A Real Head-Scratcher

At many of the workshops that I present, I often like to share this story, so forgive me if you have heard it before.

One of the first presentations that I ever gave as a parish liturgist/musician many years ago was to candidates seeking initiation through the RCIA. After spending some time with what I thought was a magnificently detailed and inspiring presentation on the Mass, I asked if there were any questions. A hand went up and a woman asked: "Why do Catholics scratch their heads before the Gospel is read?"

It took me a moment to grasp what was being asked. Then I explained that many people use their thumb to trace the sign of the cross on their foreheads, lips and hearts. Some older Catholics learned a prayer to go with this, but the basic idea is that we remind ourselves (before Christ speaks to us through the Gospel about to be proclaimed) that we desire the cross of Christ to be on our minds, lips and hearts.

The following Sunday I watched people in the congregation before the Gospel, and it did indeed look as if everyone (including myself, I suppose) had an itch at the same time! It was a moment of conversion for me. How often have I done this gesture (which, interestingly, is not prescribed by the General Instruction of the Roman Missal) without a thought? How often have I genuflected, bowed, dipped my fingers in the baptismal font, or done any number of gestures without a thought? How often have I said "Amen" without fully hearing the prayer? How often have I prayed the Lord's Prayer with more thought to asking forgiveness than for the grace to grant it?

This list could go on and on.

The visionary Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy (no. 11) reminds us that while God grants graces to all freely, those that "cooperate" with this grace will reap its full effects.

But in order that the liturgy may be able to produce its full effects, it is necessary that the faithful come to it with proper dispositions, that their minds should be attuned to their voices, and that they should cooperate with divine grace lest they receive it in vain...

The U.S. Bishops made it even clearer in their original 1972 document, Music in Catholic Worship (3):

We are celebrating when we involve ourselves meaningfully in the thoughts, words, songs, and gestures of the worshiping community ‑‑ when everything we do is wholehearted and authentic for us ‑‑ when we mean the words and want to do what is done.

Both texts remind us that our participation isn't an end in itself, but rather a means to an end. Our gestures and words aren't simply part of a magic formula. They both express and shape our belief. If I think about tracing the cross on my forehead, lips and heart, maybe I will listen to the Gospel more attentively. Maybe I will pray more fervently to live my faith. Maybe each day I will find my mind turning more readily to God, my lips more likely to proclaim his life-giving words, and my heart softening to his will. This simple gesture thus expresses my desire for faith and shapes it! What a gift we have in the Church's liturgy--when we choose to "cooperate with divine grace."