Index Verborum
Glossary
The words of the Faith, from the altar to the catechism, set in order from A to Z.
Catholic words and phrases used across The Layman’s Lantern, with pronunciation for the harder ones. Latin is given in Church (Ecclesiastical) pronunciation. In the pronunciations, the stressed syllable is in CAPITALS.
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1962 calendar
The Roman calendar of the 1962 Missal, used with the Traditional Latin Mass, keeping older features such as Septuagesima, the Ember Days and the Pentecost octave.
Also called: traditional calendar / Tridentine calendar
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1969 calendar
The General Roman Calendar as revised after Vatican II and promulgated in 1969, used with the modern Roman Missal in most parishes today.
Also called: General Roman Calendar / Novus Ordo calendar
A
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abbess
The superior of an abbey of nuns, elected by her community and solemnly blessed; the female counterpart of an abbot.
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abbot
The superior of an abbey of monks, elected by the community and solemnly blessed; the title comes from the Aramaic abba, "father".
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Abrahamic covenant
God's covenant with Abraham promising land, countless descendants and blessing for all nations through his offspring, sealed by circumcision.
Also called: covenant with Abraham
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abrogated /AB-ruh-gay-tid/
Formally repealed by competent authority, as of a law; Benedict XVI declared in 2007 that the 1962 Missal had never been abrogated.
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absolution
The priest's words in Confession by which Christ forgives sins, removing their guilt and eternal punishment and at least part of their temporal punishment.
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abstinence
Refraining from meat as a penance, traditionally on all Fridays; current law binds Catholics from age fourteen, the 1917 Code bound from age seven.
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Acacian Schism /uh-KAY-shun/
The break between Rome and Constantinople (484–519) over the Henoticon, an imperial compromise with the Monophysites; healed by the Formula of Hormisdas.
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accident
In Aristotelian-Thomist philosophy, a quality such as colour, size or taste that exists in a substance; in the Eucharist the accidents of bread and wine remain without their substance.
Also called: accidens
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acedia /ah-CHEH-dee-ah/
"Lack of care": spiritual sloth, a sorrow or weariness toward spiritual good; one of the capital sins, called the "noonday devil" by the desert fathers.
Also called: sloth / noonday devil / noonday demon
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'ach /AKH/
"Brother": Hebrew word also used for nephews, cousins and other kinsmen, as when Abram calls his nephew Lot his brother.
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acolyte /AK-uh-lyte/
One who serves at the altar; in the 1962 usage the highest of the four minor orders, since 1972 an instituted ministry, and loosely any server.
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act and potency
Basic distinction of Aristotle and Aquinas: act is what a thing actually is, potency what it can become; change is the passage from potency to act.
Also called: actus et potentia
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act of consecration
A prayer by which a person, family or nation gives itself entirely to Christ, often to His Sacred Heart, or to Mary, to belong wholly to them.
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Act of Contrition
A prayer of sorrow for sin, out of love of God and fear of His punishments, resolving to confess, do penance and amend one's life.
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Act of Entrustment
A solemn act by which a pope entrusts or consecrates the world, or particular nations, to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, as in 1942, 1984 and 2022.
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Act of Faith
A deliberate assent to all that God has revealed; also the short traditional prayer professing belief in all the Church teaches, because God has revealed it.
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Act of Hope
A short traditional prayer trusting that God, faithful to His promises, will grant pardon, grace and eternal life through the merits of Jesus Christ.
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Act of Love
A short traditional prayer declaring love of God above all things for His own sake, and love of one's neighbour for love of God.
Also called: Act of Charity
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Act of Supremacy
The 1534 English law declaring Henry VIII "Supreme Head" of the Church in England, completing the break with Rome.
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Acta Apostolicae Sedis /AHK-tah ah-poh-STOH-lee-cheh SEH-dees/
"Acts of the Apostolic See": the Holy See's official gazette, published since 1909, in which papal and curial documents are officially promulgated.
Also called: AAS
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Acts of Pilate
Apocryphal early Christian writing on Christ's trial and descent into hell, naming the two thieves Dismas and Gestas; it is not part of Scripture.
Also called: Gospel of Nicodemus
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actual grace
A passing help from God that enlightens the mind and strengthens the will to do good and avoid evil at a particular moment.
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actual sin
Any sin a person commits by his own free act, whether mortal or venial, as distinct from original sin.
Also called: personal sin
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Ad Caeli Reginam /ahd CHEH-lee reh-JEE-nahm/
"To the Queen of Heaven": Pius XII's 1954 encyclical on Mary's royal dignity, establishing the feast of her Queenship.
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Ad Jesum per Mariam /ahd YEH-zoom pehr mah-REE-ahm/
"To Jesus through Mary": the principle, dear to St. Louis de Montfort, that true devotion to Mary always leads to Christ.
Also called: Ad Iesum per Mariam
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Ad majorem Dei gloriam /ahd mah-YOH-rem DEH-ee GLOH-ree-ahm/
"For the greater glory of God": the motto of St. Ignatius of Loyola and the Jesuits, often written AMDG as a dedication of one's work.
Also called: AMDG
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ad orientem /ahd oh-ree-EN-tem/
"Toward the east": priest and people facing the same way at the altar, toward the liturgical east; universal in the 1962 Mass and permitted in the 1969.
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Adamic covenant
Name some biblical theologians give to God's original covenant bond with Adam and Eve at creation, broken by their sin.
Also called: creation covenant
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adelphos /ah-del-FOHS/
"Brother": Greek word used in the Gospels, as in the Greek Old Testament, for kinsmen of various degrees, not only sons of one mother.
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Adiutricem Populi /ah-dyoo-TREE-chem POH-poo-lee/
"Helper of the people": Leo XIII's 1895 encyclical on the Rosary, honouring Mary as helper of the Christian people and urging Christian unity.
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Adoptionism /uh-DOP-shuh-niz-um/
Heresy that Jesus was a mere man whom God adopted as His Son, at His baptism or resurrection, denying His eternal divine sonship.
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adoration
The worship due to God alone, acknowledging Him as Creator and Lord; offered especially to Christ present in the Blessed Sacrament.
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Adoro Te Devote /ah-DOH-roh teh deh-VOH-teh/
"I devoutly adore Thee": St. Thomas Aquinas's Eucharistic hymn adoring Christ hidden beneath the appearances of bread and wine.
Also called: Godhead here in hiding
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Advent
The season of about four weeks preparing for Christmas and for Christ's Second Coming; it opens the Church year, and its colour is violet.
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Advocate
Title of Mary, who pleads our cause with her Son, as in the Salve Regina; Scripture also calls Christ and the Holy Spirit our Advocate.
Also called: Advocata / Advocate (Marian title) / Advocata nostra
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Aeterni Patris /eh-TEHR-nee PAH-trees/
"Of the eternal Father": Leo XIII's 1879 encyclical calling for the restoration of Christian philosophy, above all that of St. Thomas Aquinas.
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affected ignorance
Ignorance deliberately cultivated to avoid knowing one's moral duty; it does not excuse from sin and can even increase guilt.
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agape /ah-GAH-pay/
"Love": the New Testament word for self-giving charity, and the name of the early Christians' fellowship meal held in connection with the Eucharist.
Also called: agape meal / love feast
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age of reason
The age, about seven, at which a child can tell right from wrong and becomes bound by Church law; St. Pius X set it for First Communion.
Also called: age of discretion
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aggiornamento /ah-jor-nah-MEN-toh/
"Updating": St. John XXIII's watchword for the Second Vatican Council, renewing how the Church presents the unchanging faith to the modern world.
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Agnus Dei /AHN-yoos DEH-ee/
"Lamb of God": John the Baptist's title for Christ, the true Passover sacrifice, and the threefold prayer said or sung before Communion at Mass.
Also called: Lamb of God
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Agony in the Garden
Christ's anguished prayer in Gethsemane the night before He died, when His sweat became like drops of blood; the first Sorrowful Mystery.
Also called: the Agony / Agonia in Horto
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alb /ALB/
Long white linen vestment reaching to the ankles, worn by the priest and ministers under the other vestments and symbolising purity of soul.
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All Saints' Day
November 1, honouring all the saints in heaven, canonised and unknown; a holy day of obligation.
Also called: All Saints / Feast of All Saints / Solemnity of All Saints / All Hallows
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All Souls' Day
November 2, the commemoration of all the faithful departed, when the Church prays and offers Mass for the souls in Purgatory; every priest may say three Masses.
Also called: All Souls / Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed
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allegorical sense
One of the spiritual senses of Scripture, showing how persons and events of the Old Testament point to Christ and His Church.
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Alleluia /ah-leh-LOO-yah/
"Praise the Lord": joyful acclamation sung before the Gospel; it falls silent until Easter from Septuagesima in the 1962 rite, from Ash Wednesday in the 1969.
Also called: Hallelujah
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almah /al-MAH/
"Young woman": the Hebrew word of Isaiah 7:14 for a maiden of marriageable age, rendered "virgin" (parthenos) in the Greek Septuagint.
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almsgiving
Giving to the poor as an act of charity and penance; with prayer and fasting, one of the three traditional penitential works, and it may be offered for the dead.
Also called: alms
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altar
The table of sacrifice on which the Mass is offered, representing Christ; a consecrated altar traditionally contains relics of martyrs.
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altar server
A layperson, traditionally a boy or man, who assists the priest at Mass; female servers have been permitted in the modern rite since 1994.
Also called: server / altar boy
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altarpiece
A painted or carved panel set above and behind an altar; the predella is its lower strip of smaller scenes.
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Ambrosian rite /am-BROH-zhun/
The ancient Latin liturgical rite of Milan, named after St. Ambrose and still in use there, distinct from the Roman Rite.
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ambulatory /AM-byuh-luh-tor-ee/
A walkway curving around the apse behind the high altar of a large church, allowing processions and pilgrims to pass.
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Amen /ah-MEN/
"Truly" or "so be it": the word that seals prayers with assent; in the 1969 rite also the communicant's answer to "The Body of Christ".
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amice /AM-iss/
A white linen cloth the priest places over his neck and shoulders beneath the alb, symbolising the "helmet of salvation".
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anagogical sense /an-uh-GOJ-ih-kul/
The spiritual sense of Scripture that points to heavenly realities and the final fulfilment, directing our hope toward eternal life.
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analogy
Speech about God that is neither univocal nor equivocal; Lateran IV taught that any likeness between Creator and creature implies a greater unlikeness.
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analogy of being
The likeness-in-difference between God's being and that of creatures, which lets words such as "good" or "wise" be said truly of both, though not identically.
Also called: analogia entis
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analogy of faith
The coherence of the truths of faith with one another and within God's whole plan of revelation; a rule for interpreting Scripture.
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anamnesis /an-am-NEE-sis/
"Remembrance": a liturgical memorial that makes Christ's saving deeds present, especially the prayer after the consecration recalling His Passion, Resurrection and Ascension.
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anathema /uh-NATH-uh-muh/
"Set apart": a solemn condemnation cutting off from the Church whoever obstinately holds a condemned teaching, as in conciliar canons ending "let him be anathema".
Also called: anathema sit
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anatta /uh-NAHT-tah/
"Not-self": the Buddhist teaching that there is no permanent self or soul, unlike the Christian doctrine of the immortal soul.
Also called: anatman / no-self
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anawim /ah-nah-WEEM/
"The poor ones": the humble, faithful poor of Israel who looked to God alone for deliverance, such as Mary, Simeon and Anna.
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ancestral sin
Term used by many Eastern Orthodox for the inherited effects of Adam's sin, chiefly death and corruption, often contrasted with the Western doctrine of original sin.
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Ancient of Days
Daniel's title for God enthroned in judgment, who gives everlasting dominion to "one like a son of man".
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anepsios /ah-NEP-see-ohs/
"Cousin": the specific Greek word for cousin, as in Colossians 4:10, cited in discussing why the Gospels call Jesus' kinsmen "brothers".
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angel
A pure spirit created by God, personal and immortal, who serves Him as messenger and guardian; the word means "messenger", naming an office, not a nature.
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angel of light
Satan's disguise (2 Corinthians 11:14): evil presenting itself as good or holy in order to deceive and lead souls astray.
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Angel's Prayers
Two prayers taught to the three Fatima children by the Angel of Peace in 1916: the Pardon Prayer and an offering of Christ to the Holy Trinity.
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Angelic Doctor
Traditional title of St. Thomas Aquinas, honouring the purity of his life and his teaching on the angels; he is also called the Common Doctor.
Also called: Doctor Angelicus
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Angelic Psalter
Old name for the Rosary, whose 150 Hail Marys, prayed in three sets of fifty, echo the 150 Psalms of David's Psalter.
Also called: Our Lady's Psalter / Marian Psalter
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angelology /ayn-jel-OL-uh-jee/
The branch of theology concerning the angels; St. Thomas Aquinas's Treatise on Angels in the Summa is its classic work.
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Angelus /AHN-jeh-loos/
"The Angel": prayer recalling the Incarnation, said morning, noon and evening with three Hail Marys; replaced by the Regina Caeli in Eastertide.
Also called: Angelus Domini
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Anglicanism
The tradition of the Church of England and its daughter churches, separated from Rome under Henry VIII; Leo XIII declared Anglican orders invalid in 1896.
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Anima Christi /AH-nee-mah KREE-stee/
"Soul of Christ": a fourteenth-century prayer after Communion ("Soul of Christ, sanctify me…"), much loved and spread by St. Ignatius of Loyola.
Also called: Soul of Christ
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Annuario Pontificio /ahn-noo-AH-ryoh pon-tee-FEE-choh/
"Pontifical Yearbook": the Holy See's official annual directory of the pope, the Curia and the world's dioceses, including the official list of popes.
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annulment
A Church tribunal's declaration that a marriage was never valid from the start, owing to an impediment or a defect of consent or form; not a Catholic divorce.
Also called: declaration of nullity
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Annunciation
The angel Gabriel's announcement that Mary would conceive the Son of God; the first Joyful Mystery, kept as a feast on March 25.
Also called: Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary / Annunciation of the Lord / Lady Day
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Anointing of the Sick
The sacrament in which a priest anoints the seriously ill or aged, giving grace, forgiving sins and sometimes restoring health; traditionally called Extreme Unction.
Also called: Extreme Unction / Unction
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antediluvian and postdiluvian /an-tee-dih-LOO-vee-un, pohst-dih-LOO-vee-un/
Before and after the Flood: describing the patriarchs listed in Genesis 5 (Adam to Noah) and Genesis 11 (Shem to Abraham).
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Antichrist
The final deceiver foretold in Scripture who will lead a great rebellion against Christ before His Second Coming; St. John also speaks of many antichrists.
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anticipated Mass
A Mass on the evening before a Sunday or holy day which, under modern Church law (1983 Code), satisfies the obligation.
Also called: Saturday evening Mass
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antiphon /AN-tih-fon/
A short verse sung before and after a psalm or canticle, or at fixed points of Mass such as the Introit and Communion.
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antipope
One who claims or exercises the papal office in opposition to the legitimate pope, such as Novatian or several rival claimants during the Great Western Schism.
Also called: anti-pope
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Apocalypse /uh-POK-uh-lips/
The last book of the Bible, St. John's prophetic visions of Christ's final victory; its name means "unveiling" or "revelation".
Also called: Book of Revelation / Apocalypse of St. John
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apocalyptic
A biblical literary genre of visions, symbolic numbers and images revealing God's final victory over evil, as in Daniel and the Apocalypse.
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apocrypha /uh-POK-rih-fuh/
Ancient religious writings outside the biblical canon, not accepted as inspired; Protestants also use the word for the deuterocanonical books.
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Apollinarianism /uh-pol-ih-NAIR-ee-uh-niz-um/
Fourth-century heresy that the divine Word replaced the human mind in Christ, denying His full humanity; condemned at Constantinople I (381).
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apologetics
The reasoned explanation and defence of the Christian faith against objections, giving "an account of the hope that is in you".
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Apologists
Second-century Christian writers, such as St. Justin Martyr, who explained and defended the faith to pagan critics and emperors.
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apostasy /uh-POS-tuh-see/
The total repudiation of the Christian faith by one who was baptized; with heresy and schism, a grave sin against faith and unity.
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apostle
One of the Twelve whom Christ chose and sent to preach the Gospel and govern His Church; the title is also given to St. Paul.
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Apostles' Creed
The ancient summary of the faith, descended from the Roman baptismal creed, professed at Baptism and at the start of the Rosary.
Also called: Symbolum Apostolorum
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apostolate /uh-POS-tuh-lut/
Any work of spreading the Gospel and Christ's kingdom, especially by the laity; also an organised Catholic ministry or association.
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apostolic age
The first age of the Church, from Pentecost to the death of the last apostle around AD 100, with which public revelation was complete.
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apostolic constitution
The most solemn form of papal document, used for major doctrinal and legal acts, such as defining the Assumption in Munificentissimus Deus (1950).
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apostolic exhortation
A papal document encouraging the faithful in some area of Christian life, often issued after a Synod of Bishops.
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Apostolic Fathers
The earliest Christian writers after the apostles, who knew them or their disciples, such as St. Clement of Rome, St. Ignatius of Antioch and St. Polycarp.
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Apostolic Nunciature /NUN-see-uh-chur/
The Holy See's diplomatic mission to a country, equivalent to an embassy, headed by an apostolic nuncio.
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Apostolic Penitentiary
The tribunal of the Roman Curia for matters of conscience: reserved sins and censures, internal-forum dispensations, and the granting of indulgences.
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apostolic succession
The unbroken handing on of the apostles' authority and mission to bishops through ordination by the laying on of hands.
Also called: episcopal succession
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apparition
A reported supernatural appearance of Christ, Mary, an angel or a saint; Church approval permits belief but never obliges anyone to believe it.
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apse
The semicircular or polygonal end of a church, usually behind the altar, often decorated with mosaics or frescoes.
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archangel
The eighth of the nine choirs of angels; also the title of the three archangels named in Scripture, Michael, Gabriel and Raphael.
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archdeacon
Historically the chief deacon of a diocese and the bishop's principal administrator; several archdeacons of Rome were elected pope.
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archdiocese
A leading diocese, usually the metropolitan see of an ecclesiastical province, headed by an archbishop.
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ARCIC /AR-kik/
The Anglican–Roman Catholic International Commission, the official dialogue body since 1970; its statements, such as Mary: Grace and Hope in Christ (2005), are not magisterial teaching.
Also called: Anglican–Roman Catholic International Commission
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Arianism /AIR-ee-uh-niz-um/
Fourth-century heresy of Arius that the Son is a creature, not true God ("there was when He was not"); condemned at Nicaea in 325.
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Ark of the Covenant
The gold-covered chest holding the tablets of the Law, a jar of manna and Aaron's rod, over whose mercy seat God's presence dwelt.
Also called: Ark of the Lord / the Ark
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Ark of the New Covenant
Title of Mary: as the Ark held the Law, the manna and Aaron's rod, she carried within her the Word, the true Bread and the eternal High Priest.
Also called: Ark of the Covenant (Marian title) / Foederis Arca / New Ark
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armour of God
St. Paul's image (Ephesians 6) of the graces arming the Christian against the devil: truth, justice, the Gospel of peace, faith, salvation and God's word.
Also called: armor of God / whole armour of God
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ars moriendi /ahrs moh-ree-EN-dee/
"The art of dying": the Christian tradition, and a genre of fifteenth-century handbooks, on preparing to die well in God's grace.
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article of faith
A truth revealed by God that must be believed with divine faith, such as those of the Creed; pious traditions and private revelations are not articles of faith.
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Ascension
Christ's going up into heaven, body and soul, by His own power forty days after Easter; the second Glorious Mystery and a holy day of obligation.
Also called: Ascension of the Lord / Ascension Thursday
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Ash Wednesday
The first day of Lent, when blessed ashes are placed on the forehead as a sign of penance; a day of fasting and abstinence.
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Asperges /ah-SPEHR-jes/
"Thou shalt sprinkle": the sprinkling of the people with holy water before the principal Sunday Mass in the 1962 rite, to the chant "Asperges me".
Also called: Asperges me
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aspiration
A very short prayer, often indulgenced, repeated through the day, such as "Jesus, Mary and Joseph" or "Sweet Heart of Mary, be my salvation".
Also called: ejaculation / ejaculatory prayer
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assent of faith
The firm, unconditional belief owed to what God has revealed and the Church proposes as revealed; private revelations never require it.
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Assumption
The dogma, defined by Pius XII in 1950, that Mary, having completed her earthly life, was taken up body and soul into heavenly glory; kept August 15.
Also called: Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
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assurance of salvation
Protestant belief that a believer can be certain of final salvation, sometimes as "once saved, always saved"; the Church teaches firm hope, since grace can be lost.
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Athanasian Creed /ath-uh-NAY-zhun/
An ancient Latin creed, traditionally ascribed to St. Athanasius, setting out the Trinity and Incarnation; it opens "Whosoever wishes to be saved".
Also called: Quicumque vult
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Athanasius contra mundum /ah-tah-NAH-zee-oos KOHN-trah MOON-doom/
"Athanasius against the world": saying recalling St. Athanasius standing almost alone for the Nicene faith when Arianism prevailed.
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atheism and agnosticism
Denial of God's existence, or the view that it cannot be known; the Church teaches that God can be known with certainty by natural reason.
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atonement
Reconciliation of sinners with God through a sacrifice that makes satisfaction for sin, accomplished once for all by Christ's death on the Cross.
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attachment to sin
Lingering affection for any sin, even venial; complete freedom from it is required to gain a plenary indulgence.
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attrition
Imperfect contrition: sorrow for sin arising from fear of hell or sin's ugliness; together with sacramental absolution it suffices for forgiveness.
Also called: imperfect contrition
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Auctorem Fidei /owk-TOH-rem FEE-deh-ee/
"Author of the faith": Pius VI's 1794 bull condemning the Jansenist errors of the Synod of Pistoia, including its rejection of limbo as a Pelagian fable.
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Augustinians /aw-guh-STIN-ee-unz/
Religious living under the Rule of St. Augustine, especially the Augustinian friars (Order of St. Augustine), to which Pope Leo XIV belongs.
Also called: Order of St. Augustine / O.S.A.
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auricular confession /aw-RIK-yuh-ler/
Confession of sins spoken privately to a priest; Trent taught it is required by divine law for all mortal sins, while most Protestants reject it.
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authoritative teaching
Non-definitive teaching of the Magisterium that calls for religious submission of intellect and will, though it is not proposed as infallible.
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avarice
One of the seven capital sins: a disordered love of money and possessions.
Also called: greed / covetousness
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Ave Maris Stella /AH-veh MAH-rees STEL-lah/
"Hail, Star of the Sea": an ancient Latin Vespers hymn hailing Mary as Star of the Sea and happy gate of heaven.
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Avignon Papacy /ah-vee-NYOHN/
The period (1309–1377) when the popes resided at Avignon in France under French influence; Gregory XI returned to Rome, urged by St. Catherine of Siena.
Also called: Babylonian Captivity of the Papacy
B
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Baltimore Catechism
The question-and-answer catechism approved by the U.S. bishops in 1885, after the Third Plenary Council of Baltimore, long used to teach American Catholics.
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Baptism
The first sacrament, which washes away original sin and all personal sin, gives new birth as a child of God and makes one a member of the Church.
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baptism of desire and of blood
Ways the grace of Baptism may be received without the rite itself: by sincere desire for it joined with charity and contrition, or by martyrdom for Christ.
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Baptism of the Lord
Christ's baptism by John in the Jordan, kept January 13 in the 1962 calendar and on the Sunday after Epiphany in the 1969; also the first Luminous Mystery.
Also called: Baptism of Our Lord
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baptismal promises
The renunciation of Satan and profession of faith made at Baptism, personally or by godparents, and renewed at the Easter Vigil and in acts of consecration.
Also called: baptismal vows
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baptismal regeneration
The teaching that Baptism truly gives new birth, washing away sin and imparting grace, rather than merely symbolising it.
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baptistery /BAP-tih-stree/
A building, chapel or area of a church containing the baptismal font.
Also called: baptistry
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basilica
A title of honour the Pope gives to certain churches; Rome's four major basilicas are St. John Lateran, St. Peter's, St. Mary Major and St. Paul Outside the Walls.
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beatific vision /bee-uh-TIF-ik/
The direct, face-to-face sight of God enjoyed by the angels and saints, the essential happiness of heaven.
Also called: vision of God
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beatification /bee-at-ih-fih-KAY-shun/
The Pope's declaration that a deceased person lived heroic virtue or died a martyr and may be honoured as "Blessed"; a step toward canonization.
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Beatitudes
Christ's eight blessings opening the Sermon on the Mount ("Blessed are the poor in spirit…"), portraying the path to holiness and true happiness.
Also called: the eight Beatitudes
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begotten, not made
Phrase of the Nicene Creed affirming that the Son is eternally generated from the Father, sharing His nature, and is not a creature.
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being
Whatever is or can be; metaphysics studies being as being, and God alone is subsistent Being itself.
Also called: ens
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beloved disciple
The disciple "whom Jesus loved" in St. John's Gospel, identified by tradition as St. John the Apostle himself.
Also called: disciple whom Jesus loved
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Benedictines /ben-uh-DIK-teenz/
Monks and nuns living under the sixth-century Rule of St. Benedict, centred on the Divine Office, manual work and stability in one community.
Also called: Order of St. Benedict / O.S.B.
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Benediction
Short rite in which the priest blesses the people with the Blessed Sacrament in a monstrance, after adoration and hymns such as the Tantum Ergo.
Also called: Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament
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Benedictus /beh-neh-DEEK-toos/
"Blessed": the canticle of Zechariah at the birth of John the Baptist (Luke 1:68–79), sung daily at Lauds, the Church's morning prayer.
Also called: Canticle of Zechariah / Canticle of Zachary
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Benedictus Deus /beh-neh-DEEK-toos DEH-oos/
"Blessed be God": Benedict XII's 1336 constitution defining that the souls of the just, once purified, see God face to face before the general resurrection.
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Benedictus qui venit /beh-neh-DEEK-toos kwee VEH-neet/
"Blessed is He who comes": the second part of the Sanctus; at a sung 1962 Mass it is sung after the consecration.
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Berengarianism /bair-en-GAIR-ee-uh-niz-um/
Berengar of Tours's eleventh-century denial that bread and wine are substantially changed into Christ; the controversy led to the term transubstantiation.
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berith /beh-REET/
"Covenant": the Hebrew word rendered diatheke in Greek and testamentum in Latin, hence the names Old and New Testament.
Also called: berit
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bind and loose
The authority Christ gave Peter and the apostles to forbid and permit, impose and lift obligations, and forgive or retain sins.
Also called: binding and loosing
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binding prayer
A deliverance prayer asking God to restrain evil spirits, or commanding them in Jesus' name; many exorcists advise laypeople to petition God rather than address demons.
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bishop
A successor of the apostles who receives the fullness of Holy Orders and usually governs a diocese; with the Pope, the bishops teach and govern the Church.
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bishops' conference
The national or regional assembly of bishops, which sets local applications of Church law such as holy days of obligation and penitential practices.
Also called: episcopal conference / conference of bishops
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bitter cup
The cup Christ prayed might pass from Him: the prophets' cup of God's wrath against sin, which He drank in His Passion for our redemption.
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black (liturgical colour)
Colour of mourning, worn at Masses for the dead and on All Souls' Day, and in the 1962 rite on Good Friday; optional in the 1969 rite.
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Black Nazarene
A dark wooden statue of Christ carrying His Cross, venerated at Quiapo Church in Manila, where its January procession draws millions.
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blasphemy
Speech, thought or action expressing contempt or hatred for God, Christ, the saints or sacred things; a grave sin against the second commandment.
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Bless me, Father, for I have sinned
The traditional words with which a penitent begins Confession, followed by how long it has been since the last confession.
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Blessed
Title of a person the Church has beatified, permitting public veneration and marking the step before canonization; abbreviated Bl.
Also called: Bl. / Blessed (title)
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blessed candles
Candles, traditionally of beeswax, blessed especially at Candlemas for use at Mass and in the home, notably at the bedside of the dying.
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blessed oil
Olive oil blessed by a priest for devotional use by the faithful, distinct from the holy oils consecrated for the sacraments.
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Blessed Sacrament
The Holy Eucharist, especially the consecrated Hosts reserved in the tabernacle or exposed for adoration.
Also called: Most Holy Sacrament / Most Blessed Sacrament / Sacrament of the Altar
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blessed salt
Salt blessed by a priest, with an exorcism in the traditional rite, as a sacramental against evil; it is also mixed into holy water at its blessing.
Also called: exorcised salt
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Blessed Virgin Mary
Catholic title for Mary, the Mother of Jesus, honouring her perpetual virginity and singular holiness.
Also called: Blessed Virgin / Blessed Mother / B.V.M.
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blessing
A prayer invoking God's favour on a person, place or thing, such as the priest's blessing at the end of Mass.
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blessing of throats
A sacramental given on St. Blaise's day, February 3, with two crossed candles held at the throat, asking protection from ailments of the throat.
Also called: St. Blaise blessing
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Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity
Formula expressing that the whole Christ, God and man, is truly, really and substantially present in the Holy Eucharist.
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Body of Christ
The Church, united to Christ as its Head (the Mystical Body); also the consecrated Host, received with the words "The Body of Christ".
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Book of Life
Scriptural image of God's record of those who are saved, which will be opened at the Last Judgement.
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Book of the Covenant
The body of laws in Exodus 20–23 given at Sinai with the Ten Commandments, read by Moses when the covenant was ratified.
Also called: Covenant Code
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Book of the Dead
A parish book, kept near the altar especially in November, in which the faithful write the names of the deceased to be prayed for.
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Brahman /BRAH-mun/
In Hinduism, the Absolute: the ultimate reality underlying all things, often understood impersonally, unlike the personal Creator God of Christian faith.
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Branch
Messianic title for the promised shoot from the stump of Jesse and the line of David, foretold by Isaiah, Jeremiah and Zechariah.
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Bread of Life
Christ's title for Himself in John 6, where He promises to give His own flesh as food; fulfilled in the Holy Eucharist.
Also called: Living Bread / Panis vivus
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breaking of bread
Early Christian name for the Eucharist, found in the Emmaus account (Luke 24) and the Acts of the Apostles.
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Brethren of the Lord
The "brothers" of Jesus named in the Gospels, such as James and Joses, whom the Church understands as kinsmen, not other children of the ever-virgin Mary.
Also called: brothers of the Lord / brothers of Jesus
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Breviary /BREE-vee-air-ee/
The book containing the Divine Office; the traditional Roman Breviary was succeeded after 1970 by the Liturgy of the Hours.
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bronze serpent
The serpent Moses set on a pole so that bitten Israelites who looked on it were healed, a figure of Christ lifted up on the Cross.
Also called: brazen serpent
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Bronze Serpent Prayer
A prayer for protection against harm from poison or harmful potions, recalling the bronze serpent Moses lifted up for healing.
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burse /BURS/
A stiff square cloth case, in the colour of the day, that carries the folded corporal to and from the altar on top of the chalice veil.
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Byzantine liturgy
The Eucharistic worship of the Byzantine Rite, used by Eastern Orthodox and Byzantine Catholics, chiefly the Divine Liturgies of St. John Chrysostom and St. Basil.
Also called: Divine Liturgy
C
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Cadaver Synod
The notorious synod of 897 at which Pope Stephen VI put the exhumed corpse of Pope Formosus on trial.
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calumny /KAL-um-nee/
Harming another's good name by false statements; a sin against justice and truth that obliges one to repair the damage.
Also called: slander
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Calvary
The hill outside Jerusalem where Christ was crucified; its Latin name Calvaria and Aramaic Golgotha both mean "place of the skull".
Also called: Golgotha
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Calvinism
The Reformed Protestant theology of John Calvin, teaching absolute predestination and the bondage of the will; the Council of Trent condemned its key positions.
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Candlemas /KAN-dul-mus/
February 2 feast, called the Purification of Mary (1962) or the Presentation of the Lord (1969); candles are blessed and carried in procession.
Also called: Feast of the Purification / Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary / Presentation of the Lord
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canon law
The Church's own legal system governing discipline, sacraments, offices and procedures; codified in 1917 and revised in 1983, with a separate code for Eastern Churches.
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canon of Scripture
The definitive list of inspired books of the Bible, seventy-three in the Catholic canon, received through Tradition and solemnly defined by the Council of Trent.
Also called: biblical canon / canon of the Bible / Catholic canon of Scripture
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canonical form of marriage
The requirement, dating from Trent's decree Tametsi (1563), that Catholics marry before an authorised priest or deacon and two witnesses for validity.
Also called: canonical form
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canonical penalty
A punishment imposed under Church law for certain offences, such as excommunication, interdict or suspension, meant to correct the offender and repair scandal.
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canonist
An expert in canon law, the Church's own legal system.
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canonization
The Pope's solemn declaration that a deceased person is in heaven and is to be venerated as a saint by the whole Church.
