Ernest A.

Ross
+Isaac L. Kramer
What Is Catholicism?
May 1, 2013
What Is Catholicism oca!"lary Assi#nment

1. Catholic means universal or one and refers to the fact that the Catholic Church is found all
over the world and all of its members follow a set of common beliefs. The word Catholic comes from
the Greek word Kataholos and it means universal or concerning everyone. The Catholic faith is
therefore available to everyone, it is for all people, its not for any one class, nation, or race.
!. $ra%ition refers to both the process of handin" down the faith to others and the material that
has been handed down. Tradition refers to the scriptures, church doctrines, the writin"s of the church
teachers, and the litur"ical life of the church down throu"h the centuries# additionally, tradition refers to
the everyday customs and practices of the church. Tradition Divine is the revealed teachin"s of God
handed down from $esus Christ to the %postles, but not written down. &any of these truths were later
written about by the 'athers of the Church.
(. Lit"r#ical is the word the Catholic Church uses to describe church practices such as hymns,
prayers and services. Concernin" the forms of public worship arran"ed by the Church. The )fferin" of
&ass, the sin"in" of the *ivine office, and the administration of the sacraments are the main forms of
public worship. +rocessions, public prayers, and the ceremonies used in the official public worship of
the Church belon" to the litur"y.
,. &arochial 'chools are private schools run by the parish church. +arochial means relatin" to the
parish. Therefore parochial schools are schools that provide reli"ious education in addition to
conventional education. % parochial school is a Christian "rammar school or hi"h school which is part
of, and run by, a parish.
-. Missions are operated by the Catholic Church worldwide for the purpose of servin" the poor
and spreadin" the "ospel messa"e. &issions can be foreign, at-home or popular. 'orei"n and at.home
missions are to the unsaved masses in forei"n countries or in our local areas for the purpose of
conversion to the faith of $esus Christ, many times accomplished throu"h Christian service. +opular
missions are a series of reli"ious services conducted by missionary priests visitin" a parish. % mission
usually lasts a number of days and consists of sermons, instructions, and reli"ious e/ercises. The time
of the mission is often divided into a number of days for men and a number for women, and a special
mission for children. The purpose of the popular mission as with all other missions is to instruct the
faithful, to revive reli"ious fervor, and to convert sinners. The popular mission usually ends with the
renewal of baptismal vows.
0. Ecclesiastical is a term used to describe church stuff, like civil describes thin"s that relate to
"overnment, ecclesiastical describes thin"s that belon" to an established institutional church. %nythin"
relatin" to the Catholic Christian Church or its cler"y.
1. &"r#atory had traditionally been thou"ht of as a place, like hell, where people spend time to
suffer for their sins and are later released to heaven. &ore recently, the +ope has clarified that pur"atory
is the condition of the soul of a person who at the time of death has not completely repented for
wron"doin". The word Purgatory comes from the 2atin word Purgare, meanin" to cleanse. 3t is a place
and state of punishment in which the soul suffers for a time to be cleansed before "oin" to heaven. 3n
+ur"atory venial sins and mortal sins, which have been confessed but for which full satisfaction has not
been made, must be removed by purification before the soul is ready for heaven.
4. All 'aints (ay is also known as the feast of %ll 5allows. The ni"ht before became known as
%ll 5allows 6ve, or 5alloween. 7o when the spooks come to your door, they are honorin" an old
tradition as well as havin" a "ood ni"ht of fun. 3t is one of the important feast days of the Church and a
holy day of obli"ation. This feast, on 8ovember 1
st
, is in honor of all Gods saints, even those who
have not been officially declared saints by the Church.
9. es)ers This word means evening star and Catholics use this term to describe prayers
traditionally said at sundown. :espers are the si/th of seven prayers said throu"hout the day and ni"ht
in the Catholic Church. These are the evenin" hours of the *ivine )ffice. ;sually evenin" services in
the Church are called vespers.
1<. *es"it is the common name for a reli"ious order of priests and brothers in the Catholic Church.
The official name is the 7ociety of $esus, and hence the initials after a members name are 7.$. %
reli"ious order for men founded by 7t. 3"natius of 2oyola in 1-(,. The first aim of this society is to be
at the call of the +ope for whatever work he mi"ht want its members to do. The $esuits are en"a"ed
chiefly in education and in forei"n missions.
