The Catechism · Course reference

Glossary

The essential language of the course, gathered in one place. Each definition comes from its lesson context and links back to where the term is taught.

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75 terms

A

Abba: The intimate Aramaic address of the Son to the Father, given to the baptized by the Spirit of adoption — the audacity behind "Our Father."; Lesson 15: The Lord’s Prayer · CCC 2759–2865
Absolution: The forgiveness God grants through the priest’s words in the sacrament of Penance — Christ’s own authority to forgive, exercised in his Church.; Lesson 8: The Sacraments of Healing · CCC 1420–1532
Acedia: The tradition’s name for spiritual sloth — the sad listlessness that makes prayer feel pointless — answered by humble perseverance, not heroics.; Lesson 14: The Life of Prayer · CCC 2558–2758
Amen: "So be it": the countersignature of faith that ends the Creed, the Lord’s Prayer, and the Catechism itself — consent as the last word.; Lesson 15: The Lord’s Prayer · CCC 2759–2865

B

Beatific vision: Seeing God face to face: the consummation of human existence, in which the blessed share the Trinity’s own life.; Lesson 5: The Spirit, the Church & the Life to Come · CCC 683–1065
Beatitude: The happiness we are made for — ultimately the vision of God — which the Beatitudes describe and every commandment serves.; Lesson 10: The Dignity of the Human Person · CCC 1691–1876
Blasphemy: Speech of hatred, reproach, or defiance against God, or the abuse of his name — gravity measured by the intimacy the Name represents.; Lesson 12: Love of God · CCC 2052–2195

C

Canon: The Church’s discerned list of inspired books: 46 in the Old Testament (including the deuterocanon) and 27 in the New — 73 in all.; Lesson 2: Revelation, Scripture & Tradition · CCC 26–141
Cardinal virtues: Prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance — the four "hinge" virtues on which the acquired moral life turns.; Lesson 10: The Dignity of the Human Person · CCC 1691–1876
Catechesis: The Church’s activity of handing on the faith through instruction — from the Greek for "to echo down," teaching spoken into a learner until it can be spoken back.; Lesson 1: What the Catechism Is · CCC 1–25
Chastity: The successful integration of sexuality within the person — desire ordered to love — asked of everyone, married and unmarried, each by their state.; Lesson 13: Love of Neighbor · CCC 2196–2557
Chrism: Perfumed oil consecrated by the bishop, used in Confirmation (and at baptisms and ordinations) — the anointing that gives "Christian" its root meaning.; Lesson 7: The Sacraments of Initiation · CCC 1210–1419
Christian initiation: The one movement of Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist by which a person is born, strengthened, and nourished into full Christian life.; Lesson 7: The Sacraments of Initiation · CCC 1210–1419
Common good: The sum of social conditions allowing persons and groups to reach fulfillment — respect for persons, social well-being, and peace, together.; Lesson 11: Law, Grace & the Human Community · CCC 1877–2051
Common priesthood: The share in Christ’s priesthood belonging to every baptized person, exercised by offering one’s whole life to God — the priesthood the ministerial priesthood exists to serve.; Lesson 9: The Sacraments at the Service of Communion · CCC 1533–1690
Communion of saints: The sharing of all the Church’s goods among all her members — on earth, in purification, and in glory — a family exchange that death does not sever.; Lesson 5: The Spirit, the Church & the Life to Come · CCC 683–1065
Conscience: The judgment of reason recognizing the moral quality of an act — the "sanctuary" where God’s voice echoes — always to be obeyed, always to be formed.; Lesson 10: The Dignity of the Human Person · CCC 1691–1876
Contrition: Sorrow for sin with the resolve to turn from it — "perfect" when it springs from love of God, "imperfect" when from fear, and workable grace either way.; Lesson 8: The Sacraments of Healing · CCC 1420–1532
Covetousness: The disordered desire the ninth and tenth commandments forbid — sin at the stage of wanting — healed by purity of heart and poverty of spirit.; Lesson 13: Love of Neighbor · CCC 2196–2557
Creation ex nihilo: "Out of nothing": God creates freely, without pre-existing material or necessity, and sustains everything he has made at every moment.; Lesson 3: God the Father & Creation · CCC 142–421

