Thursday, August 24, 2017

20th Week, Ordinary Time, Friday, 25-08-17

Ruth 1:1, 3-6, 14-16, 22 / Matthew 22:34-41

For us Catholics, when we make the sign of the cross, it has many meanings.

When we begin our prayer, we will make the sign of the cross. Or we also make the sign of the cross when we feel afraid or for whatever reason.

When we make the sign of the cross, one meaning could be that we bless ourselves in the name of God who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

It could also mean that we are saved by Christ who died on the cross for us.

Today's gospel passage may give us yet another meaning when we make the sign of the cross.

Jesus spelt out what the greatest commandment is: You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment.

And He continued with this: The second resembles it - You must love your neighbour as yourself.

So in making the sign of the cross, we mark ourselves on the head to mean that we love God with all our mind; on the chest to mean that we love God with all our heart and soul.

And when we mark our shoulders, it means to love God with all our strength, and that love must be shown to our neighbours on our left and right.

So making the sign of the cross is a deep and profound sign of our love for God and neighbour.

It was that kind of love that Ruth, in the 1st reading showed to Naomi when she said, "wherever you go, I will go, wherever you live, I will live. Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God."

So the sign of the cross is a sign of love. When we make it, it is a sign that we love God and our neighbour. May the sign of the cross also be a reality in our lives.