At some point I know I'll be attending latin churches in Spain and/or Latin America and I assume small crosses would be better there.
When do you cross yourself in public?
The proper 'Spanish' way to cross yourself is to form a small cross with your thumb and index finger, letting the other three fingers stick out. Make the sign of the cross the Western way (using the middle finger to touch your forehead, etc.) and then kiss the small cross you made with your thumb and index finger.
You can cross yourself any time you pass by a Catholic Church, pass by a camposanto (i.e. cemetery), pass by an outdoor religious statue, pass a holy day or funeral procession, when someone dead is mentioned, or when someone curses in public.
If you make a promise to somone one, say
'te lo juro' (I vow to you) and then make the small cross with thumb and index finger and kiss it, and afterward lift the small cross ever-so-slightly into the air moving it away from your mouth.
When you enter a church, after you have blessed yourself with Holy Water, kneel down and using the small cross (thumb and index finger) trace a small cross on your forehead, then on your upper lip, your lower lip, and then a larger one over your entire mouth end to end while saying:
+Por la se�al de la santa cruz, de +nuestros +enemigos +L�branos Se�or Dios nuestro. (By the sign of the Holy Cross, from our enemies, deliver us O Lord!) Then make the full sign of the cross as mentioned above:
+En el nombre del Padre y del Hijo y del Esp�ritu Santo. Amen. (In the name of the Father...)
If you want to cross yourself more often during the Mass here are some additional places to the usual ones to do it in both the Modern & Traditional Roman Rite:
1.) At the absolution after the
Confiteor (I confess to God Almighty...) (or sometimes the
Kyrie eleison in the Modern Rite);
2.) at the last line of the
Gloria in excelsis (Glory be to God);
3.) at the last line of the
Credo (Nicene Creed);
4.) at the
Benedictus (Blessed is he...), which follows the
Sanctus (Holy, holy, holy);
5.) at the elevations of the Host and the Chalice.
�Buen viaje!
