Theology Final Review

Adam: High Priest

In the temple of creation, Adam served as the high priest, leading creation in worship and protecting it from harm.

Complementary:

Combining in such a way as to enhance or complete one another.

Vocation

A call from God to a permanent state of life: ordained priesthood, consecrated religious life, or Marriage. All people have the vocation from God to love and to be holy.

Salvation History

The story of God's love and mercy revealed to us throughout human history, culminating in Christ's sacrifice on the Cross and Resurrection from the dead which won for us salvation from sin and death.

Passover

The central event of the Exodus. The final plague God sent upon Egypt was the plague of the death of the first born of every family in Egypt. By sacrificing a lamb, spreading its blood on their doorposts, and eating its roasted flesh in a sacred meal of bread and wine, the Israelite homes would be passed over by the plague of death. God also commanded that the Israelites remember this original Passover event every year with a memorial meal.

Gentile

A person of non-Jewish descent.

New Covenant

The new and everlasting covenant won for us by Christ's Paschal Mystery. In this covenant is the fulfillment of centuries of prophecies and all of God's promises for the forgiveness of sins. We are made members of the New Covenant by our Baptism and we renew and participate in the covenant every time we receive the Eucharist. All people are invited to be members of the New Covenant.

Eucharist

The sacrament in which we receive the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ under the appearances of bread and wine.

Nicene Creed

The Profession of Faith set forth by the Councils of Nicaea (AD 325) and Constantinople (AD 381), and typically recited at Sunday Mass, which affirms the essential tenets of the Christian Faith and belief in the Holy Trinity.

Intercede

To act as a mediator or go-between.

Kingdom of God

God's reign or rule over all things. During His public ministry, Jesus proclaimed that the Kingdom of God was at hand. The Church is the seed, or beginning, of the Kingdom here on earth. The Kingdom will be fulfilled in Heaven.

Particular (Immediate)

The judgment experienced immediately after death in which the sum total of our life's choices for or against God are revealed. Based on our own decisions throughout the course of our lives, we will be given entrance to Heaven (or Purgatory) will be sent to Hell.

General Judgment

The judgment experienced on the Last Day in which the light of Christ, who is Truth itself, will illuminate everything. Nothing will remain hidden. We will see not only all of our own individual choices for or against God, but how each one affected everyone else and the whole order of creation. On this, then, we will be judged and welcomed to eternal life with Christ in the New Heavens and the New Earth, or banished into the eternal torment of Hell.

Apostle

A term meaning "one who is sent." Jesus called twelve of his disciples to become his Apostles, chosen witnesses of his Resurrection, and the foundation on which he built the Church. As Jesus was sent by the Father, so he sent his chosen disciples to preach the Gospel to the whole world.

Bishop

A successor to the Apostles, who has received the fullness of the Sacrament of Holy Orders. He is the leader of a particular Church, or diocese, entrusted to him.

Pope

The successor of St. Peter as Bishop of Rome and Supreme Pontiff of the universal Catholic Church.

Pentecost (originally a Jewish feast and now a Christian feast)

The day when Jesus sent the Holy Spirit upon Mary and the Apostles and the Church was born. Fifty days after Jesus' Resurrection (10 days after His Ascension into Heaven) Mary and the Apostles gathered in the Upper Room and were filled with the Holy Spirit.

Wind

The Holy Spirit came in a rush of wind when arriving in the Upper Room.

Tongues of Fire

Form of the Holy Spirit descending upon disciples in Jerusalem at Pentecost.

Upper Room

The room where Jesus celebrated the Last Supper. The locked gathering place for the first Christians before Pentecost. One of the first Christian churches.

The Virgin Mary

Mother of Jesus

Mary, Mother of Church

A title given to Mary in the Roman Catholic Church, as officially declared by Pope Paul VI in 1964.

Purgatory

The state of being after death in which those who "die in God's grace and friendship, but [are] still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their eternal salvation; but after death they undergo purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of Heaven"

Heaven

The state of being after death in which "those who die in God's grace and friendship and are perfectly purified live forever with Christ." The souls in Heaven enjoy perfect communion and relationship with God, His angels, and all of the saints.

Hell

The state of being after death in which those who die unrepentant of mortal sin and refuse the love and mercy of God to the end experience eternal separation from God and the Communion of Saints.

