By
Jean-Joseph Gaume
BOOK REVIEW
This is the most sacred and central symbol of our Catholic Faith, yet how many (or should I say, how few) of us have ever made the effort to delve deeply into the meaning and import of this profound action?
The book “The Sign of the Cross” by Jean-Joseph Gaume, may possibly be best described as a persuasive essay in an epistolary form. This book tackles the then ‘modern’ cultural biases which had even permeated the Catholic cultures and societies. These biases which in some forms, or the negative effects of which, may still exist in the current day. Although the book was originally written two centuries ago, the readers should not fall into the idea of the arguments and concepts put forward being outdated. In fact the book in itself draws very strong conclusions regarding the myth of Catholic practices becoming “outdated.”
"For you, for me, for all sensible men, they may be summed up as follows - We are children of the dust, the Sign of the Cross is a Divine Sign, which ennobles us; we are ignorant, it is a book which instructs us; poor, it is a treasure which enriches us; soldiers, it is a weapon which puts the enemy to flight; travellers on the way to Heaven, it is a guide that conducts us."
The book follows the real life situation of a young Catholic man trying to navigate larger society among his peers, searching for the facts to justify and convince said peers of the practices and beliefs he was seemingly given by his upbringing, a situation which may still resound with many today. To do so he writes to our author in a bid to get clear and authoritative guidance.
In true Catholic Theological fashion, an entire book is able to be written about one concept, one practice which may be easily overlooked even today. While it seems in his era the practice of the Sign of the Cross was even spurned, perhaps a more subtle error is present today, that of merely performing it out of custom, or habit, or even a social pressure without any grasp of meaning and importance. And therefore, as stated, an entire book maintaining perpetual relevance can be written, full of deeper explanations, anecdotes, arguments and clear explanations leading to it’s deeper relevance and connectivity to the rest of our Faith, the Church, and even larger society.
The clearest point of argument, which is immediately apparent, is a call to our Spiritual Ancestors, laying out that the Tradition of the Catholic Nation, as he references, has, at its greatest peaks, had such a high regard for this Sacred Symbol that we certainly cannot claim that their notion can sit in equal correctness as modern apathy and disdain. As he points out, we cannot both be right.
Whilst it would be easy to find long and boundless quotes from this source to further prove its importance, it would be far more effective simply for the serious reader to themselves find those moments which most speak to them.
It however certainly lays out from the very beginning, sparing no time, that this Sacred Symbol is one which will never lose its importance. As it is the standard of Catholics, true Christians, all throughout history, uniting us in our ancestral lineage to Christ and His Apostles who were the first to spread this indispensable practice. It is a symbol so sacred that the author even makes argument that from the beginning of time, God instilled it into the souls of all humanity, waiting to be woken within them by the preaching of the Church. And so, for the author, this work would be a great success if it was able to instill into the reader, and general Catholic society, that this is not just a silly custom maintained by habit, not just a symbolic gesture, or some outdated relic from a past age, eclipsed by our progression throughout time. Instead, it is a powerful and meaningful Sign, imbued with solemnity and history, connecting our people across all ages, from the past and into the future and across the entirety of the world, which merely awaits the sincere and decided usage to make its mark upon the individual soul.
"Re-ascend to that principle which throws light on all history. Two contrary spirits dispute between them the empire of the world; the spirit of good, and the spirit of evil. All that is done is by Divine inspiration or by satanic inspiration. The institution of the Sign of the Cross, the incessant use of the Sign of the Cross, the confidence in the Sign of the Cross, the omnipotent virtue attributed to the Sign of the Cross - are they the result of a Divine or a satanic inspiration? It must be either one or the other... if it is by Divine inspiration that the Sign of the Cross is practiced, repeated, cherished and regarded as the invincible, universal, permanent and necessary weapon of mankind, what shall we think of a world that no longer understands the Sign of the Cross, that no longer makes it, that despises it, is ashamed of it, no longer salutes it, wishes it no longer in its sight, or under the face of its sun?"
The Sign of the Cross is available for purchase in the True Restoration store.
