Catechism of the Catholic Church

abbreviated as CCC

Links:

• Catechism of the Catholic Church (html)
• Catechism of the Catholic Church (online reader lipbook)

Vocabulary

A

• alleluia
  • from Hebrew hallelu-ya for "praise Jehovah"
• Annunciation
• amen
  • from Hebrew amen for "truth"
    • used grammatically for to affirm a truth
  • from CCC 2856 "Then, after the prayer is over you say 'Amen,' which means 'So be it,' thus ratifying with our 'Amen' what is contained in the prayer that God has taught us."
• anagogue
  • Greek for "leading"
• anoint/ anointed
  • "smeared with oil"
    • Latin in- "in, into" + unguere "to smear"
  • to anoint = to confer divinity or divine office
  • the Holy Spirit anointed Christ to show he was the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies
• apocryphia
  • religious texts of unknown or dubious origin
  • are not included in the Holy scripture
• apologia / apologetics
  • in defense or justification of faith
    • an "apologist" defends the faith
  • from Greek apologos for "an account" or "speech in defense of oneself"
    • PIE *apo- "off, away" + logos "speech" or "word"
      • see below for "word"
  • apologos indicates "reasoned defense," or "thought out"
• apostle
• apostolic

C

• canon
  • "a list"
  • thus the list of "books" of the Bible
  • from Greek kanon for "straight rod" and "standard of excellence"
  • also: canonical
    • included in the "Canon", i.e, accepted sacred texts
  • there are 27 Books in the New Testament
  • Old Testament:
    • Catholic Bible: Septuagint ("Greek Bible"): 46 books
    • Protestant Bible: Tanokh ("Hebrew Bible"): 39 books
      • the Jews of the 2nd and 3rd centuries used only the Tonakh books
      • the "Deuterocanonical" books (Hebrew scriptures) were excluded by Martin Luther in 1500s
      • the Deuterocanonical books were affirmed by the Catholic Church starting with the Synod of Hippo in 393
• catacomb
  • "Sepulchral vaults" = underground burial tombs
  • from Latin cata tumbas "among the graves"
    • cata = among + comb = graves or tombs
      • derived from Latin cumbere "to lie:
  • unrelated to "catechism"
• catechisis
  • from Catechesi Tradendae by John Paul II:

The primary and essential object of catechesis is, to use an expression dear to St. Paul and also to contemporary theology, "the mystery of Christ." Catechizing is in a way to lead a person to study this mystery in all its dimensions: "to make all men see what is the plan of the mystery...comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth ...know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge...(and be filled) with all the fullness of God." It is therefore to reveal in the Person of Christ the whole of God's eternal design reaching fulfillment in that Person. It is to seek to understand the meaning of Christ's actions and words and of the signs worked by Him, for they simultaneously hide and reveal His mystery. Accordingly, the definitive aim of catechesis is to put people not only in touch but in communion, in intimacy, with Jesus Christ: only He can lead us to the love of the Father in the Spirit and make us share in the life of the Holy Trinity.

• catechism
  • "instruction in Christian principles"
  • from Latin catechismus for "book of instruction"
    • from Greek katekhismos
      • which is from katekhizein "to teacher oraly, instruct by word of mouth" which is from Greek katekhein "to resound"
    • thus "catechism" maintains an element of joyful echoes from katekhein "to resound"
  • from Greek kata (down, thoroughly) + ekhein (to ring, to sound)
    • PIE *(s)wagh- to resound, echo
• catholic
  • universal, universally accepted
    • so = "doctrines of the early church"
    • Greek kath (in general) + holos "whole"
      • PIE *sol- "whole, well-kept"
• Christ
  • Greek for the Hebrew "Messiah" meaning "anointed"
  • "Christ" signifies Jesus' divine mission
• communion
  • together, coming together
    • generally, for worship
  • specifically, "Holy Communion" for "partaking in the sacrament of the Eucharist"
    • from com for "with, together" + unus for "oneness, union"
• confess
  • con = wtih + fess from Latin fateri = "to admit"
    • from PIE *bha- "to speak, tell, say"
    • Latin confiteri = "to acknowledge"
• concupiscense
  • man's inclination towards sin
  • con (with) + cupere (desire) -ense (in the state of)
• consecrate
  • "consecrated elements, such as the bread and wine in the Eucharist
  • con = with
• creation
  • what God makes
  • from creare "to make, bring forth, produce, beget"
  • from PIE *ker- "to grow"
• creatures
  • all things created by God
• creed
  • from Latin credo for "I believe"
  • creeds = professions of faith
    • there are different creeds from ancient Churches, councils and Papal symbols
  • the baptismal profession of faith is given "in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit" (CCC189)
  • and thus has three parts:
    1. "the divine Person and the wonderful work of creation"
    2. "the second divine Person and the mystery of his redemption of men"
    3. "the third divine Person, the origin and source of our sanctification" from CCC 187-191
  • the Creed" from the Nicene Creed

