rel. units 4-5

Apocalyptic literature

literary form that uses dramatic events and highly symbolic language to offer hope to a people in crisis.

Ascension

the “going up” into Heaven of the Risen Christ forty days after His Resurrection.

Beatitudes

teachings of Jesus that begin the Sermon on the Mount and that summarize the New Law of Christ, describing actions and attitudes by which one can discover genuine happiness, and teaching us the final end to which God calls us: full communion with Him in the Kingdom of Heaven.

Code of Canon Law

collected body of rules and regulations used to govern the Church in its mission toward the salvation of souls.

Common good

Social conditions that allow for all citizens of the Earth, individuals and families to meet basic needs and achieve fulfillment.

Communion of Saints

phrase refers to two realities: 1) the communion of spiritual goods that Christ has shared with the Church, such as sacraments, charism, helping those in needs, love of one another, and 2) the spiritual union of all the redeemed, those on Earth, and those who have died (Heaven, Earth, and Purgatory).

Complacency

state of self-satisfaction, esp. when accompanied by unawareness of actual dangers or deficiencies; unaware or uninformed self-satisfaction.

Cult

small religious group that is not part of a larger and more accepted religion and that has beliefs regarded by many as extreme or dangerous.

Episcopacy

position or office of a bishop

Evangelization

proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ through word and witness.

Evengelizers

those who proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ through word and witness.

Faith

the belief in the existence of God; for Christians, the gift of God to freely accept His full Revelation in Jesus, one of three Theological Virtues involving an intellectual and loving acceptance of God and His commands.

Fidelity

Faithfulness.

Final Judgment

judgment of the human race by Jesus Christ at His second coming, aka Last Judgment.

Four last things

The Church refers to death, judgment, Heaven and Hell as this.

Holiness

state of being holy, meaning set apart for God’s service, to be devoted to God and united with Him and His Church, to live a morally good life, to be a person of prayer, and to reveal God’s love to the world through acts of loving service.

Hope

Theological Virtue by which we trust in the promises of God and expect from God both eternal life and the grace we need to attain it; the conviction that God’s grace is at work in the world and that the Kingdom of God established by and through Jesus is becoming realized through the working of the Holy Spirit among us.

Incorruptible

in reference to our bodies, not subject to decay or dissolution.

Jesuits

name of members of the Society of Jesus, the order founded by St. Ignatius of Loyola in 1534 – they do teaching, missionary and parish work, and conduct retreats.

Kerygma

the initial Gospel proclamation designed to introduce a person to Christ and to appeal for conversion.

Last Day

Described in the Book of Revelation, on the ___ ___, all will stand before the One True Judge, Jesus Christ. Our lives will be brought to light and judged according to our deeds.

Law of Love

Divine Law revealed in the New Testament through the life and teaching of Jesus and through the witness and teaching of the Apostles; it perfects the Old Law and brings it to fulfillment.

Love

aka charity, the Theological Virtue by which we love God above all things and, out of that love of God, love our neighbors as ourselves.

Marginalized

those who are relegated to an unimportant or powerless position within a society or group.

New Jerusalem

In the Book of Revelation, a symbol of a renewed society in which God dwells; a symbol of the Church, the “holy city”, the assembly of the People of God called together from “the ends of the earth”; in other settings, a symbol of Heaven.

Parousia

second coming of Christ as judge of all the living and the dead; at the end of time, when the Kingdom of God will be fulfilled.

Particular Judgment

The judgment that occurs immediately at the time of our death, when our immortal souls will be judged as worthy or unworthy of Heaven.

Pastoral Letters

refers to three books of the New Testament

Persecution

act or practice of harassing or abusing those who differ in origin, religion, or social outlook.

Presbyter

synonym for elder in the Acts of the Apostles and an alternative word for priest today.

Proselytizing

practice of inducing someone to convert to one’s faith.

Providence

God’s divine care and protection.

Purgatory

state of final purification or cleansing, which one may need to enter following death and before entering Heaven.

Reincarnation

belief that our soul can be reborn into a new body.

Second Coming

The ____ _____ of Christ as judge of all the living and the dead, when the Kingdom of God will be fulfilled; aka the Parousia.

Social justice

defense of human dignity by ensuring that essential human needs are met and that essential human rights are protected for all people.

Spiritual exercises

originally established by St. Ignatius of Loyola, they are prayers, meditations, reflections, and directions for retreat, to regulate one’s life in such a way that no decision is made under the influence of attachment to anything other than God.

Synagogue

building where a Jewish assembly or congregation meets for religious worship and instruction.

Theological Virtues

the name for the God-given virtues of faith, hope, and love. These virtues enable us to know God as God and lead us to union with God in mind and heart.

Virtue

a habitual and firm disposition to do good.