D

Decalogue: "Ten words": the commandments of the covenant, spoken after deliverance — the charter of a freed people’s life with God.; Lesson 12: Love of God · CCC 2052–2195
Deposit of faith: The whole of divine revelation — Scripture and Tradition together — entrusted by Christ to the apostles and guarded by the Church for every generation.; Lesson 1: What the Catechism Is · CCC 1–25
Descent into hell: Christ’s true death and his going to the realm of the dead to bring the just who preceded him into heaven — the gospel reaching backward in time.; Lesson 4: Jesus Christ & the Paschal Mystery · CCC 422–682
Detraction and calumny: The eighth commandment’s twins: disclosing another’s real faults without need (detraction) and spreading false ones (calumny) — reputation counted as property.; Lesson 13: Love of Neighbor · CCC 2196–2557
Deuterocanon: The seven Old Testament books (Tobit, Judith, Wisdom, Sirach, Baruch, 1–2 Maccabees) received in the Catholic canon but not in most Protestant Bibles.; Lesson 2: Revelation, Scripture & Tradition · CCC 26–141
Diaconate: The order of deacons — ordained for service of liturgy, word, and charity rather than priesthood — keeping servanthood visible in the Church’s structure.; Lesson 9: The Sacraments at the Service of Communion · CCC 1533–1690
Divinization: The tradition’s name for grace’s final effect: sharing, by adoption, in God’s own nature — "God became man so that man might become God" (Athanasius).; Lesson 4: Jesus Christ & the Paschal Mystery · CCC 422–682
Domestic church: The Christian family as the Church in miniature — the first school of faith, prayer, and virtue.; Lesson 9: The Sacraments at the Service of Communion · CCC 1533–1690
Dryness: The felt absence of God in prayer — not failure but the hour of sheer faith, keeping watch with Christ in the garden.; Lesson 14: The Life of Prayer · CCC 2558–2758

E

Epiclesis: The liturgical prayer calling down the Holy Spirit upon the gifts and the assembly — the Spirit as artisan of every sacrament.; Lesson 6: The Liturgy & the Sacramental Economy · CCC 1066–1209
Epiousios: The rare Greek word rendered "daily" bread — bread for the day, and a hint of the bread beyond it, read by the tradition toward the Eucharist.; Lesson 15: The Lord’s Prayer · CCC 2759–2865
Ex opere operato: The classical shorthand for sacramental objectivity: the sacrament acts by the rite itself — by Christ’s power, not the minister’s merit — though its fruit depends on the receiver’s disposition.; Lesson 6: The Liturgy & the Sacramental Economy · CCC 1066–1209

F

Faith: The whole person’s free response to the God who reveals — entrusting oneself to God and assenting to the truth he has spoken; a gift received through the Church.; Lesson 3: God the Father & Creation · CCC 142–421
Fidei Depositum: The 1992 apostolic constitution by which Pope John Paul II promulgated the Catechism, presenting it as a sure norm for teaching the faith.; Lesson 1: What the Catechism Is · CCC 1–25

