He, Chapter 3

Question 0

Apostolic Fathers

Answer 0

Those Fathers of the Church who were direct disciples of the Apostles and wrote during the end of the first century and at the beginning of the second century.

Question 1

Apostle

Answer 1

From the Greek for “one sent forth.” Refers to the Twelve chosen by Jesus during the course of his public ministry to be his closest followers, as well as Sts. Matthias, Paul of Tarsus, Barnabas, and the enlighteners of whole nations.

Question 2

Apostolic Secession

Answer 2

Term used to describe the lineage of the Catholic bishops and pope through the ages by which each holds office in a direct link to the Twelve Apostles.

Question 3

Apostolic Tradition

Answer 3

The passing on of the Faith of the Apostles to each generation. St. Hippolytus’s work of the same name illustrated this principle by preserving the third-century rites of Ordination, Baptism, and the Eucharist; the Eucharistic Prayer found in The Apostolic Tradition was the basis for the Second Eucharistic Prayer in the Roman Missal.

Question 4

Bishop

Answer 4

A consecrated successor to the Apostles, usually charged with the spiritual and administrative care of a given territory or diocese. Derives from the Greek word episkopos (“overseer”). He is constituted a pastor in the Church, to be the teacher of doctrine, the priest of sacred worship, and the minister of governance (CIC 375).

Question 5

Catechism of the Catholic Church

Answer 5

A summary of the Catholic teaching. A catechism of this same name was published in 1997.

Question 6

Council

Answer 6

See Ecumenical Council

Question 7

Ecumenical Council

Answer 7

From the Greek oikoumene, meaning “the whole world.” A formal synod of bishops (sometimes with other ecclesiastics) from the whole inhabited world convened to define doctrine, regulate the Christian life, or apply discipline in the Church. The first ecumenical council was held at Nicæa AD 325.

Question 8

Fathers of the Church

Answer 8

Refers to a number of Christian writers from the first through the eighth centuries whose lives reflected the teachings of Christ and whose teachings were in perfect harmony with the Church. Their value is in the fact that the doctrine they developed faithfully communicates the Faith they received from Christ and contributed to a deeper spiritual and theological understanding of natural and supernatural truths.

Question 9

Infallibility

Answer 9

Immunity from error and any possibility of error. The Church possesses this character as promised by Christ, as does the pope as defined by the First Vatican Council (1870).

Question 10

Infallibility

Answer 10

The dogma that the pope cannot err when speaking ex cathedra (when formally exercising his office as chief shepherd and teacher of all Catholics) and defining a doctrine concerning faith and morals to be held by the whole Church. The term can also refer to the gift of the Holy Spirit to the Church whereby the pastors of the Church—the pope and bishops in union with him—can definitively proclaim a doctrine of faith or morals for the belief of the faithful, with that proclamation being free from all error.

Question 11

Magisterium

Answer 11

The name given to the universal teaching authority of the pope and the bishops in communion with him, which guides the members of the Church without error in matters of faith and morals through the interpretation of Sacred Scripture and Tradition.

Question 12

Orthodoxy

Answer 12

Correctness or soundness in theological faith and beliefs.

Question 13

Sacred Tradition

Answer 13

See Tradition

Question 14

Tradition

Answer 14

From the Latin traditio, meaning “handing down.” Sacred Tradition is part of the Deposit of Faith. It is the Word of God entrusted by Christ to the Apostles and their successors and communicated by preaching and teaching to every generation of Christians under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, who keeps it free from error. Sacred Tradition preceded Sacred Scripture, which grew out of Sacred Tradition with the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Human traditions or traditions of men are man-made acts and rituals that did not originate with Christ.

Question 15

Church Fathers

Answer 15

See Fathers of the Church

Question 16

Council of Jerusalem

Answer 16

Recounted in Acts 15, this synod of the Apostles around AD 49 or 50 spoke with the authority of the Holy Spirit in deciding that Gentile converts to Christianity did not have to be circumcised or obey the Law of Moses.

