The Angelic Cross

Attributed to Thomas Aquinas (St. Thomas Aquinas was said to be afraid of lightning storms, since his sister had perished in one (cf. Ystoria sancti Thome de Aquino de Guillaume de Tocco, c. 3, 98, ll. 6–12); during one such storm, he supposedly wrote these words in the form of a cross (as depicted) in Anagni, Italy. To read the prayer on the cross, the text can be read up, down, left, and right, and one may then continue to read the text in any cardinal direction until it reaches the ends of the cross. The translation here is taken from the English text found in: Rev. Henry Joseph Pflugbeil, St. Thomas Manual (Cincinnati: Fr. Pustet and Co., 1887), 101–2.)

The cross is my sure salvation,
The cross will I always adore.
May the cross of my Lord be about me!
Be my refuge forevermore!