“SIGN OF THE CROSS’(Trinity Sunday)

… It’s the 1980’s and his name is … Donald! He is the 8th of 9 children…his mom does a number of things… she is a part time clerk, she is a nurse… his dad, a teamster and truck driver… if you were to ask him, Donald would tell you there are two things that are fundamental… FUNDAMENTAL… to his family… they are Catholic… and they are…. Poor! When his mom and dad divorced, things started to get a little dicey… and when he was sent to another school, thanks to desegregation… its when his life started to turn… and not so much for the good… Donald will tell you, that it was his faith that laid the foundation… but it was music and theater… that helped him find his way…his idol, was Michael Jackson… the way he danced, sang… moonwalked… etc… so much so, he, Donald started his own band… Kool Aid Bunch! It was quite popular… and he was actually pretty good at it… so much so, that when producers wanted to start their new group… New Kids on the Block… he was their guy!!! Donald even helped his brother, Marky Mark and the funky Bunch… but it was eventually drama, that pulled Donald away… he was in the movie, Bullet, then Ranson, 6th sense, Band of Brothers, Purgatory… and Saw 1,2,3,4 and 5… but it’s the series he stars in now, that truly resonates with him… a police drame, about a truly…TRULY CATHOLIC FAMILY… they are always seen around the dinner table, and always… make the SING OF THE CROSS…yes you know, Donald… Danny Donald Wahlberg!!!
THAT IS WHAT THE GOSPEL IS ALL ABOUT… 4 of the 8 lines, are speaking directly to the Trinity!! And please let us make sure we understand a few things about the TRINITY… one it is difficult, if not impossible to explain in any manner… Augustine was right, he told of a story of him walking the beach…watching a young child…run into the surf as a child…catch water in his cup…run onto the beach, and pour the water into a whole in the sand…after this going on for several minutes…finally Augustine walks to the young boy.. and tells him that it will be impossible for him to get the ocean into that hole… and the young boy looks at him… and responds, and my son, it will be impossible for you to understand the TRINITY! My B & S… let’s keep it simple, there are three in one… they are distinct but not separate… we may describe them differently…. A dove, fire, son or father… they are distinct…not separate!! Also, you cannot make the proclamation… creator, redeemer and sanctifier… these are job descriptions… as though one created, and the other redeemed and the other sanctified… this would mean three separate ‘gods’…hence, why at baptism we say, in the name of the father, the son and holy spirit… in the name of the father, and in the name of the son and in the name of the holy spirit… again, 3 separate gods…if you will!
THROUGHOUT SCRIPTURE… those who recognize the signs… fair so much better… let me explain… Noah begins to build the Ark, and it is not a story… and when completed… a rainbow appears to give him the SIGN all is good… Moses leaving the for the promised land…knows he is on the right path, he knows the SING… when they cross between two walls of water…ON DRY GROUND… to get away from pharaoh… the Good thief recognized the SIGN… when Christ told him that he would be with HIM in paradise…
THE QUESTION FOR YOU AND I… is do we recognize the…THE SIGN…THE SIGN OF THE CROSS …. And how powerful it is…first and foremost.. it is a SIGN OF THE TRINITY… you are not blessing yourself…what you are saying…is that what you are about to do… you are doing… in THE NAME OF THE FATHER, SON AND HOLY SPIRIT….you are proclaiming you belief in a TRIUNE GOD… re- professing your baptismal vows…you are TELLING THE WORLD… I AM A BELIVED IN A TRIUNE GOD… I AM CATHOLIC… remember what our Savior told us…if you do not recognize me in public, I will not recognize you in before My Father!!! It is a prayer…in and of itself….when in trouble, need help, need protection, guidance, support…whatever, whenever, however… make THE SIGN…the sign of THE CROSS!!! Before you go to work and all the love that waits for you when you hit the door… before you respond to that email, text message, take the phone call, make a call… make the SIGN OF THE CROSS… before you come home and spread all that ‘luv’… to family… make the SIGN… before you talk with family, your spouse, your parents… make the SIGN… I was eating with my friends when one asked to pray… being shocked that he knew how to pray… I was all in…please do…when he finished short arming the SIGN OF THE CROSS… I asked him, if he wished me to lay down a bunt or is this a hit and run… what was THAT!?!?!?! YOU MUST NEVER APOLOGIZE for making the SIGN… its over 2000 years old… the prophet Ezekiel… when you pray, will you make the SIGN…even if you are not leading the prayer… will you start the prayer with one… orrrrr are you to afraid that you will offend someone…so you worry more about the feelings of people, than … GOD THE FATHER, SON AND HOLY SPIRIT!! My friends in christ…signs are important… let me show you…if you saw this SIGN on a fence post in a pasture… please be aware…if you plan to cross this pasture please be able to do so in under 9 seconds… because it only takes the bull, 10… now if that SIGN stops you…how much more will the SIGN OF THE CROSS put terror into the evil one…!!! My Friends in Christ… nobody asked you to carry a cross 12 ft tall, 8 ft wide…nobody is going to beat you…beat you….beat you…1000 times like they did Christ… no one is going to drive 8 in nails into your hands, and a 16 inch nail into your feet… place a crown of thorns on your head… which produced 100 holes, 3 that were fatal in and of themselves… SO THEN THE VERY LEAST WE CAN DO, IS MAKE THE SIGN IN A REVERENT WAY… I LEAVE you with the words of st John vianney… Making the Sign of the Cross in a devoted, reverent way… will cause hell to quake and Heaven rejoice!!!
Amen!!