Sanctifying Grace

The free and undeserved gift of a share in God's own life. It is a stable disposition, which means we remain in a state of grace unless we lose the divine life through mortal sin. We first receive sanctifying grace at Baptism, it is strengthened through the other Sacraments, and restored through the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation.

Intercession

Prayer for the needs of others.

Clergy

All the ordained, priest, bishop, deacons, etc.

Laity

Church members who are not clergy

Common Priesthood

Church members who share in Christ's priesthood through Baptism and Confirmation

Ministerial Priesthood

The priesthood of those who have received Holy Orders, which is at the service of all the faithful.

Ethiopian Eunuch

The first African on record to become a Christian

Katholikos

Greek, meaning "universal" or "according to the whole." Another term for Catholic.

Chosen People

A title given to the people of Israel, the People of God, whom He had called out or assembled in His name. Most often used to describe the Israelites led out of slavery in Egypt in the Exodus, to whom the Ten Commandments were given through Moses.

Covenant

a sacred promise or agreement between humans or between God and humans.

Deacon

Men ordained not for priesthood but for ministry and service as assistants to bishops and priests.

Priest

The collaborators of the bishops.

New Law

The law of the New Covenant established by Jesus, found especially in the teaching of the Sermon on the Mount and the two great commandments. It is the perfection here on earth of the Divine Law, natural and revealed.

Hierarchical Gifts

The hierarchical organization of the Catholic Church that is understood to be a gift of the Holy Spirit.

Canon Law

The body of universal rules and regulations that govern the Roman Catholic Church.

Charismatic Gifts

Graces of the Holy Spirit granted to the members of the Church which build up the Church for the good of her members and the world.

Protomartyr

Means "the first martyr", Stephen was the first Christian martyr

Martyr

A person who is killed because of their religious or other beliefs.

Infallibility

The charism of being infallible (incapable of error) in matters of faith and morals.

Apostolic Succession

the handing on of apostolic preaching and authority from the Apostles to their successors the bishops through the laying on of hands, as a permanent office in the Church.

Ecumenical Council

Formal gatherings of all of the world's bishops called by the pope in order to authoritatively address issues of importance to the Church.

Nicea

Is a city in Asia Minor (modern Iznik in Turkey) where the first ecumenical council met in 325.

Bride of Christ

Title for the Church that reflects how her Bridegroom, Jesus, gave Himself up for her.

Temple of the Holy Spirit

A title for the Church that describes her as the dwelling place of God.

Church as Pilgrim

A spiritual journey to a religious destination, often physically challenging and typically undertaken to grow in holiness and/or as a penance.

Heresy

The obstinate denial after Baptism of a truth which must be believed with divine and Catholic faith.

Gnosticism

The name given to a heresy of the early Church that taught, among other things, that Jesus was not fully human, the material world was evil, and salvation was achieved through secret knowledge, or gnosis. It doubted his divinity.

Arianism

An influential heresy of the early Church that taught that Jesus, the Son of God, was created by God the Father, and therefore not truly equal to Him or of the same substance.

Sola Scriptura

The belief that the Bible is the only source of divine revelation held by most non-Catholic Christian churches. Latin for "by Scripture alone."

Protestant Reformation

A 16th century revolt began by Martin Luther that divided and eventually splintered Christianity.

Sola Fide

The belief that we are saved through faith alone, and that our willing cooperation with God's grace plays no role in our salvation. This belief is held by most non-Catholic Christian churches. Latin for "faith alone."

Sola Gratia

The belief that we are saved through God's grace, and that our own efforts play no role in our salvation. Catholics do not believe in sola gratia, Latin for "grace alone."

Apostasy

Renunciation of a religion. Total rejection of the Christian Faith.

Schism

A division caused by differences in belief. Schism is the refusal of submission to the pope or of communion with the members of the Church subject to him.

The Great Schism

The separation of Eastern Christians from the Catholic Church in 1054 AD. The Eastern churches became known as the Orthodox Church.

Ecumenism

The work of restoring unity among all Christians by bringing them back into the Catholic Church, which alone offers the fullness of the means of salvation.

Church Militant

Those members of the Church still working out their salvation by waging the battle against sin here on earth.