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canticle
A biblical song of praise outside the Book of Psalms, such as the Magnificat, Benedictus or Nunc Dimittis, sung in the Divine Office.
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cantor
A singer who leads the chant and congregational singing in the liturgy, intoning antiphons and psalm verses.
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capax Dei /KAH-pahks DEH-ee/
"Capable of God": the teaching that the human person is made for God and has a longing that nothing less than God can fill.
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capital sins
The seven chief vices that give rise to other sins: pride, covetousness, lust, anger, gluttony, envy and sloth.
Also called: seven deadly sins / deadly sins / capital vices
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Cappadocian Fathers /kap-uh-DOH-shun/
St. Basil the Great, St. Gregory of Nazianzus and St. Gregory of Nyssa, fourth-century Greek Fathers who defended the Trinity against Arianism.
Also called: Cappadocians
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captivam duxit captivitatem /kahp-TEE-vahm DOOK-seet kahp-tee-vee-TAH-tem/
"He led captivity captive": Vulgate words of Ephesians 4:8, read of Christ leading the just souls from Limbo into heaven at His Ascension.
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Capuchins /KAP-yuh-chinz/
A reformed branch of the Franciscan friars founded in the 1520s, known for austerity, preaching and their pointed hood; St. Padre Pio was one.
Also called: Order of Friars Minor Capuchin / O.F.M. Cap.
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caput /KAH-poot/
"Head": said of Christ as Head of His Mystical Body, and the root of "capital" in the capital sins, the head sins from which others spring.
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cardinal
A senior prelate created by the Pope as his chief adviser; cardinals under eighty elect the Pope in conclave, and together they form the College of Cardinals.
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cardinal-bishop, cardinal-priest, cardinal-deacon
The three orders of the College of Cardinals, from the ancient Roman clergy: cardinal-bishops of the sees near Rome, cardinal-priests and cardinal-deacons of Roman churches.
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cardinal virtues
The four principal moral virtues on which the others hinge (Latin cardo, "hinge"): prudence, justice, fortitude and temperance.
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Carmelites /KAR-muh-lyts/
Contemplative order begun by hermits on Mount Carmel, devoted to Our Lady and her Brown Scapular; reformed as the Discalced Carmelites by St. Teresa of Ávila.
Also called: Carmelite Order / Order of Carmel
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Carrying of the Cross
Christ bearing His Cross from Pilate's court to Calvary, helped by Simon of Cyrene; the fourth Sorrowful Mystery of the Rosary.
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Carthusians /kar-THOO-zhunz/
Strictly contemplative order of hermit-monks founded by St. Bruno at La Grande Chartreuse in 1084, living in silence and solitude.
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cassock /KAS-uk/
The long, close-fitting ankle-length robe traditionally worn by clergy, black for priests, with other colours marking prelates' ranks.
Also called: soutane
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catacombs
Underground burial galleries outside ancient Rome where early Christians buried their dead and martyrs, and whose inscriptions pray for the departed.
Also called: Roman catacombs
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catechesis /kat-uh-KEE-sis/
Instruction in the Christian faith and life; also a series of teaching talks, such as a pope's General Audience addresses.
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catechism
A summary of Catholic doctrine for instruction, often in question-and-answer form, such as the Baltimore Catechism.
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Catechism of the Catholic Church
The Church's official compendium of doctrine, promulgated by St. John Paul II in 1992, in four parts: Creed, Sacraments, Life in Christ and Prayer.
Also called: CCC
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catechist
A layperson or religious who teaches the Catholic faith, especially to children or to those preparing for the sacraments.
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catechumen /kat-uh-KYOO-men/
An unbaptized person receiving instruction in the faith in preparation for Baptism.
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Catharism /KATH-uh-riz-um/
Medieval dualist heresy, strong in southern France among the Albigensians, holding matter evil and rejecting marriage and the sacraments; opposed by St. Dominic and Lateran IV.
Also called: Albigensians / Albigensianism / Cathars / Albigensian heresy
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cathedral
A bishop's principal church, containing his chair (cathedra), the sign of his teaching and governing authority.
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Catholic anthropology
The Church's understanding of the human person as a unity of body and soul, made in God's image, wounded by sin and healed by grace.
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Catholic Charismatic Renewal
Movement begun among American Catholics in 1967, emphasising personal renewal in the Holy Spirit and charismatic gifts such as tongues and healing.
Also called: Charismatic Renewal
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Catholic Epistles
The seven New Testament letters of James, Peter, John and Jude, addressed to the whole ("catholic") Church rather than one community.
Also called: General Epistles
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Catholic social teaching
The Church's teaching on human dignity, justice, labour, the poor and the common good, developed since Leo XIII's Rerum Novarum (1891).
Also called: social doctrine / social teaching
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catholic (universal)
Meaning "universal": one of the four marks of the Church, which has the fullness of the faith and is sent to all peoples.
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Cause of Our Joy
Title of Mary in the Litany of Loreto: by bringing Christ into the world, she became the cause of mankind's true joy.
Also called: Causa Nostrae Laetitiae
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CCD
The Confraternity of Christian Doctrine: parish religious instruction for children not attending Catholic schools.
Also called: Confraternity of Christian Doctrine
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celebrant
The priest or bishop who offers a particular Mass or presides at another liturgical rite.
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celibacy
The unmarried state embraced for the sake of the kingdom of heaven, as by priests of the Latin Church, religious and consecrated persons.
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cell
A monk's or nun's small private room for prayer, study and rest; "stay in your cell" was the desert fathers' remedy for acedia.
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cenobitic monasticism /sen-uh-BIT-ik/
Monastic life lived in community under a rule and a superior, rather than as hermits; first organised by St. Pachomius in Egypt.
Also called: communal monasticism / cenobitism
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Chair of Peter
The papal office and its supreme teaching authority, symbolised by St. Peter's bishop's chair, the relic enshrined in St. Peter's Basilica.
Also called: Cathedra Petri
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Chair of St. Peter
Feast honouring St. Peter's office as head and teacher of the Church, kept February 22; before 1960 a second Chair feast fell on January 18.
Also called: Feast of the Chair of St. Peter
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chalice
The sacred cup, traditionally of precious metal, in which wine is consecrated into Christ's Precious Blood at Mass; in Scripture also a cup of suffering.
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chalice of salvation
Words of Psalm 115 (116), "I will take the chalice of salvation", said by the priest in the traditional Mass before receiving the Precious Blood.
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chapel
A small place of worship, either separate or within a larger church, often where the Blessed Sacrament is reserved for adoration.
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chaplet
A string of beads with its own sequence of prayers, shorter than or different from the Rosary, such as the Divine Mercy Chaplet.
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Chaplet of St. Michael
Devotion on beads honouring St. Michael and the nine choirs of angels: nine salutations, each followed by an Our Father and three Hail Marys.
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charism /KAIR-iz-um/
A particular gift of the Holy Spirit given for the good of the Church, such as prophecy, healing or the founding spirit of a religious order.
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charity
The theological virtue by which we love God above all things for His own sake, and our neighbour as ourselves for love of God.
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chastisement
In some private revelations, a foretold divine punishment of the world; such predictions are not Church teaching and call for caution.
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chastity
The virtue that rightly orders sexuality according to one's state in life, whether married, single or consecrated; the remedy for lust.
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chasuble /CHAZ-yuh-bul/
The priest's outermost Mass vestment, worn over the alb and stole in the colour of the day, symbolising charity and the yoke of Christ.
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cherubim /CHAIR-uh-bim/
The second of the nine choirs of angels, noted for fullness of knowledge, shown guarding Eden and overshadowing the mercy seat of the Ark.
Also called: cherub
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chet /KHET/
"Missing the mark": a Hebrew word for sin, alongside avon (iniquity, knowing transgression) and pesha (deliberate rebellion).
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Chi-Rho /KY-roh/
"X-P": the monogram formed from the first two Greek letters of Christos (Christ), linked with Constantine's vision before the Milvian Bridge in 312.
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Chinese Rites controversy
Dispute over whether Chinese converts could keep Confucian and ancestral rites; Clement XI ruled against them in 1715, and Pius XII relaxed the ban in 1939.
Also called: Chinese Rites
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chrism /KRIZ-um/
Olive oil mixed with balsam and consecrated by the bishop at the Chrism Mass, used in Baptism, Confirmation and Holy Orders.
Also called: Sacred Chrism / holy chrism
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Chrism Mass
Mass celebrated by the bishop with his priests in Holy Week, traditionally on Holy Thursday morning, at which he blesses the holy oils and consecrates the chrism.
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Christ the King
Feast instituted by Pius XI in 1925, honouring Christ's universal kingship; kept on the last Sunday of October (1962) or the last Sunday before Advent (1969).
Also called: Feast of Christ the King
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Christendom
The historic society of Christian peoples, above all medieval Europe, whose law, culture and public life were shaped by the Catholic faith.
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Christian perfection
The fullness of charity and holiness of life to which every Christian is called, whatever his state of life.
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Christmastide
The Christmas season: in the 1962 calendar it runs to January 13, including Epiphanytide; in the 1969, to the Baptism of the Lord.
Also called: Christmas season
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Christology /kris-TOL-uh-jee/
The branch of theology concerning Christ: who He is, His divine and human natures in one Person, and His saving work.
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Church discipline
A Church law or practice that can change, such as clerical celibacy, fasting rules or the Eucharistic fast, as distinct from unchangeable doctrine.
Also called: discipline
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Church Fathers
Holy and orthodox Christian writers of the early centuries, roughly to the eighth, whose teaching is a privileged witness to apostolic Tradition.
Also called: Fathers of the Church / the Fathers / Early Church Fathers
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Church Militant
The faithful still on earth, struggling against the world, the flesh and the devil; the only state in which merit can be gained.
Also called: Ecclesia Militans
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Church Militant, Suffering and Triumphant
The one Church in its three states: militant on earth, suffering in Purgatory and triumphant in heaven, united in the communion of saints.
Also called: three states of the Church
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Church of the East
The ancient church of Persia and Asia that did not accept the Council of Ephesus (431), long called Nestorian; today chiefly the Assyrian Church of the East.
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Church Suffering
The souls in Purgatory, saved but still being purified, who can be helped by the prayers, Masses and good works of the faithful.
Also called: Ecclesia Patiens / Church Penitent / Church Expectant
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Church Triumphant
The saints in heaven, who see God face to face and intercede for those on earth and in Purgatory.
Also called: Ecclesia Triumphans
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cincture /SINK-chur/
The cord tied around the waist over the alb, symbolising chastity and self-mastery.
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circumcision
The sign of God's covenant with Abraham, performed on Israelite boys on the eighth day; St. Paul presents Baptism as its fulfilment, the circumcision of Christ.
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Circumcision of Our Lord
In the 1962 calendar, the feast of January 1, octave day of Christmas, recalling Christ's circumcision and naming; the 1969 calendar keeps the day as Mary, Mother of God.
Also called: Feast of the Circumcision
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Cistercians /sis-TER-shunz/
Reformed Benedictine monks and nuns founded at Cîteaux in 1098 and spread by St. Bernard of Clairvaux; the Trappists are their stricter branch.
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class (liturgical)
In the 1962 calendar (1960 rubrics), the rank of a liturgical day: I Class is highest, then II and III Class, with IV Class for ordinary weekdays.
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clean oblation
Malachi's prophecy of a pure offering made to God's name among the nations in every place, which the Didache, the Fathers and Trent see fulfilled in the Mass.
Also called: pure offering / pure sacrifice
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clergy
Those ordained to sacred ministry, namely bishops, priests and deacons, as distinct from the laity; in the traditional discipline a man became a cleric at tonsure.
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clerical celibacy
The Latin Church's law that priests and bishops remain unmarried and continent; a discipline, not a dogma, since Eastern Churches ordain married men as priests.
Also called: priestly celibacy
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cloister
The enclosed part of a monastery reserved to its members, and the law of enclosure that separates contemplative religious from the outside world.
Also called: enclosure
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closed communion
Modern term for restricting Communion to members of one's own church; the Didache already barred the unbaptized, and Catholic law generally admits only Catholics.
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Cluniac reform /KLOO-nee-ak/
Monastic renewal spreading from the Burgundian abbey of Cluny, founded in 910, which freed monasteries from lay control and helped prepare the Gregorian Reform.
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co-redemption /koh-reh-DEMP-shun/
Theological term for believers' real but subordinate share in Christ's redemptive work by suffering united to his; Christ alone is the Redeemer.
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Co-Redemptrix /koh-reh-DEMP-triks/
"Co-redeemer" (feminine): a title for Mary's unique cooperation in redemption, used by some saints and popes but never defined; the 2025 note Mater Populi Fidelis judged it inappropriate.
Also called: Coredemptrix
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Code of Canon Law
The Church's codified law, first the 1917 Pio-Benedictine Code, then John Paul II's 1983 Code for the Latin Church, cited by numbered canons.
Also called: CIC / Codex Iuris Canonici
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Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches
The code of Church law for the Eastern Catholic Churches, promulgated by John Paul II in 1990 as the counterpart of the Latin Church's 1983 Code.
Also called: CCEO
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collect /KOL-ekt/
The short prayer of the day said by the priest before the Epistle or first reading, gathering, or "collecting", the people's petitions into one.
Also called: Oratio / opening prayer
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collegiality /kuh-lee-jee-AL-ih-tee/
Vatican II's teaching that the bishops, together with and never without the Pope as their head, form one college succeeding the college of the Apostles.
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Come, Holy Spirit
Short prayer to the Holy Spirit, "Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of thy faithful and kindle in them the fire of thy love," with versicle and collect.
Also called: Veni, Sancte Spiritus
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commemoration
In the traditional rite, a lesser feast or day remembered by adding its prayers to the Mass and Office of a higher-ranking day; in 1960 the old Simple feasts became commemorations.
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Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews
Vatican commission founded by Paul VI in 1974, attached to the Christian unity office, that guides Catholic-Jewish dialogue and issued "The Gifts and the Calling of God" (2015).
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Common of the Saints
Sets of Mass and Office texts shared by a class of saints, such as martyrs or virgins, used when a saint has no proper texts of his own.
Also called: commons / Commune Sanctorum
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common teaching
Teaching generally held by theologians as certain or nearly so but not solemnly defined by the Church; it ranks below dogma among the theological notes.
Also called: sententia communis / common opinion
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Communicantes /koh-moo-nee-KAHN-tes/
"In communion with": the prayer of the Roman Canon that venerates Mary, St. Joseph, the Apostles and early martyrs, uniting the Church's offering with the saints.
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Communion
Receiving the Body and Blood of Christ in the Eucharist; a Catholic must be in the state of grace and keep the Eucharistic fast to receive.
Also called: Holy Communion
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communion of saints
The union in Christ of the faithful on earth, the souls in purgatory and the saints in heaven, who share in one another's prayers and spiritual goods.
Also called: communio sanctorum / sanctorum communio
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Communion on the tongue
Receiving the Host directly on the tongue from the priest, the traditional manner required in the 1962 rite; Communion in the hand is a later permission.
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Communion rail
The low railing between nave and sanctuary at which the faithful kneel to receive Communion, standard in traditional churches though removed from many since the 1960s.
Also called: altar rail
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commutation
A confessor's or priest's replacement of one required pious work by another, as when the Little Office for the Sabbatine Privilege is commuted to the daily Rosary.
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Compline /KOM-plin/
The last hour of the Divine Office, said before retiring at night; the 1969 Liturgy of the Hours calls it Night Prayer.
Also called: Night Prayer
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computus /KOM-poo-toos/
"Reckoning": the traditional calculation of the date of Easter, on which the dates of all the movable feasts of the year depend.
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Conceptionist /kon-SEP-shun-ist/
A nun of the Order of the Immaculate Conception, founded by St. Beatriz da Silva at Toledo in 1484; Ven. Mary of Ágreda was a Conceptionist abbess.
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conciliarism /kon-SIL-ee-uh-riz-um/
The late-medieval theory that a general council is superior to the pope; Pius II's bull Execrabilis (1460) forbade appeals from pope to council.
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conclave
The locked assembly of cardinals that elects a pope, under rules first laid down by Gregory X at the Second Council of Lyons in 1274.
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concordat /kon-KOR-dat/
A treaty between the Holy See and a state regulating the Church's position there, such as the Concordat of Worms (1122) or Napoleon's (1801).
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concupiscence /kon-KYOO-pih-sens/
The disordered inclination toward sin left by original sin, which remains after Baptism; it is not itself sin, but comes from sin and inclines to it.
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confect /kon-FEKT/
To bring the Eucharist into being, as a validly ordained priest does by pronouncing Christ's words of consecration over bread and wine.
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confessional
The enclosed place, usually with a grille or screen between priest and penitent, where the sacrament of Penance is heard.
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confessor
A priest who hears confessions, especially one a person returns to regularly for absolution and guidance of conscience.
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confessor (saint)
In the traditional calendar, a male saint honoured for witnessing to the faith by a holy life rather than by martyrdom, such as a bishop, doctor or monk.
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Confirmation
The sacrament that perfects baptismal grace, giving the Holy Spirit to strengthen the baptized to profess and defend the faith as soldiers of Christ.
Also called: Chrismation
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confirmed in grace
Fixed in God's grace so as to be unable to sin, as are the souls in purgatory and, confirmed in glory, the angels and saints in heaven.
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Confiteor /kohn-FEE-teh-or/
"I confess": the prayer acknowledging one's sins before God, Mary, the saints and the faithful, said at the beginning of Mass and in other rites.
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confraternity /kon-fruh-TUR-nih-tee/
An association of the faithful, erected by Church authority, for a work of devotion or charity, such as the Confraternity of the Brown Scapular.
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Congregation for Divine Worship
The Vatican office overseeing the liturgy and the discipline of the sacraments, renamed in 2022 the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments.
Also called: Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments
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conscience
The judgment of reason by which a person recognizes the moral quality of an act; it must be rightly formed and is examined before confession.
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consecrated virgins
Women consecrated by the bishop in the ancient rite of consecration of virgins to perpetual virginity for Christ, whether as nuns or living in the world.
Also called: Order of Virgins
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consecration
Setting a person or thing apart for God, as in consecrating a bishop, church, altar or chalice, or in giving oneself to Christ through Mary.
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consecration (at Mass)
The moment when the priest, speaking Christ's words "This is my Body" and "This is the chalice of my Blood", changes bread and wine into Christ's Body and Blood.
Also called: words of consecration
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consecration of Russia
Our Lady of Fatima's request that the Pope, with the world's bishops, consecrate Russia to her Immaculate Heart; papal acts followed in 1942, 1952, 1984 and 2022.
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Consecration to St. Joseph
A devotional act, usually made after days of preparation, entrusting oneself to the fatherly care of St. Joseph, guardian of purity and "terror of demons".
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conservation
God's continual act of keeping creatures in existence; were he to withdraw it for an instant, they would fall back into nothing.
Also called: preservation
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consolation
Spiritual joy, peace or felt sweetness given by God in prayer, a gift to receive humbly rather than to seek in place of God himself.
Also called: spiritual consolation
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Constantinian era /kon-stan-TIN-ee-un/
The period after Constantine's conversion in 312, when Christianity passed from persecuted sect to favoured and finally official religion of the Roman Empire.
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consubstantial /kon-sub-STAN-shul/
Of one and the same substance; the Nicene Creed's word (Greek homoousios) for the Son's full divinity, one in being with the Father.
Also called: homoousios / of one substance / one in being
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Consummatum est /kohn-soom-MAH-toom EST/
"It is consummated": Christ's last word from the Cross in St. John's Gospel, declaring the work of redemption accomplished.
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contemplation
Wordless prayer of loving attention to God, "a gaze of faith fixed on Jesus"; in its higher forms it is God's gift rather than human effort.
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contingent
Not necessary, able to be or not to be; creatures are contingent because they receive their existence rather than possessing it by nature.
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contraception
Any action intended to render the marital act infertile; the Church teaches it is intrinsically wrong, as Paul VI reaffirmed in Humanae Vitae (1968).
Also called: birth control / artificial contraception
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contrition
Sorrow of soul and hatred of sin committed, with the resolve not to sin again; perfect contrition springs from love of God, imperfect from fear.
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convent
A house of a religious community, today usually of nuns or sisters, though historically also of friars.
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conversion
Turning from sin to God in faith and repentance, both at the start of the Christian life and as a lifelong return.
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cooperation (Marian)
The magisterium's preferred word for Mary's real but wholly subordinate share in Christ's work of redemption, through her consent and her suffering at the Cross.
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cor ad cor loquitur /KOR ahd KOR LOH-kwee-toor/
"Heart speaks to heart": the motto St. John Henry Newman took as cardinal, borrowed from St. Francis de Sales.
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cornerstone
Christ as "the stone the builders rejected" that has become the head of the corner, on whom God's whole building, the Church, rests.
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Coronation of Mary
The fifth Glorious Mystery of the Rosary: Mary crowned Queen of heaven and earth by her Son.
Also called: Coronation
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corporal /KOR-pur-ul/
The square white linen cloth spread on the altar, on which the Host and chalice rest during Mass so that no fragment is lost.
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corporal works of mercy
Seven works for a neighbour's bodily needs: feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, shelter the homeless, visit the sick and imprisoned, bury the dead.
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corpus /KOR-poos/
"Body": the figure of Christ's body fixed to a cross, which makes a cross a crucifix.
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Corpus Christi /KOR-poos KREE-stee/
"Body of Christ": the feast of the Holy Eucharist on the Thursday after Trinity Sunday, often moved to Sunday in the 1969 calendar; Aquinas wrote its Office.
Also called: Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ
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Corpus Domini nostri /KOR-poos DOH-mee-nee NOH-stree/
"The Body of our Lord": the priest's words in giving Communion in the traditional rite, praying that it preserve the soul unto life everlasting.
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Council of Carthage (418)
African council of 418 whose canons against Pelagianism, approved by Rome, rejected any happy "middle place" for infants who die unbaptized.
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Council of Chalcedon /KAL-seh-don/
The fourth ecumenical council (451), which received Pope Leo's Tome and defined Christ as one Person in two natures, divine and human, against Monophysitism.
Also called: Chalcedon
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Council of Clermont /kler-MOHN/
Council held in France in 1095 at which Pope Urban II preached the First Crusade.
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Council of Constance
Ecumenical council (1414–1418) that ended the Great Western Schism with the election of Martin V and condemned Wyclif and Hus.
Also called: Constance
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Council of Elvira /el-VEER-ah/
Spanish council (c. 305) whose canons required bishops, priests and deacons to abstain from their wives, an early witness to clerical continence.
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Council of Ephesus /EF-eh-sus/
The third ecumenical council (431), which condemned Nestorius and defined that Mary is Theotokos, the Mother of God.
Also called: Ephesus
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Council of Florence
Ecumenical council (1431–1445) whose decree Laetentur Caeli (1439) briefly reunited Greeks and Latins, defining purgatory and papal primacy; it also taught the seven sacraments.
Also called: Council of Basel-Ferrara-Florence / Council of Ferrara-Florence
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Council of Jerusalem
The meeting of the Apostles and elders in Jerusalem (c. 49) that freed Gentile converts from circumcision and the Mosaic law, the model for later councils.
Also called: Apostolic Council
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Council of Orange /oh-RAHNZH/
Gallic council of 529, approved by Pope Boniface II, that condemned Semi-Pelagianism and taught that even the beginning of faith is God's gift.
Also called: Second Council of Orange
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Council of Sutri /SOO-tree/
Synod of 1046, called by Emperor Henry III, that deposed the rival papal claimants Sylvester III and Gregory VI, the latter for simony.
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Council of Trent
The ecumenical council (1545–1563) that answered the Protestant Reformation, defining doctrine on Scripture, original sin, justification, the sacraments and the Mass, and launching Catholic reform.
Also called: Trent
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Council of Vienne /vee-EN/
Ecumenical council (1311–1312) that suppressed the Knights Templar and defined that the rational soul is of itself the form of the body.
Also called: Vienne
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Councils of Lyons /lee-OHN/
Two ecumenical councils at Lyons: 1245, which deposed Emperor Frederick II, and 1274, which briefly reunited the Greeks and set rules for the conclave.
Also called: Councils of Lyon
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Councils of Rome, Hippo and Carthage
Late fourth-century councils (Rome 382, Hippo 393, Carthage 397) whose lists of sacred books match the 73-book canon later defined at Trent.
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counsels of perfection
Poverty, chastity and obedience, counselled by Christ to those seeking perfection beyond the commandments, and vowed by religious.
Also called: evangelical counsels
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Counter-Reformation
The Catholic renewal and response to Protestantism in the 16th and 17th centuries, centred on the Council of Trent and new orders such as the Jesuits.
Also called: Catholic Reformation / Catholic Reform
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covenant
A sacred bond by which God binds himself to his people and they to him (Hebrew berith); the New Covenant is sealed in Christ's Blood.
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covenant headship
Adam's role as head and representative of the whole human race in God's covenant, which is why Scripture traces the Fall and its consequences to him.
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creatio ex nihilo /kreh-AH-tsee-oh eks NEE-kee-loh/
"Creation from nothing": God's bringing all things into being without any pre-existing material, an act proper to God alone and defined by Lateran IV.
Also called: creation from nothing
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creche /KRESH/
A model of the Nativity with the Christ Child, Mary, Joseph, shepherds and animals, a Christmas custom popularised by St. Francis at Greccio in 1223.
Also called: crèche / nativity scene / crib
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crede ut intelligas /KREH-deh oot een-TEL-lee-gahs/
"Believe so that you may understand": St. Augustine's principle that faith comes first and opens the way to understanding.
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Creed
A formal summary of the faith, such as the Apostles' Creed or the Nicene Creed sung at Sunday Mass; Credo is Latin for "I believe".
Also called: Credo / symbol of faith
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cremation
Burning a body to ashes; long forbidden, it has been allowed since 1963 unless chosen against faith in the resurrection, the ashes kept in a sacred place, not scattered.
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Cristero War /krees-TEH-roh/
The 1926–1929 armed rising of Mexican Catholics against President Calles's anticlerical laws; many of its martyrs, such as St. José Sánchez del Río, are canonized.
Also called: Cristiada
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the Cross
The wood on which Christ died to redeem the world; by extension, the sufferings each disciple takes up daily in following him.
Also called: Holy Cross
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Crowning with Thorns
The third Sorrowful Mystery of the Rosary: soldiers mock Jesus as king with a crown of thorns, a purple cloak and a reed.
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crozier /KROH-zher/
The pastoral staff carried by a bishop or abbot, shaped like a shepherd's crook, a sign of his office as shepherd.
Also called: crosier / pastoral staff
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crucifix
A cross bearing the figure of the crucified Christ, a sacramental placed on altars and in Catholic homes; a skull at its foot recalls Adam.
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Crucifixion
Jesus' death nailed to the Cross on Calvary; the fifth Sorrowful Mystery of the Rosary and the fifth of Mary's Seven Sorrows.
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crurifragium /kroo-ree-FRAH-jee-oom/
"Leg-breaking": breaking the legs of the crucified to hasten death; the soldiers spared Christ, already dead, fulfilling Scripture.
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Crusades
Military expeditions called by the popes from 1095, chiefly to recover and defend the Holy Land, with indulgences granted to those who took the cross.
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crux florida /KROOKS FLOH-ree-dah/
"Flowering cross": an artistic depiction of the Cross as a living tree putting forth leaves, flowers and fruit.
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culpability
Personal blameworthiness for an act, which depends on knowledge and consent and can be lessened by ignorance, fear or other factors.
Also called: imputability
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cult
In Catholic usage, the worship given to God or the veneration given to a saint (Latin cultus), not a sect.
Also called: cultus
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Cum occasione /koom ok-kah-zee-OH-neh/
"On the occasion": Pope Innocent X's 1653 bull condemning five propositions on grace drawn from Jansenius's Augustinus.
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Curé /kyoo-RAY/
"Parish priest": French title for a pastor; "the Curé of Ars" is St. John Vianney, patron of parish priests.
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curse
Harm sought against another through the devil's aid, the opposite of a blessing; exorcists teach that a life of grace and prayer is the surest protection.
Also called: malefice / hex
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custody of the eyes
Guarding what one looks at and dwells on, including online, to protect purity of heart and recollection.
D
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damnation
Eternal loss of God in hell, the lot of those who die in unrepented mortal sin, freely refusing his mercy.
Also called: perdition
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Dark Night of the Soul
St. John of the Cross's term, and book, for the painful purifications of sense and spirit by which God leads the soul to union with himself.
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Daughter of Zion
Old Testament personification of faithful Israel awaiting salvation, a title the Church sees fulfilled in Mary.
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Daughters of Charity
Community of sisters serving the poor, founded in 1633 by St. Vincent de Paul and St. Louise de Marillac; St. Catherine Labouré, of the Miraculous Medal, was one.
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Davidic covenant
God's sworn promise to David of an everlasting house and throne, fulfilled in Christ, the Son of David, whose kingdom has no end.
Also called: covenant with David
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Day of Atonement
Israel's most solemn yearly fast, when the high priest entered the Holy of Holies to atone for the people's sins, foreshadowing Christ's sacrifice.
Also called: Yom Kippur
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De Auxiliis controversy /deh owk-SEE-lee-ees/
"On the helps [of grace]": the 1597–1607 dispute between Dominicans and Jesuits over how efficacious grace and free will cooperate; Paul V allowed both views.
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de fide /deh FEE-deh/
"Of faith": the highest theological note, marking a dogma that must be believed with divine and catholic faith.
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De Profundis /deh proh-FOON-dees/
"Out of the depths": Psalm 129 (130 in Hebrew numbering), the penitential psalm traditionally prayed for the souls in purgatory.
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deacon
A cleric ordained to the lowest degree of Holy Orders for service: assisting at the altar, proclaiming the Gospel, baptizing, preaching and giving Benediction.
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decade
One Our Father, ten Hail Marys and a Glory Be, prayed while meditating on one mystery of the Rosary.
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Decalogue /DEK-uh-log/
The Ten Commandments given by God to Moses on Sinai, summing up the moral law and the traditional framework for examining conscience.
Also called: Ten Commandments
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Decian persecution /DEE-shun/
Emperor Decius's empire-wide persecution of 250, demanding sacrifice to the gods, under which Pope Fabian was martyred and many Christians lapsed.
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Decree of Urban VIII
Urban VIII's decrees of 1625 and 1634, invoked in a customary disclaimer that accounts of private revelations carry only human credibility, pending the Church's judgment.
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decretal /deh-KREE-tul/
A papal letter with binding legal force answering a question of discipline; Siricius issued the first surviving one (385), and later collections formed canon law.
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dedication of a church
The solemn rite consecrating a church to God's worship, and the yearly feast on its anniversary, kept with high rank in that church.
Also called: Dedication / feast of the Dedication
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Dedication of the Lateran Basilica
Feast of November 9 marking the dedication of St. John Lateran, the Pope's cathedral and "mother and head of all churches" of Rome and the world.
Also called: Dedication of the Archbasilica of the Most Holy Saviour
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definitive doctrine
Truths closely connected with revelation that the Church proposes definitively, though not as formally revealed; they are irreformable and must be firmly held.
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degrees of glory
Teaching, defined at Florence, that the blessed see God more or less perfectly according to their merits, though each is fully happy.
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Dei Filius /DEH-ee FEE-lee-oos/
"Son of God": Vatican I's 1870 dogmatic constitution on faith and reason, teaching that God can be known with certainty by natural reason.
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Dei Verbum /DEH-ee VER-boom/
"Word of God": Vatican II's Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation (1965), on Scripture, Tradition and the Church's teaching office.
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Deiparae Virginis Mariae /deh-EE-pah-reh VEER-jee-nees mah-REE-eh/
"Of the Virgin Mary, Mother of God": Pius XII's 1946 encyclical asking the world's bishops whether the Assumption should be defined.
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delectatio morosa /deh-lek-TAH-tsee-oh moh-ROH-zah/
"Lingering delight": deliberately dwelling with pleasure on a sinful thought without intending the deed; moralists pair it with gaudium (relishing past sin) and desiderium (desire).
Also called: morose delectation
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deliverance
Prayer asking God, in Christ's name, to free a person from evil spirits, curses or oppression; laypeople may use approved deliverance prayers, but solemn exorcism is reserved.
Also called: deliverance prayer
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demon
A fallen angel who freely and irrevocably rejected God and now seeks the ruin of souls; Satan is their chief.
Also called: devil / evil spirit / unclean spirit / fallen angel
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Denzinger /DENT-sing-er/
The standard collection of creeds, conciliar decrees and papal definitions begun by Heinrich Denzinger in 1854, cited by its paragraph numbers.
Also called: Enchiridion Symbolorum / Denzinger-Schönmetzer / DS
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Deo gratias /DEH-oh GRAH-tsee-ahs/
"Thanks be to God": the response at Mass after the Epistle, the dismissal and the Last Gospel, and a common Catholic exclamation.
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deposit of faith
The whole of revealed truth, contained in Scripture and Tradition, that Christ entrusted to the Church to guard and hand on; private revelations do not belong to it.
