Veritas Glossary
A curated collection of theological and liturgical terms designed to deepen understanding and support learning within the Veritas Library.
A
Absolution
Part of the sacrament of penance. It is the formal declaration by the priest that a penitent’s sins are forgiven.
Advent
The liturgical season of four weeks devoted to preparation for the coming of Christ’s again and Christmas. Advent always begins on the fourth Sunday before Christmas. Advent marks the beginning of the liturgical year of the Church.
All Saints Day
The day on which Catholics remember all the saints of the Church, whether officially canonized or not. It is celebrated on November 1st. It is a Holy Day of Obligation.
All Souls Day
The day on which Catholics remember the dead and pray for them. It is observed on November 2nd.
Altar
The centre and focal point of a Church, where the sacrifice of Christ on the cross, is made present under sacramental signs in the Mass. Among the Israelites, the altar was the place where sacrifices were offered to God. The Christian altar represents two aspects of the mystery of the Eucharist. Firstly, as the altar of sacrifice where, Christ as the sacrificial victim, offers himself for our sins and secondly, as the table of the Lord where Christ gives himself to us as food from heaven.
Ambo
The structure on the Sanctuary from which the scriptures are proclaimed. Through its design, the Ambo speaks of the dignity and importance of the Word of God. The terms Ambo and Lectern are used synonymously.
Angelus
A prayer said 3 times per day; morning, noon and evening in honour of the Incarnation of Jesus Christ and the veneration of the Blessed Virgin Mary. During Paschal time, the Regina Coeli is prayed instead.
Annunciation
The visit of the angel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary to inform her that she was to be the mother of the God, the Son. After giving her consent to God’s word, Mary became the mother of Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit. The feast day is March 25.
Apostle
Jesus called Twelve to become his Apostles, chosen witnesses of his Resurrection and the foundation Church is built. The apostolic office is permanent in the Church, in order to ensure that the divine mission entrusted to the Apostles by Jesus will continue to the end of time. The Bishops receive their office as successors of the Apostles through the Sacrament of Holy Orders.
Ascension
The event forty days after the Resurrection of Jesus physically rising into Heaven, witnessed by the Apostles. Ascension Thursday is celebrated forty days after Easter. In many countries, it is celebrated on the Sunday following.
Ash Wednesday
The first day of Lent. By tradition, Catholics have blessed ashes placed on their foreheads.
Assumption
Mary, the Mother of Jesus, body and soul, is taken up into Heaven. On November 1st, 1950, Pope Pius XII defined the Assumption of Mary as a dogma of the Faith. The Feast of the Assumption is celebrated as a Holy Day of Obligation on August 15. This is considered the most important Feast of Mary which the Church celebrates.
B
Breviary
A book containing the prayers, hymns, psalms and readings which make up the Divine Office, also known as, the Prayer of the Church.
C
Canticle
From the word for “song,” these Scripture selections are poetic hymns which are often sung in the liturgy. These canticles come from both the Old Testament and the New Testament. Some examples are Daniel 3:52-90; Habakkuk 3:1-19; Luke 1:46-55; Luke 1:68-79; Philippians 2:6-11; and Colossians 1:15-20.
Cardinal Virtues
Four great moral virtues derived from the latin carbo, “pivot”: prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance. These virtues are stable dispositions of the intellect and will that govern our acts, order our passions, and guide our conduct in accordance with reason and faith.
Catechesis
An education of children, young people, and adults in the faith of the Church through the teaching of Christian doctrine in an organic and systematic way facilitating a journey for their becoming disciples of Jesus Christ. Those who perform the ministry of catechesis in the Church are called Catechists.
Catechumen
A person who is preparing for the Sacraments of Initiation. The catechumenate is the formation of these catechumens in preparation for their Christian Initiation, and aims at bringing their conversion and their faith to maturity within the occlusal community. The candidates are anointed with oil of catechumens by which they are strengthened in their conversion from sin and renunciation of Satan to their belief in God.
Cathedral
The official Church of the Bishop of a diocese. The Greek word cathedra means chair or throne; the bishop’s “Chair” symbolises his teaching and governing authority, and is located in the principal Church or “cathedral” of the local diocese of which he is the chief pastor.
Chrism
A mixture of olive oil and balsam is blessed by the Bishop at the Chrism Mass on Holy Thursday, which signifies the gift of the Holy Spirit. Chrism is used for consecration in the sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, and Holy Orders.
Clergy
A term applied to men who have been Ordained for ministry within the Church. Bishops, Priests and Deacons are members of the Clergy.
Concordat
A treaty drawn up between the Holy See and a secular state or government concerning the interests of the Faith in that particular country.
