The Sign of the Cross: Recovering the Power of the Ancient Prayer

by Bert Ghezzi

The sign of the cross finds its roots in the earliest centuries of the Church and is used today by millions of Christians worldwide. But it is all too easy to make this sign in a routine and superficial way at the beginning and end of a prayer, failing to recognize its true significance.
In  The Sign of the Recovering the Power of the Ancient Prayer , Bert Ghezzi reminds us that the sign of the cross is a prayer in itself―one that bears great spiritual power. This simple but profound gesture, Ghezzi affirms, opens us to God, renews our Baptism, and acts as a mark of Christian discipleship, one that repels the devil and helps us to resist our self-indulgence and tendency toward sin.

Genres: Faith

110 pages, Paperback

Published January 4, 2023

Reviews

[Paola]

Honestly, I really enjoyed this book. It’s a quick read, but it’s packed full of excellent information. Very enjoyable as well!

[Allison]

This was a great little primer in the importance and significance there is in the way we sign ourselves with the cross as Christians. Signing myself is a practice that's still fairly new to me, but I found this short book to be very helpful. I learned more about what it means to go from one point on the body to the next as we sign ourselves, the history of it in religious practice, and how simple it truly can be to utilize it as a prayer and as a way to simply prepare myself as I exit my apartment in the morning or venture out on a local mission trip. I really liked how Ghezzi made this act accessible, but taught that nonetheless, it still ought to be held in reverence.

[Cotter Wilson]

If St. Francis de Sales title of the same name defends the early pattern and pertinence of the sign of the cross in response to the Reformation, this modern one by Ghezzi highlights the importance and practice of the discipline and its significance for prayer in all of its various forms.

1) opening to God by invoking the Trinity
2) choosing the supernatural life received in baptism
3) reaffirming discipleship and the denial of self
4) accepting suffering as a part of the Christian life
5) repelling the devil
6) killing self-indulgence and tendencies to sin

[Mervene Jones]

So much information packed into sucha little book. Wonderfully inspiring

[Peyton Bryan]

Beautifully written and so impactful for such a short book.

[Becky]

I was intrigued to learn the history of the sign of the cross, and the significance so it is meaningful.

[Glenda Wrenn Gordon]

Very readable introduction and overview of the meaning and power of the sign of the Cross. I think this is a book to reread and meditate on