Also called: depositum fidei / sacred deposit
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deposition
The removal of a cleric from office as a penalty, or historically a pope's sentence deposing a ruler, as Gregory VII deposed Henry IV.
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deprecatory prayer /DEP-rih-kuh-tor-ee/
Prayer that asks God to drive away evil, as opposed to an imperative command addressed directly to demons, which is reserved to exorcists.
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Desert Fathers
Early hermits and monks of the Egyptian desert, such as St. Anthony, whose sayings on prayer, temptation and humility shaped all Christian monasticism.
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despair
Abandoning hope of salvation or of God's forgiveness, a grave sin against the theological virtue of hope.
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detachment
Freedom of heart from clinging to creatures or possessions, so the soul belongs wholly to God; full detachment from all sin is required for a plenary indulgence.
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detraction
Revealing another's real but hidden faults without a valid reason, unjustly harming his good name.
Also called: backbiting
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Deus, in adiutorium meum intende /DEH-oos een ah-dyoo-TOH-ree-oom MEH-oom een-TEN-deh/
"O God, come to my assistance": the verse opening each hour of the Divine Office and many chaplets, answered "O Lord, make haste to help me."
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deuterocanonical books /doo-ter-oh-kuh-NON-ih-kul/
Tobit, Judith, Wisdom, Sirach, Baruch and 1–2 Maccabees, with parts of Esther and Daniel: Old Testament books in the Catholic canon that Protestants exclude.
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development of doctrine
The Church's growth over time in understanding revealed truth, unfolding it without change of meaning or new revelation, as Newman explained.
Also called: doctrinal development
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devotion
A prayer practice honouring God, Mary or the saints outside the official liturgy, such as the Rosary; also the fervent, ready will to serve God.
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diabolic oppression
Demonic affliction of a person's health, work, finances or relationships, short of possession, met with prayer, the sacraments and deliverance.
Also called: demonic oppression / oppression
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dicastery /dih-KAS-ter-ee/
A department of the Roman Curia headed by a prefect; since 2022 the former congregations and pontifical councils all bear this name.
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Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith
The Vatican office that promotes and guards Catholic doctrine, called the Holy Office until 1965 and the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith until 2022.
Also called: DDF / Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith / CDF / Holy Office
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Dictatus Papae /deek-TAH-toos PAH-peh/
"Dictates of the Pope": twenty-seven propositions on papal supremacy entered in Gregory VII's register in 1075.
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Didache /DID-ah-kay/
"Teaching": the earliest surviving Christian church manual, from the late first century, on the Two Ways, Baptism, fasting and the Eucharist.
Also called: Teaching of the Twelve Apostles
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Didascalia Apostolorum /dee-dahs-KAH-lee-ah ah-poh-stoh-LOH-room/
"Teaching of the Apostles": a third-century Syrian church order on Christian life and discipline, an early witness to weekly fasting.
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Dies Domini /DEE-ehs DOH-mee-nee/
"The Lord's Day": John Paul II's 1998 apostolic letter on keeping Sunday holy.
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diocese
A portion of the Church entrusted to a bishop, usually a territory with its own parishes; in Eastern Churches it is called an eparchy.
Also called: eparchy
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discernment
Prayerful judgment of what comes from God; Cassian calls discretion the "mother of virtues", keeping the soul on the royal road between extremes.
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discernment of spirits
Judging whether inner movements come from oneself, from God or from the evil spirit; St. Ignatius counsels making no change in time of desolation.
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dispensation
Relaxation of a merely ecclesiastical law in a particular case by competent authority, such as a bishop; divine law cannot be dispensed.
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dispensationalism /dis-pen-SAY-shun-ul-iz-um/
A 19th-century Protestant system, from J. N. Darby, dividing history into dispensations and keeping Israel and the Church as separate peoples; not Catholic teaching.
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Dives /DEE-vehs/
"Rich man": the traditional name for the rich man in Christ's parable of the rich man and Lazarus.
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divine attributes
God's perfections as known by reason and revelation, such as simplicity, infinity, immutability, eternity, unity, omnipotence and omniscience.
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divine concurrence
God's active cooperation in every act of his creatures, without which no creature could act, though their free acts remain truly their own.
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divine essence
What God is in himself, identical with his existence; it is seen directly only by the blessed in the beatific vision.
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divine law
Law given by God himself, whether natural or revealed, which no Church authority can dispense or change.
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Divine Mercy
Devotion from St. Faustina Kowalska's approved private revelations, centred on trust in Christ's mercy, with its image, chaplet, three o'clock hour and Sunday feast.
Also called: Divine Mercy devotion
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Divine Mercy Sunday
In the 1969 calendar, the Second Sunday of Easter, named Divine Mercy Sunday by John Paul II in 2000; the 1962 calendar calls it Low Sunday.
Also called: Second Sunday of Easter / Feast of Mercy
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divine motherhood
Mary's dignity as true Mother of God, since her Son is a divine Person; it is the root of all her other privileges.
Also called: divine maternity
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Divine Office
The Church's official daily prayer of psalms, readings and hymns at set hours; in the 1969 reform it is called the Liturgy of the Hours.
Also called: Liturgy of the Hours / Breviary / Divinum Officium
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divine Person
Father, Son or Holy Spirit: each truly and fully God, yet really distinct from the others by relation within the one divine nature.
Also called: hypostasis / Person (divine)
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Divine Praises
Litany of praises beginning "Blessed be God", said at Benediction after the blessing, in reparation for blasphemy and profanity.
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divine revelation
God's free communication of himself and his saving plan, completed in Christ and handed on in Scripture and Tradition; it is the source of all the Church believes.
Also called: revelation
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Divino Afflante Spiritu /dee-VEE-noh ahf-FLAHN-teh SPEE-ree-too/
"Inspired by the Divine Spirit": Pius XII's 1943 encyclical encouraging Catholic biblical scholarship from the original languages.
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Divinum Illud Munus /dee-VEE-noom EEL-lood MOO-noos/
"That divine office": Leo XIII's 1897 encyclical on the Holy Spirit, teaching that the Spirit is the soul of the Church.
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docere /doh-CHEH-reh/
"To teach": the Latin verb behind "doctor" and "doctrine", and so behind the title Doctor of the Church.
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Docetism /doh-SEE-tiz-um/
Early heresy holding that the Son of God only seemed to have a real body, so that his suffering and death were mere appearance.
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Doctor of Grace
Traditional title of St. Augustine, for his defence against Pelagius of the necessity and primacy of God's grace.
Also called: Doctor Gratiae
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Doctor of the Church
Title the Church gives to saints of eminent learning and holiness whose teaching is of special value to the whole Church, such as Augustine or Aquinas.
Also called: Doctor of the Universal Church
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doctrinal note
A document of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith clarifying a point of teaching, such as Mater Populi Fidelis (2025) on Marian titles.
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doctrine
What the Church teaches on faith and morals, graded by authority; all dogma is doctrine, but not all doctrine is defined dogma.
Also called: Catholic doctrine
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dogma
A truth revealed by God and infallibly proposed by the Church as such, by solemn definition or ordinary universal teaching, which all Catholics must believe.
Also called: article of faith
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Dominations /dom-ih-NAY-shunz/
The fourth of the nine choirs of angels, first of the middle hierarchy, who direct the duties of the lower angels.
Also called: Dominions
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Domine, non sum dignus /DOH-mee-neh nohn soom DEEN-yoos/
"Lord, I am not worthy": the centurion's words, said three times before Communion in the traditional Mass and once in the 1969 Mass.
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Dominican
Of the Order of Preachers, founded by St. Dominic and approved in 1216 for preaching and study; tradition links St. Dominic with the Rosary.
Also called: Order of Preachers / O.P. / Blackfriars
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Dominus Iesus /DOH-mee-noos YEH-zoos/
"The Lord Jesus": the 2000 declaration of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith on the unicity and saving universality of Christ and his Church.
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Dominus vobiscum /DOH-mee-noos voh-BEES-koom/
"The Lord be with you": the priest's greeting at Mass and in the Office, answered "Et cum spiritu tuo", "And with thy spirit".
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Dona nobis pacem /DOH-nah NOH-bees PAH-chem/
"Grant us peace": the petition closing the third Agnus Dei at Mass, replaced in Requiem Masses by a prayer for eternal rest.
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Donation of Constantine
A forged eighth-century document claiming Constantine granted the pope rule over Rome and the West, exposed as a forgery by Lorenzo Valla in 1440.
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Donatism /DOH-nuh-tiz-um/
North African schism of the fourth and fifth centuries holding that sacraments given by unworthy ministers are invalid and that the Church is only for the pure.
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Dormition /dor-MISH-un/
The Eastern name for the end of Mary's earthly life, her "falling asleep", kept on August 15; the Church has not defined whether she died before her Assumption.
Also called: Koimesis
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Douay-Rheims /DOO-ay REEMZ/
The English Catholic translation of the Latin Vulgate (New Testament 1582, Old Testament 1609–10), usually read in Bishop Challoner's 18th-century revision.
Also called: Douay Bible / Douai
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Double
Feast rank before the 1960 rubrics (duplex) for an ordinary saint's feast, above Semidouble and Simple; in the 1962 Missal such feasts became III Class.
Also called: duplex
-
double effect
Principle that an act with good and bad effects is permissible if the act is good, the evil neither intended nor the means, and the reason proportionate.
Also called: principle of double effect
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Double of the First Class
Highest feast rank before the 1960 rubrics, held by Christmas, Easter, Pentecost, Corpus Christi and other great feasts; in the 1962 Missal it became I Class.
Also called: Double of the I Class / duplex primae classis
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Double of the Second Class
Second feast rank before the 1960 rubrics, held for example by feasts of the Apostles; in the 1962 Missal it became II Class.
Also called: Double of the II Class / duplex secundae classis
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double predestination
Calvin's teaching that God positively decrees some souls to damnation as he elects others to glory; the Councils of Orange and Trent reject predestination to evil.
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doxology /dok-SOL-uh-jee/
A short formula of praise to God, especially the Trinity, such as the Glory Be or the "Through him, with him" ending the Eucharistic Prayer.
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dryness in prayer
Prayer without felt sweetness or consolation, which God may permit to purify love and teach the soul to seek him rather than his gifts.
Also called: aridity / spiritual dryness
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dual-covenant theory
The view that Jews are saved through the Sinai covenant apart from Christ; the Church rejects it, teaching that Christ is the one Saviour of all.
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dulia /doo-LEE-ah/
"Service": the honour or veneration given to the saints and angels, distinct from latria, the adoration due to God alone, and hyperdulia, given to Mary.
E
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East-West Schism
The break between Rome and Constantinople, marked by mutual excommunications in 1054 (lifted in 1965), that divides the Catholic and Orthodox Churches.
Also called: Great Schism
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Easter
The feast of Christ's Resurrection, greatest of the Church's year, and the joyful season that follows it until Pentecost.
Also called: Pascha / Eastertide / Paschaltide
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Easter duty
The precept, from Lateran IV in 1215, to receive Holy Communion at least once a year during Easter time; yearly confession of grave sins is a related precept.
Also called: Easter Communion / Paschal precept
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Easter Vigil
The night liturgy of Holy Saturday, with the new fire, Paschal candle, Exsultet, readings and baptisms, celebrating Christ's Resurrection; Pius XII restored it in the 1950s.
Also called: Vigil of Easter / Paschal Vigil / Vigilia Paschalis
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Eastern Catholic Churches
The Eastern Churches in full communion with the Pope, such as the Maronite, Melkite, Ukrainian and Syro-Malabar, each keeping its own rite and law.
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Eastern Churches
The Churches of the Christian East, Byzantine, Syriac, Coptic, Armenian and others, whether Catholic or Orthodox, with their own liturgies and traditions.
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Ecce Agnus Dei /EH-cheh AHN-yoos DEH-ee/
"Behold the Lamb of God": John the Baptist's words, said by the priest as he shows the Host to the people before Communion.
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Ecce homo /EH-cheh OH-moh/
"Behold the man": Pilate's words presenting the scourged and thorn-crowned Jesus to the crowd, and a favourite subject of sacred art.
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ecclesiastical /eh-klee-zee-AS-tih-kul/
Belonging to the Church as an institution, especially its authority, law or government, as in "ecclesiastical approval".
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Ecclesiastical Latin /eh-klee-zee-AS-tih-kul LAT-in/
The Latin of the Church's liturgy and documents, pronounced in the Italian manner, as distinct from the reconstructed pronunciation of Classical Latin.
Also called: Church Latin
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ecclesiastical province /eh-klee-zee-AS-tih-kul/
A group of neighbouring dioceses under a metropolitan archbishop, whose own see is its centre.
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ecclesiastical writer /eh-klee-zee-AS-tih-kul/
An early Christian author, such as Tertullian or Origen, valued as a witness to tradition but not counted a Father of the Church.
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ecclesiology /eh-klee-zee-OL-uh-jee/
The branch of theology that studies the Church: her nature, origin, structure, marks and mission.
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economy
In theology, God's ordered plan and work of salvation in history (Greek oikonomia), as distinct from "theology", the mystery of God's inner life.
Also called: divine economy / economy of salvation
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ecstasy
A mystical state in which the soul is so absorbed in God that it loses awareness of the senses and the outer world.
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ecumenical council /ek-yoo-MEN-ih-kul/
A council of the world's bishops, convoked or confirmed by the Pope, whose definitions bind the whole Church; the Church counts twenty-one.
Also called: general council
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ecumenism /eh-KYOO-meh-niz-um/
The work of restoring unity among divided Christians in the one Church of Christ, treated in Vatican II's decree Unitatis Redintegratio.
Also called: ecumenical
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Edict of Milan
The 313 agreement of Emperors Constantine and Licinius granting freedom of worship to Christians and others, ending the age of persecution.
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the elect
Those whom God has chosen for eternal life and who will share his glory in heaven.
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election
God's free choice of a people or of persons for his purposes, such as Israel's calling, which remains irrevocable.
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elevation
The priest's raising of the consecrated Host, and then the chalice, after the consecration, for the faithful to see and adore.
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Ember Days
The Wednesday, Friday and Saturday of fasting and prayer in each of the four seasons, kept in the 1962 calendar; the 1969 reform left them to bishops' conferences.
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emblem
An object identifying a saint in art, such as St. Augustine's shell, book and burning heart, or St. Peter's keys.
Also called: attribute
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emeō /eh-MEH-oh/
"To vomit": the verb in the Book of Revelation where Christ warns that he will spew the lukewarm out of his mouth.
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emergency baptism
Baptism given in danger of death by anyone, even a non-Christian, who pours water while saying the Trinitarian words and intends what the Church does.
Also called: lay baptism
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eminent doctrine
One of three requirements for a Doctor of the Church, teaching of outstanding depth, alongside holiness of life and the Church's formal declaration.
Also called: eminens doctrina
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Emmanuel /eh-MAN-yoo-el/
"God with us": the name Isaiah gives the child to be born of a virgin, fulfilled in Jesus.
Also called: Immanuel
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Empyrean /em-PEER-ee-un/
In medieval cosmology, the highest heaven of pure light beyond the visible spheres, where God dwells with the angels and saints.
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Enchiridion Indulgentiarum /en-kee-REE-dee-ohn een-dool-jen-tsee-AH-room/
"Handbook of Indulgences": the official list of indulgenced prayers and works and their conditions, issued by the Apostolic Penitentiary, current edition 1999.
Also called: Enchiridion of Indulgences / Manual of Indulgences
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encyclical /en-SIK-lih-kul/
A papal letter addressed to the whole Church, or to all people of good will, teaching on doctrine, morals or social questions.
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enrollment
The rite in which a priest blesses and invests a person with the Brown Scapular, enrolling him in the Scapular Confraternity; replacement scapulars need no new blessing.
Also called: investiture
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ens qua ens /ENS kwah ENS/
"Being as being": being considered simply insofar as it is being, the proper subject of metaphysics.
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envy
Sadness at another's good as if it lessened one's own, one of the seven capital sins; envy of another's spiritual good is a sin against the Holy Spirit.
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epiclesis /ep-ih-KLEE-sis/
"Invocation": the prayer calling down the Holy Spirit upon the gifts so that they become Christ's Body and Blood, and upon the faithful.
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Epiphanian view /ep-ih-FAY-nee-un/
The view, named after St. Epiphanius and common in the East, that the "brothers of the Lord" were Joseph's sons by an earlier marriage.
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Epiphany
Feast of January 6 celebrating Christ's manifestation to the Gentiles in the Magi; in many countries the 1969 calendar moves it to a Sunday.
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episkiazō /eh-pee-skee-AH-zoh/
"To overshadow": the Greek Bible's word for God's glory-cloud resting on the Tabernacle and for the Holy Spirit coming upon Mary.
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Epistle
The reading from an Apostle's letter before the Gospel; in the traditional Mass it is read on the "Epistle side", the right side facing the altar.
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eschatology /es-kuh-TOL-uh-jee/
The part of theology dealing with the last things: death, judgment, heaven, hell, purgatory, the resurrection and the end of the world.
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esse /ES-seh/
"To be": a thing's very act of existing, really distinct from its essence in every creature but identical with it in God.
Also called: act of being
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essence
What a thing is, its nature or "whatness"; in every creature it is really distinct from its act of existing.
Also called: quiddity / whatness
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Eternal Father
Title of God the Father, First Person of the Trinity, used in prayers such as the Divine Mercy Chaplet's "Eternal Father, I offer you...".
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eternal law
God's eternal plan of wisdom directing all creatures to their ends; the natural law is our share in it, and Augustine defines sin as contrary to it.
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eternal life
Unending life with God in the happiness of heaven, promised to those who die in his grace.
Also called: life everlasting / vita aeterna
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eternal punishment
The unending punishment of hell due to unrepented mortal sin; absolution remits it, though temporal punishment may remain.
Also called: everlasting punishment
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Eternal Rest
The prayer for the dead: "Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them; may they rest in peace."
Also called: Requiem aeternam
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Eucharist
The sacrament and sacrifice in which Christ is truly present, Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity, under the appearances of bread and wine; the word means "thanksgiving".
Also called: Holy Eucharist
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Eucharistic adoration
Worship of Christ truly present in the Blessed Sacrament outside Mass, whether exposed in a monstrance or reserved in the tabernacle.
Also called: Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament
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Eucharistic Congress
A large gathering of clergy and faithful honouring the Eucharist with Masses, processions and adoration; the first international one met at Lille in 1881.
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Eucharistic fast
Abstaining from food and drink, except water and medicine, for one hour before Communion; formerly from midnight, then three hours from 1957 until 1964.
Also called: Communion fast
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Eucharistic hymns
Hymns honouring the Blessed Sacrament, notably St. Thomas Aquinas's Pange Lingua, whose last verses form the Tantum Ergo, and the Adoro Te Devote.
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Eucharistic miracles
Events, some recognized by Church authority as at Lanciano or Bolsena, in which the consecrated species visibly show Christ's presence; St. Carlo Acutis catalogued many.
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Eucharistic species
The appearances of bread and wine that remain after the consecration, under each of which Christ is wholly present.
Also called: sacred species / species
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evangelist
One of the four writers of the Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John; also anyone who proclaims the Gospel.
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evangelization
Proclaiming Christ and his Gospel by word and life so that people come to faith and enter his Church.
Also called: evangelisation
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evil as privation
The teaching of Augustine and Aquinas that evil is not a thing but the lack of a good that ought to be present, as blindness lacks sight.
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ex cathedra /eks KAH-teh-drah/
"From the chair": describes the Pope's infallible solemn definition, as supreme teacher of all Christians, of a doctrine of faith or morals.
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ex nihilo nihil fit /eks NEE-kee-loh NEE-keel FEET/
"From nothing, nothing comes": the principle that nothing can bring itself into being, so whatever begins to exist needs a cause.
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ex opere operato /eks OH-peh-reh oh-peh-RAH-toh/
"By the work performed": the sacraments confer grace by the valid rite itself, through Christ's power, not by the minister's holiness.
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exactor mortis /ek-SAHK-tor MOR-tees/
"Overseer of death": the Roman officer in charge of an execution, who in meditations on the Passion pressed Simon of Cyrene into carrying the Cross.
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Exaltation of the Holy Cross
Feast of September 14 honouring the Cross, recalling the dedication of the Holy Sepulchre basilica in 335 and the relic's recovery from the Persians.
Also called: Triumph of the Cross / Holy Cross Day
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examination of conscience
A prayerful review of one's thoughts, words, deeds and omissions, usually by the Commandments and precepts, especially in preparing for confession.
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exarch /EK-sark/
A Byzantine imperial governor, as at Ravenna; in Eastern Churches, a prelate governing an exarchate, a territory not yet a full eparchy.
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excommunication
A censure barring a Catholic from the sacraments and certain Church acts until he repents; it does not remove the indelible mark of Baptism.
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exegesis /ek-seh-JEE-sis/
The careful interpretation of a biblical text, drawing out its meaning from language, context and the Church's tradition.
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exemplar cause
The pattern after which something is made; God's eternal ideas, in the Word, are the exemplar cause of all creation.
Also called: exemplary cause
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exorcised water and salt
Holy water and salt blessed with the traditional Rituale Romanum rite, which includes prayers of exorcism, and used for protection against evil.
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exorcist
A priest authorized by his bishop to perform solemn exorcism over the possessed; exorcist was also one of the traditional minor orders.
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exposition
Placing the Blessed Sacrament, usually in a monstrance, on the altar for public adoration, often concluded with Benediction.
Also called: exposition of the Blessed Sacrament
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exterior darkness
Christ's image for hell: exclusion from the light of the kingdom, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Also called: outer darkness
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extra Ecclesiam nulla salus /EKS-trah eh-KLEH-zee-ahm NOOL-lah SAH-loos/
"Outside the Church no salvation": dogma that salvation comes through Christ's Church, so those who knowingly refuse it cannot be saved, though the inculpably ignorant may be.
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extraordinary demonic activity
Rare demonic action beyond ordinary temptation, namely infestation, vexation, obsession and possession, which falls to the exorcist.
F
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faculties
Authority granted by the Church, beyond ordination itself, that a priest needs to validly hear confessions and to perform certain other acts such as witnessing marriages.
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faith and morals
The two fields in which the Church's Magisterium can teach infallibly: what must be believed and how one must live.
Also called: faith or morals
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faith and reason
The Church's teaching that faith and reason cannot truly conflict, since God is the author of both; John Paul II called them two wings rising to truth.
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the faithful
The baptized members of the Church; often used especially of lay people as distinct from the clergy.
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faithful departed
All the baptized who have died in the faith, especially those still being purified in Purgatory, for whom the Church prays.
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the Fall
The first sin of Adam and Eve, by which they lost original holiness and justice for themselves and for all their descendants.
Also called: Fall of man / Adam's fall
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fallen angels
Angels who freely and irrevocably rebelled against God through pride, becoming the devil and his demons.
Also called: rebel angels / rebellious angels
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fasting
Limiting food as a penance; current law binds those aged 18 to 59 on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday; the older discipline added Lenten weekdays, Ember Days and vigils.
Also called: fast
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Father
Title of address for a Catholic priest, abbreviated "Fr.", expressing his spiritual fatherhood toward the faithful.
Also called: Fr. / Father (title)
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Fatima Prayer
Short prayer, "O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell...", added after each Rosary decade; taught at Fatima in 1917.
Also called: O my Jesus / Decade Prayer
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feast
A celebration of the Lord, Mary or a saint; in the 1969 calendar also the rank between solemnity and memorial.
Also called: feast day / festum
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Feast of Orthodoxy
Byzantine feast on the first Sunday of Lent celebrating the final restoration of holy icons in 843, after iconoclasm.
Also called: Triumph of Orthodoxy / Sunday of Orthodoxy
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Feast of the Lord
In the 1969 calendar, a feast of Christ, such as the Presentation or the Transfiguration, which replaces a Sunday in Ordinary Time when the two coincide.
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felix culpa /FEH-leeks KOOL-pah/
"Happy fault": the Easter Exsultet's phrase for Adam's sin, which won so great a Redeemer; God draws a greater good out of evil.
Also called: happy fault
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ferial /FEER-ee-ul/
From Latin feria, "weekday": a day with no feast or memorial, when the Mass and Office of the season are used; called a "weekday" in the 1969 calendar.
Also called: feria / weekday
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fiat /FEE-aht/
"Let it be done": Mary's consent at the Annunciation, "Be it done unto me according to thy word", the model of surrender to God's will.
Also called: Fiat mihi secundum verbum tuum
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fides quaerens intellectum /FEE-dehs KWEH-rens een-tel-LEK-toom/
"Faith seeking understanding": St. Anselm's motto for theology, in which the believer uses reason to grasp more deeply what he already believes.
Also called: faith seeking understanding
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Fifteen Promises of the Rosary
Promises to those who faithfully pray the Rosary, attributed to Our Lady through St. Dominic and Bl. Alan de la Roche; a pious tradition, not Church doctrine.
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Fifth Lateran Council /LAT-er-un/
Eighteenth ecumenical council (1512-1517), which taught the immortality of each individual soul and attempted Church reform just before the Reformation.
Also called: Lateran V
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Filioque /fee-lee-OH-kweh/
"And the Son": the Latin Creed's phrase that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son, long disputed with the Eastern Orthodox.
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final end
The ultimate purpose for which a creature exists and acts; for men and angels, God himself, possessed in the beatific vision.
Also called: last end
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final impenitence
Refusing to repent of mortal sin until death, and so rejecting God's mercy; reckoned among the sins against the Holy Spirit.
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final perseverance
Remaining in the state of grace until death, a special gift of God that no one can know for certain he has without special revelation.
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Finding in the Temple
The fifth Joyful Mystery: after three days' search, Mary and Joseph find the twelve-year-old Jesus in the Temple; its loss is Mary's third Sorrow.
Also called: Finding of Jesus in the Temple / Inventio in Templo
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firm purpose of amendment
The resolve, required for a good confession, to sin no more and to avoid the near occasions of sin.
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First Class
Highest rank in the 1962 calendar, for the greatest feasts such as Christmas, Easter, Pentecost, Corpus Christi and the Assumption; before 1960 called Double of the I Class.
Also called: I Class
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First Council of Constantinople
Second ecumenical council (381), which affirmed the divinity of the Holy Spirit and gave the Nicene Creed its fuller form.
Also called: Constantinople I / Council of Constantinople
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First Council of Nicaea /ny-SEE-uh/
First ecumenical council (325), which defined against Arius that the Son is consubstantial with the Father, and produced the core of the Creed.
Also called: Nicaea I / Council of Nicaea
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First Fridays and First Saturdays
Devotions of reparation: Communion on the first Friday of nine consecutive months (Sacred Heart) and the first Saturday of five (Immaculate Heart).
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first fruits
The first yield of harvest and flock, offered to God in Israel; St. Paul calls the risen Christ the first fruits of all who will rise.
Also called: firstfruits
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First Holy Communion
A person's first reception of the Eucharist, traditionally made by children at about the age of reason, after their first confession.
Also called: First Communion
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first parents
Adam and Eve, the first man and woman, from whom all humanity descends and whose sin brought death into the world.
Also called: our first parents
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First Saturday devotion
Reparation to the Immaculate Heart on five consecutive first Saturdays by confession, Communion, five Rosary decades and fifteen minutes' meditation, as asked of Sr. Lucia.
Also called: Five First Saturdays
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First Vatican Council
Twentieth ecumenical council (1869-1870), which taught on faith and reason and defined the primacy and infallibility of the Pope.
Also called: Vatican I
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Five Ways
St. Thomas Aquinas's five arguments for God's existence: from motion, efficient causation, contingency, degrees of perfection and the order of nature.
Also called: quinque viae
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flagrum /FLAH-groom/
"Whip": the Roman scourge of leather thongs weighted with lead or bone, used in the scourging of Christ.
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Flame of Love
Devotion based on the private revelations reported by the Hungarian mystic Elizabeth Kindelmann (1913-1985), source of the Great Unity Prayer; not part of Church doctrine.
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Flight into Egypt
The Holy Family's escape into Egypt from King Herod's massacre of the infants; the second of Mary's Seven Sorrows.
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font
A basin holding baptismal water, or a smaller one (a stoup) holding holy water near a church entrance.
Also called: baptismal font
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forerunner
St. John the Baptist as the herald sent ahead to prepare the way for the Messiah.
Also called: Precursor
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formal and material cooperation
Helping another's wrongdoing while sharing its intention (formal, always wrong) or only contributing without sharing it (material, sometimes allowed for grave reason).
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formal and material heresy
Knowing, obstinate denial of a revealed truth taught by the Church (formal, gravely sinful) versus error held in good faith (material, without guilt).
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formal and material sin
An objectively wrong act done with knowledge and consent (formal sin) or without them, for example through ignorance (material sin).
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formation
Ongoing training of mind, heart and soul in the faith through prayer, Scripture, the Catechism and Church teaching.
Also called: spiritual formation
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Formula of Hormisdas /hor-MIZ-das/
Profession of faith required by Pope Hormisdas in 519, ending the Acacian Schism and affirming that the Apostolic See has always kept the faith unblemished.
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fornication
Sexual intercourse between a man and a woman who are not married to each other; a grave sin against chastity.
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fortitude
The cardinal virtue of firmness and courage in pursuing the good despite danger or hardship; also one of the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit.
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four causes
Aristotle's four kinds of explanation for a thing: material (what it is made of), formal (what it is), efficient (what made it) and final (its purpose).
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four D's
Deception, division, diversion and discouragement: four ordinary tactics of the devil, as summarized by the exorcist Fr. Vincent Lampert.
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four ends of prayer
The four purposes of prayer and of the Mass: adoration, contrition, thanksgiving and supplication, often used to structure a holy hour.
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four marks of a Father
The four criteria for counting someone a Father of the Church: antiquity, orthodoxy of doctrine, holiness of life and approval of the Church.
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four marks of the Church
The four identifying notes the Creed professes of the Church Christ founded: one, holy, catholic and apostolic.
Also called: marks of the Church / notes of the Church
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four pillars of the Catechism
The four parts of the Catechism of the Catholic Church: the Creed, the sacraments, life in Christ and prayer; what we believe, celebrate, live and pray.
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four senses of Scripture
The literal sense of Scripture plus three spiritual senses: allegorical (pointing to Christ), moral (guiding conduct) and anagogical (pointing to heaven).
Also called: senses of Scripture
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four wounds of fallen nature
St. Thomas Aquinas's four wounds of original sin: ignorance in the intellect, malice in the will, and weakness and concupiscence in the lower appetites.
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Fourth Class
Lowest rank of day in the 1962 calendar: an ordinary weekday (feria) outside Advent and Lent, on which an optional votive or requiem Mass may be said.
Also called: IV Class
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Fourth Council of Constantinople
Eighth ecumenical council in the Catholic reckoning (869-870), which deposed Photius and ended his schism; the last ecumenical council held in the East.
Also called: Constantinople IV
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Fourth Lateran Council /LAT-er-un/
Twelfth ecumenical council (1215), under Innocent III, which used the term transubstantiation, required yearly confession and Easter Communion, and taught that demons were created good.
Also called: Lateran IV
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Fraction Rite
The breaking of the consecrated Host before Communion; in the 1969 Mass it accompanies the Agnus Dei, in 1962 it comes at the close of the Libera nos.
Also called: fraction
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Franciscans
The religious family founded by St. Francis of Assisi, including the Friars Minor, Conventuals and Capuchins, the Poor Clares and the Third Order.
Also called: Friars Minor / Order of Friars Minor
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Freemasonry
A secret fraternal society repeatedly condemned by the popes since 1738; Catholics who join are in grave sin and may not receive Communion.
Also called: Freemasons / Masonry
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friar
A member of a mendicant (begging) order, such as the Franciscans, Dominicans, Carmelites or Augustinians, living in community and ministering among the people.
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Friday penance
The duty to do penance every Friday in memory of Christ's death, traditionally by abstaining from meat, which bishops may allow to be replaced by another penance.
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Fruit of the Mystery
The virtue or grace traditionally asked for when meditating on a particular mystery of the Rosary, such as humility for the Annunciation.
Also called: Fructus Mysterii
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fruits of the Holy Spirit
Perfections the Holy Spirit forms in the soul, traditionally twelve, including charity, joy, peace, patience, goodness, mildness and chastity.
Also called: fruit of the Holy Spirit
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full consent
Free, deliberate choice of an act by the will; together with grave matter and full knowledge, a condition for mortal sin.
Also called: deliberate consent
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full knowledge
Awareness that an act is seriously wrong when one does it; together with grave matter and full consent, a condition for mortal sin.
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fullness of the priesthood
The highest degree of Holy Orders, held by bishops, who alone can ordain and who are the ordinary ministers of Confirmation.
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Fundamental Agreement
The 1993 accord between the Holy See and the State of Israel that led to full diplomatic relations and addressed the Church's rights and the holy places.
G
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Gallicanism and Febronianism /GAL-ih-kuh-niz-um, feh-BROH-nee-uh-niz-um/
French and German movements, chiefly of the 17th and 18th centuries, that restricted papal authority in favour of national churches, bishops or rulers.
