Ark of the Covenant: An ornate box that held the tablets of the Law (Ten Commandments), the rod of Aaron, and some manna; it represented God’s throne on earth.
Assyrians: The people of Assyria who destroyed Israel’s Northern Kingdom in 722 BC.
Christ: Greek for “anointed.” This is used in reference to Jesus because he accomplished perfectly the divine mission of priest, prophet, and king, signified by his being “anointed” as Christ.
Circumcision: The sign of God’s covenant with Abraham. Circumcision set the People of God apart from other nations.
Covenant: A solemn agreement between people or between God and man made by swearing an oath before God and involving mutual commitments and promises.
Faith: The theological virtue by which one believes, because of God’s authority, in all that God has revealed and that the Church proposes for belief.
Genesis: The first book of the Bible. It begins with the story of creation and ends with the death of Joseph in Egypt. It shows the first 7 days of creation and the fall of man.
Hebrews: The name given to the People of God, later known as the Israelites, Israel, or the Jews.
Imago Dei: Man’s fundamental orientation to God, which is the basis of human dignity and of the inalienable rights of the human person.
Manna: A kind of bread “from Heaven” given by God to the Hebrews as their daily food to sustain them during their 40 years of wandering in the desert. It is a type for the Eucharist as a bread given by God to sustain life.
Messiah: Hebrew for “anointed.” This is used in reference to Jesus because he accomplished perfectly the divine mission of priest, prophet, and king, signified by his being anointed as Christ.
Moral Law: For the Israelites, the Ten Commandments and other laws given by God revealing how he wants his people to conduct themselves.
Original Sin: Brought on by the disobedience of Adam and Eve, this sin separated mankind from God, darkened the human intellect, weakened the human will, and introduced into human nature an inclination toward sin
Passover: A Jewish feast commemorating the deliverance of their firstborn males from death by the blood of the lamb sprinkled on the doorposts while in bondage in Egypt; this was a type of the sacrificial Passion and Death of Jesus Christ, saving men from bondage to sin.
Pentateuch: The first five books of the Bible; it comprises Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.
Protoevangelium: The promise of God to Adam in Genesis 3:15 of a Messiah and Redeemer that will redeem man for his sin. This is the first mention of Jesus Christ in the Old Testament.
Revelation: God’s free decision to make himself known to us in a way that is beyond our natural capacity to learn of him by the use of human reason alone. God’s Revelation is transmitted through Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition. God fully revealed himself through his son Jesus Christ.
Sabbath: The Sabbath—or seventh—day on which God rested after the work of the six days of creation was completed. It is the day that Christ Resurrected, and is celebrated as the day of mass and rest for Christians.
Anno Domini: Latin for “in the year of our Lord,” usually abbreviated “AD” to reference a given year in history. The fact that today we count the years from the date of Jesus’ Birth bears witness to his importance in the entire world.
Annunciation: The visit of the angel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary to inform her that she was to be the Mother of the Savior. After giving her consent to God’s word, Mary became the Mother of Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit
Ascension: Christ’s return to Heaven from the Mount of Olives before his Apostles’ very eyes, forty days after his Death and Resurrection
Divine Filiation: Refers to the fact that the Sacrament of Baptism makes us spiritual sons and daughters of God. While our divine filiation is not the same as that of Jesus, the Only-Begotten Son of God, it is a participation in the Sonship of Christ. Jesus’ Sonship is uncreated and eternal. Ours is a grace that is created, adoptive, and real. It means that through Baptism, we are just as much a child of God as we are children of our earthly parents, and we are truly at home in Heaven.
Epiphany: From the Greek for “manifestation.” The Feast of Epiphany celebrates the adoration of the Christ child by the Magi, the Baptism of Christ in the Jordan, and his first miracle at the wedding in Cana.
Family of God: A name of the Church derived from the teaching of Christ; it highlights the intimate communion that the Father offers to man in the Person of Jesus Christ, in whom we are made sons and daughters of God.
Incarnation: From the Latin meaning “to make flesh.” The mystery of the hypostatic union of the divine and human natures in the one divine Person, the Word, Jesus Christ. To bring about man’s salvation, the Son of God was made flesh (cf. Jn 1:14) and became truly man.
