HCC test 1

Charism

A special gift or grace of the Holy Spirit that directly or indirectly builds up the Church, helps a person live a Christian life, or serves the common good.

Apostles

Jesus' twelve specially chosen and commissioned disciples, as well as other figures such as St. Paul; they earned this designation when they were sent forth to evangelize. The word apostle originates from the Greek for 'to send forth.'

Salvation history

The story of God's action in human history. Salvation history refers to the events through which God makes humanity aware of and brings humanity into the Kingdom of God. It began with the creation of the world and will end with the second coming of Christ.

Deposit of faith

'The heritage of faith contained in Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition, handed down in the Church from the time of the Apostles, from which the Magisterium draws all that it proposes for belief as being divinely revealed' (CCC, Glossary).

Magisterium

The bishops, in communion with the pope (the successor of St. Peter), who are the living and teaching office of the Church. The Magisterium authentically interprets the Word of God in the forms of both Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition.

Paschal mystery

The redemptive Passion, Death, Resurrection, and glorious Ascension of Jesus Christ, through which Jesus not only liberated humans from sin but also gave them new life.

Martyr

The word martyr literally means 'witness' in Greek. Martyrs are witnesses to the truth of faith who endure even death to be faithful to Christ.

Apologist

Christian writers who defend the Church against anti-Christian writings or heresies through the use of reason and intellectual defenses. An apologist 'speaks in one's defense.'

Relic

The physical remains or personal effects of a saint that are approved by the Church for veneration.

Liturgical year

Cycle of the liturgical seasons of Advent, Christmas, Ordinary Time, Lent, Triduum, and Easter, organized around the major events of Jesus' life.

Feast day

The day on the liturgical calendar commemorating a saint's entry into heaven, typically celebrated on or close to the day when a saint died.

Church fathers

Those men from the first through the eighth centuries AD who were given this title based on their monumental contributions to the Church, especially their extensive teaching and writing about the Faith in order to help it grow and develop.

Pharisee

A member of an ancient Jewish sect, distinguished by strict observance of the traditional and written law, and commonly held to have pretensions to superior sanctity.

Catechumens

People who are undergoing a period of study and spiritual preparation before receiving the Sacrament of Baptism.

Hypostatic union

From a Greek term (hypostasis) employed to describe the union of the human and divine natures of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, in one Divine Person.

Monasticism

Religious life in which men or women leave the world and enter a monastery or convent to devote themselves to solitary prayer, contemplation, and self-denial.

Caesaropapism

The political theory often practiced when Christianity was legalized held that a secular ruler could also have authority over the Church, including in matters of doctrine.

Ecumenical council

Meetings of Catholic bishops from around the world, typically convened in order to discuss and resolve pressing theological topics.

Schism

A break in Christian unity that takes place when a group of Christians separates itself from the Church.

Canon

The official list of inspired books in the Bible.

Liturgy of the Word

The part of the Mass that includes the 'writings of the prophets' (the Old Testament readings and psalms) and the 'memoirs of the Apostles' (the Gospels and the New Testament epistles), the homily, the profession of faith (Creed), and the intercessions for the world.

Nicene Creed

The foundational statement of Christian belief that was produced by the Church leaders gathered at the First Council of Nicaea in 325.

Christology

The systematic contemplation within the Church on the Divine Person and work of Jesus Christ.

Papal states

The territory in modern-day central Italy that was overseen by the pope from the eighth century until 1870.

Lay investiture

A practice in the Middle Ages whereby secular rulers chose the bishops for their territories, thus usurping the right of the pope to choose bishops.

Simony

The controversial practice of selling and buying positions or favor within the Church.

Transubstantiation

Church teaching that holds that the substance of the bread and wine is changed into the substance of the Body and Blood of Christ at the consecration at Mass.

Purgatory

The final purification of all who die in God's grace and friendship but remain imperfectly purified.

Conciliarism

An erroneous idea, popular in the Middle Ages, that an ecumenical council of the Church had more authority than the pope and could depose him if they so desired.

Scholasticism

The theological system that arose during the Middle Ages, developed notably by St. Thomas Aquinas, balancing faith and reason and relying heavily on classical philosophy and the Church Fathers.