Corpus Christi
A Latin phrase meaning; “The Body of Christ”. The feast of Corpus Christi commemorates the institution of the Eucharist and is celebrated on the Thursday after Trinity Sunday.
Covenant
A solemn agreement between human beings or between God and a human being involving mutual commitments or guarantees. The Bible refers to God’s covenants with Noah, Abraham, and Moses as leader of the chosen people, Israel. In the Old Testament, God revealed his law through Moses and prepared his people for salvation through the prophets. In the New Testament, Christ established a new and eternal covenant through his own sacrificial death and Resurrection.
Crucifix
A representation of the Cross of the Crucifixion, together with the figure of Christ. It differs from the Cross because it has affixed to it, the body or corpus of a representation of Christ. It is a sacramental, when blessed, representing the death of Christ.
D
Disciple
Those who accepted Jesus’ message to follow Him are called his disciples. Jesus associated his disciples with his own life, revealed the mystery of the kingdom to us disciples and gave us a share in his mission, his joy, and his sufferings.
E
Epiphany
The feast which celebrates the manifestation to the world of the newborn Christ as Messiah, Son of God, and Saviour of the world. The feast of Epiphany celebrates the adoration of Jesus by the wise men, magi, from the East.
Exorcism
The authoritative act of the Church to protect or liberate a person or object from the power of the devil (e.g., demonic possession) in the name of Christ. A simple exorcism prayer in preparation for Baptism invokes God’s help in overcoming the power of Satan and other evil spirits.
F
Fisherman’s Ring
A ring with which the Pope is invested at his installation. It is used for sealing papal documents, and its device is that of Saint Peter fishing from a boat. At the death of the Pope, the ring is officially broken up by the Chamberlain of the Vatican.
G
Genuflection
A reverence made by bending the knee, to express adoration of the presence of the Blessed Sacrament.
Gospel
The “good news” of God’s mercy and love revealed in the life, death, and resurrection of Christ. It is this Gospel or good news that the Apostles, and the Church following them, are to proclaim to the entire world. The Gospel is handed on in the apostolic tradition of the Church as the source of all-saving truth and moral discipline. The four Gospels are the books written by the evangelists Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John which have for their central object Jesus Christ, God’s incarnate Son: his life, teachings, Passion and glorification, and his Church’s beginnings under the Spirit’s guidance.
I
Immaculate Conception
The dogma proclaimed in Christian Tradition and defined in 1854, that from the first moment of her conception, Mary by the singular grace of God and by virtue of the merits of Jesus Christ was preserved immune from original sin.
Incarnation
The mystery of the Incarnation means that the Son of God assumed human nature and became man in order to accomplish our salvation in that same human nature. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the second Person of the Trinity, is both true God and true man, not part God and part man.
Indulgence
The remission of the temporal punishment, due to sin, whose guilt has already been forgiven. A properly disposed member of the Christian faithful, can obtain an indulgence under prescribed conditions through the help of the Church which, having ministry of redemption, dispenses and applies with authority, the treasury of the satisfactions of Christ and the saints. An indulgence is partial if it removes part of the temporal punishment due to sin, or plenary if it removes all punishment. Indulgences are often the object of much misunderstanding and abuse. Christianity is not based on a system of indulgences. They are one way of expressing God’s mercy and forgiveness. The basic requirement for indulgences, is a real internal and complete conversion to God. Such a complete conversion is required for a plenary indulgence; therein lies the remission of punishment which consists in separation from God.
Infallibility
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. This gift is related to the inability of the whole body of the faithful to err in matters of faith and morals.
Papal Infallibility
The truth that the Pope who is vested with the authority of the Vicar of Christ, is divinely preserved from error whenever he defines a doctrine concerning Faith or morals.
Intercession
A form of prayer of petition on behalf of others. The prayer of intercession leads us to pray as Christ, our unique Intercessor, prayed.
K
Kyrie Eleison
Greek words meaning; “Lord have mercy”. Sometimes said or sung in Greek during the penitential rite of the Mass.
L
Lectern
The stand from which the Scriptures are read in Church. It is also known as the Ambo.
Lectionary/Lector
The official liturgical book, Lectionary, from which the reader, Lector, proclaims the Scripture readings used in the Liturgy of the Word. The Scriptural readings are from the Old and New Testaments.
Lent
The liturgical season of forty days which begins with Ash Wednesday and ends with the celebration of the Paschal Mystery (Easter Triduum). Lent is the primary penitential season in the Church’s liturgical year, reflecting the forty days Jesus spent in the desert in fasting and prayer.