Church Suffering

Those members of the Church undergoing purification in Purgatory before their entry into Heaven.

Church Triumphant

Those members of the Church who enjoy the Beatific Vision in Heaven.

Saint

Holy persons who led a life in union with God through the grace of Christ and received the reward of eternal life, or Heaven.

Communion of Saints

The unity in Christ of all the redeemed, those souls in Heaven who enjoy the Beatific Vision, those souls in Purgatory enduring purification, and those souls on earth still working out their salvation.

Holy

Set apart by God and partaking in His life.

Evangelization

The act of sharing the Good News of the Gospel message of salvation. At the command of Jesus, the Church's mission is to evangelize the whole world.

Diocese

A community of the faithful, usually within a geographic area but sometimes constituted as a group of people of the same rite or language.

Holy Orders

The sacrament through which the mission entrusted by Christ to His Apostles continues to be exercised in the Church until the end of time. It has THREE degrees, deacon, priest, & bishop

Consecrated Life

The permanent vocation characterized by the public profession of the evangelical counsels of poverty, chastity, and obedience in a stable state of life recognized by the Church.

Matrimony

The Sacrament that joins one man and one woman in a free, faithful, fruitful, and indissoluble union.

Deposit of Faith

The full content of divine revelation communicated by Christ, contained in Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition, handed on in the Church from the time of the Apostles, and from which the Magisterium draws all that it proposes for belief as being divinely revealed.

Israelites/Jews

Ethnic group from F.C. who founded the Abrahamic religions.

Old Covenant

The Mosaic Law, encapsulated as the Ten Commandments, and its stipulation from God to the Israelites that "I will be your God, and you will be my people."

Paul

Follower of Jesus who helped spread Christianity throughout the Roman world.

Resurrection

Jesus's rise from the dead

Ascension

The "going up" into Heaven of the Risen Christ forty days after his Resurrection.

Peter's speech after Pentecost

He had the ability to speak in numerous languages.

Twelve

There are twelve Apostles.

Holy Spirit

3rd person of the Trinity who guides the Church; Advocate

Phillip the Deacon

The First Gentile was baptized by Phillip the Deacon

Peter

A.D. 5-67 One of the 12 apostles of Jesus; Roman Catholics consider him to be the first pope, bishop of Rome

Great Commission

Orders Christ gave to his Apostles to make disciples of all nations and to baptize them

Church as One

The Holy Spirit works in us to make us more like Christ, to be one with him; the joining of all believers into a unified community.

Vine and the Branches

Image of the Church that illustrates the relationship of individual members of the Church with Christ, each with individual talents and duties, but all united in the Holy Spirit to Jesus, the source of all life.

Seed of Kingdom

The church, like a seed when planted and nurtured, has the potential to spread the message of the Kingdom and prepare the believers for the message of Heaven/Salvation.

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.

Hypostatic Union

The union of Jesus Christ's divine and human natures in one Divine Person.

Body of Christ

A term that when capitalized designates Jesus' Body in the Eucharist, or the entire Church, which is also referred to as the Mystical Body of Christ.

Luther

The founder of Protestantism whose religion, based on 95 Theses, rejected Catholic orthodoxy, the sale of indulgences, and papal authority.

Holy Sacrifice of the Mass

More formal name for the Mass, the Catholic liturgy, emphasizing its unity with the one Sacrifice of Christ.

Last Supper

A Passover meal which literally became the last meal taken by Christ with his apostles, the night before his Passion. Through this meal, Christ instituted the Holy Eucharist and the priesthood.

Universal Call to Holiness

Every baptized person is called to seek holiness regardless of his or her state in life. This call was reaffirmed by the Second Vatican Council.

Sacrament of Marriage

A Sacrament that unites a baptized man and a baptized woman in a covenant of life and love "ordered to the well-being of the spouses and to the procreation and upbringing of children"

Sanctification

Process of being made holy. This begins with Baptism, continues throughout the life of the Christian, and is completed when a person enters heaven and becomes totally and irrevocably united with God in the beatific vision.

Eschatology

The part of theology concerned with death, judgement, and the final destiny of the soul and of humankind.

Immaculate Conception

The belief that Mary was conceived without Original Sin

Canonization

The Church's official process by which she declares someone a saint.

Apostolic

The belief that the church can only be understood in the light of the apostles