Catholics often make the Sign of the Cross. We make the familiar motion of our childhood or entry into the Church by repeating the words at the holy water font, before and after prayer, or passing by a cemetery.

Over time, this gesture can become habitual. Soon, our hand motions can quicken into a circular gesture, more like a symbol of eternity than the Cross that gets us there. The Sign of the Cross is not just what we do before and after a prayer — it is a prayer! St. Bernadette said that if we were to pray this prayer well, we could go to Heaven.