Annunciation: the announcement by the angel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary of her conception of Christ.

Transcription

1 Glossary Acts of the Apostles: the fifth book of the New Testament; it tells of the founding of the Christian church and the spread of its message to the Roman Empire. Advocate: a person who pleads for or in behalf of another. Annunciation: the announcement by the angel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary of her conception of Christ. Anointing: to consecrate or make sacred in a ceremony that includes the token applying of oil. Ascension: the bodily ascending of Christ from earth to heaven. Ascetic: (in the early Christian church) a monk; hermit. Asceticism: the manner of life, practices, or principles of an ascetic. Baptism: ceremonial immersion in water, or application of water, as an initiatory rite or sacrament of the Christian church. Blessed: worthy of adoration, reverence, or worship. Broken: weakened in strength and spirit. Call to Family, Community, and Participation: One of the Seven Themes of Catholic Social that calls all Catholics to have a family and to raise them Catholic. Canon: an ecclesiastical rule or law enacted by a council or other competent authority and, in the Roman Catholic Church, approved by the pope. Catechesis: oral religious instruction, formerly especially before baptism or confirmation. Catholic: pertaining to the whole Christian body or church. Catholic Social Teaching: Catholic social teaching is a central and essential element of our faith. Its roots are in the Hebrew prophets who announced God's special love for the poor and called God's people to a covenant of love and justice. It is a teaching founded on the life and words of Jesus Christ, who came "to bring glad tidings to the poor... liberty to captives... recovery of sight to the blind"(lk 4:18-19), and who identified himself with "the least of these," the hungry and the stranger (cf. Mt 25:45). Catholic social teaching is built on a commitment to the poor. This commitment arises from our experiences of Christ in the eucharist. Choices: the right, power, or opportunity to choose. Chosen One: Selected by God for a specific purpose or mission. Christ: Jesus of Nazareth, held by Christians to be the fulfillment of prophecies in the Old Testament regarding the eventual coming of a Messiah. It means the anointed one.

2 Christology: the branch of theology dealing with the nature, person, and deeds of Jesus Christ. Church: the whole body of Catholic believers. Church (House of God): a building for public Catholic worship. Common Good: the advantage or benefit of all people in society or in a group. Communion: the act of receiving the Eucharistic elements. Confirmation: a rite administered to baptized persons, in some churches as a sacrament for confirming and strengthening the recipient in the Christian faith, in others as a rite without sacramental character by which the recipient is admitted to full communion with the church. Consecrate: to make or declare sacred. Didache: a treatise, perhaps of the 1st or early 2nd century ad, on Christian morality and practices. Dignity: nobility or elevation of character. Dignity of Work and Rights of Workers: This is one of the themes of Catholic Social Justice. It protects the rights of employees. Disciple: any follower of Christ. Discipleship: The call to being a follower of Christ. Discrimination: treatment or consideration of, or making a distinction in favor of or against, a person or thing based on the group, class, or category to which that person or thing belongs rather than on individual merit. Divine: of or relating to a god, especially the Supreme Being. Divine Constitution of the Church (Lumen Gentium): is one of the principal documents of the Second Vatican Council. Doctrine: particular principle, position, or policy taught or advocated, as of a religion. Doctrine of the Incarnation: The Incarnation in traditional Christianity is the belief that the second person of the Trinity, also known as God the Son or the Logos (Word), "became flesh" by being conceived in the womb of Mary. Ecclesia: a congregation; church. Ecclesiology: the study of church doctrine. Encyclical: a letter addressed by the pope to all the bishops of the church.

3 Eschatological: any system of doctrines concerning last, or final, matters, as death or the Judgment. Eucharist: the sacrament of Holy Communion; the sacrifice of the Mass; the Lord's Supper. Evangelist: a preacher of the gospel. Exorcisms: the act or process of exorcising. Extreme Unction: anointing of the sick also called the Last Rights. Gentiles: Christian, as distinguished from Jewish. Glory of God: The glory of God is the beauty of His spirit. Gospel: the story of Christ's life and teachings, especially as contained in the first four books of the New Testament, namely Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Grace: the freely given, unmerited favour and love of God. Healing Sacraments: These are Reconciliation and Anointing of the Sick. Holy Orders: the rite or sacrament of ordination. Holy Spirit: the spirit of God. Honour: personal integrity; allegiance to moral principles. Human Dignity: Catholic social teaching believes that human beings, created in the image and likeness of God (Genesis 1:26-27), have by their very existence an inherent value, worth, and distinction. Humility: the quality or condition of being humble; modest opinion or estimate of one's own importance. Incarnation: the doctrine that the second person of the Trinity assumed human form in the person of Jesus Christ and is completely both God and man. Jesus: Also called Jesus Christ, born 4 BC, crucified 29 AD, the source of the Christian religion. Justice: rightfulness or lawfulness. Kerygma: the preaching of the gospel of Christ, especially in the manner of the early church. Kingdom of God: This is another term for Heaven. Logos: the divine word or reason incarnate in Jesus Christ.

