Beautiful, beautiful images. I copied your quote to repeat them.
It looks like you misunderstood the post. What was referred to is that Catholics and Orthodox have
always made the sign of the cross, and always will, often, like before and after prayer, for example. Its either the small gesture with their fingers only on the forehead (like with the ash on Ash Wednesday) or the more common touching first the forehead, then down to the center of the chest/heart, then finishing by touching two points across the upper chest near shoulders like a cross, usually repeating, "In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit."
But again you sound so often like a Protestant apologist - or should I say Protester. You remember that I was raised Protestant and practiced Christianity as a happily not-Catholic Protestant, for a very long time before I unexpectedly converted to Catholic. It took a long time to get there - I protested it the whole way. I had to satisfy
all of my deeply embedded Protestant protestations which I had accepted as a very much a part of my thinking for a long time, and this took abut a years's intense effort with much, much reading, before I would ever dream of becoming Catholic - which I was very motivated not to do. But these things are easily resolved, if one wants to know the truth - and I did (though I never dreamed that seeking the truth of these matters would make me Catholic!)
There can be many answers to the "graven image" protest, but to keep it brief I will give a single one: Why would God say that and then tell the Israelites to construct a tabernacle - for His tablets of the Ten Commandments, some Manna and I Aaron's staff - and give specific instructions for gold-cover statues/images from Heaven and earth to adorn it, when people would then bow before it? (hint: That should be indication that maybe there is another way top interpret this "instruction" other than what you put forth.)