[Question:]{.underline} Ought one to make the sign of the Cross when being blessed?
[Answer:]{.underline} There are a large number and variety of different blessings in the Church’s liturgy. All Catholics are aware of the solemn blessing in the name of the Most Holy Trinity, which is given at the end of Mass. However, there are also blessings in the rites of administration of all the sacraments, such as when we ask the priest to bless us when we begin our Confession. There are also very many blessings in the different parts of the Divine Office, notably at Matins, Prime and Compline. The more solemn of these blessings are made in the name of the Most Holy Trinity, as the blessing at the end of Mass, such as before Confession, or at the end of Compline. However, there are many blessings in the Divine Office that do not specifically invoke the Holy Trinity, such as those at Matins and at Prime, in which it is Almighty God who is asked to bless us and bestow on us such graces as the preservation from evil and the obtaining of everlasting life. Finally, there are those blessings in which no words are said, when the blessing is made with the Blessed Sacrament, either after the administration of Holy Communion or during Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament.
The rubrics do not prescribe precisely whether or not a person is to make the sign of the Cross when being blessed. It is consequently governed by salutary custom. It is the custom that when we are being blessing in a solemn way in the name of the Most Holy Trinity that we make the sign of the Cross, as profession of Faith in the Trinity, but without saying any words. However, it is not obligatory, nor do the graces of the blessing depend upon it. Such is the case for the blessings before Confessions and at the end of Mass and in the office of Compline. In addition, there are some other blessings that do not mention the Holy Trinity, such as at the end of Prime, with which it is customary to make the sign of the Cross. However, there are other blessings in the office of Prime and Matins, which do not invoke the Holy Trinity, in which it is not the custom to make the sign of the Cross.
What about the silent blessings with the Blessed Sacrament? There are two laudatory customs. One is simply to bow one’s head in adoration of our Divine Savior. This makes sense, since the Trinity is not explicitly invoked in the silent blessing, but it is rather a blessing directly from Our Lord Himself. The other custom is to make the sign of the Cross as in receiving other blessings. If this latter practice is equally meritworthy when done in the spirit of adoration, it is not equally logical and is consequently not to be preferred.
Answered by Father Peter Scott, SSPX.