Hey Father! Why do we make crosses on our forehead, lips, and heart before the Gospel is read?
Steven in Decatur 

As Christians, we believe that all Scripture is the inspired Word of God. However, not all parts of Scripture are equally significant in terms of what they reveal. The Gospels are unique in the way they communicate the revelation of our savior, Jesus Christ. They contain the words of Christ Himself, who said, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples” (Jn 8:31). They tell us about His life, words, deeds, death, and resurrection, which are the central mysteries of our faith as Christians.

The Second Vatican Council, in the Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation Dei Verbum, taught that, “among all the Scriptures, even those of the New Testament, the Gospels have a special preeminence, and rightly so, for they are the principal witness for the life and teaching of the incarnate Word, our savior” (n. 18). To respect this “special preeminence” of the Gospels, the Church gives greater solemnity to the proclamation of the Gospel during Mass. This moment is the climax of the Liturgy of the Word. This is why, on Sundays and other solemnities, the Gospels are typically read from a separate, ornate book called the “Book of the Gospels.” This book is usually carried during the procession, and it is often incensed as well prior to being read. These solemn actions all express our belief in the primacy of the Gospels.

The Word of God, especially the words of the Gospel, is always precious and of infinite value. However, as finite human beings, we are not always well disposed to receive the Word of God. Recall Jesus’ Parable of the Sower. As Jesus explains, the seed represents the Word of God, while the soil represents the person who hears the Word. Depending on the soil’s quality and disposition, the same seed can bear abundant fruit or none at all (see Mt 13). Likewise for us, the same Word of God proclaimed at Mass can have very different effects in each of us depending on our disposition and openness. When we make the sign of the cross on our forehead, mouth, and chest, we are praying that the saving words of the Gospel will transform our mind, our speech, and our heart. We are asking God to make us “good soil” to receive the seed of His Word.

Mind — In Romans 12:2, St. Paul urges us, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind.” Disciples of Jesus are those who have left behind the natural, worldly way of thinking and taken on the mind of Christ, enabling them to see things from His heavenly perspective (see 1 Cor 2:16).

Speech— How well we have listened is revealed in the way we speak. We do not want to be hearers of the Word only, but proclaimers! Jesus said, “The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks” (Lk 6:45). 

Heart— In all of His preaching and teaching, Jesus constantly urged people to believe, speak, forgive, and love from theheart, that is, from the deepest part of themselves which includes the will. Jesus criticized those who were overly concerned with externalities as well as those whose hardness of heart prevented them from receiving and believing His words. As Christians, we want the Word of God to reach the very center of our being every time we hear it or read it.

The next time you hear the Gospel, pray that the words proclaimed will transform your mind, speech, and heart. A simple way to remember this is to pray the following prayer silently to yourself as you make the threefold sign of the cross: “May the Lord be in my mind, on my lips, and in my heart.”

• Father Christopher Trummer, S.T.L., is parochial vicar at St. Boniface Parish in Edwardsville, associate delegate for Health Care Professionals, associate chaplain of the Springfield Chapter of the Catholic Physicians Guild/Catholic Medical Association, and has a license in Sacred Theology in Moral Theology from the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome, Italy.