Thread by @seamasdebarra

On the #Zoroastrian origins of a weekly #Catholic Ritual

پندار نیک، گفتار نیک، کردار نیک

Most people who are Catholic, or were raised in the Roman Catholic rite, will be familiar with the triple crossing ritual during the Mass.

#Iranian #زرتشت #CatholicTwitter

In the moment before the Gospel reading, the priest says “a reading from the Gospel according to (X)”, and the congregation replies “glory to you, o Lord”, before performing this gesture.

Using their thumb, they cross their forehead, then their lips, then their heart.

Few if any Catholic knows that this gesture is a modern representation of an ancient philosophy inherited from #Zoroastrianism:

- Blessing the forehead signifies “good thoughts”
- Blessing the lips signifies “good words”
- Blessing the heart signifies “good deeds”

If you ask the Church, they will explain that the gesture’s origins lie in Hebrews 4:12, symbolising your willingness to let the word of God “pierce” your mind, lips and heart.

But where does this concept come from?

Zoroastrianism, an ancient monotheistic religion from Iran, still practiced today, both in Iran and in the #Indian #Parsi religion.

A central tenet of Zoroastrianism - good thoughts, good words, good deeds - passed to the #Israelites during the #Babylonian exile during the sixth century BCE, alongside other concepts that previously were not part of the Israelite religion.

Such as the concept of an afterlife, more specifically heaven, which caused the split between the Sadducees and Pharisees (the spiritual ancestors of the modern rabbis), and was later absorbed into #Judaism and inherited by #Christianity and #Islam.

So if you’re (even remotely) Catholic, the next time you’re in Mass and the Gospel is read, remember as you cross yourself: good thoughts (pendar-e nik), good words (goftar-e nik), good deeds (kerdar-e nik).