making the Sign of the Cross, we can express all week our awareness of the relationship we have with each other and with the God in whose name we gather.

Take action: Make a decision to make the Sign of the Cross throughout your day. Whenever you make the Sign of the Cross, recall your relationship with God and with others who also make that Sign of the Cross. Take some time to reflect upon how your relationship with the Father, Son, and Spirit impacts your relationships - or should impact your relationships - with others.