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Gate of Heaven
Marian title from the Litany of Loreto and Marian hymns: through Mary Christ entered the world, and through her souls are led to heaven.
Also called: Porta Caeli / Ianua Caeli
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Gaudete Sunday /gow-DEH-teh/
"Rejoice!": the Third Sunday of Advent, named from the first word of its Introit, when rose vestments may be worn.
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Gaudium et Spes /GOW-dee-oom et SPES/
"Joy and hope": Vatican II's Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, promulgated in 1965.
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gebirah /geh-vee-RAH/
"Great lady": the queen mother of the Davidic kings, who sat at the king's right hand and interceded with him; a type of Mary.
Also called: queen mother
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Gehenna /geh-HEN-uh/
"Valley of Hinnom": a valley outside Jerusalem once used for child sacrifice, which Jesus uses as a name for hell, the place of eternal fire.
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Gelasian Sacramentary /jeh-LAY-zhun/
An early book of Roman Mass prayers named after Pope Gelasius I (492-496), though compiled later, chiefly in the seventh and eighth centuries.
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general absolution
Absolution given to many penitents at once without individual confession, allowed only in grave necessity; grave sins must still be confessed individually afterwards.
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General Audience
The Pope's regular public audience, usually on Wednesdays, at which he gives a catechetical address to pilgrims and visitors.
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General Instruction of the Roman Missal
The official instructions printed at the front of the modern (1969 onward) Roman Missal, governing how Mass is celebrated and arranged.
Also called: GIRM
-
general judgment
Christ's public judgment of all humanity at the end of the world, after the resurrection of the dead, confirming each soul's particular judgment.
Also called: Last Judgment / final judgment
-
generational curse
In some deliverance ministries, a spiritual bondage believed to pass down a family line, often traced to an ancestor's occult practice; not defined Church teaching.
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Gentiles
The non-Jewish peoples, to whom the blessing promised to Abraham reaches through Christ; St. Paul was their apostle.
Also called: the nations
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genuflection /jen-yoo-FLEK-shun/
Bending the right knee to the floor as an act of adoration, especially before the Blessed Sacrament in the tabernacle.
Also called: genuflect
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genus and species
Logical classes: the genus is the wider kind (man is an animal), the species the narrower (a rational animal); Aquinas held each angel is its own species.
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gifts of the Holy Spirit
Seven gifts (wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, fear of the Lord) that make the soul docile to the Holy Spirit; received in Baptism, strengthened in Confirmation.
Also called: seven gifts of the Holy Ghost / sevenfold gifts
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Gloria /GLOH-ree-ah/
"Glory": the ancient hymn "Glory to God in the highest", sung at Mass on Sundays and feasts but omitted in Advent, Lent and Requiem Masses.
Also called: Gloria in excelsis Deo / Gloria in excelsis / Glory to God in the highest
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Gloria tibi, Domine /GLOH-ree-ah TEE-bee DOH-mee-neh/
"Glory to Thee, O Lord": the response made when the Gospel is announced at Mass.
Also called: Glory be to Thee, O Lord
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glorified body
The risen body of Christ and, at the resurrection, of the blessed, endowed with impassibility, subtlety, agility and clarity (radiance).
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Glorious Mysteries
The third of the Rosary's three traditional sets: the Resurrection, Ascension, Descent of the Holy Spirit, Assumption, and Coronation of Mary.
Also called: Mysteria Gloriosa
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glory
God's manifest splendour and honour; in theology also the blessed's share in God's own life in heaven, as in "the life of glory".
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Glory Be
The short hymn of praise to the Trinity, "Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit", said after each Rosary decade.
Also called: Gloria Patri / Glory be to the Father / Lesser Doxology
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glory-cloud
The visible cloud of God's glory that led Israel and filled the Tabernacle and the Temple, overshadowing the Ark.
-
gluttony
One of the seven capital sins: disordered desire for food or drink, eating or drinking too much, too greedily or too fastidiously.
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Gnosticism /NOS-tih-siz-um/
Early heresies teaching salvation through secret knowledge (gnosis) and treating matter and the body as evil.
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Godhead
The divine nature or being of God; in the Adoro Te, Christ's divinity hidden beneath the Eucharistic appearances.
Also called: Divinity / Deity
-
godparent
A sponsor at Baptism, or Confirmation, who presents the candidate, professes the faith with them and helps them live it.
Also called: sponsor
-
gold (liturgical colour)
Cloth of gold, which the 1962 rubrics allow in place of white, red or green, and modern use reserves for the most solemn days.
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Golden Legend
Jacobus de Voragine's collection of saints' lives (c. 1260), the most popular book of saints' lore in the Middle Ages.
Also called: Legenda Aurea
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golden mean
Aristotle's teaching that each moral virtue lies between two vices, as courage lies between cowardice and recklessness.
Also called: the mean
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Good Friday
The Friday before Easter commemorating Christ's crucifixion; a day of fast and abstinence on which Mass is not celebrated.
Also called: Parasceve / Friday of the Passion of the Lord
-
Good Shepherd
Christ's title for himself as the shepherd who knows his sheep and lays down his life for them.
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Good Thief
The criminal crucified beside Christ who repented and was promised Paradise that day; tradition names him Dismas and honours him as a saint.
Also called: Dismas / Dysmas
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Gospel
The good news of salvation in Christ; also each of the four books recounting his life, and the reading from them at Mass.
-
Gospel side
In the traditional (1962) Mass, the left side of the altar as one faces it, where the Gospel is read, symbolizing its spread to the Gentiles.
-
grace
God's free and undeserved gift of his help and of a share in his own divine life, which makes us holy.
-
grace after meals
The traditional prayer of thanks after eating, "We give Thee thanks...", which ends with a petition for the faithful departed.
Also called: Agimus tibi gratias
-
grace before meals
The short traditional blessing said before eating: "Bless us, O Lord, and these Thy gifts, which we are about to receive..."
Also called: Blessing Before Meals / Benedic, Domine
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Gradual
In the traditional (1962) Mass, the chant between the Epistle and Gospel, named from the steps (gradus); the 1969 Mass usually has a Responsorial Psalm instead.
-
grave matter
An act seriously wrong in itself; together with full knowledge and deliberate consent, one of the three conditions for mortal sin.
-
graven images
Carved images forbidden as idols by the First Commandment; the Church teaches that venerating holy images is not idolatry.
-
Great Apostasy
The Latter-day Saint (Mormon) claim that the true Church was lost after the Apostles' deaths; the Catholic Church rejects it.
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Great Disappointment
The failure of William Miller's prediction that Christ would return on 22 October 1844, a lesson against date-setting; Adventism grew from it.
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Great Persecution
The last and most severe Roman persecution of Christians, begun under Diocletian in 303 and ended by the edicts of toleration of 311 and 313.
Also called: Diocletian persecution
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Great Western Schism
The division of 1378-1417, when two and later three rival claimants to the papacy split Western Christendom; ended by the Council of Constance.
Also called: Western Schism
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Greater Double
Feast rank before the 1960 rubrics (duplex majus), below the Doubles of the I and II Class and above the plain Double; in the 1962 Missal it became III Class.
Also called: Double Major / duplex majus
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Greek and Latin Fathers
The Church Fathers of the Greek-speaking East and the Latin West; Ambrose, Jerome, Augustine and Gregory are the four great Latin Doctors.
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green (liturgical colour)
Colour of hope, worn on Sundays and weekdays outside the great seasons: after Epiphany and after Pentecost (1962), or in Ordinary Time (1969).
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Gregorian calendar
Pope Gregory XIII's 1582 reform of the Julian calendar, correcting the drift of the equinox and the date of Easter; now the world's civil calendar.
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Gregorian chant
The Roman Church's traditional unaccompanied Latin chant, named after St. Gregory the Great; Vatican II said it should have pride of place in the liturgy.
Also called: plainchant / chant
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Gregorian Masses
Thirty Masses offered on thirty consecutive days for one deceased person, a custom traced to a story told by St. Gregory the Great.
Also called: Gregorian series
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Gregorian Reform
The eleventh-century papal reform, named after Gregory VII, against simony, clerical marriage and lay investiture of bishops.
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guardian angel
The angel God assigns to each person to protect, guide and pray for them throughout life.
Also called: Angelus Custos
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Guardian Angel prayer
Traditional children's prayer to one's guardian angel: "Angel of God, my guardian dear, to whom God's love commits me here..."
Also called: Angel of God / Angele Dei
H
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habit
The distinctive garment of a religious order; the Brown Scapular is a reduced form of the Carmelite habit.
Also called: religious habit
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Hades /HAY-deez/
"The unseen place": the Greek name for the realm of the dead, equivalent to the Hebrew Sheol, where the dead awaited Christ.
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hagiography /hag-ee-OG-ruh-fee/
Writing about the lives of the saints; also, by extension, any uncritically admiring biography.
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Hail Mary
The chief prayer to Mary, joining Gabriel's and Elizabeth's greetings to a plea for her prayers now and at death; said on the Rosary's small beads.
Also called: Ave Maria / Angelical Salutation
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hamartia /hah-mar-TEE-ah/
"Missing the mark": the New Testament's ordinary Greek word for sin, pictured as an arrow falling short of its target.
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handmaid of the Lord
Mary's description of herself at the Annunciation, "Behold the handmaid of the Lord", expressing humble readiness to do God's will.
Also called: handmaid / Ecce ancilla Domini
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Harrowing of Hell
Christ's descent after his death to the realm of the dead, to free the just souls who awaited him and open heaven to them.
Also called: Descent into Hell / descendit ad inferos
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he who sings prays twice
Saying commonly attributed to St. Augustine (Latin "qui bene cantat, bis orat"), meaning that sung praise is prayer doubled.
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Heaven
Eternal life with the Holy Trinity, Mary, the angels and the saints in perfect happiness, above all seeing God face to face.
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heavenly host
The armies of angels who serve God, as in "Lord God of hosts"; St. Michael is called their prince.
Also called: host of heaven / angelic hosts / militia caelestis
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heavenly Jerusalem
The perfected city of God, the Church glorified at the end of time, where the Tree of Life stands again.
Also called: New Jerusalem
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Hell
Eternal separation from God, freely chosen by those who die unrepentant in mortal sin; in the Apostles' Creed, "hell" also means the realm of the dead.
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Help of Christians
Marian title, from the Litany of Loreto, invoking Mary's aid for the Church in trial, persecution and spiritual combat.
Also called: Auxilium Christianorum
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heresy
Obstinate denial or doubt, after Baptism, of a truth that must be believed with divine and Catholic faith.
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hermit
One who lives apart from the world in solitude, silence, prayer and penance, often under a rule or a bishop's oversight.
Also called: eremite
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Heroic Act of Charity
Offering, through Mary, all one's satisfactory works in life and all suffrages after death for the souls in Purgatory; revocable, not a vow.
Also called: Heroic Act
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heroic virtue
Virtue practised to an outstanding degree, promptly and joyfully, which must be proven before beatification and is required of every Doctor of the Church.
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Hesychasm /HES-ih-kaz-um/
The Eastern Christian tradition of inner stillness and unceasing prayer, especially the Jesus Prayer, defended by Gregory Palamas in the 14th century.
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hierarchy
The ordained ministers who teach, sanctify and govern the Church: the Pope and bishops, assisted by priests and deacons.
Also called: Church hierarchy / threefold hierarchy
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hierarchy of theological authority
The ranking of Church teachings by binding force, from defined dogma through ordinary teaching to theological opinion and private revelation.
Also called: levels of authority
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hierarchy of truths
Vatican II's principle that revealed truths differ in their connection to the central mysteries, chiefly the Trinity, though not in their certainty.
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Hieronymian view /hy-er-oh-NIM-ee-un/
St. Jerome's view that the "brothers" of Jesus in the Gospels were his cousins or other close relatives, not children of Mary.
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High Priest
The chief priest of Israel, who alone entered the Holy of Holies once a year; Hebrews presents Christ as the eternal High Priest.
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holiness
Sharing in God's own life and goodness through grace; the calling of every Christian, not only of canonized saints.
Also called: sanctity
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holy day of obligation
A feast on which Catholics must, as on Sundays, attend Mass and rest from unnecessary work.
Also called: day of obligation / holy day
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Holy Family
Jesus, Mary and Joseph as a family, the model of Christian home life; also the feast honouring them, kept in January (1962) or after Christmas (1969).
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holy fear
Reverent, loving awe of God that dreads offending him, as distinct from servile fear of punishment; the gift called fear of the Lord.
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holy hour
An hour of prayer before the Blessed Sacrament, answering Christ's question in Gethsemane, "Could you not watch one hour with me?"
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holy images
Pictures and statues of Christ, Mary and the saints, venerated (not worshipped) as reminders of those they depict and aids to devotion.
Also called: sacred images
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Holy Innocents
The infant boys of Bethlehem killed by Herod in his attempt to destroy Jesus, honoured as martyrs on December 28.
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Holy Land
The lands of the Bible, especially the places linked with Christ's life around Jerusalem and Galilee; a goal of pilgrimage and of the Crusades.
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Holy Mother Church
Affectionate name for the Church as the mother who gives the faithful new life in Baptism and nourishes and guides them.
Also called: Mother Church
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Holy Name of Jesus
Feast honouring the saving name of Jesus: in 1962, the Sunday between January 2 and 5 (else January 2); in the modern calendar, an optional memorial on January 3.
Also called: Most Holy Name of Jesus
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Holy Name of Mary
Feast (September 12) honouring the name of Mary, extended to the whole Church after the victory at Vienna in 1683; an optional memorial in the modern calendar.
Also called: Most Holy Name of Mary
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Holy of Holies
The innermost sanctuary of the Tabernacle and the Temple, where the Ark rested and the high priest entered alone once a year.
Also called: most holy place
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holy oils
The three oils blessed by the bishop, usually at the Chrism Mass: the oil of catechumens, the oil of the sick, and sacred chrism.
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Holy Orders
The sacrament by which bishops, priests and deacons are ordained, receiving an indelible character to continue the Apostles' mission.
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Holy Roman Emperor
Ruler of the Holy Roman Empire, the Western Christian empire revived when the pope crowned Charlemagne in 800 and dissolved in 1806.
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Holy Rule
St. Benedict's sixth-century guide to monastic life, centred on prayer and work, followed by Benedictine monks and nuns and many others.
Also called: Rule of St. Benedict
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Holy Sacrifice
The Mass, in which the one sacrifice of Christ on Calvary is made present on the altar in an unbloody manner.
Also called: Holy Sacrifice of the Mass
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Holy Saturday
The day Christ's body lay in the tomb and his soul descended to the dead; it closes with the Easter Vigil.
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Holy See
The office of the Pope as Bishop of Rome together with the central government of the Church, sovereign under international law.
Also called: Apostolic See
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Holy Sepulchre
Christ's tomb in Jerusalem, and the basilica built over it and Calvary under Constantine in the fourth century.
Also called: Church of the Holy Sepulchre
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Holy Souls
The souls being purified in Purgatory, certain of heaven, whom the living can help by prayer, Masses, indulgences and good works.
Also called: Poor Souls / souls in Purgatory
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Holy Spirit
The third Person of the Holy Trinity, true God with the Father and the Son; "Holy Ghost" is the older English name.
Also called: Holy Ghost / Spiritus Sanctus
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Holy Thursday
Thursday of Holy Week, commemorating the Last Supper and the institution of the Eucharist and the priesthood.
Also called: Maundy Thursday
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holy water
Water blessed by a priest, a sacramental used to bless oneself, people and places, and to drive away evil.
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Holy Week
The week from Palm Sunday to Easter, commemorating Christ's Passion, Death and Resurrection.
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Holy Wounds
The five wounds of the crucified Christ in his hands, feet and side, honoured in devotion as sources of grace.
Also called: Five Wounds / Sacred Wounds
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Holy Year
A special year of pilgrimage, grace and indulgence, now normally every 25 years, first proclaimed by Pope Boniface VIII in 1300.
Also called: Jubilee / Jubilee Year
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homily
A sermon explaining Scripture and the faith, especially one preached at Mass after the Gospel by a bishop, priest or deacon.
Also called: sermon
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Hosanna /hoh-ZAN-uh/
"Save, we pray": the Hebrew cry with which Jesus was greeted on Palm Sunday, sung in the Sanctus at Mass.
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Host
The bread offered and consecrated at Mass, from Latin hostia, "victim"; once consecrated it is truly Christ's Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity.
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the hour (John's Gospel)
In St. John's Gospel, the appointed time of Christ's Passion and glorification, first mentioned at Cana: "My hour is not yet come."
Also called: my hour
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Hour of Mercy
Three o'clock in the afternoon, the hour of Christ's death, which St. Faustina's revelations especially recommend for prayer to Divine Mercy.
Also called: Hora Misericordiae
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house blessing
A priest's blessing of a home with holy water and prayer, traditionally at Epiphany or in Eastertide, and also sought against evil influences.
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hu' /HOO/
"He" (or "it"): the Hebrew pronoun in Genesis 3:15 referring to the woman's seed, where the Latin Vulgate reads ipsa, "she".
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human faith
Ordinary, fallible belief based on human testimony; the most that may be given to approved private revelations, unlike the divine faith owed to revealed truth.
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human respect
Undue concern for others' opinions that leads one to neglect one's duty to God, such as being ashamed to be seen practising the faith.
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Humanae Vitae /oo-MAH-neh VEE-teh/
"Of human life": Paul VI's 1968 encyclical reaffirming that each marriage act must remain open to life, and so rejecting artificial contraception.
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humeral veil /HYOO-mer-ul/
A long shoulder veil covering the minister's hands when he holds the monstrance at Benediction or carries the Blessed Sacrament; the subdeacon also wears it at Solemn Mass.
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humility
The virtue of seeing oneself truthfully before God, acknowledging him as the source of all good and not seeking undue esteem.
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hylomorphism /hy-loh-MOR-fiz-um/
The Aristotelian-Thomist teaching that every bodily thing is a union of matter and form (Greek hyle, morphe); in man the soul is the body's form.
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hyperdulia /hy-per-DOO-lee-ah/
The special veneration given to Mary as Mother of God, above that given to the saints yet infinitely below the adoration due to God alone.
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hypostatic union /hy-poh-STAT-ik YOON-yun/
The union of Christ's complete divine and human natures in the one divine Person of the Word, taught at Ephesus (431) and Chalcedon (451).
Also called: Unio Hypostatica / two natures in one Person
I
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I AM
The divine name revealed to Moses at the burning bush, which Jesus applies to himself in St. John's Gospel, including at his arrest.
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icon
A sacred image, especially in Eastern Christian tradition, painted according to set conventions and venerated in honour of the one it depicts.
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iconoclasm /eye-KON-oh-klaz-um/
The 8th-9th-century movement that destroyed sacred images as idols, condemned by the Second Council of Nicaea (787); images were finally restored in 843.
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idolatry
Giving to a creature the worship owed to God alone, or putting anything, such as money, power or pleasure, in God's place.
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illuminism /ih-LOO-mih-niz-um/
The error of the 16th-century Spanish alumbrados, who sought direct inner illumination from God apart from the Church's sacraments and teaching.
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image of God
Humanity's likeness to God, above all in intellect and free will, which gives every human person a unique dignity.
Also called: imago Dei
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Imitation of Christ
Thomas à Kempis's fifteenth-century spiritual classic on detachment and following Christ, among the most widely read Christian books after the Bible.
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Immaculata /ee-mah-koo-LAH-tah/
"The Immaculate One": a title of Mary as conceived without original sin, especially loved by St. Maximilian Kolbe.
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Immaculate Conception
Dogma, defined in 1854, that Mary was preserved from original sin from the first instant of her conception, by the merits of Christ; feast December 8.
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Immaculate Heart of Mary
Devotion to Mary's sinless and loving heart, especially urged at Fatima; Pius XII consecrated the world to it in 1942.
Also called: Immaculate Heart / Cor Immaculatum
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immensus /eem-MEN-soos/
"Immeasurable": the Athanasian Creed's word for each divine Person, boundless yet together one God; older English renders it "incomprehensible".
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impeccability /im-pek-uh-BIL-ih-tee/
Inability to sin, which belongs to Christ; not to be confused with papal infallibility, which concerns teaching, not personal holiness.
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impediment
An obstacle in Church law that prevents a person from validly or lawfully receiving a sacrament, especially Matrimony or Holy Orders.
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imperfection
A falling short of the more perfect good, or a lingering defect of character, that is less than a sin.
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imprecatory prayer /im-PREK-uh-tor-ee/
In deliverance practice, prayer that directly commands evil spirits rather than asking God to act; normally reserved to priests, though some allow parents over their children.
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imprimatur /eem-pree-MAH-toor/
"Let it be printed": a bishop's permission to publish a book on faith or morals, declaring it free of doctrinal or moral error.
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imputed righteousness
The Protestant teaching that God declares sinners righteous by crediting Christ's righteousness to them without inwardly renewing them; rejected by the Council of Trent.
Also called: forensic justification
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in persona Christi /een pehr-SOH-nah KREE-stee/
"In the person of Christ": the priest acting as Christ himself, above all when he consecrates at Mass and absolves in confession.
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In principio erat Verbum /een preen-CHEE-pee-oh EH-raht VEHR-boom/
"In the beginning was the Word": the opening of St. John's Gospel, read as the Last Gospel at the end of the traditional (1962) Mass.
Also called: In the beginning was the Word
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in saecula saeculorum /een SEH-koo-lah seh-koo-LOH-room/
"Unto ages of ages": the Latin ending of many prayers, rendered "world without end" or "for ever and ever".
Also called: per omnia saecula saeculorum / world without end / for ever and ever
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in statu viae /een STAH-too VEE-eh/
"In the state of the way": said of a creature still on pilgrimage, able to merit and not yet fixed in glory or damnation.
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Incarnate Wisdom
Title of Christ as the eternal Wisdom of God made flesh, central to St. Louis de Montfort's consecration to Jesus through Mary.
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Incarnation
The eternal Son of God becoming man by taking a human nature in the womb of the Virgin Mary, while remaining true God.
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incense
Fragrant resin burned in worship, its rising smoke a sign of prayer ascending to God and of reverence for what is incensed.
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incorrupt
Said of a holy person's body that has not decayed naturally after death; the Church may note it but does not treat it as proof of sanctity.
Also called: incorruptible
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Index of Forbidden Books
The Church's list of books Catholics might not read or keep without permission, first issued in 1559 under Paul IV and abolished in 1966.
Also called: Index Librorum Prohibitorum / Roman Index / Index
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indifferentism /in-dih-FER-en-tiz-um/
The condemned error that all religions are equally good paths to God, so that no one is bound to embrace revealed truth.
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indissolubility /in-dih-sol-yoo-BIL-ih-tee/
The property of marriage by which its bond cannot be dissolved; a consummated sacramental marriage can be ended by no human power, only by death.
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indulgence
A remission before God of all (plenary) or part (partial) of the temporal punishment due to sins whose guilt is already forgiven, granted through the Church.
Also called: indulgentia
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Indulgentiarum Doctrina /een-dool-jen-tsee-AH-room dohk-TREE-nah/
"The doctrine of indulgences": Paul VI's 1967 apostolic constitution reforming indulgences and ending their reckoning in days and years.
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Ineffabilis Deus /een-ef-FAH-bee-lees DEH-oos/
"Ineffable God": Pius IX's 1854 apostolic constitution solemnly defining the dogma of the Immaculate Conception.
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inerrancy /in-EHR-un-see/
The truth that Scripture, being inspired by God, teaches without error the truth God willed to be recorded for our salvation.
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infant baptism
The baptism of babies, practised since the early Church, by which children are freed from original sin and receive sanctifying grace.
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infernum /een-FEHR-noom/
"The lower place": the underworld, which traditional theology divides into hell, purgatory and the two limbos; hence the Creed's "descended into hell".
Also called: inferi / the lower regions
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infestation
In exorcism terminology, demonic activity attached to a place, object or animal, affecting people only indirectly.
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infused intelligible species
In St. Thomas's teaching, the ideas God implants in the angels at creation, by which they know things directly without reasoning from the senses.
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infused knowledge
Knowledge given directly by God rather than acquired by learning; Aquinas ascribes it to Christ alongside his beatific and acquired knowledge.
Also called: infused science
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Inquisition
Church tribunals for judging heresy: the medieval papal Inquisition (13th century), the Spanish Inquisition (1478) and the Roman Inquisition (1542).
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inspiration
The Holy Spirit's action on the human writers of Scripture, so that God is its principal author and they wrote all and only what he willed.
Also called: biblical inspiration / divine inspiration
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institution narrative
In the modern (1969) liturgy, the part of the Eucharistic Prayer recounting Christ's words and actions at the Last Supper, within which the consecration occurs.
Also called: narrative of institution
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Institution of the Eucharist
Christ's giving of his Body and Blood at the Last Supper; also the fifth Luminous Mystery, an optional set added by John Paul II in 2002.
Also called: Institutio Eucharistiae
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integral confession
Confessing all known mortal sins by kind and number; deliberately concealing one makes the confession invalid and sacrilegious.
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intellect and will
The two spiritual powers of the rational soul: the intellect, which knows truth, and the will, which chooses the good.
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intention
The particular purpose or person for whom a prayer, Mass or good work is offered.
Also called: special intention / prayer intention
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intentions of the Holy Father
The Pope's intentions, for which one prays, usually an Our Father and Hail Mary, as one condition for gaining a plenary indulgence.
Also called: papal intentions
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intercession
Prayer to God on behalf of others; Mary and the saints also intercede for us, within Christ's one mediation.
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intercession of the saints
The saints' prayer for us before God, which we ask as we ask fellow Christians to pray, always through Christ's one mediation.
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intercommunion
Sharing Communion between Catholics and Christians not in full communion with the Church, which Church law permits only in limited, exceptional cases.
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interdict
A Church penalty barring persons, or formerly a whole territory, from the sacraments and public worship.
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interfaith dialogue
Respectful conversation between the Church and other religions, encouraged since Vatican II, seeking mutual understanding without abandoning the proclamation of Christ.
Also called: interreligious dialogue
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internal and external sin
Sin committed only in thought, desire or will (internal) or carried out in word or deed (external).
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International Theological Commission
Body of theologians, founded by Paul VI in 1969, that advises the Holy See's doctrinal office; its documents are not magisterial teaching.
Also called: ITC
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intrinsically evil
Said of acts always wrong by their very object, whatever the intention or circumstances, such as blasphemy or the deliberate killing of the innocent.
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Introibo ad altare Dei /een-troh-EE-boh ahd ahl-TAH-reh DEH-ee/
"I will go in to the altar of God": the antiphon opening the Prayers at the Foot of the Altar in the traditional (1962) Mass.
Also called: I will go unto the altar of God
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Introit /IN-troh-it/
The entrance chant proper to each Mass, an antiphon with a psalm verse; in the 1962 Mass the priest also reads it at the altar.
Also called: Entrance Antiphon
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Investiture Controversy
The 11th-12th-century struggle over whether lay rulers could appoint and invest bishops, settled by the Concordat of Worms in 1122.
Also called: investiture struggle
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invincible ignorance
Ignorance one could not reasonably overcome; it removes personal guilt for wrongdoing, but never makes the error true.
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ipsa conteret /EEP-sah KOHN-teh-ret/
"She shall crush": the Vulgate's reading of Genesis 3:15, applied to Mary; the Hebrew reads "he" or "it", referring to the woman's seed.
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Ipsum Esse Subsistens /EEP-soom ES-seh soob-SEE-stens/
"Subsistent Being Itself": St. Thomas's name for God, whose very essence is simply to exist.
Also called: Subsistent Being Itself
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irreformable
Unable to be revised or reversed in meaning; said of the dogmatic definitions of popes and ecumenical councils.
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Ite, missa est /EE-teh MEES-sah est/
"Go, it is the dismissal": the dismissal at the end of Mass, from which the word "Mass" (missa) is traditionally derived.
Also called: Go, the Mass is ended
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Iucunda Semper /yoo-KOON-dah SEM-pehr/
"Ever joyful": Leo XIII's 1894 encyclical on the Rosary, teaching that grace comes to us through Mary.
J
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Jansenism /JAN-sen-iz-um/
A 17th-18th-century rigorist movement, from Cornelius Jansen, holding grace irresistible and Christ's death only for the elect; condemned by several popes.
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Jesse Tree
An Advent custom tracing Christ's ancestry from Jesse, father of King David, through Old Testament figures, often with symbols hung on a tree.
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Jesuit
A member of the Society of Jesus, the order founded by St. Ignatius of Loyola in 1540, who writes "S.J." after his name.
Also called: Society of Jesus / S.J.
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Jesus, I trust in You
The prayer inscribed beneath the Divine Mercy image at Christ's request to St. Faustina, summing up the devotion's spirit of trust.
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Jesus Prayer
The short repeated prayer "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner", central to Eastern Christian spirituality.
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Joyful Mysteries
The first of the Rosary's three traditional sets: the Annunciation, Visitation, Nativity, Presentation and Finding in the Temple.
Also called: Mysteria Gaudiosa
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Judaizers /JOO-dee-eye-zerz/
Early Christians who insisted Gentile converts must be circumcised and keep the Mosaic Law, opposed by St. Paul and the Council of Jerusalem.
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judgement
God's verdict on each soul: the particular judgement immediately after death and the general judgement of all at Christ's return.
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justification
God's act of freeing a sinner from sin and truly making him righteous by grace, first received in Baptism.
K
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Kalends /KAL-endz/
The first day of the Roman month; Latin dates count back from the Kalends, Nones and Ides, so "a.d. VI Kal. Nov." is October 27.
Also called: Calends / Kal.
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kecharitomene /keh-khah-ree-toh-MEH-neh/
"You who have been graced": Gabriel's greeting to Mary, rendered "full of grace", implying a completed and lasting state of grace.
Also called: full of grace / gratia plena
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kenosis /keh-NOH-sis/
"Emptying": Christ's self-emptying in taking the form of a servant and becoming obedient unto death on the Cross, as St. Paul writes.
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Kepha /KAY-fah/
"Rock": the Aramaic name Christ gave Simon, written Cephas in Greek letters and translated as Peter.
Also called: Cephas
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keys of the kingdom
Christ's gift to Peter, symbol of a royal steward's authority to govern the Church and to bind and loose.
Also called: power of the keys
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kind and number
The rule that each mortal sin must be confessed by what it was and how many times, as nearly as one can recall.
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Kingdom of God
God's reign, announced and begun by Christ, present in mystery in the Church and fulfilled in glory at the end of time.
Also called: kingdom of heaven / Regnum Dei
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Knights of Malta
The Sovereign Military Order of Malta, a lay religious order founded in Jerusalem as the Knights Hospitaller, now devoted to care of the sick and poor.
Also called: Order of Malta / Knights Hospitaller
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Knights Templar
Military religious order founded during the Crusades to protect pilgrims, suppressed by Pope Clement V in 1312 at the Council of Vienne.
Also called: Templars
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Kulturkampf /kool-TOOR-kahmpf/
"Culture struggle": Bismarck's 1870s campaign to subject the Catholic Church in Germany to state control, through measures such as the Falk Laws.
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Kyrie eleison /KEE-ree-eh eh-LAY-ee-sohn/
"Lord, have mercy": the Greek invocation near the start of Mass, said ninefold in the 1962 rite and usually sixfold in the 1969 rite.
Also called: Kyrie
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Kyrios /KEE-ree-ohs/
"Lord": the Greek word the Septuagint uses for God's sacred name YHWH, so that confessing Jesus as Kyrios confesses His divinity.
L
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Laetare Sunday /leh-TAH-reh SUN-day/
"Rejoice": the Fourth Sunday of Lent, named from its Introit, when rose vestments may be worn as a sign of joy midway through the fast.
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Laetentur Caeli /leh-TEN-toor CHEH-lee/
"Let the heavens rejoice": the Council of Florence's 1439 decree of union with the Greeks, defining the Filioque, purgatory, the fate of souls after death and papal primacy.
Also called: Decree for the Greeks
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laity
All the baptized faithful who are neither ordained nor professed religious, called to sanctify the world from within their families, work and society.
Also called: lay faithful / laypeople
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lapsi /LAHP-see/
"The fallen": Christians who denied the faith or offered pagan sacrifice under Roman persecution, especially that of Decius in 250, and later sought readmission to the Church.
Also called: the lapsed
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last farthing
Christ's image in Matthew 5:26 of a debt paid in full, traditionally applied to the temporal punishment for sin, satisfied now by penance or after death in purgatory.
Also called: last penny
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Last Gospel
The opening of St. John's Gospel (John 1:1-14), "In the beginning was the Word", read at the end of the traditional (1962) Mass; dropped in 1969.
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Last Supper
Christ's final Passover meal with the apostles on the night before He died, at which He instituted the Eucharist and the priesthood.
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Last Things
Death, judgment, heaven and hell, the four final realities awaiting every soul; their study is called eschatology.