4 Magisterium: the authority and power of the church to teach religious truth. Marriage: religious sacrament and ceremony that formalizes the decision of two people to live as a married couple. Martyr: a person who willingly suffers death rather than renounces his or her religion. Matriarch: the female head of a family. Matrimony: the rite, ceremony, or sacrament of marriage. Meditation: continued or extended thought; reflection; contemplation. Messianic Secret: refers to a motif primarily in the Gospel of Mark in which Jesus is portrayed as commanding his followers to silence about his Messianic mission. Miracle: an effect or extraordinary event in the physical world that surpasses all known human or natural powers and is ascribed to a supernatural cause. Modest: having or showing a moderate or humble estimate of one's merits, importance, etc.; free from vanity, egotism, boastfulness, or great pretensions. Monastery: a house or place of residence occupied by a community of persons, especially monks, living in seclusion under religious vows. Monk: a man who has withdrawn from the world for religious reasons, especially as a member of an order of cenobites living according to a particular rule and under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience. Nun: a woman member of a religious order, especially one bound by vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience. Parable: a short allegorical story designed to illustrate or teach some truth, religious principle, or moral lesson. Paraclete: an advocate or intercessor. Paschal Mystery: one of the central concepts of Christian faith relating to the history of salvation. Its main subject is the passion, death, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ the work God the Father sent his Son to accomplish on earth. Pentecost: a Christian festival celebrated on the seventh Sunday after Easter, commemorating the descent of the Holy Ghost upon the apostles. Prayer: a spiritual communion with God or an object of worship, as in supplication, thanksgiving, adoration, or confession.

5 Preferential Option for the Poor: Jesus taught that on the Day of Judgment, God will ask what each of us did to help the poor and needy: "Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me." This is reflected in the Church's canon law, which states, "The Christian faithful are also obliged to promote social justice and, mindful of the precept of the Lord, to assist the poor from their own resources. Priest: a person whose office it is to perform religious rites, and especially to make sacrificial offerings. Reconciliation: Also called confession of faith. A formal profession of belief and acceptance of doctrines, as before entering into God s grace. Respect: esteem for or a sense of the worth or excellence of a person, a personal quality or ability, or something considered as a manifestation of a personal quality or ability. Resurrection: the act of rising from the dead. Rights and Responsibilities: The Rights and Responsibilities of the Human Person is basically the respect given to all human beings rights and responsibilities. Rights are the aspects that are supposed to be given to each and every person in the world. Sacrament: a visible sign of an inward grace, especially one of the solemn Christian rites considered to have been instituted by Jesus Christ to symbolize or confer grace. Saint: any of certain persons of exceptional holiness of life, formally recognized as such by the Christian Church, especially by canonization. Salvation: deliverance from the power and penalty of sin; redemption. Septuagint: the oldest Greek version of the Old Testament, traditionally said to have been translated by 70 or 72 Jewish scholars at the request of Ptolemy II. Service: an act of helpful activity. Solidarity: union or fellowship arising from common responsibilities and interests, as between members of a group or between classes or peoples. Son of Man: "Son of man" is a phrase used in the Hebrew Bible, various apocalyptic works of the inter-testamental period, and the Greek New Testament. Sophia: Greek sophia "skill, knowledge of, acquaintance with; sound judgement, practical wisdom; cunning, shrewdness; philosophy," also "wisdom personified. Stewardship: the responsible overseeing and protection of something considered worth caring for and preserving, usually the environment. Synoptic: See with one eye.

6 Tabernacle: the portable sanctuary in use by the Israelites from the time of their wandering in the wilderness after the Exodus from Egypt to the building of the Temple in Jerusalem by Solomon. Testament: a covenant instituted between God and man, especially the covenant of Moses or that instituted by Christ. Torah: the Pentateuch, being the first of the three Jewish divisions of the Old Testament. Twelve Apostles: The first twelve followers of Jesus Christ.

7