Ch3 Vocab Religion

Adoration

Worship; the humble acknowledgment by human beings that they are creatures of the thrice-holy Creator, fulfilling the First Commandment.

Age of reason

The age (customarily established at seven years) at which a person becomes morally responsible for their actions and eligible to receive the Sacraments of the Eucharist, Confirmation, and Anointing of the Sick.

Anaphora

The Eucharistic prayer prayed by the priest at Mass, beginning with the preface and ending with the Great Amen.

Benediction

A prayer invoking God’s power and care upon a person, place, thing, or undertaking, acknowledging God as the source of all blessing.

Communion

Derived from the Latin for "mutual participation" or "oneness together"; denotes the reception of the Body and Blood of Christ, as well as the bond of fellowship uniting the faithful with Jesus and each other.

Consecration

Dedication to a sacred purpose or sanctification; in the Mass, specifically refers to the moment when bread and wine are transformed into the Body and Blood of Christ.

Covenant

A solemn promise or contract regarding future action binding on the participants and fortified by an oath, expressed in words or symbolic action.

Epiclesis

The prayer petitioning the Holy Spirit to come down during Mass as the priest extends his hands over the bread and wine to transform them into the Body and Blood of Jesus.

Eucharist

From the Greek for "thanksgiving"; the principal sacramental celebration established by Christ at the Last Supper, making present the sacrifice of the Cross; also refers to the consecrated species.

Excommunication

An ecclesiastical censure excluding an individual from communion with the faithful due to grave, habitual, public sin, barring them from ministerial roles, sacraments, and church offices.

Koinonia (Communio)

Greek and Latin terms meaning fellowship or association; describes the union among believers, the bond between the believer and Christ, and the relationship within the Holy Trinity.

Mass

Named from the Latin dismissal "Ite, missa est"; the principal sacramental liturgy of the Catholic Church celebrating the mystery of salvation through Christ's Death and Resurrection.

Missal

A liturgical book (sometimes called a Sacramentary) containing the prayers and instructions necessary for the priest celebrant at the altar during Mass.

Missalette

A booklet designed for the laity containing the prayers, songs, and Scripture readings utilized during Mass.

Monstrance

A sacred vessel made of precious metal with a central glass disc, used to hold and expose the Blessed Sacrament for public adoration.

Paschal Lamb

The spotless lamb sacrificed during the ritual Passover meal; typologically refers to Jesus Christ, who offers himself to take away the sins of the world.

Passover

A Jewish solemnity commemorating the deliverance of the Israelites' firstborn males through the blood of the lamb in Egypt; serves as a type of Christ's sacrificial Passion and Death.

Real Presence

The unique, true, and substantial presence of the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist under the appearances of bread and wine.

Sacramental presence

The real, true, and substantial existence of Christ’s divinity and humanity in the Holy Eucharist under the sacramental signs of bread and wine.

Sacrifice

A ritual offering made to God by a priest on behalf of the people as a sign of adoration, thanksgiving, supplication, and communion; offered definitively by Christ on the Cross.

Spiritual communion

A conscious, fervent desire to receive Holy Communion spiritually when physical reception is not possible.

State of grace

The condition of possessing sanctifying grace and living in friendship with God; lost through mortal sin and restored through the Sacrament of Penance or perfect contrition.

Tabernacle

An ornamented receptacle in a church used to reserve the consecrated Eucharist for adoration and the sick; historically, the portable sanctuary tent in the Old Testament.

Transubstantiation

The scholastic term identifying the change of the entire substance of bread and wine into the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Christ, while the accidents (appearances) remain.

Victim

A living offering presented to a deity in a religious rite; fulfilled perfectly by Jesus offering himself on the Cross for universal salvation.