I

Idolatry: Honoring any creature in God’s place — ancient statues or modern portfolios: power, pleasure, race, nation, money.; Lesson 12: Love of God · CCC 2052–2195
Image of God: The human being’s defining dignity: alone among visible creatures, capable of knowing and loving the Creator — a someone, not a something.; Lesson 3: God the Father & Creation · CCC 142–421
In persona Christi: "In the person of Christ": the ordained minister acting with Christ’s own "I" in the sacraments — Christ the Head working through his priest.; Lesson 9: The Sacraments at the Service of Communion · CCC 1533–1690
Incarnation: The eternal Son of God taking on a complete human nature — one person, two natures — without ceasing to be God.; Lesson 4: Jesus Christ & the Paschal Mystery · CCC 422–682
Indelible character: The permanent spiritual seal conferred by Baptism, Confirmation, and Holy Orders — the reason these three sacraments are never repeated.; Lesson 7: The Sacraments of Initiation · CCC 1210–1419
Indissolubility: The permanence of a valid, consummated marriage between the baptized: a bond the spouses forge and God seals, which no human authority can dissolve.; Lesson 9: The Sacraments at the Service of Communion · CCC 1533–1690
Indulgence: The remission, from the Church’s treasury of grace, of the temporal consequences of already-forgiven sin — never forgiveness itself, never for sale.; Lesson 8: The Sacraments of Healing · CCC 1420–1532
Inspiration: The doctrine that God is the author of Scripture while its human writers are true authors — teaching faithfully the truth God willed for our salvation.; Lesson 2: Revelation, Scripture & Tradition · CCC 26–141
Intercession: Petition on behalf of others, even enemies — the prayer of Abraham and Moses, and of Christ, who lives forever to make it.; Lesson 14: The Life of Prayer · CCC 2558–2758

J

Justification: The Spirit’s work of forgiving sins and making the sinner interiorly just — received in Baptism, "the most excellent work of God’s love."; Lesson 11: Law, Grace & the Human Community · CCC 1877–2051

L

Liturgy: The Church’s public worship, in which Christ himself acts through his Body — the summit and source of the Church’s whole life.; Lesson 6: The Liturgy & the Sacramental Economy · CCC 1066–1209

M

Magisterium: The teaching office of the Church — the pope and the bishops in communion with him — charged with authentically interpreting the Word of God.; Lesson 1: What the Catechism Is · CCC 1–25
Maranatha: "Come, Lord!" — the early Church’s cry, alive inside "thy kingdom come": the petition’s first meaning is Christ’s return.; Lesson 15: The Lord’s Prayer · CCC 2759–2865
Marks of the Church: One, holy, catholic, and apostolic: the four qualities Christ gives his Church, confessed in the Creed and visible above all in her saints.; Lesson 5: The Spirit, the Church & the Life to Come · CCC 683–1065
Merit: God’s fatherly reward of the good his own grace enables: "when God crowns our merits, he crowns his own gifts" (Augustine).; Lesson 11: Law, Grace & the Human Community · CCC 1877–2051
Messiah / Christ: "Anointed one": the promised deliverer in whom Israel’s anointed offices of priest, prophet, and king converge.; Lesson 4: Jesus Christ & the Paschal Mystery · CCC 422–682
Mortal and venial sin: Mortal sin (grave matter, full knowledge, deliberate consent) destroys charity in the heart; venial sin wounds it — and, indulged, erodes toward the mortal.; Lesson 10: The Dignity of the Human Person · CCC 1691–1876

N

Natural moral law: The moral sense written into created human reason itself — universal and permanent, knowable by every person, foundation of all just law.; Lesson 11: Law, Grace & the Human Community · CCC 1877–2051

O

Original sin: The wounded condition of human nature inherited from the first sin — deprived of original holiness and inclined toward sin — contracted, not committed.; Lesson 3: God the Father & Creation · CCC 142–421

P

Paraclete: Jesus’ name for the Holy Spirit — advocate, consoler, the one "called alongside" — who teaches, reminds, and abides with the Church forever.; Lesson 5: The Spirit, the Church & the Life to Come · CCC 683–1065
Paschal Mystery: Christ’s passion, death, descent to the dead, resurrection, and ascension considered as one saving event — the Passover of the Lord at the center of the faith.; Lesson 4: Jesus Christ & the Paschal Mystery · CCC 422–682
Paschal Triduum: The three days from Holy Thursday evening through Easter — the liturgical year’s center of gravity, celebrating the passion, death, and resurrection as one event.; Lesson 6: The Liturgy & the Sacramental Economy · CCC 1066–1209
Purgatory: The final purification of those who die in God’s friendship but imperfectly purified — assured of heaven, and helped by the prayers of the living.; Lesson 5: The Spirit, the Church & the Life to Come · CCC 683–1065