Also called: Four Last Things / Quattuor Novissima / Novissima
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Lateran Councils /LAT-er-un KOWN-sulz/
Five ecumenical councils held at the Lateran in Rome, in 1123, 1139, 1179, 1215 and 1512-17; the Fourth (1215) is the most important.
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Lateran Palace /LAT-er-un PAL-us/
The ancient papal residence beside St. John Lateran in Rome, given to the Church in Constantine's time and the popes' home until the fourteenth century.
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Lateran Synod of 649 /LAT-er-un SIN-ud/
Roman council under Pope St. Martin I that condemned Monothelitism and affirmed Mary's perpetual virginity before, during and after Christ's birth.
Also called: Lateran Council of 649
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Lateran Treaty /LAT-er-un TREE-tee/
The 1929 agreement between the Holy See and Italy that created Vatican City as a sovereign state and settled the "Roman Question".
Also called: Lateran Pacts
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Latin Church
The Western Catholic Church, centred on Rome, with its own law and liturgy (chiefly the Roman Rite), as distinct from the Eastern Catholic Churches.
Also called: Western Church
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Latin West and Greek East
The two great historic halves of Christendom: the Latin-speaking Church of the West centred on Rome and the Greek-speaking Church of the East centred on Constantinople.
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latria /lah-TREE-ah/
"Worship": the supreme adoration due to God alone, expressed above all in sacrifice, as distinct from the veneration (dulia) given to the saints.
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Laudato Si' /low-DAH-toh SEE/
"Praise be to you": Pope Francis's 2015 encyclical on care for creation, "our common home", titled from St. Francis's Canticle of the Creatures.
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Laus tibi, Christe /lows TEE-bee KREES-teh/
"Praise to thee, O Christ": the response at the end of the Gospel at Mass; the current English Mass says "Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ".
Also called: Praise to thee, O Christ
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Lavabo /lah-VAH-boh/
"I will wash": the priest's washing of his fingers after the Offertory, saying Psalm 25 (26) in the 1962 Mass or a single verse in the 1969 Mass.
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Law of Moses
The commandments, worship and statutes God gave Israel through Moses at Sinai, also called the Old Law, which Christ fulfilled and perfected in the New Law.
Also called: Mosaic law / Old Law / the Law
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lay ecclesial movement
A modern association, mostly of lay faithful, for formation and mission, such as Focolare, Communion and Liberation or the Neocatechumenal Way.
Also called: ecclesial movement
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lay investiture
The appointment of bishops and abbots by kings and lords, who invested them with ring and staff; opposed by the Gregorian Reform and settled by the Concordat of Worms (1122).
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laying on of hands
The ancient gesture of placing hands on a person to invoke the Holy Spirit or confer office; the essential sign of Holy Orders, also used in Confirmation and other rites.
Also called: imposition of hands
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lectio divina /LEK-tsee-oh dee-VEE-nah/
"Divine reading": slow, prayerful reading of Scripture that moves through reading, meditation, prayer and contemplation.
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lectionary /LEK-shuh-nair-ee/
The book of Scripture readings for Mass; the 1969 rite spreads them over a three-year Sunday and two-year weekday cycle, while the 1962 Missal repeats one yearly cycle.
Also called: Lectionary for Mass
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lector
A reader who proclaims the Scripture readings before the Gospel at Mass; formerly a minor order, since 1972 an instituted ministry, open to women since 2021.
Also called: reader
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legate
A personal representative of the pope, such as a cardinal sent to preside at a council or to act in his name abroad.
Also called: papal legate
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Lent
The forty-day penitential season of prayer, fasting and almsgiving from Ash Wednesday to Easter, recalling Christ's forty days in the desert.
Also called: Quadragesima
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Levites /LEE-vyts/
Members of Israel's priestly tribe of Levi, set apart to serve the sanctuary; the priests were Aaron's descendants among them, a priesthood surpassed by Christ's.
Also called: Levitical / Levitical priesthood
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Levitical cultus /leh-VIT-ih-kul KUL-tus/
The Old Covenant system of priestly worship and animal sacrifice, which Hebrews teaches Christ's one offering fulfilled and took away.
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lex orandi, lex credendi /leks oh-RAHN-dee, leks kreh-DEN-dee/
"The law of praying is the law of believing": the principle that the Church's worship expresses and safeguards what she believes.
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Liber Christo /LEE-ber KREES-toh/
"Free in Christ": a Catholic approach to spiritual warfare and deliverance that treats the sacraments as the soul's basic armour.
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Liber Pontificalis /LEE-ber pon-tee-fee-KAH-lees/
"Book of the Pontiffs": the ancient collection of papal biographies from St. Peter onward, begun in the sixth century and continued through the Middle Ages.
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liberation
In exorcists' usage, the freeing of a person from demonic influence, the goal of exorcism and of deliverance prayer.
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liberation theology
A Latin American theological movement from the late 1960s, reading the Gospel through the liberation of the poor; the Holy See warned against its Marxist elements in 1984.
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Liberian Catalogue /ly-BEER-ee-un KAT-uh-log/
A fourth-century list of popes ending with Liberius (352-366), which gives the first exact date in papal history, Pontian's resignation in 235.
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licit /LIS-it/
Lawful under Church law; a sacrament can be valid (truly given) yet illicit, when celebrated against the Church's rules.
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life review
The near-death experience of seeing one's whole life at once, which the site uses only as an analogy for judgment, not as Church teaching.
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light of glory
The supernatural light God gives the blessed, raising the intellect so that it can see Him face to face in the Beatific Vision.
Also called: lumen gloriae
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Limbo
From limbus, "edge": a name for two distinct states, the Limbo of the Fathers where the just awaited Christ, and the never-defined Limbo of infants.
Also called: limbus
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Limbo of infants
The widely held but never-defined theological opinion that infants who die unbaptised enjoy natural happiness without the Beatific Vision.
Also called: limbus infantium / limbus puerorum / Limbo of children
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Limbo of the Fathers
The resting place where the just who died before Christ awaited redemption, which He emptied when He descended to them after His death.
Also called: limbus patrum / Abraham's bosom / bosom of Abraham
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line of promise
The chosen family line through which God's saving promise passed, from Adam through Seth, Noah, Abraham, Judah and David, to Christ.
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litany
A prayer of invocations or petitions, each answered by a fixed response such as "pray for us" or "have mercy on us".
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Litany of Humility
A litany attributed to Cardinal Rafael Merry del Val, begging deliverance from the desire to be esteemed and the fear of being humiliated.
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Litany of Loreto /LIT-uh-nee uv loh-REH-toh/
The approved litany of the Blessed Virgin, named after the shrine of Loreto, invoking Mary under many titles such as Mystical Rose and Morning Star.
Also called: Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary
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Litany of the Sacred Heart
A litany of 33 invocations honouring the Heart of Jesus, such as "burning furnace of charity", approved for the whole Church by Leo XIII in 1899.
Also called: Litany of the Sacred Heart of Jesus
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Litany of Trust
A modern litany, written by a Sister of Life, asking Jesus for deliverance from fears and for deeper trust in His love and care.
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literal sense
The meaning conveyed by the words of Scripture as the inspired human author intended them; the foundation on which the three spiritual senses rest.
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Little Easter
A name for every Sunday as a weekly celebration of Christ's Resurrection, the "little Easter" of each week.
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Little Office of the Blessed Virgin
A shorter office of psalms, hymns and readings in honour of Mary, modelled on the Divine Office and long prayed by religious and devout laypeople.
Also called: Office of the Blessed Virgin / Little Office of Our Lady / Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary
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Little Way
St. Thérèse of Lisieux's path of spiritual childhood: holiness through doing small, everyday things with great love and childlike trust in God.
Also called: way of spiritual childhood
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liturgical calendar
The Church's yearly ordering of seasons, feasts and fasts celebrating the mysteries of Christ and the saints; the traditional (1962) and modern (1969) calendars differ in places.
Also called: liturgical year / Church year / Christian year / Roman calendar
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liturgical colour
The vestment colour appointed for a day or season: white, red, green, violet, rose or black, with gold allowed on solemn days, signalling the feast or season.
Also called: liturgical color / colour of the day
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liturgical rank
The grade of a liturgical day, which decides which celebration takes precedence when two fall together: Classes I to IV in the 1962 calendar; solemnity, feast and memorial in the 1969.
Also called: rank
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liturgy
The Church's official public worship, the work of Christ the Head and His Body, above all the Mass, the sacraments and the Divine Office.
Also called: sacred liturgy
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Liturgy of the Word
In the 1969 Mass, the first main part, with the Scripture readings, homily, Creed and Prayer of the Faithful; it corresponds to the traditional Mass of the Catechumens.
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locution /loh-KYOO-shun/
A word or message reportedly received supernaturally, inwardly or audibly; like all private revelation it binds no one and must be tested by its fruits.
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longanimity /long-guh-NIM-ih-tee/
Patient endurance through long delays and trials for the sake of the good; one of the twelve fruits of the Holy Spirit in the traditional list.
Also called: long-suffering / longanimitas
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Lord's Day
Sunday, the day of Christ's Resurrection, kept holy by assisting at Mass and resting from servile work; it fulfils the Jewish Sabbath.
Also called: Sunday / Dominica
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Low Mass
In the traditional (1962) rite, a Mass said rather than sung, by a priest with a server, without choir, deacon or incense.
Also called: Missa lecta
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Low Sunday
The Sunday after Easter, traditionally Dominica in Albis, when the newly baptised put off their white garments; since 2000 also Divine Mercy Sunday.
Also called: Dominica in Albis / Quasimodo Sunday / Second Sunday of Easter
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Lucifer /LOO-sih-fer/
"Light-bearer": the traditional name of Satan before his fall, from the Latin of Isaiah 14:12, "How art thou fallen, O Lucifer".
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lukewarmness
Half-hearted indifference in serving God, which Christ warns He will vomit out of His mouth (Revelation 3:16); a grave danger to the soul.
Also called: tepidity
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Lumen Gentium /LOO-men JEN-tsee-oom/
"Light of the nations": Vatican II's 1964 Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, on its hierarchy, laity and universal call to holiness, with Mary in chapter 8.
Also called: Dogmatic Constitution on the Church
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Luminous Mysteries
Optional set of five Rosary mysteries (Baptism, Cana, the Kingdom, Transfiguration, Eucharist) added by St. John Paul II in 2002; not among the traditional fifteen.
Also called: Mysteries of Light / Mysteria Luminosa
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lunette /loo-NET/
The small glass-faced holder, often crescent-shaped, that keeps the consecrated Host upright inside the monstrance.
Also called: luna
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lust
One of the seven capital sins: disordered desire for, or enjoyment of, sexual pleasure sought for itself, apart from its proper ends in marriage.
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lux perpetua /looks per-PEH-too-ah/
"Perpetual light": the light the Church asks God to let shine on the faithful departed, "et lux perpetua luceat eis".
Also called: perpetual light
M
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Maccabees /MAK-uh-beez/
The Jewish family who led the revolt against Greek-Syrian persecution in the 160s BC, recorded in 1 and 2 Maccabees, deuterocanonical books of the Catholic Bible.
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Magi /MAY-jy/
The wise men from the East who followed a star to Bethlehem and adored the infant Christ with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh (Matthew 2).
Also called: Wise Men / Three Kings
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Magisterium /maj-ih-STEER-ee-um/
The Church's teaching office, held by the Pope and the bishops in communion with him, which authentically interprets the Word of God in Scripture and Tradition.
Also called: teaching office / teaching authority
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Magnificat /mahn-YEE-fee-kaht/
"(My soul) magnifies": Mary's hymn of praise (Luke 1:46-55), named from its first Latin word and sung daily at Vespers.
Also called: Canticle of Mary
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mal'akh /mahl-AHKH/
"Messenger": the Hebrew word for angel, rendered angelos in Greek, from which the English "angel" comes.
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maleficium /mah-leh-FEE-chee-oom/
"Evil-doing": harm brought on a person through the devil's action invoked by occult means, such as curses, spells, hexes or witchcraft.
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mandate
The authorization from competent Church authority required to teach theological subjects in Catholic institutions of higher studies (canon 812).
Also called: mandatum
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Manichaeism /man-ih-KEE-iz-um/
Dualist religion founded by Mani in third-century Persia, teaching eternal rival principles of light and darkness; St. Augustine followed it before his conversion.
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maniple /MAN-ih-pul/
A strip of cloth worn on the priest's left forearm at Mass in the traditional rite, signifying the tears and labours of this life; not used in the 1969 rite.
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manna
The bread from heaven with which God fed Israel in the desert, a figure of the Eucharist, the true bread from heaven (John 6).
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mantle of Mary
Mary's cloak, a traditional image of her motherly protection over those who take refuge in her.
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manual tradition
The standard textbooks ("manuals") of dogmatic and moral theology, usually in Latin, used to form priests in the centuries before the Second Vatican Council.
Also called: the manuals
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Marcionism /MAR-shuh-niz-um/
Second-century heresy of Marcion, who rejected the Old Testament and its God as other than the Father of Jesus, keeping only an edited Luke and Paul.
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Marian
Relating to the Virgin Mary, as in Marian prayers, feasts and devotion; Mariology is the theological study of Mary.
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Marian antiphons
The four seasonal chants to Mary sung at the end of Compline: Alma Redemptoris Mater, Ave Regina Caelorum, Regina Caeli and Salve Regina.
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Marian apparition
A reported appearance of the Virgin Mary; the Church investigates such claims and may approve some, as at Lourdes and Fatima, but belief is never required.
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Marian dogmas
The four defined dogmas about Mary: her divine motherhood, perpetual virginity, Immaculate Conception and bodily Assumption into heaven.
Also called: four Marian dogmas
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Marian privileges
The unique graces God gave Mary, such as her divine motherhood, Immaculate Conception, perpetual virginity and Assumption.
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Marian Saturday
The custom of dedicating Saturday to Mary, recalling her steadfast faith while Christ lay in the tomb on Holy Saturday.
Also called: Saturday of Our Lady
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Marian Year
A year set aside for special devotion to Mary; Pius XII proclaimed the first in 1953-54, and St. John Paul II another in 1987-88.
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martyr
One who suffers death as a witness to the faith; martyrs' feasts are marked by red vestments.
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Masoretic text /mas-oh-RET-ik/
The traditional Hebrew text of the Old Testament, copied and given vowel signs by Jewish scholars (the Masoretes) in the early Middle Ages.
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Mass
The Church's central act of worship, in which Christ's sacrifice on Calvary is made present in an unbloody manner and His Body and Blood are given in Communion.
Also called: Holy Sacrifice of the Mass / Holy Mass / Missa
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Mass intention
The person or purpose for which a priest offers a particular Mass, often a deceased loved one, usually requested with an offering (stipend).
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Mass of the Catechumens
Traditional (1962) name for the first part of Mass, up to the Creed, which the unbaptised could once attend; the rest, from the Offertory, is the Mass of the Faithful.
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massa damnata /MAHS-sah dahm-NAH-tah/
"Condemned mass": St. Augustine's term for fallen humanity, justly condemned in Adam, from which God by sheer mercy draws those He saves.
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Mater Populi Fidelis /MAH-ter POH-poo-lee fee-DEH-lees/
"Mother of the Faithful People": a 2025 doctrinal note of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith judging the title Co-Redemptrix inappropriate and cautioning over "Mediatrix of all graces".
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Matins /MAT-inz/
The night hour of the traditional Divine Office, the longest, made of psalms and readings in nocturns; in 1969 it became the Office of Readings.
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Matrimony
The sacrament in which a baptized man and woman give themselves to each other in a lifelong, exclusive bond that, once consummated, is indissoluble.
Also called: Marriage / Holy Matrimony
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matter and form (philosophy)
In Aristotelian-Thomistic philosophy, the two principles of every bodily thing: matter, the potential "stuff", and form, the actuality that makes it what it is.
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matter and form (sacraments)
The two essential elements of a sacrament: the matter, the material sign or action (such as water), and the form, the essential words spoken.
Also called: sacramental matter and form / matter and form (sacramental)
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May crowning
The custom of crowning a statue of Mary with flowers during May, often with a procession, honouring her as Queen of Heaven.
Also called: May crown
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mea culpa /MEH-ah KOOL-pah/
"Through my fault": words of the Confiteor, said while striking the breast to admit one's own guilt; in full, "mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa".
Also called: through my fault
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medal
A small blessed medallion bearing an image of Our Lord, Our Lady or a saint, worn as a sacramental, such as the Miraculous Medal.
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mediation
Standing between God and man to reconcile them: Christ's work alone, though Mary and the saints share in it in a subordinate way wholly dependent on Him.
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Mediator
Title of Christ as the one Mediator between God and men (1 Timothy 2:5), who, being both God and man, reconciles humanity to the Father.
Also called: one Mediator
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Mediatrix /meh-dee-AH-treeks/
"Mediatress": title of Mary for her intercessory role in the distribution of grace, wholly dependent on Christ's one mediation; used by Vatican II but never defined as dogma.
Also called: Mediatrix of All Graces
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meditation
Prayerful reflection on God's word and the mysteries of faith, engaging mind, imagination and heart, as in praying the Rosary.
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meekness
The virtue that moderates anger, enabling one to bear injuries gently and without retaliation; the remedy for the capital sin of wrath.
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Mellifluous Doctor /meh-LIF-loo-us DOK-ter/
Title of St. Bernard of Clairvaux, Doctor of the Church, for the "honey-flowing" sweetness of his preaching and writing.
Also called: Doctor Mellifluus
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memento mori /meh-MEN-toh MOH-ree/
"Remember that you must die": a reminder, often an object such as a skull, prompting meditation on death and the Last Things.
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Memento of the Dead
The prayer of the Roman Canon in which the priest commemorates the faithful departed, pausing to pray for particular dead by name.
Also called: Commemoration of the Dead
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meminerim tui, intelligam te, diligam te /meh-MEE-neh-reem TOO-ee, een-TEL-lee-gahm teh, DEE-lee-gahm teh/
"Let me remember you, understand you, love you": the closing prayer of St. Augustine's On the Trinity, matching memory, understanding and will to God.
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Memorare /meh-moh-RAH-reh/
"Remember": the prayer "Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary", confidently asking her help; traditionally linked with St. Bernard and spread by Fr. Claude Bernard.
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memorial
In the 1969 calendar, the rank of a saint's day below a feast; an obligatory memorial must be kept, while an optional memorial may be kept or omitted.
Also called: obligatory memorial
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menoun /men-OON/
"Rather" or "yes indeed": the Greek particle in Luke 11:28 ("Yea rather, blessed are they"), which can affirm a statement while going beyond it.
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mercy seat
The gold cover of the Ark of the Covenant between two cherubim, sprinkled with blood on the Day of Atonement; a figure of Christ, our propitiation.
Also called: propitiatory
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merit
The right to a reward from God for good works done in grace, itself God's gift; all merit flows from the merits of Christ.
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Messiah
The promised Anointed One (Hebrew mashiach, Greek Christos), Saviour-King of David's line, fulfilled in Jesus, who is therefore called the Christ.
Also called: Anointed One / Christ
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metaphysics
The branch of philosophy that studies being as being, its first principles and causes, rising to God as the first cause of all.
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metropolitan
The archbishop who heads an ecclesiastical province of several dioceses, with limited oversight of its other bishops; he receives the pallium from the pope.
Also called: metropolitan archbishop
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Miaphysitism /my-AF-ih-sy-tiz-um/
Christology of the Oriental Orthodox Churches, confessing "one incarnate nature of God the Word" and rejecting the Council of Chalcedon's formula of two natures.
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Michaelmas /MIK-ul-mus/
The feast of St. Michael the Archangel on 29 September; since 1969 kept jointly with Sts. Gabriel and Raphael.
Also called: St. Michael's Day
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millenarianism /mil-uh-NAIR-ee-uh-niz-um/
Belief in a literal thousand-year earthly reign of Christ before the final judgment; the Holy Office ruled in 1944 that even its mitigated form cannot safely be taught.
Also called: chiliasm / millennialism
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Minister General
The superior general of a Franciscan order, such as the Friars Minor, the Conventuals or the Capuchins.
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minor orders
The four lower clerical grades of porter, lector, exorcist and acolyte; Paul VI suppressed them in 1972, though some traditional institutes still confer them.
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Miracle of the Sun
The solar phenomenon reported by tens of thousands at Fatima on 13 October 1917, as foretold to the three seers; the apparitions were approved in 1930.
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Miraculous Medal
The medal Mary showed St. Catherine Labouré in Paris in 1830, inscribed "O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee".
Also called: Medal of the Immaculate Conception
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Mirari Vos /mee-RAH-ree VOHS/
"You wonder": Pope Gregory XVI's 1832 encyclical condemning liberalism and religious indifferentism.
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Misereatur /mee-zeh-reh-AH-toor/
"May He have mercy": the prayer after the Confiteor asking God's mercy and forgiveness; in the 1962 Mass it is followed by the Indulgentiam.
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Miserere /mee-zeh-REH-reh/
"Have mercy": Psalm 50 (51 in Hebrew numbering), "Have mercy on me, O God", the greatest of the seven penitential psalms.
Also called: Miserere mei, Deus / Psalm 51
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Missionaries of Charity
The religious congregation founded in Calcutta in 1950 by St. Teresa of Calcutta to serve the poorest of the poor.
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Mit brennender Sorge /mit BREN-en-der ZOR-geh/
"With burning concern": Pius XI's 1937 encyclical, written in German and read from German pulpits, condemning Nazi persecution of the Church and racial idolatry.
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Modernism
Movement condemned by St. Pius X in 1907 that treated dogma as evolving religious experience; he called it "the synthesis of all heresies".
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monasticism
The way of life of monks and nuns who withdraw from the world to seek God by prayer, work and vows under a rule, alone or in community.
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monk
A man vowed to a life of prayer and work, usually in a monastic community under a rule such as St. Benedict's.
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Monophysitism /moh-NOF-ih-sy-tiz-um/
The heresy that after the Incarnation Christ has only one nature, the divine, as Eutyches taught; condemned at the Council of Chalcedon (451).
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Monothelitism /moh-NOTH-eh-ly-tiz-um/
Seventh-century heresy holding that Christ has only one will; condemned by the Third Council of Constantinople (681), which taught His two wills, divine and human.
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Monsignor /mon-SEEN-yer/
An honorary title the pope grants to certain priests, also used for bishops in some countries; abbreviated Msgr.
Also called: Msgr.
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monstrance /MON-strunss/
The vessel, often sunburst-shaped, in which the consecrated Host is displayed for adoration and Benediction; from Latin monstrare, "to show".
Also called: ostensorium
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Montanism /MON-tuh-niz-um/
Second-century movement of Montanus and two prophetesses, claiming a "New Prophecy" of the Holy Spirit beyond the apostles and imposing rigorist discipline.
Also called: New Prophecy
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Month's Mind
A Mass offered for a deceased person about a month after death, traditionally on the thirtieth day.
-
moral sense
One of the three spiritual senses of Scripture: what a passage teaches about how we ought to act and live.
Also called: tropological sense
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moral theology
The branch of theology that studies human acts, law, conscience, virtue and sin in the light of reason and revelation.
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morning and evening knowledge
St. Augustine's and St. Thomas's terms for the angels' knowledge of things as seen in the Word of God (morning) and in their own natures (evening).
Also called: cognitio matutina / cognitio vespertina
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Morning Offering
A prayer at the start of the day offering God all one's prayers, works, joys and sufferings, classically through the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
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Morning Prayer
The morning hour of the Divine Office, traditionally called Lauds ("praises"), which includes the Benedictus; Morning Prayer is its 1969 name.
Also called: Lauds
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Morning Star
Marian title from the Litany of Loreto, hailing Mary as the star that heralds the dawn of Christ, the Sun of Justice.
Also called: Stella Matutina
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mortal sin
A sin of grave matter committed with full knowledge and deliberate consent, which destroys charity and sanctifying grace and, unrepented, leads to hell.
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mortification
Voluntary self-denial, such as fasting or giving up comforts, to discipline the passions, make reparation for sin and share in Christ's sufferings.
Also called: self-denial
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most abandoned souls
Souls in purgatory with no one on earth to pray for them, for whom the faithful are urged to offer prayers and Masses.
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Mother of Mercy
Marian title from the Salve Regina, invoking her merciful compassion toward sinners and the suffering, including the souls in purgatory.
Also called: Mater misericordiae
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Mother of the Church
Title of Mary as spiritual mother of all Christ's faithful, proclaimed by Paul VI in 1964; since 2018 a memorial on the Monday after Pentecost.
Also called: Mater Ecclesiae
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motu proprio /MOH-too PROH-pree-oh/
"Of his own accord": a document issued by the pope on his own initiative, such as Summorum Pontificum (2007).
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Mount Athos /mownt ATH-ohs/
The "Holy Mountain", a self-governing peninsula in northern Greece of Eastern Orthodox monasteries, a centre of Orthodox monastic life for over a thousand years.
Also called: Holy Mountain
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movable and fixed feasts
Movable feasts depend on the date of Easter, such as Ascension and Pentecost; fixed feasts fall on the same calendar date every year, such as Christmas.
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Munda cor meum /MOON-dah kor MEH-oom/
"Cleanse my heart": the priest's prayer before the Gospel asking God to purify his heart and lips, as He did Isaiah's with a burning coal.
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Munificentissimus Deus /moo-nee-fee-chen-TEES-see-moos DEH-oos/
"Most bountiful God": Pius XII's apostolic constitution of 1 November 1950 defining the dogma of Mary's bodily Assumption into heaven.
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mystagogy /MIS-tuh-goh-jee/
Instruction in the meaning of the sacraments given to the newly baptised, as in St. Cyril of Jerusalem's lectures; in today's adult initiation, the period after Easter.
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mysteries of the Rosary
The events of Christ's and Mary's lives meditated in the Rosary: traditionally fifteen, in Joyful, Sorrowful and Glorious sets, plus the optional Luminous set added in 2002.
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Mysterium Fidei /mees-TEH-ree-oom FEE-deh-ee/
"The mystery of faith": words within the consecration of the chalice in the traditional Mass; in the 1969 Mass they follow the consecration, introducing the people's acclamation.
Also called: Mystery of Faith
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mystery
A revealed truth that reason could never discover and can never fully comprehend; in the Rosary, an event of Christ's or Mary's life meditated in one decade.
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mystic
A person drawn into deep, experienced union with God in prayer, sometimes with extraordinary graces such as visions, which the Church weighs carefully and never imposes.
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Mystical Body of Christ
The Church as Christ's Body, with Christ its Head, the Holy Spirit its soul and the baptized its members, embracing the faithful on earth, in purgatory and heaven.
Also called: Mystical Body / Corpus Mysticum
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Mystical Doctor
Title of St. John of the Cross, Doctor of the Church, for his teaching on the soul's path through purification to union with God.
Also called: Doctor Mysticus
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Mystical Rose
Marian title from the Litany of Loreto, honouring the hidden, fragrant beauty of Mary's holiness and love.
Also called: Rosa Mystica
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Mystici Corporis Christi /MEES-tee-chee KOR-poh-rees KREES-tee/
"Of the Mystical Body of Christ": Pius XII's 1943 encyclical teaching that the Mystical Body of Christ is the Catholic Church, with Christ as its Head.
Also called: Mystici Corporis
N
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NABRE
The New American Bible, Revised Edition (2011), a U.S. Catholic translation from the original languages, sponsored by the American bishops.
Also called: New American Bible, Revised Edition
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nada /NAH-dah/
"Nothing": St. John of the Cross's watchword for total detachment on the ascent of Mount Carmel, letting go of everything that is not God.
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naked faith
St. John of the Cross's term for faith stripped of reliance on visions, feelings and consolations, the soul's sure road to union with God.
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Nativity
The birth of Christ at Bethlehem, celebrated at Christmas and the third Joyful Mystery; the Church also keeps the nativities of Mary (8 September) and John the Baptist (24 June).
Also called: Nativity of the Lord / Nativitas Domini
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natural law
The moral law written by God into human nature and knowable by reason, whose first precept is to do good and avoid evil.
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natural reason
Human reason working by its own light without revelation; the First Vatican Council taught that by it God can be known with certainty from created things.
Also called: natural light of reason / unaided reason
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natural religion
Knowledge and worship of God attainable by reason alone, such as belief in one Creator; true as far as it goes but needing revelation's fulfilment.
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nature
What a thing is, the source of its proper activity; Christ has a complete divine nature and a complete human nature, united in one divine Person.
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near occasion of sin
A person, place or thing that is likely to lead one into sin, which one is bound to avoid when reasonably possible.
Also called: near occasion
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necromancy /NEK-ruh-man-see/
Attempting to summon or consult the dead for hidden knowledge, a form of divination condemned in Scripture and by the Church, unlike asking the saints' prayers.
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neophyte /NEE-oh-fyt/
A newly baptised Christian, especially an adult in the period after receiving the sacraments of initiation at Easter.
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nepotism /NEP-uh-tiz-um/
Favouritism toward relatives in Church appointments, notably popes making nephews cardinals; Innocent XII's bull Romanum decet Pontificem (1692) curbed it.
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nepsis /NEP-sis/
"Watchfulness": in the Eastern Fathers, sober vigilance that guards the heart and mind against distracting thoughts and temptations.
Also called: watchfulness
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Nestorianism /neh-STOR-ee-uh-niz-um/
Fifth-century heresy linked with Nestorius, dividing Christ into two persons and denying Mary the title Mother of God (Theotokos); condemned at Ephesus (431).
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New Adam
Title of Christ, who by His obedience undid Adam's disobedience and became head of a redeemed humanity (Romans 5; 1 Corinthians 15).
Also called: Second Adam / Last Adam
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New Covenant
The definitive covenant between God and mankind in Christ's Blood, foretold by Jeremiah, sealed on the Cross and made present in the Eucharist.
Also called: New and Eternal Covenant
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New Evangelization
St. John Paul II's call to proclaim the Gospel with new ardour, methods and expression, especially to once-Christian peoples who have drifted from the faith.
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New Eve
Title of Mary, whose obedience undid Eve's disobedience, as taught by Sts. Justin and Irenaeus; the angel's "Ave" was said to reverse "Eva".
Also called: Second Eve
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new heaven and a new earth
The renewal and transfiguration of all creation promised at the end of time (Revelation 21:1), when God's kingdom comes in its fullness.
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New Law
The law of the Gospel: the grace of the Holy Spirit given through faith in Christ and working through charity, fulfilling and perfecting the Old Law.
Also called: Law of the Gospel / evangelical law
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New Moses
Title of Christ, who like Moses fasts forty days, feeds His people, gives the law from a mountain and seals a covenant, leading a new Exodus from sin.
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Nicene Creed
The creed of the Councils of Nicaea (325) and Constantinople (381), professing the Son "consubstantial with the Father", said at Sunday Mass.
Also called: Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed / Symbolum Nicaenum
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nihil obstat /NEE-keel OHB-staht/
"Nothing hinders": a censor's declaration that a book contains nothing against faith or morals; since 2024 also a verdict permitting devotion at an alleged apparition.
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nine choirs of angels
The traditional ranking of angels in three hierarchies: Seraphim, Cherubim, Thrones; Dominations, Virtues, Powers; Principalities, Archangels and Angels.
Also called: nine choirs / choirs of angels / angelic hierarchy / celestial hierarchy / angelic choirs
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nine ways of being accessory
The traditional ways of sharing in another's sin: by counsel, command, consent, provocation, praise, concealment, partaking, silence, or defence of the ill done.
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Ninety-Five Theses
Martin Luther's 1517 propositions against the preaching of indulgences, whose publication is taken as the start of the Protestant Reformation.
Also called: 95 Theses
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ninth hour
About three in the afternoon in ancient reckoning, the hour Christ died; the Divine Office's mid-afternoon hour, None, takes its name from it.
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Noahic covenant /noh-AY-ik KUV-uh-nunt/
God's covenant after the Flood with Noah, his descendants and every living creature, never again to destroy the earth by flood, sealed by the rainbow.
Also called: covenant with Noah
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nocturnal adoration
Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament kept through the night, often in hourly shifts by members of nocturnal adoration societies.
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Nomen Iesu /NOH-men YEH-zoo/
"The Name of Jesus": the Holy Name, at which heads are bowed and, as St. Paul says, every knee should bend (Philippians 2:10).
Also called: Holy Name
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non constat de supernaturalitate /nohn KOHN-staht deh soo-per-nah-too-rah-lee-TAH-teh/
"It is not established that it is supernatural": a Church verdict that an alleged apparition's supernatural origin is unproven, as for Medjugorje in 1991, without condemning it.
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non dimittitur peccatum nisi restituatur ablatum /nohn dee-MEET-tee-toor pek-KAH-toom NEE-zee reh-stee-too-AH-toor ahb-LAH-toom/
"The sin is not forgiven unless what was taken is restored": St. Augustine's maxim that true repentance for theft or injury requires restitution.
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non possumus /nohn POHS-soo-moos/
"We cannot": the classic formula of papal refusal to demands that would betray the Church's duty, used by St. Pius X in answering Herzl in 1904.
