Some Theological words for to learn

Abba – a term found in scripture referring to a way we can address the Father. It means father but in an especially child like, intimate, and familiar sense very much like daddy.

Absolution- pardoning, taking away. In the sacrament of Penance, we are absolved of our sins in order to be reconciled with God and the people of God . through absolution, we are relieved of the effects of our guilt, at least in terms of eternal punishment.

Abstinence- refraining from certain food or drink. This is done as penance or simply to increase one’s self-discipline.

Abundanace-much prayer in and outside of the liturgy is asking for abundance, for example, abundance of crops. There is also abundance of life. Jesus said that he came so we may have life and have it more abundantly.

Acolyte- one who serves the priest at mass or other liturgical functions and may on occasion be asked to distribute Communion. This is officially a ministry given to men preparing for the priesthood, but it could be given to laymen. Others also perform such services, but they are called servers and normally do not distribute Communion unless commissioned for that.

Acts of the Apostles- a book of the new testament that tells of life in the early Christian community.

Adam- in Genesis, the first man created by God. Adam’s sin brought original sin on us all. Christ is called the New Adam because he came to destroy sin. Adam means man and some scholars believe that the name as used in Genesis could refer to a race or a nation. His mate was Eve in the Genesis account, and Adam blamed her for the Fall of humanity.

Adonai- One of the names by which people have called God. It means my lord. In the Jewish tradition, it was used as a substitute for YAHWEH, which was so holy as to be an unspeakable name of God

Advent – the season in which we prepare for Christmas. It calls for serious and prayerful preparation for Christ who is to come. We also use this time to prepare for the coming of God’s kingdom and to make our lives more Christian today

Agape – derived from the Greek, roughly “love feast”. A meeting in fellowship, as in the meals eaten together by the early Christians.

Agnostic – one who doubts the existence of God. Such a person may be in real quest of truth. Agnostics who eventually embrace the Faith are often strong church members.

Alb – a long white garment worn by priests and other ministers during liturgy.

Alleluia – a shot hymn meaning “praise God”. It is often found alone or at the end of several psalms in the O T . and in the Book of Revelation in the N T. it is usually left untranslated in the liturgy.

Almighty – having all power . in our tradition, we say that only God is Almighty.

Alms – Gifts of money or goods to the poor. Almsgiving is an ancient tradition in Judaism and Christianity, as well as in other religions. In our time, more than token giving is especially important.

Alpha and Omega – The first and last letters of the Greek alphabet – the beginning and the end. The Hebrew people used these two letters to symbolize the vastness and timelessness of God. Christians have taken this tradition and applied it to Jesus Christ. In the Book of Revelation ( 1: 8, 21: 6, and 22: 13), Jesus Christ is proclaimed as “Alpha and Omega…. The beginning and the end”.

Altar – Originally a stone or pile of stones on which sacrifice or incense was offered. Later the altar became any place or structure where sacrifice or incense was offered to God. In Jerusalem, the temple had and altar of Bronze. Today our churches have altars that often look like tables ( some of marble or other stone ). The altars in our churches are designed to commemorate the table of the Last Supper and the one perfect sacrifice offered by Jesus to the Father. The altar is where the main action of the mass occurs.

Amen – means “so be it”, very definitely yes. It is a word that ends the prayers, but more than anything it affirms what has been said during prayer. The Great Amen at the end of the Eucharistic prayer of the mass expresses the community’s wholehearted agreement with all that has been said

Anamnesis – the process of recalling. After the consecration at mass, we recall the Paschal Mystery – the events in the life of Christ that brought about our salvation (life, death, Resurrection ). The word is used in the narrative of the Eucharist in the New Testament ( 1 Corinthians 11: 23 – 28; Luke 22: 19).

Angels – in the Bible, the term usually means messengers of God appearing in some form that is higher than humanity because they are all spirit. Angels are able to think and will do things, but they have no bodies of flesh and bone. They are created, and of a higher order than human but less than divine.

Annulment of marriage – a declaration by a church court ( tribunal) that the conditions of a valid, sacramental marriage did not exist in a particular case. It must be proved that a true marriage never existed. This leaves the parties free to marry.

Annunciation – the feast on which we celebrate the announcement to Mary that she was to be the mother of Jesus. Reflection on this announcement is the first of the joyful mysteries of the Rosary.

Anointing of the sick - the Sacrament in which prayers are offered for the recovery of a person’s health or as a preparation for death. It involves anointing with oils and remission of sin. The sacrament can be repeated.

Anti – Semitism – attitude and practice of hatred of Jews. It begins in prejudice (judging without enough knowledge and thought) and can end in serious discrimination even violence.

Apocalypse – the destruction of the forces of evil at the end of time. A name used for a book of the New Testament now called Revelation.

Apocrypha – writings in scriptural style sometimes claimed to be authentic parts of revelation but proved or considered false, or at least outside the realm of inspired writing.

Apologetics – an academic field that deals with defence and explanation and explanation of the Faith. For instance, it offers arguments for the divinity of Christ and the divine foundation of the church. The Latin word apologeticus means “defence, justification, presentation of evidence”.

Apostasy – formal denial or rejection of the faith. An apostate turns completely against the Church. In early Christianity there was an argument about readmission of apostates to the Church. Now, apostate who seriously wishes to repent and return can do so.

Apostle – one who is sent, given a mission. A term for the twelve early church leaders chosen by Christ. Also a term for anyone in the church who accepts the task of carrying Christ’s word and work to others. Continue.......

