Archbishop Dolan's Thought for the Week

March 4, 2008

Dear Friends United in Love and Service of Jesus Christ and His Church:

We sign ourselves with the cross . . .

At our Baptism, we were claimed for Christ our Savior by the sign of His cross, traced on our foreheads by our parents and godparents. . .

In many ways, the cross is our sign of identity, a mark that we belong to Christ.

During a visit to one of our prisons in southeastern Wisconsin, an inmate explained to me the meaning of the various tattoos I could not miss on the arms of some of the prisoners. Each gang, he explained, has its own tattoo, its own “brand,” as it were. There is no mistaking, then, to whom the convict belongs. His gang claims him, has dominion over him, protects him, and watches out for him. All the other inmates recognize to whom he belongs, because of the sign, the brand, the tattoo.

Well, we are convicts, too. We have been convicted of sin and been sentenced to death.

But, our sentence has been commuted, we have been redeemed, we have been declared innocent and free, our debt has been paid, by the precious blood of the Son of God.

“Lord by your cross and resurrection you have set us free! You are the savior of the world!”

We belong to His “gang,” the Church. He has claimed us. He has dominion over us. We now belong to Him.

And we have a sign, a brand, a “tattoo” so there’s no mistaking to whom we belong.

This is the sign of the cross. This cross hangs in our homes, offices, classrooms, meeting rooms, hospital rooms. We trace this cross on ourselves often, especially before prayer and worship. It hangs around our necks.

By God’s mercy, one day we long to reach heaven, our true and eternal home.

At the gates of heaven, we will not be asked for an ID, a passport, a driver’s license, or a stock portfolio.

But the gatekeeper will look for the sign of the cross.

“We adore thee, O Christ, and we praise thee!

Because by the holy cross thou hast redeemed the world!”
 

Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan

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