Doctirnal Terms Flashcards
Peter -
Jesus’ leading apostle, traditionally regarded as the First Pope. The Synoptic Gospels indicate that Simon was the first disciple chosen by Jesus, on which occasion, Jesus gave him a new symbolic name (Cephas, or Peter, “rock”) and designated him as “fisher of men”.
Our Lady of Guadalupe
apparition and icon of the Blessed Virgin Mary, considered as the empress, patron saint, and mother of the Americas. The Lady of Guadalupe appeared in 1531 to a peasant, Juan Diego (who was recently canonized).
Prayer -
The act by which one enters into conscious communion with God. Prayer acknowledges the reality of a relationship between God and humanity.
Purgatory -
An intermediate state of purification between death and heaven that provides for the removal of remaining personal obstacles (or barriers) in order to be in eternal union with God.
Reconciliation -
One of the Seven Sacraments, which under the leadership of the Bishop or Priest, sinners are reconciled both to God and to the Church.
Redeemer -
Latin “buy back”, literally one who buys back property that has been sold or a relative who has been enslaved; the saving action of God is often conceived as rescue from human alienation or from evil social structures.
Religious Life -
A way of living the Christian life that includes communal living and the profession of the public vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in a community approved by competent Church authority.
Rosary -
The prayer consists of repeated sequences of the Lord’s Prayer (Our Father) followed by ten prayings of the Hail Mary and a single praying of the Doxology (Glory Be); each of these sequences is known as a decade. There are five decades in each complete Rosary. The praying of each decade is accompanied by meditation on one of the Mysteries of the Rosary, which are events in the lives of Jesus Christ and his mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary. The twenty mysteries are grouped into four sets or four complete rosaries…
Sacrament -
One of the seven principal liturgical rites of the Church through which participants experience the love and power of God that flows from Christ’s Paschal Mystery (Passion, death, Resurrection, Ascension, Pentecost); a physical sign of God’s love, instituted by Jesus Christ to give Grace (God’s help).
Sacrifice -
Anything selflessly offered to God.
Saint -
In the wide sense, any person known for Christian holiness; in the strict sense, a person who has manifested heroic virtue during his or her life and who is officially honored by the Church as one who has attained heavenly glory and as one through whom God freely chooses to exhibit exceptional generosity.
Salvation -
Deliverance from sin. Eternal union with God in heaven made possible by the Paschal Mystery of Jesus Christ, Lord and Savior, and by the fruits offered in Christ’s Church, especially through the Seven Sacraments.
Samaritan -
A person of Samaria who was originally Jewish but had intermarried with the pagan Assyrians, who had conquered North Israel in 622 B.C. They developed a different form of Judaism, based mainly on their own Pentateuch, which was the only part of the Old Testament the Samaritans accepted.
Sanctifying Grace -
The supernatural state of grace that permanently remains in the soul. The inextinguishable light of hope found in all people.
Sin -
In Catholic theology, a term used to describe two separate realities: Original Sin and Actual (personal) Sin. Original Sin is the sin of Adam & Eve (also known as the First Sin and the Fall from Grace) that brought about evil effects on the human race; Actual Sin is a fundamental choice against oneself, others, and God. Actual Sin may either be Mortal or Venial.
