2Q: Sign of the Cross & "Saying Grace"

[JeffreyLloyd]

1. When do you say Grace? Before everything you eat, or just your main meals of the day?

I will say the "bless us oh Lord..." prayer before lunch and dinner. And any other time I eat (anything) I will just make the Sign of the Cross. What do you do?

And that leads to my next question...

2. How often do you make the sign of the cross?

Like I said, I sign myself a lot. Before I eat anything, usually if I pass a Catholic Church, a crucifix, a cemetery - of course before I pray, when I work at CF, I sign myself before I handle a member report.

I'll think of more later, what do you do?

 

[Maximus]

1. When do you say Grace? Before everything you eat, or just your main meals of the day?

I will say the "bless us oh Lord..." prayer before lunch and dinner. And any other time I eat (anything) I will just make the Sign of the Cross. What do you do?

And that leads to my next question...

2. How often do you make the sign of the cross?

Like I said, I sign myself a lot. Before I eat anything, usually if I pass a Catholic Church, a crucifix, a cemetery - of course before I pray, when I work at CF, I sign myself before I handle a member report.

I'll think of more later, what do you do?

I generally thank the Lord and cross myself anytime I eat anything bigger than a bite or two, sometimes even when eating just a bite. I don't always do it when I am merely grabbing a coke.

I do it when I am passing a Catholic or Orthodox Church, cemetery, etc., just as you do.

Oh, and I cross myself Eastern style, which is, as I understand it, actually the oldest way.

I think I cross myself a lot.

I'm making up for lost time.

 

[karla]

We say the "Bless us o Lord..." before each meal. I don't snack much, but my kids use the prayer they say at my daughter's pre-school before snack time at which is "Mmm Mmm good, Mmm Mmm good, all of God's gifts are Mmm Mmm good"

I usually bless myself when passing a Catholic Church or cemetary and also whenever I hear fire, police, or ambulance sirens.

 

[jukesk9]

1. I say grace before everything I eat whether it be a meal or snack.

2. I sign myself before each prayer, when I wake up, before I go to bed, when I go to make an arrest, serve a search warrant and stuff like that. I need to sign myself when passing a Catholic Church out of reverance for the Real Presence.

My son is 6 1/2 and he makes the sign as the Orthodox do. I tell him he should do it from left to right (when in Rome...) but he says he can do it this way, which of course he's right I guess. At least he's making the sign.

 

[Epiphanygirl]

I say a blessing before eating any meal, and even when eating snacks. It has been a great discipline to learn and apply.
I genuflect before prayers, when passing a Catholic Church, and I tend to also do this when I hear upsetting news or when I see something bad happen.(It helps to remind me that the Lord is with me at all times)

 

[DivineFiliation]

1. When do you say Grace? Before everything you eat, or just your main meals of the day?

I will say the "bless us oh Lord..." prayer before lunch and dinner. And any other time I eat (anything) I will just make the Sign of the Cross. What do you do?

And that leads to my next question...

2. How often do you make the sign of the cross?

Like I said, I sign myself a lot. Before I eat anything, usually if I pass a Catholic Church, a crucifix, a cemetery - of course before I pray, when I work at CF, I sign myself before I handle a member report.

I'll think of more later, what do you do?

I've just been getting into the habit of saying grace alone... sometimes I forget. My husband and I always say grace together.

I only make the sign of the cross when my husband and I say our prayers at night and then at church on Sunday. Every once in awhile if something totally affects me (a death, a terrible car accident) I'll sign myself.

 

[Dream]

I try to say Grace before every time I eat, but I often forget when I'm eating alone.

 

[krstlros]

I usually say "Grace" whenever I have a meal, or something larger than a snack/smaller than a meal.

I find myself making the sign of the cross at all times of the day. The ones I try to remember to do is in the car before it moves out of the garage, and when I leave the house.

 

[HappyMomof4]

Before lunch and dinner we say Grace and then the prayer for the faithful departed. Usually not when we are eating out though, although I guess we should. :o We don't in the morning

I cross myself when we say grace and upon entering and leaving church.

 

[ShannonMcCatholic]

We say grace at every meal. We also say the Angelus before our meals. For Lent we are going to begin saying Grace After Meals, too. We don't eat in between meals, mostly.

We are all avid crossers. We cross ourselves whenever we see anyone walking down the street and say "Jesus, Mary, and Joseph I Love you! Please save this person's soul and bring the to repentance and salvation!" I cross myself and say "Blessed be the name of God" whenever anyone uses the Lord's name in vain, whether on TV or in real life. We cross ourselves in front of hospitals and pray for all of those who will be born there or die there that day. We cross ourselves in front of Catholic & Orthodox Churches, when there are sirens- ambulance or police- upon rising; whenever I am tempted-- and of course all of the regular prayer times. I also cross myself and say a prayer for the souls in Purgatory every time I drive through a yellow light! I think I might also start crossing myself and saying a little prayer for those aboard every time a plane passes overhead.

 

[faerieevaH]

I say a prayer of thanksgiving or blessing before I eat dinner. I cross myself before I eat lunch (which is often merely a snack). I try not to snack in between and I forget to make a cross when I take a piece of dental gum for example.

I do make the sign of the cross regularly during the day: when seeing a church, when I hear an ambulance, a police car or a fire department car, when I am in temptation and before each class, though mostly I take the oportunity to pray a bit longer.

 

[InnerPhyre]

I often forget to say grace when I'm eating by myself, but I try to remember. Most of my meals are eating on the run because I'm either in between classes or rushing to work, so I tend to remember AFTER I've eaten.

I cross myself all the time. I do it when I pass a Catholic or Orthodox church. When I pass a cemetary, I cross myself and say "Grant them eternal rest, Lord, and may perpetual light shine upon them." When I see a fire truck, ambulance, or police car speeding by, I cross myself and say a prayer for their safety and that they may save whoever is in trouble. I also cross myself when I feel tempted or when I get angry. When someone cuts me off on the road, I always make sure I cross myself immediately so I don't start yelling or making gestures

 

[JeffreyLloyd]

..When someone cuts me off on the road, I always make sure I cross myself immediately so I don't start yelling or making gestures

I have to remember that one!

 

[DJ B.K.]

Ugh, I wish I crossed myself more. Sure, how much you sign yourself isn't a measure of you're faith but I guess I'm just afraid of getting looks in a public university.