Litany
A form of prayer in which the Priest or Cantor recites a series of petitions to God, or calls on the help of Saints. These petitions are followed by a set response said or sung by the congregation. Five Litanies have been approved for public devotions: Litanies of Loreto, The Holy Name, All Saints, The Sacred Heart and Saint Joseph. Other Litanies may be said privately.
Liturgy
In its original meaning, a “public work” or service done in the name of, or on behalf of the people. Through the liturgy, Christ our High Priest continues the work of our redemption through the Church’s celebration of the Paschal Mystery and other occasions by which he accomplished our salvation.
M
Magi
The wise men who came from the East to pay homage to the newborn Saviour.
Martyr
A witness to the truth of the faith, in which the martyr endures death to be faithful to Christ. Those who die for the faith before having received Baptism are said to have received a “baptism of blood,” by which their sins are forgiven and by which they share in the death and Resurrection of Christ.
Missal
A book containing the prayers and rubrics of Mass for the Seasons and occasions during the Liturgical Year. Those containing such prayers for periods such as a day, week, or month are sometimes called Missallettes.
Mission
Trinitarian missions: To accomplish the divine plan of the triune God for the redemption of humanity. The Son and the Holy Spirit were “sent” into the world hence, the Trinitarian “missions” (Latin missus means “sent”).
Apostolic mission: Just as he was sent by the Father, Jesus sent his Apostles into the world to continue his own saving mission.
Church as mission: The Church is missionary by its very nature, continuing the mission or work of Christ through the Holy Spirit, according to the plan of God. This apostolic mission of the Church is fulfilled according to their different states of life by the clergy, laity, and religious. Missionary activity is sometimes given in a more specific sense as the work of initial evangelization and establishment of the Church in non-Christian lands.
Mortal Sin
A grave infraction of the law of God that destroys the divine life in the soul of the sinner’s sanctifying grace, constituting a turn away from God. For a sin to be mortal, three conditions must be present: grave matter, full knowledge of the evil of the act, and full consent of the will.
N
Novena
Nine days of public or private prayer made in preparation for a feast or prayer made for special graces. It has its origins in the nine days the disciples spent in prayer awaiting the coming of the Holy Spirit between Ascension and Pentecost.
Nuptial Mass
A Mass which includes the Marriage Rite. Not all Weddings in the Catholic Church include the Mass. There is no rule regarding this, the Bride and Groom arrange this with the priest.
O
Original Sin
The sin by which the first human beings disobeyed the commandment of God, choosing to follow their own will rather than God’s will. As a consequence, they lost the grace of original holiness, and became subject to the law of death and sin became universally present in the world. Along with the personal sin of Adam and Eve, original sin showcases the fallen state of human nature which affects every person born into the world, and from which Christ, the new Adam, came to redeem us.
P
Palm Sunday
The Sunday before Easter. It commemorates the occasion when Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey and the people waved palm branches in his honour. In the Catholic Church this Sunday is also known as Passion Sunday and marks the beginning of Holy Week.
Parables
A characteristic feature of the teaching of Jesus. Parables are simple images or comparisons which confront the hearer or reader with a radical choice about his invitation to enter the Kingdom of God.
Paraclete
A name for the Holy Spirit. The term was used by Jesus in the New Testament to indicate the promised gift of the Spirit as another consoler and advocate, who would continue His own mission among the disciples.
Parish Council
A group of people elected by the Parish who, together with the Parish Priest, look after the welfare of the Parish.
Precepts of the Church
1. To participate in the Mass on Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation.
2. To do penance on the appointed days, especially by fasting.
3. To receive the Sacrament of Penance.
4. To receive Holy Communion frequently.
5. To contribute to the support of the Church, this includes the Parish and other causes.
6. To observe the laws of the Church concerning marriage.
R
Relics
The remains of Saints, either their entire physical bodies, portions of the bodies, or articles of clothing or possessions they used during their lifetimes. Relics must be authenticated before veneration can be paid. Frequently, a relic or a few relics are enclosed in the Altar stone, during the Consecration of the Church.
S
Sanctuary
The area of the Church set aside for sacred rites and rituals upon which the Principal Altar, the Lectern and Presidential Chair are situated.
Solemnity
A title used in reference to feasts which are of rank and importance in the Liturgical Year. Examples would be the Solemnity of Easter and Solemnity of Pentecost.
Stigmata
The wounds of Our Lord, the pierced hands, feet and side, and the impression of the Crown of Thorns which appear in the flesh of certain persons who suffer corresponding pain. The first recorded stigmata were suffered by St. Francis of Assisi in 1224.
T
Triduum
The most solemn three days of the Liturgical year which incorporates the celebrations of Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and the Easter vigil.