Knock On Wood's Catholic Origens
...has Catholic origens, rather than superstition alone.
I read, in the book Why Do Catholics Eat Fish on Friday?, the following...
"The Cross is remembered not only by virtue of its shape or form, as with the sign of the cross, but by virtue of its material. The instrument of Christ's death was often the object of reflection by the Church Fathers, Christianity's illustrious early thinkers and bishops, who saw the wooden cross as the new tree of eternal life that rescues us from slavery to which Adam and eve's sin with the tree of the knowlege of good and evil bound us. The supersition of knocking on wood is thus a way of involving the power of the cross in the face of danger or misfortune. In some areas it is even said that one is supposed to knock on wood three times, one for each Person of the Trinity*."
* Religious Superstition Through the Ages by Don Lewis (p.35)
6 comments:
I didn't know that!! I had always tried not to do it due to the fact I thought it was superstition. The origin is quite amazing and makes total sense!
I have to refrain myself too, but now I will think/pray "Father, Son, Holy Ghost" now when I have cause to go to the wood of the Cross....as I do so now for friends in Hawaii.
Thanks for this little "tidbit"!
Very interesting! Neat reference to the Trinity ... I'll never forget this piece of info, now.
Wow - that is interesting.
I used to always do that UNTIL a very holy priest (you may know him from EWTN, Fr. Bing :) anyway, until he told us - at our parish visiting years ago - to *NEVER* knock on would as it was very superstitious (some eastern "practice") and he gave the reasons for it, of course, i can't recall that part now!
what a wealth of information you are. I did not know this. and tho I don't usually knock on wood, when I next do so, I'll do it three times!
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