Pentecost: The descent of the Holy Spirit, in the form of a rushing wind and tongues of fire, upon the Apostles after Jesus’ Ascension. This event fulfilled Jesus’ promise to send his Spirit to teach, guide, and empower the Apostles in their mission.
People of God: Those born into the Church through faith in Christ and Baptism. The term is taken from the Old Testament, in which God chose Israel to be his people. Christ instituted the new and eternal covenant by which a new priestly, prophetic, and royal People of God, the Church, participates in the mission and service of Christ
Real Presence: Term used to describe the Eucharist, in which Jesus is really and fully present—Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity—under the species of bread and wine, which have been consecrated to become his Body and Blood.
Temple of the Holy Spirit: A title of the Church used by St. Paul; it highlights the relationship between the Church and the Old Testament Temple in Jerusalem.
Apocryphal: Describes any book purporting to be inspired but ultimately not accepted by the Church as part of Sacred Scripture (the Bible). They cannot be completely believed but can be acknowledged and examined.
Baptism: The first of the Seven Sacraments and the door that gives access to the other Sacraments; first and chief Sacrament of Forgiveness of Sins because the baptized Christian receives the remission of both personal and Original Sin. It incorporates a person into the Church, the Body of Christ.
Church: Generally, the entire assembly of the faithful People of God; more specifically, particularly when spelled with a capital C, it refers to the Catholic Church. It is the full communion between God and his People.
Council of Jerusalem: Recounted in Acts 15, this synod of the Apostles AD 49 or 50 spoke with the authority of Christ in deciding that Gentile converts to Christianity did not have to be circumcised according to the Law of Moses. Set the foundation for all other Ecumenical Councils and established the authority of Peter as head of the Apostles.
Ecumenical Council: A formal synod of bishops (sometimes with other ecclesiastics) from the whole inhabited world convened to define doctrine, regulate the Christian life, or apply discipline in the Church.
Martyr: Greek for “witness.” A witness to the truth of the Faith in which a Christian endures suffering and even death for Christ.
Mass: The principal sacramental celebration and worship of the Catholic Church, established by Jesus at the Last Supper, in which the mystery of salvation through participation in the sacrificial Death and glorious Resurrection of Christ is renewed and accomplished.
Rock: The literal meaning of the name Peter, taken from its Greek form Petros. Jesus gave St. Peter his name to indicate that he would be the “rock” upon which Jesus would build his Church
Sacred Tradition: The Church’s teachings that have been passed down through the ages through the successors of the Apostles.
Sacred Scripture: The Bible; the canonical writings validated by the Church as inerrant and inspired by the Holy Spirit.
Vicar of Christ: Term used for the Pope that emphasizes his role as a representative of Christ himself; from the Latin vicarius, meaning “in the person of.”
Apostolic Succession: The truth that the Catholic bishops today can trace their authority in a direct line back to the Apostles and ultimately from Christ himself, each consecrated a bishop by another bishop.
Bishop: A consecrated successor to the Apostles, usually given charge of the pastoral and catechetical care of a particular jurisdiction, or diocese; he is called to teach, sanctify, and govern the faithful of his own diocese, and also to work together in caring for the worldwide Church.
Cardinal: A bishop or archbishop who has been selected by a Pope to become part of the College of Cardinals and thus an adviser. The main purpose of a cardinal is to serve as a papal elector. Some cardinals lead archdioceses; others serve in the administration at the Vatican.
Clergy: The faithful of the Church who have received the Sacrament of Holy Orders; that is, bishops, priests, and deacons
Conclave:A gathering of the world’s cardinals in St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome for the purpose of electing a new Pope.
Deacon: A man who is ordained to assist the mission of the Church; transitional deacons are men who are preparing for ordination to the priesthood; permanent deacons are mature men, married or unmarried, who are ordained deacons in a permanent capacity; from the Greek for “helper.”
Deposit of Faith: The definitive Revelation of Christ given to the Apostles and, through them, to the entire Church as Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition; the heritage of faith handed on in the Church from the time of the Apostles, from which the Magisterium draws all that it proposes for belief as being divinely revealed.
Episcopacy: The office of bishop in the Catholic Church; from the Greek episkopos (“overseer”), from which also is derived the word “bishop.”
