Grade 5 Chapter 1 Lesson 1 Vocabulary

Existence, Divine Revelation, and the Mysteries of Faith

  • Knowing God's Existence through Logic and Faith

    • Knowledge of God's existence is attained through a combination of logic and faith.

    • Logical reasoning demonstrates God's existence because it is fundamentally difficult to explain how anything first comes into existence without a First Cause or Creator.

  • Encountering Revelation Through Christ

    • The divine revelation of God through Jesus Christ is encountered through Faith.

    • This Faith is first received at Baptism.

  • Truths Revealed by God

    • The truths revealed by God encompass all those doctrines and beliefs that are summarized in the Apostle's Creed.

  • The Nature of a Mystery

    • A mystery is defined as a specific truth revealed by God that remains beyond human reason to fully comprehend.

  • The Two Chief Mysteries of the Faith

    • The two chief mysteries of the Christian Faith that are explicitly professed in the Creed are:

    1. The unity of the Blessed Trinity.

    2. The Incarnation, Passion, death, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ.

The Blessed Trinity

  • Definition of the Blessed Trinity

    • The Blessed Trinity is a mystery in which it is believed that God exists as 3 Persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

    • Each individual Person is fully God, and all 3 Persons collectively are 1 God.

  • Monotheism and the Divine Persons

    • There is belief in only 1 God.

    • There are exactly 3 Persons in God.

  • Equality and Nature of the Divine Persons

    • No single Person within the Trinity is more powerful, wise, or better than the others; each Person is co-equal.

    • The nature of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit is completely the same.

    • Because the Persons are co-equal, there are no differences in their divine nature.

  • Human Comprehension of the Trinity

    • Humans cannot fully understand the Blessed Trinity because human intellect cannot fully comprehend the depth and complexity of this divine mystery.

    • Human understanding is frequently limited or distorted because people often conceptualize different imagery rather than grasping the full truth.

Angelology and the Heavenly Choirs

  • Definition and Attributes of Angels

    • An angel is a pure entity that exists entirely without a body.

    • Angels surpass all visible creatures in their nature.

    • The primary purpose and role of angels are to behold the face of God and to serve Him.

    • Angels are intelligent beings.

  • Invisibility and Distinction Among Angels

    • Angels cannot be seen with human eyes because they are ordinarily invisible.

    • Not all angels are the same; every angel is distinct and different from one another.

  • Defeat of Lucifer

    • Archangel Michael defeated Lucifer.

  • Choirs and Orders of Angels

    • The heavenly hierarchy includes 3 distinct choirs or orders of angels:

    • Cherubim

    • Seraphins

    • Archangels