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non serviam /nohn SEHR-vee-ahm/
"I will not serve": the proud refusal traditionally put in Lucifer's mouth (from Jeremiah 2:20), the opposite of Mary's fiat.
Also called: I will not serve
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Nostra Aetate /NOHS-trah eh-TAH-teh/
"In our time": Vatican II's 1965 declaration on non-Christian religions, which "rejects nothing that is true and holy" in them and deplores antisemitism.
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Novatianism /noh-VAY-shuh-niz-um/
Third-century rigorist schism of the Roman priest Novatian, antipope from 251, which refused reconciliation to Christians who had lapsed under persecution.
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novena /noh-VEE-nuh/
Nine consecutive days of prayer for a particular intention or grace, after the nine days the apostles prayed with Mary before Pentecost.
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Novus Ordo /NOH-voos OR-doh/
"New Order": the Mass as reformed under Paul VI in 1969, usually celebrated in the vernacular; also called the Ordinary Form, in contrast to the 1962 Missal.
Also called: Ordinary Form / Mass of Paul VI / Novus Ordo Missae
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nun
A woman religious under solemn vows, strictly one living in an enclosed (cloistered) monastery; loosely, any religious sister.
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Nunc Dimittis /noonk dee-MEET-tees/
"Now you dismiss": Simeon's canticle (Luke 2:29-32), "Now thou dost dismiss thy servant, O Lord", sung at Compline (Night Prayer).
Also called: Canticle of Simeon
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nuptial blessing
The solemn prayer of blessing over the newly married couple, given during the Nuptial Mass after the Our Father.
O
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O Crux, ave, spes unica /oh krooks AH-veh spes OO-nee-kah/
"Hail, O Cross, our only hope": a stanza of the Passiontide hymn Vexilla Regis, asking grace for the just and pardon for sinners.
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O Salutaris Hostia /oh sah-loo-TAH-rees OHS-tee-ah/
"O saving Victim": the closing stanzas of St. Thomas Aquinas's hymn Verbum supernum, sung at the exposition of the Blessed Sacrament.
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Oath against Modernism
Oath imposed by St. Pius X in 1910 on clergy and teachers, rejecting Modernist errors; required until 1967.
Also called: Anti-Modernist Oath
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obedience
The virtue of willingly submitting to lawful authority for God's sake; as an evangelical counsel, the vow binding religious to their superiors.
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objective disorder
The quality of an act or inclination contrary in itself to the moral order, judged apart from personal guilt, which ignorance or other factors may lessen.
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oblation /oh-BLAY-shun/
An offering made to God; above all the sacrifice of the Mass, offered for the living and the dead.
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obligation lifted
The U.S. rule that when Mary Mother of God, the Assumption or All Saints falls on a Saturday or Monday, the obligation to attend Mass is removed.
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obsession
In exorcists' usage, intense demonic attack on a person's thoughts and imagination, distinct from the psychiatric condition of the same name.
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occult
Practices seeking hidden knowledge or power apart from God, such as divination, spells, séances, tarot and Ouija; forbidden by the Church as grave sins against the First Commandment.
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octave
An eight-day celebration of a great feast, ending on the octave day; the 1962 calendar keeps octaves for Christmas, Easter and Pentecost, the 1969 for Christmas and Easter.
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offering up
Uniting one's sufferings, trials and daily work to Christ's sacrifice and offering them to God, for example for the souls in purgatory.
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Offertory
The part of Mass in which the bread and wine are offered to God before the Consecration; the 1969 rite calls it the Preparation of the Gifts.
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Office of the Dead
The Divine Office prayed for the faithful departed, with its own Vespers, Matins and Lauds; recited especially on All Souls' Day and at funerals.
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oikoumene /oy-koo-MEH-nee/
"The inhabited world": the Greek word behind "ecumenical", describing councils that represent the whole Church throughout the world.
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Old and New Testaments
The two parts of the Catholic Bible: 46 books of the Old Covenant and 27 of the New; "testament" renders the Latin word for covenant.
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Old Catholics
Churches that broke with Rome after rejecting the papal infallibility defined at Vatican I (1870), joined with the older schismatic Church of Utrecht.
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Old Covenant
God's covenant with Israel at Sinai through Moses, with its Law, priesthood and sacrifices, fulfilled and surpassed in the New Covenant.
Also called: Mosaic covenant / Sinai covenant / first covenant
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omniscience /om-NISH-ens/
God's perfect and eternal knowledge of all things, past, present, future and merely possible, including the secrets of every heart.
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onanism /OH-nuh-niz-um/
Withdrawal during the marital act to prevent conception, named after Onan (Genesis 38) and held to be grave matter; older texts also use it for masturbation.
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only-begotten
Title of the Son as the unique, eternal Son of the Father, "begotten, not made", sharing His one divine nature.
Also called: Only-begotten Son / Unigenitus
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ontological argument /on-tuh-LOJ-ih-kul AR-gyoo-ment/
St. Anselm's argument that God, "that than which nothing greater can be thought", must exist in reality, not merely in the mind; St. Thomas rejected it.
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optional memorial
In the 1969 calendar, a saint's day that the priest may celebrate or pass over on a weekday; the lowest rank of celebration.
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Opus Dei /OH-poos DEH-ee/
"Work of God": an institution founded in 1928 by St. Josemaría Escrivá, teaching holiness through ordinary work; a personal prelature since 1982.
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Orate fratres /oh-RAH-teh FRAH-tres/
"Pray, brethren": the priest's request after the Offertory that the sacrifice be acceptable to God, answered by the Suscipiat.
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order of Melchizedek /mel-KIZ-eh-dek/
The priesthood of Melchizedek, the priest-king who offered bread and wine (Genesis 14); Christ is "a priest for ever according to the order of Melchizedek".
Also called: order of Melchisedech
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ordinary demonic activity
Temptation, the devil's common attack on every person; he can suggest thoughts and stir the passions but cannot force the will.
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ordinary means
The everyday weapons of the spiritual life, such as Mass, confession, prayer, Scripture and the Rosary, by which the devil is ordinarily overcome.
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ordinary minister
The person who by office normally confers a sacrament, such as a bishop for Confirmation, as distinct from an extraordinary minister.
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Ordinary of the Mass
The parts of the Mass that do not change from day to day, including the sung Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus and Agnus Dei, as distinct from the Proper.
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Ordinary Time
In the 1969 calendar, the numbered weeks outside the major seasons; the 1962 calendar has instead the Time after Epiphany and the Time after Pentecost.
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ordination
The rite by which a bishop confers Holy Orders through the laying on of hands and the prayer of consecration, making a man deacon, priest or bishop.
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ordination of women
The Church's definitive teaching, restated by St. John Paul II in Ordinatio Sacerdotalis (1994), that she has no authority to ordain women as priests.
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Ordo /OR-doh/
"Order": the set form of a rite, as in the Ordo Missae, and also the annual directory listing each day's Mass and Office.
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Oremus /oh-REH-moos/
"Let us pray": the priest's invitation before a collect or other prayer, in the Mass and in many devotions.
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original justice
The state of holiness and harmony in which God created Adam and Eve, free from concupiscence, suffering and death, lost for all mankind by original sin.
Also called: original holiness / original holiness and justice
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original sin
Adam's first sin and the fallen state it passed to all mankind, deprived of original holiness and justice; Baptism removes it, and Mary was preserved from it.
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Orthodox Church
The Eastern Churches separated from Rome since the East-West Schism (1054), with valid sacraments and apostolic succession but not in full communion.
Also called: Eastern Orthodoxy
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Our Father
The prayer Jesus taught His disciples (Matthew 6:9-13), said at every Mass before Communion and on the large beads of the Rosary.
Also called: Lord's Prayer / Pater Noster
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Our Lady
Traditional title of the Blessed Virgin Mary, often joined to a place or attribute, as in Our Lady of Lourdes or Our Lady of Sorrows.
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Our Lady of Fatima /FAH-tee-mah/
Mary as she appeared to three shepherd children at Fatima, Portugal, in 1917, asking for prayer, penance, the Rosary and devotion to her Immaculate Heart; approved in 1930.
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Our Lady of Guadalupe /gwah-dah-LOO-peh/
Mary as she appeared in 1531 to St. Juan Diego near Mexico City, leaving her image on his cloak (tilma); patroness of the Americas, feast 12 December.
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Our Lady of Lourdes /LOORD/
Mary as she appeared to St. Bernadette at Lourdes, France, in 1858, saying "I am the Immaculate Conception"; a great shrine of pilgrimage and healing.
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Our Lady of Mount Carmel
Title of Mary as patroness of the Carmelite Order, associated with the Brown Scapular; her feast is kept on 16 July.
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Our Lady of Sorrows
Title of Mary honouring her sorrows, above all at the foot of the Cross, as Simeon foretold; her feast is kept on 15 September.
Also called: Mother of Sorrows / Mater Dolorosa / Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows
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Our Lady of Suffrage
Title under which Mary is invoked as helper and advocate of the souls in purgatory.
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Our Lady of the Rosary
Feast of 7 October honouring Mary's help through the Rosary, instituted after the Christian victory at Lepanto (1571).
Also called: Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary / Our Lady of Victory
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Our Lady of the Snows
The 5 August feast of the dedication of Rome's Basilica of St. Mary Major, traditionally linked to a miraculous August snowfall; the 1969 calendar drops the legend.
Also called: Dedication of St. Mary Major
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Our Lord
The customary Catholic title for Jesus Christ, confessing Him as Lord and God.
Also called: the Lord
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Oxford Movement
A nineteenth-century movement in the Church of England to recover Catholic doctrine and worship, which led Newman and others into the Catholic Church.
Also called: Tractarian Movement
P
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pact
A deliberate agreement with a demon, offering oneself in exchange for some favour; gravely sinful, it can and should be renounced.
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Padre /PAH-dreh/
"Father": Italian and Spanish title for a priest, as in Padre Pio; in English also an informal name for a military chaplain.
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Paenitemini /peh-nee-TEH-mee-nee/
"Repent": Paul VI's 1966 apostolic constitution on penance, which reduced the fast days to Ash Wednesday and Good Friday while keeping every Friday penitential.
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pain of loss
The loss of the vision of God, the essential and greatest punishment of hell; souls in purgatory suffer a temporary form of it as painful longing.
Also called: poena damni
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pain of sense
Positive suffering, traditionally described as fire, added to the pain of loss in hell (and commonly held of purgatory); its exact nature is not defined.
Also called: poena sensus
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palea /PAH-leh-ah/
"Straw": St. Thomas Aquinas's word for all he had written, after an experience at Mass in December 1273 that left him unable to continue.
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pallium /PAL-ee-um/
A narrow band of white wool with black crosses, worn around the shoulders by the pope and metropolitan archbishops as a sign of authority and union with Rome.
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Palm Sunday
The Sunday before Easter, opening Holy Week, when palms are blessed and carried in procession to recall Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem.
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Panem de caelo /PAH-nem deh CHEH-loh/
"Bread from heaven": the versicle sung after the Tantum Ergo at Benediction, "You have given them bread from heaven," answered "containing in itself all sweetness."
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Pange Lingua /PAHN-jeh LEEN-gwah/
"Sing, my tongue": St. Thomas Aquinas's Corpus Christi hymn on the Eucharist, also sung on Holy Thursday; its last two stanzas form the Tantum Ergo.
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pantheism /PAN-thee-iz-um/
The belief that God and the universe are one and the same; condemned by the First Vatican Council, which teaches that God is really distinct from creation.
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papacy
The office, authority and reign of the pope as Bishop of Rome, successor of St. Peter and visible head of the Church.
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papal audience
A meeting with the pope: a general audience is his weekly public address to pilgrims; a private audience is a personal meeting.
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papal bull
A solemn papal document, named for the lead seal (bulla) once attached to it, used for weighty acts such as definitions and canonizations.
Also called: bull
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papal coronation
The former rite of crowning a new pope with the triple tiara; last performed for Paul VI in 1963, later replaced by an inauguration Mass.
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papal infallibility
The pope's freedom from error when he defines ex cathedra a doctrine of faith or morals for the whole Church; defined in 1870, it does not mean sinlessness.
Also called: infallibility
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papal name
The new name a pope takes on accepting election; the custom began with John II in 533, who did not wish to reign as Mercurius.
Also called: regnal name
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papal resignation
A pope's free renunciation of his office, as by Celestine V in 1294, Gregory XII in 1415 and Benedict XVI in 2013.
Also called: papal renunciation / papal abdication
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Papal States
Central Italian territories ruled by the popes as temporal sovereigns from 756 until 1870, when Rome fell to the Kingdom of Italy.
Also called: States of the Church / Patrimony of St. Peter
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papal supremacy
The pope's supreme authority over the whole Church; in the Middle Ages also asserted over secular rulers, as in Dictatus Papae and Unam Sanctam.
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Paraclete /PAIR-uh-kleet/
Title of the Holy Spirit in St. John's Gospel, from the Greek for one "called alongside": Advocate, Helper and Comforter.
Also called: Comforter / Advocate
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paradise
Originally the garden of Eden; in Christ's promise to the Good Thief, the blessed rest of the just; and commonly a name for heaven.
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parasceve /pah-rah-SHEH-veh/
"Preparation": a Greek word kept in the Latin Bible and liturgy for the day before the Sabbath, the Friday Jesus died; hence an old name for Good Friday.
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parish
A stable community of the faithful within a diocese, entrusted to a pastor, usually with its own church and territory.
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Parish School of Religion
Parish religious-education classes for Catholic children who do not attend a Catholic school.
Also called: PSR
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Parousia /pah-roo-SEE-ah/
"Presence" or "arrival": the New Testament word for Christ's glorious return at the end of time to raise the dead and judge the world.
Also called: Second Coming
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parthenos /PAR-theh-nohs/
"Virgin": the Greek word the Septuagint used for the Hebrew almah in Isaiah 7:14, quoted by St. Matthew of Mary's virginal conception.
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partial indulgence
An indulgence that remits part of the temporal punishment still due to sins whose guilt has already been forgiven.
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participation
In Thomist philosophy, having in part what another has fully; every creature has being by participation in God, who is Being itself.
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particular judgement
The judgement of each soul by Christ immediately after death, which decides its eternal destiny: heaven (at once or through purgatory) or hell.
Also called: particular judgment
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Pascendi Dominici Gregis /pah-SHEN-dee doh-MEE-nee-chee GREH-jees/
"Feeding the Lord's flock": St. Pius X's 1907 encyclical condemning Modernism as "the synthesis of all heresies," issued shortly after the decree Lamentabili.
Also called: Pascendi
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Paschal Mystery /PAS-kul MIS-ter-ee/
Christ's saving work, above all his Passion, death, Resurrection and Ascension, by which he redeemed the world, made present in the liturgy and sacraments.
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Passion
The sufferings of Jesus Christ from his agony in Gethsemane to his death on the Cross, by which he redeemed the world.
Also called: Passion of Christ / Passio Christi
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Passion Sunday
In the 1962 calendar, the Fifth Sunday of Lent, opening the two weeks of Passiontide; in the 1969 calendar the title belongs to Palm Sunday.
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Passionists
The Congregation of the Passion, founded by St. Paul of the Cross in 1720, whose members take a special vow to promote devotion to Christ's Passion.
Also called: Congregation of the Passion
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Passover
Israel's yearly feast recalling the Exodus, when the lamb's blood spared their firstborn; Christ, our Passover, fulfils it in his sacrifice and the Eucharist.
Also called: Pasch / Pesach
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pastor
The priest entrusted with the care of souls in a parish under the bishop's authority; more broadly, any shepherd of souls.
Also called: parish priest
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Pastor Aeternus /PAH-stor eh-TEHR-noos/
"Eternal Shepherd": the First Vatican Council's 1870 dogmatic constitution defining the pope's primacy of jurisdiction and his infallibility when speaking ex cathedra.
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paten /PAT-en/
The small gold or gilded plate holding the Host at Mass; a Communion paten is held under the communicant's chin to catch any fragments.
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patriarch (biblical)
A forefather of God's people before the Law of Moses, especially Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Jacob's twelve sons; sometimes extended back to Adam.
Also called: patriarchs
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patriarch (office)
A bishop heading a principal ancient see or an Eastern Church, such as Alexandria, Antioch or Jerusalem; the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople is first among Orthodox bishops.
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Patriarchae nostri Abrahae /pah-tree-AR-keh NOH-stree ah-BRAH-eh/
"Of our patriarch Abraham": words of the Roman Canon asking God to accept the offering as he accepted the sacrifice of Abraham.
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patristic age /puh-TRIS-tik/
The era of the Church Fathers, from the late first century to St. Isidore of Seville (d. 636) in the West and St. John Damascene (d. 749) in the East.
Also called: patristic era / patristic period
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patron saint
A saint chosen as special protector and intercessor of a person, place, nation, occupation or cause.
Also called: patron / patroness
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Paulicians /paw-LISH-unz/
A dualist sect arising in seventh-century Armenia and Asia Minor; with the related Bogomils of the Balkans, it influenced the medieval Cathars.
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Pauline Epistles
The New Testament letters traditionally attributed to St. Paul, fourteen in the traditional count from Romans to Hebrews.
Also called: Pauline letters / Epistles of St. Paul
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Pax vobiscum /PAHKS voh-BEES-koom/
"Peace be with you": a Latin liturgical greeting of peace; the related Pax Domini sit semper vobiscum precedes the Agnus Dei at Mass.
Also called: Peace be with you
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Peace of Augsburg
The 1555 settlement in the Holy Roman Empire letting each prince choose Lutheranism or Catholicism for his lands (cuius regio, eius religio).
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peccatum /pek-KAH-toom/
"Sin": the standard Latin word for sin in the Church's moral and liturgical language, as in peccatum originale, original sin.
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Pelagianism /peh-LAY-jee-uh-niz-um/
The heresy of the monk Pelagius denying original sin and the need of grace for salvation; condemned at Carthage (418) and the Council of Ephesus (431).
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penance
The virtue and acts of sorrow and self-denial for sin; also the sacrament, called Confession or Reconciliation, in which a priest absolves confessed sins.
Also called: Sacrament of Penance / Confession / Reconciliation
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penitent
A person who confesses sins in the Sacrament of Penance, or more broadly anyone doing penance for sin.
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penitential days
Days of penance set by Church law: in current law every Friday of the year and the whole season of Lent.
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Pentateuch /PEN-tuh-took/
The first five books of the Bible, Genesis to Deuteronomy, traditionally ascribed to Moses; called the Torah in Jewish usage.
Also called: Torah / Five Books of Moses
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Pentecost
The feast fifty days after Easter celebrating the descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles with Mary; its colour is red. Also the third Glorious Mystery.
Also called: Whitsunday / Descent of the Holy Spirit
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People of God
A biblical name for the Church as the new Israel, gathered by God in Christ; prominent in the Second Vatican Council's teaching.
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Per Christum Dominum nostrum /pehr KREE-stoom DOH-mee-noom NOH-stroom/
"Through Christ our Lord": the customary ending of the Church's liturgical prayers, to which the people answer Amen.
Also called: Through Christ our Lord
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Per ipsum /pehr EEP-soom/
"Through him": the doxology closing the Canon, "Through him, and with him, and in him," giving all glory to the Father, answered Amen.
Also called: final doxology
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perichoresis /per-ih-koh-REE-sis/
"Mutual indwelling": the existence of the three divine Persons in one another, each wholly in the others; in Latin, circumincession.
Also called: circumincession
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Perimeter Prayer
A private deliverance prayer, used in some Catholic circles, asking God to surround persons and places with a protective boundary against evil spirits.
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perjury
Lying under oath, or swearing a promise one does not intend to keep or then breaks; a grave sin against the second commandment.
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permissive will
God's allowing evil, which he neither wills nor approves, for the sake of a greater good he can draw from it.
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perpetual adoration
Unbroken adoration of the exposed Blessed Sacrament, day and night, with worshippers taking turns, usually in a dedicated chapel.
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perpetual virginity
The dogma that Mary remained a virgin before, during and after the birth of Christ, throughout her whole life.
Also called: virginity of Mary
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perseverance
Steadfastness in doing good despite difficulty; final perseverance, remaining in God's grace until death, is a special gift of God.
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Petrine cross /PEE-tryn/
An upside-down Latin cross recalling St. Peter, who by tradition asked to be crucified head-downward, unworthy to die as Christ did.
Also called: Cross of St. Peter / inverted cross
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Pharisees
A Jewish party devoted to exact observance of the Law and the traditions of the elders; often opposed to Jesus, and St. Paul's former party.
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Philokalia /fil-oh-kah-LEE-ah/
"Love of the beautiful": an anthology of Greek Fathers' writings on watchfulness and inner prayer, compiled in 1782 by the Orthodox monks Nicodemus and Macarius.
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Photian Schism /FOH-shun/
The ninth-century break between Rome and Constantinople over Patriarch Photius, whose quarrel with Pope Nicholas I foreshadowed the schism of 1054.
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Pie Pellicane /PEE-eh pel-lee-KAH-neh/
"Loving Pelican": a verse of Aquinas's Adoro Te Devote calling Christ the pelican, after the legend of a pelican feeding its young with its own blood.
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Pietà /pee-ay-TAH/
"Pity": an image of the sorrowing Virgin Mary holding the dead body of Christ, like Michelangelo's statue in St. Peter's Basilica.
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pilgrim Church
The Church on earth as a people on pilgrimage toward heaven, a phrase prominent at the Second Vatican Council; traditionally called the Church Militant.
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pilgrimage
A prayerful journey to a holy place such as Rome, Lourdes or Compostela; also the Christian life seen as a journey toward God.
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pious legacy
A bequest left for a religious or charitable purpose, such as Masses for the deceased, which heirs are bound in conscience to carry out.
Also called: pious bequest
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pious opinion
A devout belief that the Church permits but does not define or require, such as the Sabbatine Privilege; Catholics are free to hold or reject it.
Also called: pious belief
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pious tradition
A devotional story or belief handed down over centuries, such as St. Veronica's veil, which the Church permits but does not require anyone to believe.
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plenary council
A council of all the bishops of one country or episcopal conference, with power to legislate there, such as the Plenary Councils of Baltimore (1852, 1866, 1884).
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plenary indulgence
An indulgence remitting all temporal punishment due to forgiven sin; it requires confession, Communion, prayer for the pope's intentions and freedom from attachment to all sin, even venial.
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Pneumatomachi /noo-mah-TOM-ah-kee/
"Spirit-fighters": fourth-century heretics who denied the divinity of the Holy Spirit; condemned at the First Council of Constantinople in 381.
Also called: Macedonians / Pneumatomachians
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pomps and works of Satan
The baptismal renunciation of the devil, "all his works and all his pomps" (his empty show and allurements), renewed in acts of consecration.
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Pontifical Biblical Commission
A commission founded by Leo XIII in 1902 to promote and guard biblical studies; since 1971 an advisory body of scholars under the doctrinal dicastery.
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pontificals /pon-TIF-ih-kulz/
The special vestments and insignia a bishop uses in solemn liturgy, such as mitre, crosier, ring and pectoral cross.
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pontificate
The reign or term of office of a pope, from his election until his death or resignation.
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Pope
The Bishop of Rome, successor of St. Peter, Vicar of Christ and visible head of the Church; Pope Leo XIV has reigned since 8 May 2025.
Also called: Holy Father / Supreme Pontiff / Roman Pontiff / Pontiff / Bishop of Rome
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Pope emeritus
The title used for a pope who has resigned, first adopted by Benedict XVI after his 2013 resignation; he held it until his death in 2022.
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popular piety
The devotions of the faithful outside the official liturgy, such as the Rosary, scapulars, processions and pilgrimages, which should lead toward the liturgy.
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pornocracy /por-NOK-ruh-see/
Hostile label for the early tenth-century papacy, when popes were controlled by Roman nobles such as Theophylact, Theodora and Marozia.
Also called: saeculum obscurum / dark age of the papacy
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possession
Demonic seizure of a person's body, never of the soul or free will; traditional signs are unknown languages, hidden knowledge, superhuman strength and aversion to the sacred.
Also called: demonic possession
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Postcommunion /pohst-kuh-MYOON-yun/
The proper prayer the priest says after Communion at Mass, varying with the day; called the Prayer after Communion in the 1969 Missal.
Also called: Post-Communion / Prayer after Communion
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postulant, novice and profession
The stages of entering religious life: the postulant is a candidate, the novice is tested in a year or more of formation, and profession is taking vows.
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poverty of spirit
The spirit of the first Beatitude: detachment from worldly goods and humble recognition of one's total dependence on God.
Also called: poor in spirit / paupertas spiritus
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Powers
The sixth of the nine choirs of angels in the traditional ordering, said to restrain the assaults of demons.
Also called: Potestates / Authorities
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Praedicate Evangelium /preh-DEE-kah-teh eh-vahn-JEH-lee-oom/
"Preach the Gospel": Pope Francis's 2022 apostolic constitution reorganising the Roman Curia into dicasteries, replacing Pastor Bonus.
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Prayer of the Faithful
Petitions for the Church, the world and the needy after the homily or Creed in the 1969 Mass; the 1962 Missal has them only on Good Friday.
Also called: Universal Prayer / General Intercessions / bidding prayers
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Prayer to St. Michael
Leo XIII's prayer of 1886 asking St. Michael to defend us in battle against Satan; once said after every Low Mass, and still widely prayed.
Also called: St. Michael Prayer / Sancte Michael Archangele
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Prayers at the Foot of the Altar
In the traditional (1962) Mass, the opening prayers said at the altar steps by priest and servers: Psalm 42 (Judica me), the Confiteor and versicles.
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praying for the dead
The ancient practice of helping the souls in purgatory by prayer, almsgiving, indulgences and above all by having Mass offered for them.
Also called: prayer for the dead / suffrages for the dead
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Precepts of the Church
The Church's minimum duties: Mass on Sundays and holy days, yearly confession, Easter Communion, fasting and abstinence, supporting the Church; Baltimore adds the marriage laws.
Also called: Commandments of the Church
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Precious Blood
The Blood Christ shed for our redemption, truly present in the Eucharist and honoured by a devotion and, in the 1962 calendar, a feast on July 1.
Also called: Most Precious Blood
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predestination
God's eternal plan, by grace, to bring the elect to glory; the Church teaches that God predestines no one to hell and that human freedom is real.
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Preface
The solemn hymn of thanksgiving, varying with season or feast, that opens the Canon or Eucharistic Prayer and leads into the Sanctus.
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prelate /PREL-it/
A cleric of high rank or with ordinary jurisdiction, such as a bishop, abbot or certain Roman officials; also an honorary title.
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Premonstratensians /pree-mon-struh-TEN-shunz/
The Canons Regular of Prémontré, founded by St. Norbert in 1120 and approved by Pope Honorius II in 1126.
Also called: Norbertines / White Canons
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presbyter /PREZ-bih-ter/
From the Greek for "elder": a priest, ordained to the second degree of Holy Orders to offer Mass, forgive sins and celebrate the sacraments.
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Presentation in the Temple
The fourth Joyful Mystery: Mary and Joseph present the infant Jesus in the Temple, where Simeon prophesies; kept February 2 as the Purification (1962) or Presentation (1969).
Also called: Presentation of the Lord / Praesentatio in Templo
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Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Feast on November 21 recalling the tradition, from the Protoevangelium of James, that the child Mary was presented and dedicated to God in the Temple.
Also called: Presentation of Mary / Entry of the Most Holy Theotokos into the Temple
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presumption
A sin against hope: expecting salvation without conversion or merit, presuming on God's mercy, or relying on one's own powers without God's help.
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preternatural gifts /pree-ter-NACH-er-ul/
Gifts beyond human nature given to Adam and Eve and lost by the Fall: immortality, freedom from suffering, infused knowledge and integrity (control of the passions).
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pride
The first of the capital sins: an inordinate love of one's own excellence that refuses due submission to God; the root of every sin.
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priest
A man ordained to offer the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, forgive sins and administer the sacraments; in the Old Testament, one who offered sacrifice.
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priesthood of Christ
Christ's unique and eternal priesthood as mediator offering himself; shared sacramentally by ordained priests and, in a different way, by all the baptized.
Also called: eternal priesthood
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priestly covenant
God's covenant granting a perpetual priesthood to Aaron and his line, the Levites and Phinehas; fulfilled and surpassed in Christ's eternal priesthood.
Also called: covenant with Levi
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prima sedes a nemine iudicatur /PREE-mah SEH-dehs ah NEH-mee-neh yoo-dee-KAH-toor/
"The first see is judged by no one": the canonical principle that no earthly authority may sit in judgement on the pope.
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primacy of Peter
Christ's appointment of St. Peter, and of his successors the popes, as head of the Church with full, supreme and universal jurisdiction, not merely honour.
Also called: Petrine primacy / papal primacy / Roman primacy
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Principalities
The seventh of the nine choirs of angels in the traditional ordering, said to watch over nations, cities and rulers.
Also called: Principatus
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principalities and powers
St. Paul's phrase for spiritual powers, especially the fallen spirits against whom Christians wrestle; also the names of two angelic choirs.
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private interpretation
Interpreting Scripture by one's own judgement apart from the Church's Tradition and Magisterium, which Catholic teaching rejects; associated with Protestant sola scriptura.
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private revelation
A vision or message given to an individual after the close of public revelation; even when approved, it adds nothing to the faith and binds no one.
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privileged altar
Formerly, an altar at which a Mass offered for a deceased person gained a plenary indulgence for that soul; such privileges were abolished in 1967.
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pro-life
Defending every human life from conception to natural death, especially against abortion and euthanasia; the Church has condemned abortion since the first century.
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probation
The period of trial in which the angels and our first parents freely chose for or against God before being confirmed in their state.
Also called: state of probation
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procession of the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit's eternal origin from the Father and the Son as from one principle (the Filioque), or, in Eastern wording, from the Father through the Son.
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Professio Fidei /proh-FES-see-oh FEE-deh-ee/
"Profession of faith": the 1989 formula required of certain office-holders, whose three closing paragraphs, explained in a 1998 doctrinal commentary, distinguish dogma, definitive doctrine and authoritative teaching.
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profession of faith
A formal public declaration of the Catholic faith, such as the Creed; Church law requires one of those taking certain offices, such as bishops and pastors.
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promulgate
To publish a law or official document formally so that it takes binding effect; promulgation is required for any Church law.
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Propaganda Fide /proh-pah-GAHN-dah FEE-deh/
"For spreading the faith": the Roman congregation founded in 1622 to direct the missions, now part of the Dicastery for Evangelization.
Also called: Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith / Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples
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Proper
The parts of the Mass or Office that change with the day, from the Proper of the Time (seasons) or the Proper of the Saints (feasts).
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Prophecy of Simeon
The first of Mary's Seven Sorrows: Simeon's prophecy at the Presentation that a sword would pierce her soul.
Also called: sword of Simeon
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propitiation /proh-pish-ee-AY-shun/
Appeasing God's justice and winning his pardon by an offering for sin; Christ's sacrifice, made present in the Mass, is the propitiation for our sins.
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propitiatory sacrifice /proh-PISH-ee-uh-tor-ee/
A sacrifice that wins God's pardon for sin; the Council of Trent teaches that the Mass is truly propitiatory, offered for the living and the dead.
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Protestant Reformation
The sixteenth-century movement led by Luther, Zwingli and Calvin that broke from Rome, teaching Scripture alone and faith alone and rejecting the Mass and papacy.
Also called: Reformation
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Protoevangelium /proh-toh-eh-vahn-JEH-lee-oom/
"First Gospel": Genesis 3:15, God's first promise of a Redeemer, the Woman's offspring who will crush the serpent's head.
Also called: Proto-evangelium / First Gospel
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Protoevangelium of James /proh-toh-eh-vahn-JEH-lee-oom/
"First Gospel of James": a second-century apocryphal writing, not Scripture, source of traditions about Mary's parents Joachim and Anne and her childhood.
Also called: Infancy Gospel of James
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Protomartyr /PROH-toh-mar-ter/
"First martyr": the title of St. Stephen, the deacon stoned in Jerusalem, the first to die for Christ after the Resurrection.
Also called: First Martyr
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prototype
In the theology of images, the person an image represents; the honour paid to an image passes to its prototype, as the Second Council of Nicaea taught.
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providence
God's wise and loving governance of all creation, guiding all things to their end; nothing happens that he has not willed or permitted.
Also called: divine providence
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prudence
The first cardinal virtue: right reason applied to action, discerning the true good in each situation and choosing the right means to achieve it.
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prudential judgment
A practical judgment on how to apply moral principles in concrete circumstances, on which faithful Catholics may sometimes legitimately disagree, unlike matters of faith.
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psalm numbering
Catholic Latin tradition (Septuagint and Vulgate) numbers most Psalms one lower than Hebrew-based Bibles, so the Miserere is Psalm 50, or 51 in Hebrew numbering.
Also called: Septuagint-Vulgate numbering / Douay numbering
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Psalter /SAWL-ter/
The Book of Psalms, especially as arranged for liturgical prayer; the Rosary's 150 Hail Marys earned it the name Our Lady's Psalter.