Evangelization: The mission given to the Apostles by Christ to preach the Gospel to the whole world and make converts of every nation; also, witnessing to our faith in the Gospel in our daily lives.
Hierarchy: The order of teaching authority in the Church, given such authority by Christ himself, with the Pope as its head, followed by bishops, priests, and deacons; from the Greek hierarchia (“sacred order”).
Infallibility: Immunity from error and any possibility of error. The gift of the Holy Spirit to the Church whereby the Magisterium can definitively proclaim a doctrine in faith or morals without error. The Church possesses this character as promised by Christ, as does the Pope as defined by the Twentieth Ecumenical Council (Vatican I, 1870). In matters of faith or the church, the Pope can speak without error
In Persona Christi: Literally, “in the Person of Christ”; refers to the fact that by virtue of the Sacrament of Holy Orders, the ordained priest participates in the priesthood of Christ and acts in the place of Christ, particularly in the Mass and in conferring the Sacraments.
Magisterium: The name given to the ordinary and universal teaching authority of the Pope and the bishops in communion with him, who guide the members of the Church without error in matters of faith and morals through the interpretation of Sacred Scripture and Tradition. There are two types- Ordinary which is the teaching office of Bishops in their own discoes. And Supreme which is the teaching office of all Bishops gathered with the Pope
Nicene Creed: The symbol or formula of the Catholic Faith that was developed at the Ecumenical Councils of Nicæa I (325) and Constantinople I (381). It is sung or said by the congregation during the Mass/Divine Liturgy.
Pope: Successor of St. Peter; Bishop of Rome; supreme pontiff of the Catholic Church. The Pope exercises a primacy of authority as Vicar of Christ and shepherd of the whole Church; he receives the divine assistance promised by Christ.
Presbyterate: The office of priest in the Catholic Church; the priesthood. Allows priests to have authority and to watch over the church from within.
Purgatory: A state of final purification after death and before entrance into Heaven for those who died in God’s friendship but owe reparation for confessed sins; a final cleansing of human imperfection before one is able to enter the joy of Heaven.
Second Vatican Council: The Church’s teachings that have been passed down through the ages through the successors of the Apostles; together with Sacred Scripture, it makes up a single deposit of the Word of God—the Deposit of Faith—a single gift of God to the Church; from the Latin traditio (“to hand down”).
Apostasy: The total repudiation of the Christian Faith. This is forbidden by the First Commandment and is against the theological virtue of faith.
Apostle: From the Greek for “one sent forth.” Refers to the Twelve chosen by Jesus during the course of his public ministry to be his closest followers, as well as Sts.Matthias, Paul of Tarsus, Barnabas, and the enlighteners of whole nations. They are the first evangelists and founders of the Church after Christ, and the Bishops and Popes follow after them in Apostolic Succession.
Apollinarianism: A fourth-century heresy advanced by Apollinaris, himself a fourth-century opponent of Arianism, which held that Christ had only a divine mind and will, not a human mind and will, and thus was not truly man.
Arianism: A fourth-century heresy claiming that Jesus Christ was neither God nor equal to the Father, only that he was sent by the Father and only did the will of the Father; it also taught that Christ was an exceptional creature and was raised to the level of “Son of God” because of his heroic fidelity to the Father’s will and his sublime holiness.
Gnosticism: An ancient heresy that taught, among other things, that salvation came from obtaining secret experiential knowledge and that the material world was evil, a corruption of spirit. Jesus was the Redeemer, but he was neither true God nor true man; he was an apparition, a lesser divine being who inhabited a human body; he neither had a body nor died on the Cross.
Heresy: The obstinate denial by a baptized person of some truth that must be believed with divine faith.
Holy See: The diocese of the Pope, Bishop of Rome; also, a term used to refer to the central administration of the worldwide Catholic Church.
Immutable: Will never change in its essential aspects; an attribute of the Catholic Church as a result of its divine origin.
Indefectible: Having no flaw or defect; an attribute of the Catholic Church as a result of its divine origin.
Indulgence: The remission before God of the temporal punishment due to sin whose guilt has already been forgiven, available to the faithful under certain conditions prescribed by the Church. The prescribed conditions usually involve particular prayers, devotions, pilgrimages, timely reception of the Sacraments, acts of charity, or some combination thereof, all done with the proper disposition. These help take time off of Purgatory, and were the main reason Lutheranism was created.
