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| Pope Benedict the XVI Makes the three little signs of cross |
By Charles Muchiri
“The
Lord be with you,” the Priest offers, during one of the lunch time Holy Masses
at the Holy Family Minor Basilica, Nairobi. “And also with your spirit,” we
respond, as we prepare to listen to the proclamation of the day’s Gospel.
As
usual, with our right thumb, we embark on tracing a series of three small
crosses; on our forehead, on our lips and on our breasts; but as it is, lately
I have been a little keen on this particular Roman Catholic tradition. And I
have noted that there are two sets of ways by which most of us execute these small
Crosses.
There
are some Christians who always first 'wet' their right thumb with a little saliva
– before going ahead to execute the three little Crosses. Then there is the
rest of Christians who go straight ahead executing these small Crosses without
wetting their thumb with the little saliva.
So,
what’s the tradition behind this 'wetting' of the right thumb with some little
saliva – ahead of executing these little sign? Is it an accepted practice? Does
it have any place in the Liturgy of the Roman Catholic Church?
What’s
your take on this? Kindly let’s hear from you….
/E-mail
this writer: paradisedoorstep@gmail.com/
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