with their blood, as the acts of the martyrs record.  When the holy Bishop Polycarp was brought before the heathen judge, who said to him, “Deny Christ and you will be free!” Polycarp’s reply was worthy of a true Christian.  “It is now over sixty years that I have served Him, and He never did me any harm.  How, then, can I deny my beloved Master, King and Saviour?” So speaks the true Christian when an attempt is made to make him deny his God and Redeemer.  The sign of the Cross also serves as a mark of distinction from those sects, which centuries ago separated themselves from the mother Church and abandoned the beautiful custom of making the sign of the Cross.  It is a great crime, then, to be ashamed of a sign which serves for our honor and distinction.  And Jesus Christ says, “For whosoever shall be ashamed of me, and of my words, of him shall the Son of Man be ashamed, when he shall come in his majesty, and of his father’s, and of the holy angels” (Luke ix, 26).  “But whosoever shall deny me before men, I will also deny him before my Father, who is in heaven” (Matt, x, 33).  Thus does Jesus Christ express Himself concerning those who are ashamed of the glorious sign of the true Christian, and those who reject this sign with contempt.

II.  The Cross is, furthermore, a sign of blessing.  It reminds us, in the first place, as we have considered, of the source of all blessing, of all gifts and graces for body and soul.  This source is the blessed Trinity.  As often as we make the sign of the Cross we invoke the blessings of God upon us, for we owe all blessings to the infinite merits of our divine Saviour, who died upon the Cross for us.  The ignominious instrument of torture and death, the Cross, has now become the instrument of life and the source of salvation.  Hence the Church never dispenses blessing except in the sign of the Cross.  St. Chrysostom says therefore:  Every blessing in which we participate is accomplished through the sign of the Cross.  When regeneration (Baptism) takes place, the sign of the Cross is employed.  Whether we partake of that holy mysterious food or receive any other of the Sacraments, it is always under the sign of our victory, the sign of the Cross.  We should, therefore, earnestly endeavor to have this sign in our homes, and often sign our foreheads with it; for it is the commemoration of our salvation and of our redemption.  In making the sign of the Cross devoutly we say to God:  Heavenly Father, behold not our sins which render us unworthy of thy grace, but the Cross of thy beloved Son, with which we sign our foreheads, which we profess with our lips and carry devoutly in our hearts.  For the sake of Jesus’ bitter death upon the Cross be merciful to us and grant us the assistance of thy grace in all our words and actions!  This is the prayer which is contained in the sign of the Cross.  That such prayer will not remain unheard is attested by numerous manifestations of grace which have been obtained through this sign, and the countless miracles which at all times have been performed through the same.