Logos: In the New Testament, a reference to Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Word made flesh; it is a Greek term meaning word. In pagan neo-Platonic thought, the logos was an elevated being, created by but inferior to the Supreme Being; this etymology led some early Christians to doubt the true divinity of Christ and fall into heresy.
Marks of the Church: The four attributes of the Church mentioned in the Nicene Creed (“I believe in One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church”). They differentiate the Catholic Church as the one true Church.
Monophysitism: A heresy arising in the fifth century that claimed there is only one nature in the Person of Christ, his human nature having been incorporated into his divine nature.
Neo-Platonism: A pagan school of thought based upon the ideas of the Greek philosopher Plato that held the existence of a Supreme Being, “the One,” who creates through an emanation of lesser beings, one of which is the logos.
Nestorianism: A heresy arising in the fourth century advanced by Nestorius, who taught Christ was the unity of a divine Person and a human person—in other words, Jesus was two persons united in one nature rather than one Person with both a divine nature and a human nature. He opposed the title Theotokos (Bearer of God) for Mary, teaching that Mary was the Mother of Christ, but not of God.
Protestantism: The general name given to any of the Christian denominations that broke from the Catholic Church during the sixteenth-century Reforma-tion and to the splinter churches from these communities; today these include the Lutherans, Anglicans (Episcopalians), Methodists, Presbyterians, Baptists, and many others.
Schism: A breach of the unity of the visible Church; the refusal to submit to the Pope or be united with the Church. An example is the Schism between the Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church.
Separated Brethren: Persons who were born into schismatic communities, including Protestant communities and Orthodox Churches, and thus cannot be considered guilty prima facie of the sin of sepa-ration because it is often through no fault of their own that they remain unaware of the truth of the Catholic Faith.
Theotokos: Greek for “Bearer of God.” This title of the Blessed Virgin Mary was confirmed at the Council of Ephesus AD 431; it acknowledges Jesus Christ is true God and true man.
Canaan: The land of the Canaanites, which was to become the Promised Land for the Israelites.
Moriah: The mountains around Jerusalem where Abraham offered his son Isaac as a sacrifice.
Mount Sinai: The mountain where Moses received the Ten Commandments from God.
Mount Zion:The hill on which the oldest part of Jerusalem was built. A poetic name for the city of Jerusalem.
Nile River: Waterway in Egypt upon which the infant Moses’ mother placed him in a reed basket, hoping to save him from the pharaoh’s order to kill all male Israelite children; the pharaoh’s own daughter found him and raised him as her own child.
Northern Kingdom: The term used to refer to the ten tribes of Israel that split from Jerusalem during the reign of King Solomon’s son Rehoboam.
Red Sea: Sea through which Moses and the Hebrews passed in their flight from Egypt after God miraculously parted the waters for them.
Bethlehem: Little town” where Jesus was born, in the land of Judea.
Emmaus: A small village a few hours’ journey away from Jerusalem. After his Resurrection, two of Jesus’ followers met him on the road to Emmaus, but did not recognize him until he broke bread with them.
Israel: The home of the Israelites, the people chosen by God to be his people and inherit the promises of Abraham. This people is named after Israel (Jacob), from whose twelve sons the tribes of Israel descend. During the time of the divided nation, this refers to the northern ten tribes. It is the place chosen by God to begin his Kingdom.
Mystical Body of Christ: The faithful People of God, who in a supernatural way become one body, with Christ as its head. The faithful are united together in Christ’s Mystical Body; that is, we are brought into communion with one another through our communion with Christ.
Bride of Christ: A name of the Church derived from the writings of St. Paul; it highlights the purity and holiness that Christ has bestowed upon the Church.
Kingdom of Christ: ame of the Church used frequently by Jesus; it highlights the relationship between the Davidic kingdom and the Church.
Pilgrim Church: Name sometimes used to describe the Church because it is on a “journey” in this world; although the Church itself is perfect as created by Christ, its Faithful seek greater holiness and intimacy with Christ and thus are ever traveling toward the house of God the Father.
Temple of the Holy Spirit: A title of the Church used by St. Paul; it highlights the relationship between the Church and the Old Testament Temple in Jerusalem.