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public penance
The early Church's public discipline for grave sinners, often lasting years, which bishops could shorten; one origin of the practice of indulgences.
Also called: canonical penance
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public revelation
God's self-revelation completed in Christ and handed on in Scripture and Tradition; it closed with the death of the last apostle, and nothing new is added.
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publican
A tax collector for Rome in the Gospels, despised as a collaborator; the humble publican praying in the Temple is a model of repentance.
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pulpit
The raised stand from which the sermon is preached and, in many churches, the readings proclaimed; the ambo is its modern counterpart.
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Pure Act
God as wholly actual, with no unrealized potential, change or limitation; the Thomist name for God's perfect being.
Also called: Actus Purus
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pure spirit
A created being of intellect and will with no body or matter at all, as the angels are.
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purgative, illuminative and unitive ways /PUR-guh-tiv, ih-LOO-mih-nuh-tiv, YOO-nih-tiv/
The three classic stages of the spiritual life: purification from sin, growth in virtue and light, and loving union with God.
Also called: three ways
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Purgatory
The final purification after death of those who die in God's grace but still owe temporal punishment or need cleansing before entering heaven.
Also called: final purification
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purificator /PYOOR-ih-fih-kay-ter/
A small white linen cloth used to wipe the chalice, and the priest's fingers and lips, during and after Communion.
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purity of heart
Undivided love of God and freedom from impure or self-seeking desire; the sixth Beatitude promises that the pure of heart will see God.
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pyx /PIKS/
A small round container, usually gilded, in which the consecrated Host is carried to the sick and homebound.
Q
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Quartodeciman controversy /kwor-toh-DES-ih-mun/
Second-century dispute over keeping Easter on 14 Nisan, the Jewish Passover date, or on the following Sunday; Pope Victor I upheld Sunday.
Also called: Easter controversy
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Queen of Purgatory
A traditional devotional title of Mary as queen and consoler of the souls in purgatory, whom she helps by her intercession.
Also called: Regina Purgatorii
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Queenship of Mary
The teaching that Mary reigns with Christ as Queen of Heaven and earth; feast on May 31 in the 1962 calendar and August 22 in the 1969 calendar.
Also called: Queen of Heaven
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Quem terra, pontus, sidera /kwem TEHR-rah, PON-toos, SEE-deh-rah/
"Whom earth, sea and stars": the Matins hymn of Marian feasts, praising Mary who carried in her womb the one the whole universe adores.
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Qui pridie /kwee PREE-dee-eh/
"Who, the day before": the opening words of the Institution narrative in the Roman Canon, "Who, the day before he suffered, took bread."
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quiddity /KWID-ih-tee/
The "whatness" of a thing: its essence as expressed in its definition, answering the question "What is it?"
Also called: quidditas
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Quietism /KWY-uh-tiz-um/
Seventeenth-century error of Miguel de Molinos that perfection lies in total passivity of soul, neglecting acts of virtue and resistance to temptation; condemned in 1687.
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Quinisext Council /KWIN-ih-sekst/
A council of Eastern bishops in 692, meant to complete the fifth and sixth councils with disciplinary canons; Pope Sergius I refused to sign them.
Also called: Council in Trullo
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Quis ut Deus /kwees oot DEH-oos/
"Who is like God?": the meaning of the name Michael, and the cry of the faithful angels against Lucifer's rebellion.
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Quo Primum /kwoh PREE-moom/
"From the first": St. Pius V's 1570 bull promulgating the reformed Roman Missal after the Council of Trent.
R
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Raca /RAH-kah/
"Empty-head": an Aramaic insult which Christ warns makes one liable to judgement, in the Sermon on the Mount.
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rash judgment
Assuming as true, without sufficient grounds, that a neighbour has committed a moral fault; a sin against justice and charity.
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rational soul
The human soul, the form of the body, endowed with intellect and will; spiritual and immortal, unlike the vegetative soul of plants and sensitive soul of animals.
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rationalism
The view that admits no truth beyond unaided human reason, dismissing revelation and miracles in advance; condemned by the First Vatican Council.
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re-presentation
The Mass makes present again sacramentally, in an unbloody manner, the one sacrifice of Christ on Calvary, without repeating or adding to it.
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Real Presence
Christ's true, real and substantial presence, Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity, under the appearances of bread and wine in the consecrated Eucharist.
Also called: True Presence
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rebaptism controversy
Third-century dispute in which St. Cyprian demanded rebaptizing converts baptized by heretics; Pope St. Stephen I ruled such baptisms valid and not to be repeated.
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recapitulation
St. Irenaeus's teaching that Christ, the new Adam, "sums up" all things in himself, retracing and undoing Adam's fall step by step.
Also called: anakephalaiōsis
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red
The liturgical colour of fire and blood: Pentecost, feasts of the Cross, apostles and martyrs, and, in the 1969 rite, Palm Sunday and Good Friday.
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redemption
Christ's buying back of humanity from slavery to sin and death by his Passion, death and Resurrection, paying the price with his own blood.
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redemptive suffering
Suffering united to Christ's Passion and offered to God, which shares in applying his redemption to others; popularly called "offering it up."
Also called: offering it up
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Redemptoris Mater /reh-demp-TOH-rees MAH-tehr/
"Mother of the Redeemer": St. John Paul II's 1987 encyclical on the Blessed Virgin Mary in the life of the pilgrim Church.
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Redemptorists
The Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, founded by St. Alphonsus Liguori in 1732 to preach to the poorest and most abandoned souls.
Also called: Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer
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refrigerium /reh-free-JEH-ree-oom/
"Refreshment": early Christian term for the rest and relief of the faithful dead, and for the memorial meal held at their tombs.
Also called: place of refreshment
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Refuge of Sinners
A title of Mary from the Litany of Loreto, expressing trust in her intercession for sinners who turn to her in repentance.
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Regina Caeli /reh-JEE-nah CHEH-lee/
"Queen of Heaven": the Easter-season Marian antiphon, "Queen of Heaven, rejoice, alleluia," which replaces the Angelus from Easter to Pentecost.
Also called: Regina Coeli / Queen of Heaven, rejoice
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Reign of Mary
St. Louis de Montfort's expected age when Marian devotion would flourish and bring Christ's reign; his own conviction, not defined Church teaching.
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relic
A saint's bodily remains (first class), something the saint used (second class), or an object touched to a relic (third class); venerated but never sold.
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religious life
A state of consecrated life in which men or women vow poverty, chastity and obedience and live in community under an approved rule.
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religious order
An approved community of men or women living under a rule with vows, such as the Benedictines, Franciscans, Dominicans or Jesuits.
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religious submission of intellect and will
The docile assent Catholics owe to the Magisterium's authoritative but non-definitive teaching, short of the assent of faith owed to dogma.
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remission of sins
The forgiveness of sins, granted first in Baptism and afterwards chiefly in the Sacrament of Penance; an article of the Creed.
Also called: forgiveness of sins / remissio peccatorum
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reparation
Making amends to God for sin, one's own or others', through prayer and penance; also repairing harm done to a neighbour, such as a damaged reputation.
Also called: making amends
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repentance
Turning away from sin with sorrow and the resolve to sin no more, and returning to God; also called conversion of heart.
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repose
Returning the exposed Blessed Sacrament to the tabernacle after adoration or Benediction; also its being kept at the altar of repose on Holy Thursday.
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Requiem Mass /REH-kwee-em/
A Mass offered for the dead, named from its opening words Requiem aeternam; in the traditional rite celebrated in black vestments with the Dies Irae.
Also called: Requiem / Mass for the Dead
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Requiescant in pace /reh-kwee-ES-kahnt een PAH-cheh/
"May they rest in peace": the short prayer for the faithful departed, answered Amen; in the singular, Requiescat in pace (R.I.P.).
Also called: Requiescat in pace / rest in peace
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Rerum Novarum /REH-room noh-VAH-room/
"Of new things": Leo XIII's 1891 encyclical on capital and labour, the founding document of modern Catholic social teaching.
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resignation
Peaceful acceptance of suffering and trials as permitted by God's will, a fruit of trust in his providence.
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responsible parenthood
Generous openness to children, spacing births only for just reasons by periodic abstinence during fertile times, never by contraception, as Humanae Vitae teaches.
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Responsorial Psalm
In the 1969 Mass, the psalm sung or said after the first reading, the people answering a refrain; it corresponds to the Gradual of the 1962 Mass.
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restitution
Returning or repaying what was unjustly taken or damaged, as justice requires for the forgiveness of sins such as theft or ruining a reputation.
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Resurrection
Christ's bodily rising from the dead on the third day, the foundation of the Christian faith; the first Glorious Mystery of the Rosary.
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resurrection of the body
The article of the Creed that at Christ's return all the dead will rise in their own bodies, the just to glory and the wicked to condemnation.
Also called: resurrection of the flesh / resurrection of the dead / general resurrection / carnis resurrectio
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right hand of the Father
The place of honour, glory and authority where the risen and ascended Christ reigns in his humanity, as the Creed professes.
Also called: right hand of God / ad dexteram Dei
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rigorism
Excessive moral severity, such as refusing pardon to repentant apostates or keeping the faithful from Communion as unworthy; condemned in its Jansenist form.
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rite
A distinct liturgical, theological and disciplinary tradition, such as the Roman, Ambrosian or Byzantine; also any single ceremony, like the rite of Baptism.
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Rituale Romanum /ree-too-AH-leh roh-MAH-noom/
"Roman Ritual": the official book of rites for the sacraments a priest administers, blessings and exorcism, first issued by Paul V in 1614.
Also called: Roman Ritual
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Robber Council
The council at Ephesus in 449 that upheld Eutyches by violence; Pope St. Leo the Great annulled it, calling it a "robbery" (latrocinium).
Also called: Robber Council of Ephesus / Latrocinium
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Rogation Days /roh-GAY-shun/
Days of prayer and procession for God's blessing on the crops: April 25 (Major) and the three days before Ascension (Minor), kept in the 1962 calendar.
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Roman Canon
The ancient Eucharistic Prayer of the Roman Mass, the only Canon of the 1962 Missal, said silently; retained as Eucharistic Prayer I in 1969.
Also called: Canon of the Mass / Canon Missae / Eucharistic Prayer I
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Roman Catechism
The catechism for parish priests ordered by the Council of Trent and issued under St. Pius V in 1566.
Also called: Catechism of the Council of Trent
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Roman Curia
The dicasteries and offices through which the pope governs the universal Church, most recently reorganised by Praedicate Evangelium in 2022.
Also called: papal curia / Curia
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Roman Missal
The official book of prayers and rubrics for celebrating Mass in the Roman Rite, standardised by St. Pius V in 1570 and revised in 1970.
Also called: Missal / Missale Romanum
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Roman Question
The dispute over the pope's status after Italy seized Rome in 1870, settled by the Lateran Treaty of 1929, which created Vatican City.
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Roman Rite
The liturgical tradition of the Church of Rome, used in most of the Latin Church, in both its traditional (1962) and modern (1969) forms.
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Rome
Shorthand for the pope and the Holy See as the Church's central authority, as in "Rome has spoken."
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Rosarium Virginis Mariae /roh-ZAH-ree-oom veer-JEE-nees mah-REE-eh/
"The Rosary of the Virgin Mary": St. John Paul II's 2002 apostolic letter on the Rosary, which proposed the optional Luminous Mysteries.
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Rosary
Marian prayer, counted on beads, of fifteen decades of Hail Marys on the Joyful, Sorrowful and Glorious Mysteries; its 150 Aves echo the 150 Psalms, hence "Our Lady's Psalter."
Also called: Holy Rosary / Our Lady's Psalter / Psalter of Our Lady
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rose
The liturgical colour of subdued joy, which may replace violet on Gaudete Sunday in Advent and Laetare Sunday in Lent.
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royal road
Spiritual image of the way to God: for the Fathers, the middle path avoiding both excess and laxity; for the Imitation of Christ, the way of the Cross.
Also called: via regia / king's highway / royal road of the holy Cross
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RSV-2CE
The Revised Standard Version, Second Catholic Edition (2006), an English Bible used in the Ignatius Catholic Study Bible.
Also called: RSV Second Catholic Edition / Ignatius Bible
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RSV-CE
The Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition (1966), a widely used English Bible translation adapted for Catholics and including the deuterocanonical books.
Also called: Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition
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rubrics
The directions in liturgical books for how rites are to be carried out, traditionally printed in red (Latin ruber).
-
rule of faith
The standard of what must be believed: for Catholics, Scripture and Tradition as authoritatively interpreted by the Church's Magisterium.
Also called: regula fidei
S
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Sabaoth /SAH-bah-oht/
"Hosts" or "armies": a Hebrew word left untranslated in the Latin Sanctus, "Lord God of hosts," naming God as Lord of the heavenly armies.
Also called: Lord God of Hosts
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Sabbath
The seventh day of rest and worship under the Old Covenant, from Friday to Saturday sundown; Christians keep the Lord's Day, Sunday, in its place.
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Sabbatine Privilege /SAB-uh-tyne/
Permitted pious belief, resting on a bull of doubtful authenticity, that Mary frees Brown Scapular wearers who keep its conditions from purgatory soon after death, especially Saturday.
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Sabellianism /suh-BEL-ee-uh-niz-um/
Third-century heresy of Sabellius that Father, Son and Holy Spirit are merely three modes or masks of one divine Person, not three distinct Persons.
Also called: Modalism
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sacrament
An outward sign instituted by Christ to give grace; the seven are Baptism, Confirmation, Eucharist, Penance, Anointing of the Sick, Holy Orders and Matrimony.
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sacramental character
The indelible spiritual seal imprinted on the soul by Baptism, Confirmation and Holy Orders, which therefore can be received only once.
Also called: indelible character
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sacramental intention
The minister's intention to do what the Church does, required for a sacrament to be valid, even if he lacks faith or holiness.
-
sacraments of healing
Penance and the Anointing of the Sick, through which Christ heals soul and body wounded by sin and sickness; a grouping used by the modern Catechism.
-
sacraments of initiation
Baptism, Confirmation and the Eucharist, which together lay the foundations of every Christian life.
-
sacraments of vocation
Holy Orders and Matrimony, directed toward the salvation of others; the Catechism calls them sacraments at the service of communion.
Also called: sacraments at the service of communion
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Sacramentum Caritatis /sah-krah-MEN-toom kah-ree-TAH-tees/
"Sacrament of charity": Benedict XVI's 2007 apostolic exhortation on the Eucharist, following the 2005 Synod, urging beauty and reverence in the liturgy.
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Sacred Heart
The physical heart of Jesus, adored as united to his divinity and honoured as the symbol of his love; devotion spread through St. Margaret Mary Alacoque.
Also called: Sacred Heart of Jesus / Most Sacred Heart
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sacred music
Music composed for worship, which must possess holiness, beauty of form and universality; Gregorian chant holds pride of place in the Roman Rite.
Also called: liturgical music
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sacred mysteries
The sacraments, above all the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass; also the revealed truths of faith that surpass the power of human reason.
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Sacred Scripture
The inspired written Word of God in the Old and New Testaments, whose author is God, read within the Church's living Tradition.
Also called: Holy Scripture / the Scriptures / the Bible
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Sacred Tradition
The living transmission of the Gospel from Christ through the apostles, handed on in the Church; with Scripture it forms one sacred deposit of faith.
Also called: Tradition / Apostolic Tradition
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sacred vessels
The vessels that hold the Body and Blood of Christ, such as the chalice, paten, ciborium and pyx, traditionally of precious metal and consecrated or blessed.
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sacrifice
An offering made to God by a priest in acknowledgement of his supreme dominion; Christ's self-offering on the Cross, made present in the Mass, fulfils every earlier sacrifice.
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sacrifice of the Cross
Christ's once-for-all offering of himself on Calvary, which the Mass makes present in an unbloody manner rather than repeating.
Also called: sacrifice of Calvary
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sacrilege
Profaning or treating unworthily a sacred person, place or thing, above all the Eucharist, as by receiving Communion in mortal sin.
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sacristy
The room near the sanctuary where vestments, sacred vessels and liturgical books are kept and the priest vests for Mass.
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Sacrosanctum Concilium /sah-kroh-SAHNK-toom kohn-CHEE-lee-oom/
"This sacred Council": Vatican II's 1963 Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, which kept Latin while permitting more vernacular and called for liturgical reform.
Also called: Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy
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Sadducees /SAD-yoo-seez/
The priestly, aristocratic Jewish party of Jesus' day that accepted only the written Law and denied the resurrection, angels and spirits.
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saint
A holy person now with God in heaven; canonized saints are those the Church officially declares to be in heaven and proposes for public veneration.
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Saint Thomas Christians
Ancient Christians of India's Malabar Coast tracing their faith to St. Thomas the Apostle; in 1653 many swore the Coonan Cross Oath against Portuguese Latin control.
Also called: Thomas Christians
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saltire cross /SAL-teer/
An X-shaped cross, the kind on which tradition says St. Andrew the Apostle was martyred.
Also called: St. Andrew's cross / X-shaped cross
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salutation
In the Chaplet of St. Michael, each of nine invocations honouring one of the nine choirs of angels, followed by an Our Father and three Hail Marys.
Also called: Salutatio
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salvation
Deliverance from sin and eternal death and the gift of eternal life with God, won by Christ and received through faith, Baptism and grace.
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salvation history
The unfolding of God's saving plan through history and the covenants, from creation and the Fall through Christ to the Church and the end of time.
Also called: history of salvation / economy of salvation / sacred history
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Salve Regina /SAHL-veh reh-JEE-nah/
"Hail, Queen": the ancient Marian antiphon, "Hail, Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy," sung after Compline for much of the year and prayed after the Rosary.
Also called: Hail, Holy Queen
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Salvifici Doloris /sahl-VEE-fee-chee doh-LOH-rees/
"Of saving suffering": St. John Paul II's 1984 apostolic letter on the Christian meaning of human suffering united to Christ's Passion.
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Samaritan Pentateuch
The Samaritans' own Hebrew text of the five books of Moses, preserved in a distinct script, with variant readings including different genealogical figures.
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samsara /sahm-SAH-rah/
"Wandering": the Hindu and Buddhist cycle of birth, death and rebirth driven by karma; the Church teaches one earthly life, followed by judgement.
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sanctification
The work of grace by which the Holy Spirit makes a person holy, begun in Baptism and growing through the sacraments, prayer and good works.
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sanctifying grace
The abiding gift of God's own life in the soul, making it holy and pleasing to him; received in Baptism, lost by mortal sin, restored by Penance.
Also called: habitual grace
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sanctoral cycle /SANK-tor-ul/
The yearly cycle of saints' feasts, kept mostly on fixed dates, alongside the temporal cycle of seasons centred on Christmas and Easter.
Also called: sanctorale
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sanctuary
The area around the altar reserved for the sacred rites; also the Temple's holy place, or a shrine of pilgrimage such as Lourdes.
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sanctuary lamp
A lamp, usually in red glass, kept burning near the tabernacle to signal and honour Christ's presence in the reserved Blessed Sacrament.
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Sanctus /SAHNK-toos/
"Holy": the hymn "Holy, holy, holy Lord God of hosts" that ends the Preface, joining the angels' unending praise from Isaiah's vision.
Also called: Holy, Holy, Holy
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Sanguis Christi /SAHN-gwees KREE-stee/
"Blood of Christ": a phrase of the prayer Anima Christi, "Blood of Christ, inebriate me," and a Latin name for the Precious Blood.
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Sanhedrin /san-HED-rin/
The supreme Jewish council and court in Jerusalem, led by the high priest, which condemned Jesus and handed him over to Pilate.
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Satan
The chief of the fallen angels, who rebelled against God and seeks the ruin of souls; a real but created and limited being.
Also called: the devil / the Evil One / the adversary / prince of this world
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satisfaction
Making amends for the temporal punishment still due to forgiven sin, by the penance assigned in confession, good works and indulgences here, or in purgatory hereafter.
Also called: satisfaction for sin / satisfactory works
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scandal
An attitude, word or action that leads another person to do evil; a grave sin when it deliberately or seriously leads others into grave sin.
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scapular /SKAP-yuh-ler/
A sacramental of two small cloth panels joined by strings and worn over the shoulders, a miniature religious habit, such as Our Lady's Brown Scapular.
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schism /SIZ-um/
Refusal of submission to the pope or of communion with the members of the Church subject to him; a break in unity that may leave doctrine intact.
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Scholasticism /skuh-LAS-tih-siz-um/
The medieval method of theology and philosophy, faith seeking understanding through rigorous reasoning and precise terms, from St. Anselm to its height in St. Thomas Aquinas.
Also called: Scholastic / the Schoolmen
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Scotist thesis /SKOH-tist/
The view of Bl. John Duns Scotus and his school that the Son would have become incarnate even without sin; a permitted opinion, not dogma.
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Scourging at the Pillar
The second Sorrowful Mystery of the Rosary: Jesus scourged by Roman soldiers at the command of Pontius Pilate.
Also called: Flagellatio ad Columnam
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Scriptural Rosary
A way of praying the Rosary in which a short verse of Scripture on the mystery is read before each Hail Mary.
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scrupulosity /skroo-pyuh-LOS-ih-tee/
A habitual, anxious fear of sin where there is none or exaggeration of slight faults, often eased by obedience to a confessor; distinct from a delicate conscience.
Also called: scruples
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seal of confession
The priest's absolute, inviolable duty never to reveal or use anything heard in sacramental confession, even to save his own life.
Also called: sacramental seal / seal of the confessional
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seamless tunic
Christ's one-piece garment, woven without seam, for which the soldiers cast lots at the Cross; a traditional symbol of the Church's unity.
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Seat of Wisdom
A title of Mary from the Litany of Loreto: she is the throne on which Christ, the incarnate Wisdom of God, was seated.
Also called: Sedes Sapientiae
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Second Class
Second rank in the 1962 calendar, for major feasts such as those of the Apostles and Evangelists; before 1960 called Double of the II Class.
Also called: II Class
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Second Coming
Christ's return in glory at the end of time to raise the dead, judge the living and the dead, and bring his kingdom to fulfilment.
Also called: Parousia / return of Christ in glory
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Second Council of Constantinople
The fifth ecumenical council (553), which condemned the Three Chapters, reaffirmed Chalcedon and called Mary "Ever-Virgin" (Aeiparthenos).
Also called: Constantinople II
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Second Council of Lyons
The fourteenth ecumenical council (1274), which achieved a short-lived reunion with the Greeks, regulated the conclave and professed the doctrine of purgatory.
Also called: Lyons II / Second Council of Lyon
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Second Council of Nicaea
The seventh ecumenical council (787), which condemned Iconoclasm and defended the veneration of sacred images, distinguishing it from the adoration due to God alone.
Also called: Nicaea II
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Second Temple
The Jerusalem Temple rebuilt after the Exile (completed 516 BC), enlarged by Herod and destroyed in AD 70; also the Judaism of that era.
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Second Vatican Council
The twenty-first ecumenical council (1962–1965), opened by St. John XXIII and closed by St. Paul VI, whose decrees prompted the reform of the liturgy.
Also called: Vatican II
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Secret
In the 1962 Mass, the proper prayer over the offerings said silently just before the Preface; in the 1969 Mass it becomes the Prayer over the Offerings, said aloud.
Also called: Secreta
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secular priest
A priest who belongs to a diocese and serves under its bishop, living "in the world" rather than under the rule of a religious order.
Also called: diocesan priest
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sede vacante /SEH-deh vah-KAHN-teh/
"The see being vacant": the period between the death or resignation of a pope (or a diocesan bishop) and the taking of office by his successor.
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seeds of the Word
Term of St. Justin Martyr and other Fathers for the fragments of truth and goodness found outside the Gospel, which prepare for it though mixed with error.
Also called: semina Verbi
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seer
One who reports seeing an apparition or receiving a vision, such as the three children of Fatima; the Church judges each claim separately.
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Semi-Pelagianism /SEM-ee-peh-LAY-jee-uh-niz-um/
Heresy holding that the beginning of faith comes from human effort, with grace following after; condemned at the Second Council of Orange (529).
Also called: semi-Pelagian
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Semidouble
Feast rank before the 1960 rubrics (semiduplex), below Double, also held by ordinary Sundays; in the 1962 Missal semidouble feasts became III Class.
Also called: semiduplex
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seminal principles
St. Augustine's teaching that God created certain things in hidden, seed-like potencies that unfold in their proper time.
Also called: rationes seminales
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seminary
A school, usually residential, where men are formed for the priesthood in prayer, study and discipline; its students are called seminarians.
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sensus fidei /SEN-soos FEE-deh-ee/
"Sense of the faith": the supernatural instinct, given by the Holy Spirit, by which the whole body of the faithful recognises and holds fast to true doctrine.
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sensus fidelium /SEN-soos fee-DEH-lee-oom/
"Sense of the faithful": the shared supernatural instinct of believers for the true faith; also the name of a well-known online library of traditional sermons.
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sensus plenior /SEN-soos PLEH-nee-or/
"Fuller sense": a deeper meaning of a Scripture text, intended by God though perhaps not clearly by the human author, revealed in the light of later revelation.
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separated brethren
Term, prominent at Vatican II, for baptised Christians not in full communion with the Catholic Church, such as the Orthodox and Protestants.
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Septuagesima /sep-too-ah-JEH-zee-mah/
"Seventieth": in the 1962 calendar, the pre-Lenten season of three Sundays (Septuagesima, Sexagesima, Quinquagesima), kept in violet without Gloria or Alleluia; dropped in 1969.
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Septuagint /SEP-too-uh-jint/
The ancient Greek translation of the Old Testament, made from the third century BC and including the deuterocanonical books; used by the Apostles and the Fathers.
Also called: LXX / Greek Old Testament
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sepulchre /SEP-ul-ker/
A tomb; above all the new rock-hewn tomb near Calvary where Christ was laid, now within the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
Also called: sepulcher
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Seraphic Doctor
Title of St. Bonaventure (1221–1274), Franciscan theologian, cardinal and Doctor of the Church, honoured for his seraphic love of God.
Also called: Doctor Seraphicus
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seraphim /SEH-ruh-fim/
"Burning ones": the highest choir of angels, aflame with love before God's throne, whose cry "Holy, Holy, Holy" in Isaiah's vision echoes in the Sanctus.
Also called: seraph
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Sermon on the Mount
Christ's great discourse in Matthew 5–7, containing the Beatitudes, the Lord's Prayer and the call to enter by the narrow gate.
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serpent
Satan, who tempted Eve in Eden and whose head the Woman's offspring will crush; called "that ancient serpent" and the dragon in Revelation 12.
Also called: ancient serpent / dragon
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Servant of God
Title of a deceased person whose cause for beatification and canonisation has been formally opened by the Church.
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Servant of the Servants of God
Papal title expressing the Pope's office as humble service, used regularly from St. Gregory the Great onward and still opening papal bulls.
Also called: servus servorum Dei
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servile work
Heavy manual or commercial labour forbidden on Sundays and holy days of obligation unless genuine necessity or charity requires it.
Also called: servile labor
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Servites /SUR-vyts/
The Order of Servants of Mary, founded in Florence in 1233 by the Seven Holy Founders and devoted especially to Our Lady of Sorrows.
Also called: Servite Order / Order of Servants of Mary
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Seven Last Words
The seven sayings of Christ from the Cross recorded in the Gospels, a traditional subject of Good Friday preaching and meditation.
Also called: Seven Words
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Seven Sorrows
Seven sufferings of Our Lady, from Simeon's prophecy to Christ's burial, meditated with Hail Marys in a traditional devotion and honoured by a feast on 15 September.
Also called: Seven Sorrows of Mary / Seven Dolors
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Sheol /SHEE-ohl/
"The grave" or "underworld": the Old Testament abode of all the dead, righteous and wicked, before Christ opened heaven; called Hades in Greek.
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Shepherd of Hermas /SHEP-erd uv HUR-mus/
A second-century Roman Christian book of visions and moral teaching on repentance, counted among the Apostolic Fathers and once read publicly in some churches.
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Shiloh /SHY-loh/
"He to whom it belongs" (one reading): in Genesis 49:10, a word traditionally taken as the Messiah; also the town where the Ark rested and Samuel served.
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shrine
A church or other sacred place, often holding a relic or image, to which the faithful make pilgrimage with the approval of Church authority.
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Shroud of Turin
Linen cloth kept in Turin bearing the faint image of a crucified man, venerated by many as Christ's burial cloth; the Church has not ruled on its authenticity.
Also called: Holy Shroud / the Shroud
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Si enim comprehendis, non est Deus /see EH-neem kom-preh-EN-dees, nohn est DEH-oos/
"If you comprehend it, it is not God": St. Augustine's saying that God always surpasses whatever the human mind can grasp.
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sign (Johannine)
In St. John's Gospel, a miracle that reveals Christ's glory and invites faith; the first was the changing of water into wine at Cana.
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Sign of the Cross
Tracing a cross on oneself or over a person or thing while invoking the Father, Son and Holy Ghost; used to begin and end prayer and to bless.
Also called: Signum Crucis
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simony /SY-muh-nee/
The sin of buying or selling spiritual things or Church offices, named after Simon Magus, who tried to buy the Apostles' power.
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Simple
Lowest feast rank before the 1960 rubrics (simplex), kept with a shortened Office; in the 1962 Missal Simple feasts became commemorations.
Also called: simplex
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sins against the Holy Spirit
Six sins that reject the very grace by which sin is forgiven: despair, presumption, impugning known truth, envy of another's grace, obstinacy and final impenitence.
Also called: sins against the Holy Ghost / sin against the Holy Ghost / blasphemy against the Spirit / unforgivable sin
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sins of commission and omission
Sin by doing what God's law forbids (commission) or by failing to do what it requires (omission).
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sins that cry to heaven
Four sins Scripture says cry out to God for vengeance: wilful murder, the sin of Sodom, oppression of the poor, and defrauding workers of their wages.
Also called: sins crying to heaven for vengeance
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Sister
Title of a woman religious, abbreviated Sr.; strictly, nuns make solemn vows in enclosure, while sisters make simple vows and serve in active works.
Also called: Sr.
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Slavic liturgy
The liturgy celebrated in Old Church Slavonic, permitted by the popes to Sts. Cyril and Methodius in the ninth century and still used by Slavic Byzantine churches.
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Society of St. Pius X
Priestly society founded by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre in 1970; his 1988 consecration of bishops without papal mandate incurred excommunications, lifted in 2009, though it still lacks canonical status.
Also called: SSPX
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sola fide /SOH-lah FEE-deh/
"By faith alone": the Protestant doctrine that justification comes through faith without works, rejected by the Council of Trent.
Also called: faith alone
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sola scriptura /SOH-lah skreep-TOO-rah/
"By Scripture alone": the Protestant principle that the Bible is the sole rule of faith, apart from Tradition and the Church's teaching office; rejected by Catholic teaching.
Also called: Scripture alone / Bible alone
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Solemn Intercessions
The great prayers of Good Friday for the Church, the Pope, catechumens, Christian unity, the Jewish people, unbelievers and others: nine in the 1962 rite, ten in 1969.
Also called: Orationes solemnes
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Solemn Mass
In the 1962 rite, the fullest form of sung Mass, celebrated by a priest with deacon and subdeacon, with choir, incense and full ceremonial.
Also called: Solemn High Mass / Missa solemnis
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solemnity
Highest rank of day in the 1969 calendar, such as Easter, Christmas, the Assumption or the Immaculate Conception; its celebration begins the evening before.
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Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God
The 1969 calendar's feast of 1 January honouring Mary's divine motherhood, a holy day of obligation; the 1962 calendar keeps that day as the Octave of Christmas.
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solus Christus /SOH-loos KREES-toos/
"Christ alone": a Protestant Reformation slogan that salvation comes through Christ alone, often set against the mediating role of the priesthood, sacraments and saints.
Also called: Christ alone
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Son of David
Messianic title for the promised heir of King David whose throne would last forever, given to Jesus in the Gospels.
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Son of God
Jesus Christ as the eternal, only-begotten Son of the Father, true God and consubstantial (one in being) with Him.
Also called: Filius Dei
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Son of Man
Jesus' favourite title for Himself, recalling the heavenly figure of Daniel 7 who receives everlasting dominion and comes in glory to judge.
Also called: Filius Hominis
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Sorrowful Mysteries
The second five of the Rosary's fifteen mysteries, on Christ's Passion: the Agony in the Garden, Scourging, Crowning with Thorns, Carrying of the Cross and Crucifixion.
Also called: Mysteria Dolorosa
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Soter /soh-TEHR/
"Saviour": Greek title of Christ, as in the early ICHTHYS acrostic, "Jesus Christ, Son of God, Saviour".
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soteriology /soh-teer-ee-OL-uh-jee/
The branch of theology that studies salvation: how Christ saves and how His redemption is applied to souls.
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source and summit
Vatican II's description of the Eucharistic sacrifice as the source and summit of the whole Christian life.
Also called: fons et culmen
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spirits in prison
The dead to whom, according to 1 Peter 3:19, Christ preached; traditionally read as the just awaiting redemption in the limbo of the Fathers.
