Chapter 13 — Part I — Baptism
Section 298. Q. What force has the sign of the cross used on this and other occasions? A. What the name of Jesus Christ crucified is when pronounced with faith by motion of the lips, the very same is also the sign of the cross when made with faith by motion of the hand, or represented in any other way. Cyril of Jerusalem writes: Let us not be ashamed to confess the Crucified; let us boldly make the sign of the Cross on the forehead, and on every thing; on the bread which we eat; on the cups from which we drink; let us make it at our going out, and coming in; when we lie down to sleep, and when we rise; when we journey, and when we rest: it is a great safeguard, given to the poor without price, to the weak without labor. For this is the grace of God; a token for the faithful, and a terror for evil spirits. (Cat. Lect. xiii. 36.)