Catholic Encyclopedia
The words of the faith, defined clearly and cross-referenced to Scripture, the Catechism and related questions.
A
- AbsolutionSacraments
- The words and act by which a priest, acting in the person of Christ, forgives sins in the sacrament of Penance.
- AdorationWorship
- The worship due to God alone, acknowledging him as Creator and Lord; in Catholic usage it also names prayer before the Blessed Sacrament.
- Apostolic SuccessionChurch
- The unbroken handing-on of the apostles' authority and mission to bishops through ordination, from the apostles to the present day.
- Assumption of MaryDoctrine
- The dogma that Mary, at the end of her earthly life, was taken up body and soul into heavenly glory.
C
- CatechismChurch
- An organized summary of Catholic teaching; especially the Catechism of the Catholic Church, published in 1992.
D
- Deuterocanonical BooksScripture
- Seven Old Testament books — Tobit, Judith, 1 and 2 Maccabees, Wisdom, Sirach and Baruch — plus parts of Esther and Daniel, accepted by Catholics as inspired Scripture.
- DogmaDoctrine
- A truth revealed by God that the Church proposes, in a definitive way, as requiring the assent of faith from all Catholics.
E
- EucharistSacraments
- The sacrament of the body and blood of Christ, truly present under the appearances of bread and wine, and the Mass in which it is celebrated.
G
- GraceDoctrine
- The free and undeserved help God gives us to respond to his call — above all, a share in God's own life.
I
- Immaculate ConceptionDoctrine
- The dogma that Mary was preserved free from original sin from the first moment of her conception, by the merits of Christ.
- IncarnationDoctrine
- The mystery by which the eternal Son of God took on a full human nature and became man in Jesus Christ, without ceasing to be God.
- IndulgenceSacraments
- A remission before God of the temporal punishment due to sins already forgiven, granted through the Church under prescribed conditions.
L
- LiturgyWorship
- The public, official worship of the Church — above all the Mass, the sacraments and the Liturgy of the Hours.
M
- MagisteriumChurch
- The living teaching office of the Church, exercised by the Pope and the bishops in communion with him.
O
- Original SinDoctrine
- The fallen state inherited by all humanity from the first sin of Adam and Eve — a deprivation of original holiness, not a personal fault.
P
- PurgatoryLast Things
- The final purification of those who die in God's friendship but are not yet fully purified, before they enter heaven.
R
- RosaryDevotions
- A Marian prayer of meditation on the life of Christ, prayed on beads in five decades of Hail Marys.
S
- SacramentSacraments
- An efficacious sign of grace, instituted by Christ and entrusted to the Church, by which divine life is given to us.
T
- TransubstantiationSacraments
- The change of the whole substance of bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ at the consecration, while the appearances remain.
- TrinityDoctrine
- The central Christian mystery of one God in three divine Persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.