11. Mystic comes from the Greek word meanin" mystery. The term describes a person whose prayer
life includes meditation from which he or she "ains spiritual understandin" and insi"ht. +ersons whose
lives are e/clusively directed to an interior union with God. The word &ystic comes from the Greek
and actually means one who has been initiated into reli"ious mysteries. Christian mystics, such as 7t.
=ernard of Clair :au/, 7t. Teresa of %villa, and 7t. Therese of 2isieu/, followed and tau"ht ways of
spiritual perfection leadin" to a "reater and more intimate union with God.
1!. +aith 3n the Catholic reli"ion, faith has many aspects. )ne meanin" of the word faith
describes the way in which a person responds to Christ in their daily life. 'aith is the presence of God
within >"race? and the interior presence of the 5oly 7pirit movin" the heart and turnin" it to God. 'aith
is one of the three virtues most closely related to God. This virtue of belief in and reliance upon God in
every aspect of the Christians daily life ultimately helps man to attain his supernatural end, which is
happiness with God in heaven.
1(. icar o, Christ is a title "iven to the +ope and all bishops with reference to the claim that they
stand as representatives of $esus Christ and act with 5is authority in the church. The visible head of the
Church who represents to the people of God the invisible head of the Church $esus Christ.
1,. In,alli!ility is a "ift of the 5oly 7pirit to protect the churchs teachin"s from error. +apal
infallibility is the church belief that when the pope defines a doctrine of faith and morals that must be
held by the whole church, the 5oly 7pirit "rants him infallibility. 3t simply means that when the Church
or the +ope is speakin" and or teachin" under the power and authority of the 5oly 7pirit, they cannot
lie or make a mistake.
1-. Ma#isteri"m is from the 2atin word for teacher and refers to the teachin" function of the
church. The divine authority of the Church to teach "iven by Christ 5imself when 5e said to the
%postles after 5is resurrection, Go, therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing the in the
name of the Father, and of the on, and of the !oly pirit, teaching them to observe all things
"hatsoever # have commanded you$ and behold # am "ith you al"ays even unto the end of the "orld
>&atthew !4@19.!<?.
10. Colle#e o, Car%inals is a collection of cardinals that offers counsel to the pope, elects new
popes, and "overns the church between popes. There are appro/imately 1(< members of the colle"e.
%n association of all the Cardinals with a dean at its head. Ahen a +ope dies, they take over his duties
until such time as they have chosen a new +ope. They come to"ether and meet in a solemn conclave >in
private? to elect the new pope.
11. Canon the term Canon comes from the Greek word kanon, which means a measuring stick of
life% 3t is used to describe the rules "overnin" the church, or church law. 3t actually means a rule, i%e%
a changeless rule of uniformity. 3n the Catholic Church the word &anon has many meanin"s. '%( The
&anon of the )ass is the most solemn part of the &ass and be"ins after the 7anctus and continues to
the +ater 8oster. This part of the &ass contains the real sacrifice of the &ass, the consecration of the
bread and of the wine. *%( The &anon of !oly cripture is a list put to"ether by the Church of the
inspired books of the )ld and 8ew Testaments which make up our 5oly =ibles. +%( ,cclesiastical
&anons which are simply the laws "overnin" the Church. -%( The &anon of aints which is a list of
saints officially reco"niBed by the Catholic Church. .%( &anon is also a title "iven to certain persons of
the Church. 3n 6urope and in 'rench Canada, members of a cathedral chapter or a colle"iate are called
chapter canons. &embers of certain reli"ious orders are also called canons, for e/ample, %u"ustinian
canons. /%( &anon of the !ours is ei"ht hours makin" up the *ivine )ffice@ &atins, 2auds, +rime,
Terce, 7e/t, 8one, :espers, and Compline.
14. Co"ncil an assembly of representatives from the whole church called to"ether by the pope to
make decisions. The precedin" council, :atican 1, was held from 1409 to 141<. 6cclesiastical
meetin"s for decidin" matters of doctrine discipline or other Church related issues.
19. &arish Co"ncil is an elected "roup of church members whose Cob it is to plan and secure
resources for the mission of the parish. % meetin" of +arish members for decidin" matters pertainin" to
the everyday operation of a parish and its missions.
!<. -i!le i#il is a post :atican ! litur"ical ceremony in which the =ible is prominently displayed
on the church altar and the service consists of readin" and reflection on =iblical te/ts. =ible :i"ils were
a form of devotion popular in the days Cust before :atican 33 as a Duasi.litur"ical service. The purpose
they were to serve can now be properly fulfilled by active participation in the actual litur"ical prayers
of the &ass and or our *ivine )ffice.