R

Real Presence: Christ present in the Eucharist truly, really, and substantially — not merely symbolized or remembered — the presence in the fullest sense.; Lesson 7: The Sacraments of Initiation · CCC 1210–1419
Revelation: God’s free self-disclosure in deeds and words through history, completed in Jesus Christ — not merely information about God, but God introducing himself.; Lesson 2: Revelation, Scripture & Tradition · CCC 26–141

S

Sacrament: An efficacious sign of grace, instituted by Christ and entrusted to the Church, through which divine life is given — it effects what it signifies.; Lesson 6: The Liturgy & the Sacramental Economy · CCC 1066–1209
Sacred Tradition: The living transmission of the apostles’ preaching, worship, and practice in the Church — distinct from Scripture in mode, but flowing from the same wellspring.; Lesson 2: Revelation, Scripture & Tradition · CCC 26–141
Sanctity of life: The fifth commandment’s foundation: innocent human life may never be directly destroyed, because every life involves God’s creative action from its beginning.; Lesson 13: Love of Neighbor · CCC 2196–2557
Seal of confession: The absolute inviolability of everything said in confession: a priest may never reveal it, for any reason, under any circumstance.; Lesson 8: The Sacraments of Healing · CCC 1420–1532
Subsidiarity: The principle that larger communities must support, not absorb, what smaller ones — beginning with the family — can do for themselves.; Lesson 11: Law, Grace & the Human Community · CCC 1877–2051

T

The five forms of prayer: Blessing and adoration, petition, intercession, thanksgiving, and praise — the Catechism’s checklist for a whole prayer life.; Lesson 14: The Life of Prayer · CCC 2558–2758
The four pillars: The Catechism’s structure: Creed (faith professed), sacraments (faith celebrated), commandments (faith lived), and the Lord’s Prayer (faith prayed).; Lesson 1: What the Catechism Is · CCC 1–25
The Lord’s Day: Sunday, the day of Resurrection — the Sabbath fulfilled: Eucharist, rest, mercy, and a weekly protest against slavery to work.; Lesson 12: Love of God · CCC 2052–2195
Theological virtues: Faith, hope, and charity — virtues infused by God that relate us directly to him, animating all the others.; Lesson 10: The Dignity of the Human Person · CCC 1691–1876
Traditio orationis: The early Church’s "handing over" of the Lord’s Prayer to catechumens before baptism — the faith’s summary entrusted last, as this course does.; Lesson 15: The Lord’s Prayer · CCC 2759–2865
Transubstantiation: The Church’s name for the Eucharistic change: the whole substance of bread and wine becomes Christ’s body and blood, while their appearances remain.; Lesson 7: The Sacraments of Initiation · CCC 1210–1419
Trinity: The one God as three distinct persons — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit — each wholly God, distinguished only by their relations to one another.; Lesson 3: God the Father & Creation · CCC 142–421

U

Universal destination of goods: The earth’s goods are meant for the whole human race; private property is real but held as stewardship under that prior claim — hence the debt owed the poor.; Lesson 13: Love of Neighbor · CCC 2196–2557

V

Viaticum: "Provision for the journey": the Eucharist received by the dying — the sacrament of passing over from death to life.; Lesson 8: The Sacraments of Healing · CCC 1420–1532
Virtue of religion: The part of justice owed to God himself: adoration, prayer, sacrifice, and fidelity to promises and vows made to him.; Lesson 12: Love of God · CCC 2052–2195
Vocal prayer, meditation, contemplation: Prayer’s three expressions: words spoken, mysteries pondered, and the wordless gaze — "I look at him and he looks at me."; Lesson 14: The Life of Prayer · CCC 2558–2758