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spiritual communion
An ardent desire to receive Christ in the Eucharist when one cannot do so sacramentally, often expressed in an Act of Spiritual Communion.
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spiritual direction
Regular guidance in prayer and the spiritual life from an experienced director, often a priest, to help a soul discern God's will and grow in holiness.
Also called: spiritual director
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Spiritual Exercises
St. Ignatius of Loyola's structured programme of meditations and prayer, traditionally made over about thirty days, on which Jesuit retreats are based.
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spiritual life
The life of grace in the soul, lived through prayer, the sacraments and the virtues, and growing toward union with God.
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spiritual motherhood
Mary's motherhood of all Christ's members in the order of grace, entrusted to her from the Cross: "Behold thy mother."
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spiritual reading
Slow, prayerful reading of Scripture, the lives of the saints and spiritual classics for the soul's instruction and growth in holiness.
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spiritual sense
The meanings beyond the literal by which a Scripture text points to Christ (allegorical), to right living (moral) or to heaven (anagogical).
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spiritual warfare
The Christian's lifelong struggle against sin and the devil, fought with prayer, the sacraments, sacramentals and grace.
Also called: spiritual combat / spiritual battle
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Spiritual Works of Mercy
Seven acts of charity for the soul: admonish sinners, instruct the ignorant, counsel the doubtful, comfort the sorrowful, bear wrongs patiently, forgive injuries, pray for living and dead.
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Spouse of the Holy Spirit
Title of Mary, who conceived Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit; often paired with Daughter of the Father and Mother of the Son.
Also called: Spouse of the Holy Ghost
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St. Benedict Medal
A blessed medal bearing St. Benedict and the initials of Latin exorcism verses, including Vade retro Satana, worn as a sacramental against evil.
Also called: Medal of St. Benedict
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St. Patrick's Breastplate
Ancient Irish prayer of protection, attributed to St. Patrick, invoking the Trinity and Christ on every side: "Christ with me, Christ before me."
Also called: Lorica / Lorica of St. Patrick
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stability
The Benedictine vow to remain for life in one's monastery; more broadly, steady perseverance in one's place and duties rather than restless seeking of change.
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Star of the Sea
Ancient title of Mary as the guiding star of Christians on the stormy sea of life, hailed in the hymn Ave Maris Stella.
Also called: Stella Maris
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state of grace
The condition of a soul free from mortal sin and possessing sanctifying grace, required for worthy Holy Communion and for salvation at death.
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state of life
One's stable condition and calling, such as married, single, religious or clerical, with the particular duties by which one serves God and examines conscience.
Also called: state in life
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station days
Early Christian Wednesday and Friday fasts, named from a soldier's watch-post; later, days when the Pope said Mass at an appointed Roman "station" church.
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Stations of the Cross
Devotion of praying and meditating at fourteen stations that follow Christ's way from His condemnation to His burial.
Also called: Way of the Cross / Via Crucis
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stenē /STEH-nay/
"Narrow": the Greek word for the gate in Matthew 7:13, "strait" in older English, meaning tight, constricted, hard-pressed.
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stigmata /stig-MAH-tuh/
Wounds corresponding to Christ's Passion appearing on a person's body, as on St. Francis of Assisi and St. Pio; one who bears them is a stigmatist.
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stole
A long narrow band worn around the neck by priests and over the left shoulder by deacons, signifying sacred authority; its colour follows the day or sacrament.
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striking the breast
A gesture of sorrow for sin, lightly striking one's chest, as at the Confiteor, the Agnus Dei and the "Domine, non sum dignus".
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structures of sin
Social situations and institutions contrary to God's law that arise from personal sins and in turn make evil easier to do; a term of St. John Paul II.
Also called: social sin
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Sub Tuum Praesidium /soob TOO-oom preh-SEE-dee-oom/
"Under thy protection": the oldest known prayer to Mary, "We fly to thy patronage", found on an early Egyptian papyrus usually dated to the third century.
Also called: We fly to thy patronage
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subdeacon /sub-DEE-kun/
Holder of the former major order below deacon, who chants the Epistle at Solemn Mass; suppressed in the Latin Church in 1972 but kept by traditional institutes.
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subsistence
A being existing in itself as a complete individual; Chalcedon confesses Christ as one Person and one subsistence (hypostasis) in two natures.
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substance
What a thing is in itself, existing in its own right rather than in another; in the Eucharist the substance changes while the appearances remain.
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substantial form
The principle that makes a thing the kind of substance it is; the Church teaches that the rational soul is the form of the human body.
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successor of Peter
The Pope, Bishop of Rome, who inherits St. Peter's office as head of the Apostles and visible head of the whole Church.
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Suffering Servant
The figure of Isaiah's Servant Songs who suffers for the sins of others and is exalted, fulfilled in Christ's Passion and Resurrection.
Also called: Servant of the Lord
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sufficient grace
Grace that gives the real power to do good and be saved, which God offers to all but the will can resist; contrasted with efficacious grace.
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suffrage
A prayer, Mass, alms, indulgence or other good work offered on behalf of the faithful departed to help them in purgatory.
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Summa Theologiae /SOOM-mah teh-oh-LOH-jee-eh/
"Summary of Theology": St. Thomas Aquinas's great unfinished work of systematic theology, arranged in parts, questions and articles.
Also called: Summa Theologica / the Summa
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Summorum Pontificum /soom-MOH-room pon-TEE-fee-koom/
"Of the Supreme Pontiffs": Benedict XVI's 2007 motu proprio declaring the 1962 Missal never abrogated and freely usable; its norms were replaced by Traditionis Custodes (2021).
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Sung Mass
In the 1962 rite, a Mass whose parts are sung by priest and choir but without deacon and subdeacon; often loosely called a High Mass.
Also called: Missa cantata
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superior
One holding authority in a religious community, such as an abbot, prior or mother superior, to whom the members owe obedience.
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superior general
The highest superior of an entire religious order or congregation, usually elected for a fixed term.
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supernatural
Above the powers and demands of any created nature and given freely by God, as are grace, the infused virtues and the beatific vision.
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superstition
Sin against the First Commandment that attributes to objects, practices or signs a power belonging to God alone, as with charms, omens or horoscopes.
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supplication
Humble petition to God for one's own needs and those of others; one of the four ends of prayer, with adoration, thanksgiving and contrition.
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Sursum corda /SOOR-soom KOR-dah/
"Lift up your hearts": the priest's call opening the Preface dialogue, to which the people answer "We have lifted them up to the Lord."
Also called: Lift up your hearts
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Suscipe, sancte Pater /SOO-shee-peh, SAHNK-teh PAH-tehr/
"Accept, holy Father": the 1962 Offertory prayer offering the host, followed by "Offerimus tibi" for the chalice; replaced in 1969 by shorter blessing prayers.
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Swiss Guard
The Pope's bodyguard of Swiss Catholic soldiers, serving since 1506; 147 of them died defending Pope Clement VII in the Sack of Rome (1527).
Also called: Pontifical Swiss Guard
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Syllabus of Errors
List of eighty condemned modern propositions issued by Blessed Pius IX in 1864 alongside his encyclical Quanta Cura.
Also called: Syllabus
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syllogism /SIL-uh-jiz-um/
A logical argument drawing a necessary conclusion from two premises, the basic tool of Scholastic reasoning.
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syngenis /soon-geh-NEES/
"Kinswoman": St. Luke's word for Elizabeth's relationship to Mary, meaning a relative in general rather than specifically a cousin.
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synod /SIN-ud/
An assembly of bishops, sometimes with other clergy, to settle questions of doctrine, discipline or pastoral care for a diocese, province or region.
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Synod of Bishops
Permanent advisory assembly of bishops created by St. Paul VI in 1965 to assist the Pope; Pope Francis made "synodality" the theme of its 2021–2024 assembly.
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Synod of Pistoia /pee-STOY-ah/
A 1786 Jansenist diocesan synod in Tuscany whose errors, including calling limbo a "Pelagian fable", Pius VI condemned in the bull Auctorem Fidei (1794).
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Synod of Whitby
English synod of 664 at which the Northumbrian Church adopted the Roman date of Easter and Roman customs in place of Celtic practice.
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Synoptic Gospels /sih-NOP-tik/
Matthew, Mark and Luke, so called because they can be "seen together" in parallel, sharing much material, order and outlook.
T
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tabernacle
The locked, fixed receptacle in a church where the consecrated Hosts are reserved; also Israel's portable tent-sanctuary of God's presence in the wilderness.
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Tanakh /tah-NAHKH/
"Law, Prophets, Writings": the Jewish acronym-name for the Hebrew Bible (Torah, Nevi'im, Ketuvim), which Christians call the Old Testament, without the deuterocanonical books.
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Tantum Ergo /TAHN-toom EHR-goh/
"So great therefore": the last two stanzas of St. Thomas Aquinas's Pange Lingua, sung at Benediction before the blessing with the Blessed Sacrament.
Also called: Down in adoration falling
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Te Deum /teh DEH-oom/
"Thee, O God (we praise)": ancient Latin hymn of praise and thanksgiving, sung at Matins on feasts and on solemn occasions of thanks.
Also called: Te Deum laudamus
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temperance
The cardinal virtue that moderates the attraction of pleasures, especially food, drink and sexual desire, keeping them within the bounds of reason.
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Temple
The sanctuary in Jerusalem, God's dwelling among Israel and the one place of sacrifice; the Second Temple stood in Jesus' day until destroyed in AD 70.
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temporal punishment
Punishment due to sin after its guilt is forgiven; the sacrament of Penance remits at least part of it, the rest being satisfied by works of penance, indulgences, or in purgatory.
Also called: temporal debt
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temptation
An enticement to sin, coming from the devil, the world or one's own disordered desires; it is not itself a sin unless consented to.
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ten categories
Aristotle's ten ways of predicating being: substance plus nine kinds of accident, such as quantity, quality, relation, place and time.
Also called: categories of being
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tertiary /TUR-shee-air-ee/
A member of a Third Order, usually a lay person living in the world under a rule linked to a religious order, such as St. Catherine of Siena.
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tetelestai /teh-TEL-es-tie/
"It is finished": Christ's sixth word from the Cross, a Greek verb also used of tasks completed and debts paid in full.
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Theatines /THEE-uh-tynz/
Congregation of clerics regular founded in 1524 by St. Cajetan and Gian Pietro Carafa, later Pope Paul IV, to reform the clergy.
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theological note
A grade marking a teaching's certainty, from defined dogma (de fide) through theologically certain and common teaching down to mere opinion.
Also called: theological grade
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theological opinion
A view theologians may reasonably hold within the faith but which the Church has not defined, so Catholics are free to accept or reject it.
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theological virtues
Faith, hope and charity, infused by God with sanctifying grace and having God Himself as their object.
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Theology of the Body
St. John Paul II's Wednesday catecheses (1979–1984) on the meaning of the human body, sexuality and marriage in God's plan.
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Theopaschite controversy /thee-oh-PAS-kyt/
Sixth-century dispute over the formula "One of the Trinity suffered in the flesh", accepted as orthodox by the Second Council of Constantinople (553).
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theophany /thee-OF-uh-nee/
A visible manifestation of God, as in the burning bush, on Mount Sinai, or at Christ's baptism in the Jordan.
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theosis /thee-OH-sis/
"Becoming god": the Eastern term for being made by grace a sharer in the divine nature, without ceasing to be a creature.
Also called: deification / divinization
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Theotokos /thee-oh-TOH-kohs/
"God-bearer": Mary's title as true Mother of God, because her Son is one divine Person; solemnly upheld at the Council of Ephesus (431).
Also called: Mother of God / God-bearer / Dei Genetrix / Mater Dei
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Third Class
Rank in the 1962 calendar for most saints' feasts (formerly Greater Doubles, Doubles and Semidoubles) and for most weekdays of Advent and Lent.
Also called: III Class / Ferial of the III Class
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Third Council of Constantinople
The sixth ecumenical council (680–681), which defined that Christ has two wills, divine and human, and condemned Monothelitism.
Also called: Constantinople III
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Third Order
A branch of a religious order, such as the Franciscans, Dominicans or Carmelites, for lay people living in the world under an adapted rule.
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Thomism /TOH-miz-um/
The philosophical and theological tradition of St. Thomas Aquinas, commended by Leo XIII's encyclical Aeterni Patris (1879) as the Church's guide.
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Three Chapters
Writings of Theodore of Mopsuestia, Theodoret and Ibas judged Nestorian, condemned by Justinian and the Second Council of Constantinople (553), causing a Western schism.
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Three Holy Hierarchs
Sts. Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian (Nazianzen) and John Chrysostom, honoured together in the Byzantine Church on 30 January.
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three offices of Christ
Christ's threefold mission as Prophet, Priest and King, in which all the baptised share, each in their own way.
Also called: threefold office / Prophet, Priest and King
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Three Secrets of Fatima
The three-part secret given to the Fatima children in 1917: a vision of hell, a prophecy about war and Russia, and a symbolic vision of persecution, published in 2000.
Also called: Secret of Fatima
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Thrones
The third choir of angels in the highest hierarchy, bearers of God's majesty and justice.
Also called: Throni
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ti emoi kai soi, gynai /tee eh-MOY keh SOY, GEE-neh/
"What to me and to you, woman?": Jesus' words to Mary at Cana, a Semitic idiom that is not in itself a rebuke.
Also called: What to me and to you, woman? / Quid mihi et tibi
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tilma /TEEL-mah/
"Cloak": the cactus-fibre mantle of St. Juan Diego on which the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe appeared in 1531.
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Time after Pentecost
In the 1962 calendar, the long green season from the end of the Pentecost octave to Advent, its Sundays numbered "after Pentecost"; largely Ordinary Time in 1969.
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tithe
A tenth of one's goods or income given to God; Abraham gave tithes to Melchisedech, and the Church's precept obliges the faithful to support her needs.
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tolle, lege /TOH-leh, LEH-jeh/
"Take up and read": the child's chant St. Augustine heard in a Milan garden, which moved him to open St. Paul and be converted.
Also called: take up and read
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Tome of Leo
Pope St. Leo the Great's 449 letter to Flavian on Christ's two natures in one Person, acclaimed at Chalcedon: "Peter has spoken through Leo."
Also called: Tome
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tonsure /TON-sher/
The rite of cutting the hair that admitted a man to the clerical state; abolished in the Latin Church in 1972 but kept by traditional institutes.
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Total Consecration
St. Louis de Montfort's complete gift of oneself to Jesus through Mary, made after thirty-three days' preparation as a perfect renewal of baptismal promises.
Also called: Holy Slavery of Love / Total Consecration to Jesus through Mary
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totus Christus /TOH-toos KREES-toos/
"The whole Christ": St. Augustine's term for Christ the Head together with His members, the Church, forming one Christ.
Also called: the whole Christ
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Totus Tuus /TOH-toos TOO-oos/
"Totally yours": a motto of consecration to Mary drawn from St. Louis de Montfort and adopted by St. John Paul II for his pontificate.
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Tower of Ivory
Litany of Loreto title likening Mary's purity, beauty and strength to a tower of ivory, an image drawn from the Song of Songs.
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Tract
In the 1962 Mass, psalm verses sung after the Gradual in place of the Alleluia from Septuagesima to Easter and in Requiem Masses.
Also called: Tractus
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Traditional Latin Mass
The Roman Rite Mass of St. Pius V's 1570 Missal, celebrated today in its 1962 edition, in Latin and facing ad orientem.
Also called: Tridentine Mass / Extraordinary Form / usus antiquior / Vetus Ordo / TLM
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Traditionis Custodes /trah-dee-tsee-OH-nees koo-STOH-dehs/
"Guardians of the tradition": Pope Francis's 2021 motu proprio restricting the Traditional Latin Mass and placing its use under the authority of bishops.
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traditions (lowercase t)
Changeable customs, disciplines and devotions through which the faith is lived; valuable, but able to vary or be reformed, unlike Sacred Tradition.
Also called: ecclesial traditions
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traditor /TRAH-dee-tor/
"One who hands over": a Christian who surrendered the Scriptures or sacred vessels to persecutors under Diocletian, the charge at the heart of the Donatist schism.
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transcendentals /tran-sen-DEN-tulz/
Properties belonging to every being as such, chiefly one, true and good, often with beautiful; each is convertible with being itself.
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Transfiguration
Christ's revelation of His glory before Peter, James and John on the mountain, with Moses and Elijah; feast on 6 August and fourth optional Luminous Mystery.
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Transitus Mariae /TRAHN-see-toos mah-REE-eh/
"Passing of Mary": apocryphal writings circulating from about the fifth century that narrate Mary's death and her assumption into heaven.
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transubstantiation /tran-sub-stan-shee-AY-shun/
The change of the whole substance of bread and wine into Christ's Body and Blood, only the appearances remaining; so named at Lateran IV and defined at Trent.
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Treasury of the Church
The infinite merits of Christ, with the merits of Our Lady and the saints, from which the Church grants indulgences.
Also called: treasury of merits
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Tree of Life
The tree in Eden whose fruit gave immortality, barred to man after the Fall; tradition sees the Cross as the new Tree of Life.
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Triduum /TREE-doo-oom/
"Three days": the Sacred Triduum of Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday (1962); in 1969, from Holy Thursday's evening Mass through Easter Sunday.
Also called: Easter Triduum / Paschal Triduum / Sacred Triduum
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Trinitarian formula
The words "in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost", the essential form of Baptism, required for validity.
Also called: Trinitarian form
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Trinity
The central mystery of the faith: one God in three really distinct divine Persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, each wholly God.
Also called: Holy Trinity / Most Holy Trinity / Blessed Trinity
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Trinity Sunday
The Sunday after Pentecost, dedicated to the mystery of the Most Holy Trinity.
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Trisagion /tree-SAH-gee-on/
"Thrice-holy": the ancient hymn "Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us", sung on Good Friday and closing the Divine Mercy Chaplet.
Also called: Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One
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Tritheism /TRY-thee-iz-um/
Heresy that divides the Trinity into three separate gods, denying the one divine nature shared by the three Persons.
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True Cross
The actual cross on which Christ died, found by tradition through St. Helena in Jerusalem about 326 and venerated in relics throughout the Church.
Also called: wood of the Cross
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Tu es Petrus /too ehs PEH-troos/
"Thou art Peter": Christ's words to Simon in Matthew 16:18, foundation of the papacy, inscribed around the dome of St. Peter's Basilica.
Also called: Thou art Peter
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Twelve Great Feasts
The twelve principal feasts of the Byzantine Church year after Pascha, such as the Nativity, Theophany, Transfiguration and Dormition of the Mother of God.
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twelve tribes
The tribes of Israel descended from Jacob's twelve sons; the twelve Apostles are the foundations of the new Israel, the Church.
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two great commandments
Christ's summary of the Law: love God with all your heart, soul and mind, and love your neighbour as yourself.
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two swords doctrine
Medieval teaching, rooted in Pope Gelasius I, that the world is governed by spiritual and temporal power, the spiritual being higher; restated in Unam Sanctam.
Also called: Gelasian doctrine / two powers
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two-thirds rule
Rule from the Third Lateran Council (1179) that a pope is validly elected only by two-thirds of the voting cardinals; still the law today.
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Two Ways
Ancient moral teaching, from Deuteronomy to the Didache, setting before each soul two roads: the Way of Life and the Way of Death.
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two wills of Christ
The teaching of the Third Council of Constantinople that Christ has a divine and a human will, the human freely subject to the divine.
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typical edition
The official Latin edition of a liturgical book issued by the Holy See, on which translations must be based, such as the Missal's third typical edition (2002).
Also called: editio typica
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typology /ty-POL-uh-jee/
Reading Old Testament persons, events and things as real foreshadowings ("types") of Christ and New Testament realities, such as Isaac carrying the wood.
U
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Unam Sanctam /OO-nahm SAHNK-tahm/
"One holy": Boniface VIII's 1302 bull declaring the spiritual power supreme and submission to the Roman Pontiff necessary for salvation for every human creature.
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unanimous consent of the Fathers
The agreement of the Church Fathers on a matter of faith or morals; Trent and Vatican I forbid interpreting Scripture contrary to it.
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unbloody sacrifice
The Council of Trent's description of the Mass: the same sacrifice as Calvary, with the same Priest and Victim, offered without bloodshed.
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undivided Church
The Church of the first millennium, before the schism between East and West, a phrase used especially in ecumenical and Eastern writing.
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uniformity with God's will
Willing only what God wills in all things, joyful or painful; the theme of St. Alphonsus Liguori's classic treatise as the path to peace and holiness.
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Unigenitus /oo-nee-JEH-nee-toos/
"The only-begotten": Clement XI's 1713 bull condemning 101 Jansenist propositions of Pasquier Quesnel, following Innocent X's earlier Cum Occasione (1653).
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Union of Brest
The 1595–96 union by which Ruthenian Orthodox bishops entered full communion with Rome, origin of today's Ukrainian and Belarusian Greek Catholic Churches.
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Unitatis Redintegratio /oo-nee-TAH-tees reh-deen-teh-GRAH-tsee-oh/
"Restoration of unity": Vatican II's 1964 decree on ecumenism, which speaks of a "hierarchy of truths" in Catholic doctrine.
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universal Church
The whole Catholic Church throughout the world under the Pope, as distinct from a particular or local Church such as a diocese.
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Universal Doctor
Title of St. Albert the Great (d. 1280), Dominican bishop, Doctor of the Church and teacher of St. Thomas, for his mastery of every science.
Also called: Doctor Universalis
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universal salvation
The belief that all will certainly be saved; its Origenist form was condemned in 543, and the Church teaches that eternal damnation is a real possibility.
Also called: universalism
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universal salvific will
God's sincere will that all people be saved, shown in Christ's death for all without exception and in the grace offered to every soul.
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univocal and equivocal /yoo-NIV-uh-kul, ih-KWIV-uh-kul/
A word used in exactly the same sense (univocal) or in wholly different senses (equivocal); speech about God and creatures is analogical instead.
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Unmoved Mover
God as the first source of all change, Himself unchanged, reached by Aristotle and by St. Thomas's First Way.
Also called: Prime Mover / First Mover
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upper room
The room in Jerusalem where Christ ate the Last Supper and where the Apostles later prayed with Mary before Pentecost.
Also called: Cenacle
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USCCB
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, the national bishops' conference that sets U.S. norms such as holy-day rules and sponsors the NABRE Bible.
Also called: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
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use of reason
The capacity, usually reached around age seven, to know right from wrong and act responsibly, from which one becomes bound by Church laws.
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Ussher chronology /USH-er/
Archbishop James Ussher's 1650 dating of creation to 4004 BC from the Hebrew text; the Church binds no one to any biblical chronology.
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usual conditions
Requirements for gaining a plenary indulgence: sacramental confession, Holy Communion, prayer for the Pope's intentions, and freedom from all attachment to sin, even venial.
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usury /YOO-zhuh-ree/
Traditionally, charging interest on a loan merely for lending; today chiefly exacting unjust or exorbitant interest, a sin against justice.
V
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vacant thrones
Pious tradition that the saints fill the places in heaven forfeited by the fallen angels; an image, not defined doctrine.
Also called: empty thrones
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Vade retro Satana /VAH-deh REH-troh sah-TAH-nah/
"Begone, Satan": opening of the exorcism verses whose initials appear on the St. Benedict Medal.
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vainglory
Inordinate desire for praise and recognition; one of the eight evil thoughts listed by Evagrius and Cassian, later counted under pride.
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valid marriage
A marriage the Church recognises as truly existing, contracted with capacity, free consent and proper form; between baptised persons it is a sacrament.
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validity
Whether a sacrament truly takes place, which depends on proper matter, form, minister and intention, not on the minister's personal holiness.
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Vatican
The independent papal state in Rome, sovereign since 1929 and seat of the Holy See; also used loosely for the Church's central government.
Also called: Vatican City
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veil of the Temple
The great curtain sealing off the Holy of Holies in the Temple, torn from top to bottom at Christ's death.
Also called: veil of the sanctuary
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veiling
The custom of women covering their heads in church, required by the 1917 Code of Canon Law, absent from the 1983 Code, and kept by many traditional Catholics.
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Venerable
Title of a deceased Servant of God whom the Pope has declared to have lived heroic virtue, the step before beatification.
Also called: Ven.
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veneration
Honour (dulia) given to the saints, their relics and holy images, distinct from the adoration (latria) due to God alone.
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Veni Creator Spiritus /VEH-nee KREH-ah-tor SPEE-ree-toos/
"Come, Creator Spirit": ninth-century hymn invoking the Holy Spirit and His sevenfold gifts, sung at Pentecost, ordinations and other solemn occasions.
Also called: Veni Creator / Come, Creator Spirit
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venial sin /VEE-nee-ul/
A lesser sin, in light matter or without full knowledge or consent, that wounds but does not destroy charity and sanctifying grace in the soul.
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Venite, adoremus /veh-NEE-teh, ah-doh-REH-moos/
"O come, let us adore": a liturgical invitation to worship, refrain of the carol Adeste Fideles and of the Invitatory at Matins.
Also called: O come, let us adore Him
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Verbum Supernum Prodiens /VEHR-boom soo-PEHR-noom PROH-dee-ens/
"The heavenly Word proceeding forth": St. Thomas Aquinas's Corpus Christi hymn whose last two stanzas form the O Salutaris Hostia.
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vernacular /ver-NAK-yuh-ler/
The everyday spoken language of a people as opposed to Latin; widely permitted in the liturgy after Vatican II and standard in the 1969 Mass.
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versicle and response
Paired lines in prayer: a short verse said by the leader (V.) and the answer given by all (R.), as in the Angelus or at Benediction.
Also called: V. / R.
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versus populum /VEHR-soos POH-poo-loom/
"Towards the people": the priest celebrating Mass facing the congregation across the altar, customary with the 1969 Missal, in contrast to ad orientem.
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vestments
The liturgical garments worn by clergy at Mass and other rites, such as the alb, stole and chasuble, each with a symbolic meaning.
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Veterum Sapientia /VEH-teh-room sah-pee-EN-tsee-ah/
"The wisdom of the ancients": St. John XXIII's 1962 apostolic constitution upholding Latin as the language of the Church's teaching and worship.
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Vetus Latina /VEH-toos lah-TEE-nah/
"Old Latin": the early Latin translations of Scripture, made from the Greek, that were used before St. Jerome's Vulgate.
Also called: Old Latin
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vexation
In exorcists' usage, a demonic attack from outside the body, such as blows, scratches or disturbed sleep, distinct from possession and obsession.
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Vexilla Regis /vek-SEEL-lah REH-jees/
"The banners of the King": Venantius Fortunatus's sixth-century hymn to the Cross, sung at Passiontide Vespers and, in the 1962 rite, on Good Friday.
Also called: Vexilla Regis prodeunt
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via negativa /VEE-ah neh-gah-TEE-vah/
"The way of negation": knowing God by denying of Him the limitations of creatures, since we know better what He is not than what He is.
Also called: way of negation
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viaticum /vee-AH-tee-koom/
"Provision for the journey": Holy Communion given to the dying to strengthen them for their passage to eternal life.
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Vicar of Christ
Title of the Pope as Christ's representative on earth, through whom Christ visibly governs His Church.
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vice
A bad habit formed by repeated sinful acts that inclines the will toward evil; the opposite of virtue.
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vigil
The day or evening before a major feast, traditionally kept with fasting and its own Mass; in 1969 usage chiefly the evening Mass before a feast.
-
Vincentian canon /vin-SEN-shun/
St. Vincent of Lérins's rule to hold what has been believed everywhere, always and by all, allowing development only "in the same sense".
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vincible ignorance /VIN-sih-bul/
Ignorance that a person could and should have overcome with reasonable effort; it may lessen guilt but does not excuse.
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violet
Colour of penance and preparation: worn in Advent and Lent, in 1962 also at Septuagesima and on Ember Days, Rogation Days and most vigils.
Also called: purple
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Virgin Birth
Christ's conception in Mary's womb by the power of the Holy Spirit without a human father; not to be confused with the Immaculate Conception.
Also called: virginal conception
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virgin (saint)
Calendar title for women saints who consecrated their virginity to God, often joined with martyr, as in "Virgin and Martyr".
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virgo ante partum, in partu, et post partum /VEER-goh AHN-teh PAR-toom, een PAR-too, et post PAR-toom/
"Virgin before giving birth, in giving birth, and after giving birth": the classic formula of Mary's perpetual virginity.
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virtue
A firm, habitual disposition to do good, either acquired by repeated good acts or infused by God with sanctifying grace.
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Virtues (angelic choir)
The fifth choir of angels, traditionally associated with miracles and with governing the heavens and the elements.
Also called: Virtutes
-
virtuous pagans
Upright non-Christians who lived by the natural law; their eternal fate is debated by theologians, and Dante places them in Limbo.
Also called: pious pagans
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Visitation
Mary's visit to her kinswoman Elizabeth, when the unborn John leapt for joy; second Joyful Mystery, kept on 2 July (1962) or 31 May (1969).
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vocation
God's call to a particular state of life, such as marriage, the priesthood or religious life; also the universal call of all to holiness.
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vow
A deliberate and free promise made to God concerning a possible and better good, binding in conscience by the virtue of religion.
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Vulgate /VUL-gayt/
St. Jerome's Latin translation of the Bible, made in the late fourth century and declared authentic by Trent; its Clementine edition (1592) became the standard text.
Also called: Latin Vulgate
W
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Waldensianism /wol-DEN-shun-iz-um/
Movement begun by Peter Waldo of Lyons about 1173, preaching poverty without Church authorisation; it came to reject the priesthood, purgatory and prayers for the dead.
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the Warning
An alleged worldwide illumination of conscience foretold in private revelations, notably Garabandal, which the Church has not approved; not Church teaching.
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Watchers
In the non-canonical Book of Enoch, angels who sinned with women before the Flood; some read 1 Peter's "spirits in prison" as them.
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We adore Thee, O Christ
Versicle said at each Station of the Cross, answered "Because by Thy holy Cross Thou hast redeemed the world."
Also called: We adore you, O Christ / Adoramus te, Christe
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Wedding at Cana
Jesus' first sign, changing water into wine at Mary's request; second of the optional Luminous Mysteries and a model of her intercession.
-
white
Colour of joy and purity, worn at Christmas and Easter, on feasts of Our Lord, Our Lady, the angels, and saints who were not martyrs.
-
widow (saint)
Calendar title for holy women who devoted themselves to God after their husbands' deaths, such as St. Monica and St. Bridget of Sweden.
-
Wisdom literature
The Old Testament wisdom books: Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, the Song of Songs, Wisdom and Sirach (Ecclesiasticus).
-
Woman clothed with the sun
The crowned Woman of Revelation 12 who bears the Child and is opposed by the dragon, read as Mary, the Church and Israel.
Also called: Woman of Revelation 12 / mulier amicta sole
-
Word
Title of the eternal Son, the Second Person of the Trinity, through whom all things were made and who became flesh as Jesus Christ.
Also called: Logos / Verbum / Word of God / eternal Word
-
works of mercy
Fourteen traditional acts of charity toward our neighbour: seven corporal, for bodily needs, and seven spiritual, for the needs of the soul.
Also called: work of mercy
-
works of piety
Devotional acts such as prayer, the Rosary or visits to the Blessed Sacrament, which may also be assigned or offered as penance.
Also called: exercises of piety / pious practices
-
the world
In Scripture and spirituality, human society organised apart from God, whose spirit draws the soul away from Him; one of the soul's three enemies.
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world-deceiver
The Didache's name for the deceiver who will appear "as a son of God" before the Lord's return, identified with the Antichrist.
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the world, the flesh, and the devil
The three traditional enemies of the soul: worldly society opposed to God, disordered bodily desires, and Satan with his fallen angels.
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World Youth Day
International gathering of young Catholics with the Pope, instituted by St. John Paul II in 1985 and held every few years in different cities.
-
wrath
Capital sin of disordered anger, seeking revenge or raging beyond what justice allows, including nursed grudges.
Also called: anger
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Wycliffism and Hussitism /WIK-lif-iz-um, HUS-ih-tiz-um/
Late-medieval movements of John Wycliffe and Jan Hus that attacked transubstantiation and the hierarchical Church; condemned at the Council of Constance (1415).
Y
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Yahweh /YAH-way/
"He is" (probably): God's personal name, YHWH, revealed to Moses at the burning bush; rendered "the LORD" in most Bibles and not spoken in the liturgy.
Also called: YHWH
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Year I and Year II
The two-year cycle of first readings for weekday Masses in Ordinary Time in the 1969 Lectionary, used in odd and even years.
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Yeshua /yeh-SHOO-ah/
"The LORD saves": the Hebrew and Aramaic form of the name Jesus, the same name as Joshua.
Z
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Zealot /ZEL-ut/
Epithet of the Apostle Simon, also called the Cananaean from the Aramaic for "zealous"; perhaps marking zeal for the Law or the Jewish nationalist party.
Also called: Cananaean
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zera' /ZEH-rah/
"Seed": the Hebrew word for offspring in Genesis 3:15, a collective noun that can mean many descendants or a single one.
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