The Eucharist and Transubstantiation

The Eucharist and Transubstantiation Christian theology is reflection on the faith of the Church. Theology helps bring out the intelligibility of the deposit of faith. 1. Two theological Issues regarding the Eucharist. The identity of the sacrifice between Calvary and the Mass, and Transubstantiation or the Real Presence of Christ in the sacrament. On the first one church teaches that first in a bloody and then in a sacramental manner. It is not two sacrifices, rather, a single sacrifice is offered by the Incarnate Son of God to God the Father. The past sacrifice is brought to the present moment. The participants are brought to the presence of Calvary. The second theological issue in the Church’s Eucharistic faith is that of the Real Presence of Christ. According to which the substance of the bread and wine is changed into that of the body and blood of Christ, while retaining the appearances and the natural characteristics do bread and wine. The question is how could the Eucharist be the same sacrifice as that of Calvary if Christ were not truly present to offer himself to the Father? St. Thomas of Aquinas says a reasonable answer to this question on his Summa Theologiae. He says simply that “the celebration of this sacrament is a certain representative image of the passion of Christ, which is the true immolation of him”, and this representative function of the Eucharist is compared with the representation provided by the figures of the old testament. No Transubstantiation without identity of the sacrifice, and no identity of sacrifice without Transubstantiation. 2. The Celestial focus of the Eucharistic action. The bread and wine of the Eucharist become the body and blood of the Lord, but they become specifically his resurrected and glorified body and blood, which share in the eternity of the celestial Eucharist. The bread and wine are now the vehicles for the presence of the eternal Christ, the eternal Son who became incarnate for us, died and rose from the dead, and is eternally present to the Father. 3. Transformation of Matter The Eucharist is a more substantial symbol than anything else. Because the transformation is brought about not simply by human agreement but by the declaration made by Christ, with divine authority, the bread is the body of Christ not simply by human convention but by divine assertion, and therefore it would remain so even apart from the continued agreement of believers. Continue........

Crossing the Tiber

Crossing the tiber

Protestantism was like a Branch without a tree, a wing without a bird. I can’t sit and listen to a simple sermon for an hour and call it worship. I discovered that sola scriptura was weak, unbiblical, unhistorical and untenable. Sola scriptura left the entire structure unsound and flawed at the very base, like a house build on sand, and yet it was bedrock of protestant theologies. A house built on sand will eventually show signs of serious structural problems Mt 7-24. so it is with Protestantism. Sola scriptura which is nowhere taught in scripture, nowhere implied. The very foundational principle of Protestantism, the doctrine upon all others are built, is not found in the very book it supposedly builds a bulwark to support. The closest I came to establishing a biblical case for sola Scriptura was 2 Timothy 3:16, which was certainly not intended by st. Paul as a proof text for the sole sufficiency of Scripture. Where does Scripture tell us that God’s word can and must be only in written form, typed on paper or parchment? Jesus Christ himself never wrote anything down (other than unknown words on the ground ), and it was not recorded that he ever commissioned his followers to write everything down. Had it been as inportandt to him as it was to me as and Evangelical, shouldn’t he have made it clear for all time that only what was written down could be considered God’s word? But Jesus never promised us and authoritative book, nor did his apostles; rather, he promised us an authoritative Church, Jesus’ word was orally transmitted to the twelve apostles. We know from the old covenant that oral tradition was established side- by- side with the Torah. Jesus was Jewish, and his teachings and his Church were built upon the Old Testament and the Jewish experience- traditions he laid out during his three years of traversing Israel. He passed this word and teaching on to the Twelve in the form of oral tradition. He promised that when the Holy spirit came, he would teach them all things and bring to their remembrance “all that I said to you” (Jn 14: 26). The early church depended upon the apostolic tradition. The Apostle Paul referred to the Church, not the Bible, as the pillar and foundation of the truth. The early Christians had a much different perspective form what protestant traditions have today. Irenaeus 130-200 , the disciple of polycarp, who was a disciple of the apostle john, writes, this preaching and this faith the church, although scattered over the whole world, diligently observes, as if it occupied but one house, and believes as if it had but one mind, and preaches and teaches as if it had but one mouth. And although there are many dialects in the world, the meaning of the tradition is one and the same. Again irenaeus says, when, therefore, we have such proofs, it is not the Church. For the apostles, like a rich man in a bank, deposited with her most copiously everything which pertains to the truth; and everyone whosoever wishes draws from her the drink of life. The church was viewed as the bank into which Christ and the apostles deposited the fullness of the faith. As a protestant I saw the deposit as being placed solely in the Bible. Yet, there was no established New Testament canon, nor would there be one for several centuries. The truth had been delivered from Christ to the apostles, and the apostles deposited the truth into the church. Why did the holy spirit wait for almost four centuries before finally collecting and forming the apostolic writings into a collection called the new testament? Why didn’t the apostles collect all the inspired writings and authoritatively announce to Christians that this is now the sole rule of faith for your individual interpretations? The early church seemed to be in no hurry, for the truth was not to be deposited exclusively into a book, as the protestant doctrine of sola scriptura teaches, but the truth, the fullness of the faith was deposited in the church to the saints once and for all. And the church is the pillar and foundation of truth, the defender and custodian of the faith that God has put in her care. The twelve apostles, spoken of as the foundation of the church, fulfilled their office in Jerusalem, Samaria, and then throughout the world. Thomas went to India, Peter and Paul were martyred in Rome; John travelled to Asia and ended up in Ephesus; and the others spread throughout the known world. They were the vehicles for divine revelation. They spoke the words of the Lord. Paul was a latecomer but was accepted by the Twelve as an apostle to the Gentiles. He said his spoken word was accepted for what it was, the word of God. The apostles spent months and years in various localities relaying the truth and teaching the people( Act 18:11) they taught them how to live, how to start a local ecclesia, and how to function within it. Then, before moving on, they chose and ordained bishops to succeed them and rule the church in that diocese. The new church was left basis for their faith and the means for the transmission of the tradition to the next generation. Continue...............