Thelogy Exam 1 Revies

True Happiness

comes from living in accord with our human dignity as children of God

Human Dignity

the quality of being worthy of esteem or respect. Each person has worth and value because each person is made in God’s image

Beatitudes

attitudes and actions that prepare us for heaven

Free Will / Freedom

the power, rooted in reason and will, that enables a person to preform deliberate actions on one’s own responsibilty

License vs. Freedom

License: the absence of rule, “I can do whatever I want”

Freedom: True freedom is freedom in excellence, which is the ability to act rightly

Difference: license allows us to act any way we like, whether right or wrong, Freedom allows us to act rightly in accordance with what God has made us to do

Original Holiness

The initial state of human existence before sin, marked by grace, harmony, and direct friendship with God.

Original Solitude

Adam's realization of his uniqueness among creation and his need for a partner suitable for him, highlighting the human need for relationship.

Original Unity

The total communion, equality, and complementary oneness experienced between man and woman prior to the Fall.

Original Nakedness

The state of innocence before the Fall in which man and woman saw each other purely as gifts without lust or objectification.

Original Sin

The fallen state of human nature into which all people are born, resulting from the disobedience of the first human parents.

Concupiscence

The inclination or tendency toward sin resulting from Original Sin, which remains even after baptism.

Recapitulation

The divine work of Christ as the New Adam who undoes Adam's disobedience and restores humanity's unity and relationship with God.

Salvation History

The record of God's saving interventions in human history to redeem humanity from sin and reconcile creation.

Covenant

A sacred, unbreakable solemn agreement and bond of relationship established between God and His people.

Law of the Gift

The moral principle that human beings can fully find themselves only through a sincere gift of self to God and others.

Four Traits of the Gift of Self

Free, total, faithful, and fruitful.

Holiness

The state of being holy, set apart for God, and aligned in grace and charity with God's will.

Universal Call to Holiness

The Catholic teaching that every baptized person, regardless of state of life, is called to complete fullness of Christian life and perfection of charity.

Consecrated Life

A state of life recognized by the Church in which believers dedicate themselves fully to God through evangelical counsels (poverty, chastity, and obedience).

Consecrated Virginity

A form of consecrated life in which a woman is solemnly betrothed to Christ through perpetual chastity consecrated by the diocesan bishop.

Religious Life

A form of consecrated life where members profess vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience and live in a community under an approved rule.

Hermits

Men or women living in solitude and continuous prayer and penance for the salvation of the world (eremitic life).

Secular Institutes / Third Orders

Organizations of lay faithful or clergy who strive for Christian perfection and exercise apostolates while living in the world or associated with a religious order.

Virtue

A habitual and firm disposition to do the good.

Theological Virtues

Faith, Hope, and Charity (Love).

Cardinal Virtues

Prudence, Justice, Fortitude, and Temperance.

Conscience

A judgment of reason whereby the human person recognizes the moral quality of a concrete act that he is going to perform, is performing, or has completed.

Theotokos

A Greek title for Mary meaning "God-bearer" or "Mother of God."

Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary

The dogma that Mary was preserved immune from all stain of original sin from the first instant of her conception.

Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

The dogma that Mary, at the end of her earthly life, was taken up body and soul into heavenly glory.

Perpetual Virginity of the Blessed Virgin Mary

The dogma that Mary remained a virgin before, during, and perpetually after the birth of Jesus Christ.

Principle of Double Effect

A moral principle stating that an action with both good and bad effects is permissible if the act itself is morally good or neutral, the intention is solely the good effect, the evil effect is not the means to the good, and there is a proportionally grave reason.

Law

An ordinance of reason for the common good, promulgated by the one who has care of the community.

Eternal Law

The divine wisdom and plan of God that governs and directs all acts and movements in the universe.

Natural Law

The moral law written upon the human heart and knowable through human reason alone.

Revealed Law

The law revealed directly by God in Sacred Scripture and Tradition, comprising the Old Law and the New Law (Gospel).

Object

The specific act or moral matter chosen by the action itself (what is done).

End/Intention

The purpose, goal, or motive behind performing a moral act (why it is done).

Circumstances

The secondary elements surrounding a moral act (who, where, when, how) that can increase or diminish its goodness or evilness.

Conditions for an Act to be Good

All three moral dimensions must be good: the moral object must be good, the end/intention must be good, and the circumstances must be appropriate.

Protoevangelion

The "First Gospel" found in Genesis 3:15, announcing God's promise of a Redeemer who will crush the serpent.

Personal Sin

Any willful act, word, thought, or omission committed by an individual against God's law.

Mortal Sin

A grave violation of God's law that destroys charity in the heart of man and turns him away from God, requiring grave matter, full knowledge, and deliberate consent.

Venial Sin

A lesser sin that weakens or wounds charity in the soul without destroying it or severing the relationship with God completely.

Social Sin

The cumulative effect of personal sins that creates structures of sin and injustice within society.

Mitigating Factors

Factors that lessen moral culpability or responsibility for a sinful act, including ignorance, duress, fear, psychological factors, habit, and force.

Ten Commandments (Catholic List)

1. I am the Lord your God: you shall not have strange gods before me. 2. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain. 3. Remember to keep holy the Lord's Day. 4. Honor your father and your mother. 5. You shall not kill. 6. You shall not commit adultery. 7. You shall not steal. 8. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. 9. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife. 10. You shall not covet your neighbor's goods.

Prohibition of Killing in the Fifth Commandment

The Fifth Commandment strictly forbids the deliberate killing of innocent human life, but does not prohibit legitimate self-defense or defense of others under proper conditions.

Catholic Understanding of Sex

Sex is created by God as inherently morally good when expressed within the covenant of marriage between a husband and wife, but becomes sinful when used outside God's design.

Greed

An inordinate or excessive desire for earthly goods and material wealth.

Avarice

An insatiable passion or greed for riches, money, or material possessions.

Envy

Sadness or resentment at the sight of another's good fortune or possessions, accompanied by a desire to take it for oneself.

Perjury

Lying under oath, calling God as a witness to a lie.

Detraction

Disclosing another's true faults or sins without an objectively valid reason to someone who did not know them, destroying their reputation.

Calumny

Telling untrue statements or lies about someone to damage or ruin their reputation.

Lying

Speaking or acting falsely with the intention of deceiving someone who has a right to the truth.

Two Important Traits of the Sexual Act

It must be unitive (expressing and deepening marital love) and procreative (open to the transmission of life).

Catholic Teaching on War

Peace is always the goal; war is permissible only as a strict last resort of legitimate self-defense under Just War Theory criteria.

Permissibility of Capital Punishment

According to current Catholic teaching, capital punishment is inadmissible because it attacks the inviolability and dignity of the person.