The sign of the cross, is powerful because it marks us as children of God who have thrown off the slavery of Satan and embraced the Cross of Christ as the way to salvation. The Cross destroyed death and hell, and through it, Jesus redeemed the world. By make the sign of the cross, we acknowledge that he has redeemed us, and that through baptism we have become the children of God.
Because the sign of the Cross is the mark of our redemption, Satan hates it. Demons flee from the sign of the cross when it is devoutly made. St. Cyril of Jerusalem (AD 386), Bishop of Jerusalem, says the following of this powerful sign:
Let us, therefore, not be ashamed of the Cross of Christ; but though another hide it, do thou openly seal it upon thy forehead, that the devils may behold the royal sign and flee trembling far away. Make then this sign at eating and drinking, at sitting, at lying down, at rising up, at speaking, at walking: in a word, at every act.
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