Question 17

Improper Literal Sense

Answer 17

See Literal Sense

Question 18

Literalistic

Answer 18

A way of reading literature without regard to the particular literary forms being used. This kind of reading thus recognizes no symbolic language or analogy and instead takes every word, phrase, and sentence as literally true.

Question 19

Literal Sense

Answer 19

Method of scriptural interpretation based on the meaning of words in the literary and historical context. In proper literal sense, the words are understood in their ordinary meaning; in the improper literal sense or metaphorical sense, the words are understood figuratively and symbolically.

Question 20

Literary Analysis

Answer 20

Reading a story with full care and regard for the literary forms and styles being used. It allows the reader to fully appreciate the text by understanding what the author is really trying to communicate and thereby reaching the deeper meaning that was originally intended.

Question 21

Proper Literal Sense

Answer 21

See Literal Sense

Question 22

Spiritual Sense

Answer 22

The interpretation of Scripture that sees not only the literal meaning of the text but also the people, things, and events they describe as signs. The three kinds of spiritual sense in Scripture are the allegorical sense, the moral sense, and the anagogical sense.

Question 23

Allegorical Sense

Answer 23

The spiritual interpretation of Scripture that shows how people and events in history suggest future people and events. For instance, the allegorical sense of Abraham sacrificing Isaac is God’s sacrifice of his own son Jesus. Also known as the typical sense, it is a type of spiritual sense.

Question 24

Allegory

Answer 24

A prolonged metaphor. Related to parables and fables, it uses a storytelling format rich with symbols to make a statement about a real-life situation. It is a type of improper literal sense.

Question 25

Anatomical Sense

Answer 25

The spiritual interpretation of Scripture and how events in the scripture point to what will be in Heaven. It is a type of spiritual sense.

Question 26

Analogy

Answer 26

A way of understanding by drawing a comparison or likeness and dissimilarity between two things or relationships. Theology is based on reasoning by analogy.

Question 27

Deposit of Faith

Answer 27

The heritage of faith contained in Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition, handed on in the Church from the time of the apostles, from which the Magisterium draws all that it proposes for belief as being divinely revealed.

Question 28

Eschatology

Answer 28

From the Greek eschaton for “last”. A study of the end of time.

Question 29

Fable

Answer 29

A story, often fanciful, that is not based on fact and is used to illustrate a moral lesson, usually with animals or plants as characters. It is one of the improper literal senses of a text.

Question 30

Hyperbole

Answer 30

A literary device that uses exaggeration to make a point. It is one of the improper literal senses of a text.

Question 31

Inerrancy

Answer 31

Making no mistakes or errors. Scripture is inerrant; that is, it always teaches truth, never falsehood.

Question 32

Inspiration

Answer 32

The gift of the Holy Spirit that assisted human authors to write the books of the Bible. God is the ultimate author of Scripture, and so it teaches faithfully, without error, the saving truth that God has willed to be communicated to us.

Question 33

Literary Forms

Answer 33

Refers to the various styles of writing that communicate a message through particular creative means. Literary forms used in Scripture include the historical, juridical, prophetic, apocalyptic, wisdom literature, poetry, and epistle.

Question 34

Metaphor

Answer 34

A word or term that refers to another by comparison. It is like a simile, except that it does not use the words like or as in making the comparison. It is one of the improper literal senses of a text.

Question 35

Metaphorical Sense

Answer 35

See literal sense.

Question 36

Moral Sense

Answer 36

The spiritual interpretation of Scripture that portrays the heroes of Scripture as a pattern for Christians of every age. Also called the tropological sense.

Question 37

Parable

Answer 37

A story that is told in order to illustrate a moral or spiritual truth. It is one of the improper literal senses of a text.

Question 38

Sensus Fidelum

Answer 38

Literally “the sense of the faithful,” the term refers to the inerrancy possessed by all the faithful when they share a universal consent in matters of faith and morals.

Question 39

Simile

Answer 39

A word or term that refers to another by comparison using the words like or as. It is one of the improper literal senses of a text.

Question 40

Tropological Sense

Answer 40

See Moral Sense

Question 41

Typical Sense

Answer 41

See Allegorical Sense

Question 42

Veracity

Answer 42

Reliability in communicating the truth.