Vocabulary for Unit 2

Question 1

God’s interventions and support for us in the everyday moments of our lives. Actual graces are important for conversion and for continuing growth in holiness.

Answer 1

Actual graces

Question 2

A prayer asking that God care for a particular person, place, or activity. A simple blessing is usually made with the Sign of the Cross.

Answer 2

blessing

Question 3

A form of wordless prayer in which one is fully focused on the presence of God; sometimes defined as “resting in God”; a deep sense of loving adoration of God.

Answer 3

contemplation

Question 4

The power something holds to cause a desired effect. The Sacraments are efficacious in bringing about the spiritual reality they signify.

Answer 4

efficacious

Question 5

The Latin phrase that literally means “by the work worked” or, according to the Catechism, “by the very

Answer 5

ex opere operato

Question 6

The ability to choose for the good; in light of the Sacraments, true freedom comes from the positive response to God’s grace.

Answer 6

freedom

Question 7

The free and undeserved gift of God’s loving and active presence in the universe and in our lives, empowering us to respond to his call and to live as his adopted sons and daughters. Grace restores our loving communion with the Holy Trinity, lost through sin.

Answer 7

grace

Question 8

A prayer on behalf of another person or group.

Answer 8

intercession

Question 9

Also known as the Divine Office, the official, public, daily prayer of the Catholic Church. The Divine Office provides standard prayers, Scripture readings, and reflections at regular hours throughout the day.

Answer 9

Liturgy of the Hours

Question 10

A form of prayer involving a variety of methods and techniques in which one engages the mind, imagination, and emotions to focus on a particular truth, biblical theme, or other spiritual matter.

Answer 10

meditation

Question 11

A prayer form in which one asks God for help and forgiveness.

Answer 11

petition

Question 12

Religious reverence or devotion of the people, including customs such as novenas (nine days of prayer), honoring or requesting the intercession of a particular saint, praying the Rosary, and so on.

Answer 12

popular piety

Question 13

A prayer of acknowledgment that God is God, giving God glory not for what he does, but simply because he is.

Answer 13

praise

Question 14

Lifting up of one’s mind and heart to God or the requesting of good things from him. The five basic forms of prayer are blessing, praise, petition, thanksgiving, and intercession. In prayer we communicate with God in a relationship of love.

Answer 14

prayer

Question 15

From the Latin redemptio, meaning “a buying back”; referring, in the Old Testament, to Yahweh’s deliverance of Israel and, in the New Testament, to Christ’s deliverance of all Christians from the forces of sin.

Answer 15

redemption

Question 16

An efficacious and visible sign of God’s grace, instituted by Christ and entrusted to the Church, by which divine life is dispensed to us. The Seven are Baptism, the Eucharist, Confirmation, Penance and Reconciliation, Anointing of the Sick, Matrimony, and Holy Orders.

Answer 16

Sacrament

Question 17

The communication or dispensation of the fruits of Christ’s Paschal Mystery in the celebration of the Church’s sacramental liturgy.

Answer 17

sacramental economy

Question 18

Sacred signs (such as holy water and a crucifix) that bear some resemblance to the Sacraments but that do not carry the guarantee of God’s grace associated with the Seven Sacraments.

Answer 18

sacramentals

Question 19

The grace that heals our human nature wounded by sin and restores us to friendship with God by giving us a share in the divine life of the Trinity. It is a supernatural gift of God, infused into our souls by the Holy Spirit, that continues the work of making us holy.

Answer 19

sanctifying grace

Question 20

A word, object, or gesture that refers to a specific thing or action; however, when used with regard to Sacraments, the word sign becomes interchangeable with the word symbol.

Answer 20

sign

Question 21

An object or action that points us to another reality. It leads us to look beyond our senses to consider a deeper mystery.

Answer 21

symbol

Question 22

A prayer of gratitude for the gift of life and the gifts of life.

Answer 22

thanksgiving

Question 23

A prayer that is spoken aloud or silently, such as the Lord’s Prayer. It is one of the three expressions of prayer, the other two being meditation and contemplation.

Answer 23

vocal prayer

Question 24

Walking together, as in a procession or pilgrimage, symbolic of the journey of life and our solidarity with others on this journey.

Answer 24

walking ritual