D

• dome
  • from Genesis, what is above the waters, i.e., "heaven"
  • in NKJV called "firmament"
• doxology
  • doxo ("glory, praise") + logy (spoken word)
    • doxo from PIE *dek- "to take, accept"
  • liturgical praise of God
  • as in "concluding doxology" at the end of the Eucharistic Prayer
• deuterocanonical books
  • Martin Luther excluded the books of Hebrews, James, Jude and Revelation from his canon (list of divine scripture)
    • because he claimed these books contradicted sola gratia (salvation by grace alone) and sola fide (justification by faith alone)
      • Protestant doctrines of justification and salvation are called the "five solae"
• ecclesia >>> greek for gathering
  • -= chruch ecclessia << to fix
• economy
  • from Greek oikonomia for "household management"
    • oikonomos = manager, steward
  • so in Church, "economy" refers to "the works by which God reveals himself"
    • as opposed to "theology", which is the mystery of God's inmost life withing the Blessed Trinity"
  • therefore, "theologia illuminates oikonomia"
    • from CCC 236

E

• economy
  • as in the "economy of the Old Testament"
  • = "the process of", "the carrying out of"
    • from Greek oikonomia for "household management" and "oikonomis, "manager, steward"
      • from PIE *weik- "clan" or "managing"
      • or PIE *nem- "assign, allot, take, especially for managing resources
  • CCC 122
    • the "economy" of the OT is in preparation for Jesus
• episcopate
• Epistle
  • letters
• Eucharist
  • sacrament of the Last Supper
    • from Latin eucharistia and Greek eukharistia for "thanksgiving, gratitude"
    • eu = Greek for "good or well " + kharis "favor, grace"
      • thus includes a sense of "thankfulness", "to be thankful"
    • Eukharistia = "the Lord's Supper"
• evangel
  • = the gospel/ "the good news"
  • evangelical = of the gospel / good news
• evangelist
  • preacher of good news/ the gospel
  • from etym (to sort):

evangelist (n.)
late 12c., "Matthew, Mark, Luke or John," from Old French evangelist and directly from Late Latin evangelista, from Greek euangelistes "preacher of the gospel," literally "bringer of good news," from euangelizesthai "bring good news," from eu- "good" (see eu-) + angellein "announce," from angelos "messenger" (see angel).

In early Greek Christian texts, the word was used of the four traditional authors of the narrative gospels. Meaning "itinerant preacher" was another early Church usage, revived in Middle English (late 14c.). Classical Greek euangelion meant "the reward of good tidings;" sense transferred in Christian use to the glad tidings themselves. In Late Latin, Greek eu- regularly was consonantized to ev- before vowels.

• exegisis
  • explanation, interpretation
  • from Greek exegeisthai for "explain, interpret"
    • ex (from) + hegesithai (to lead, guide)
• expiation

F

• "fullness of the mystery"
• historicism
  • the idea that ideas and cultures of a certain period are tied to that time period and are disconnected from any larger connections across history
  • historicism denies eternal truths
  • see JPII p. 50

G

• God
  • from Old English god "supreme being"
    • proto-Germanic *guthan
      • PIE *ghut- ("that which is invoked") and *gheu(e) (to call, invoke)
  • Latin deus ("God") from PIE *deiwos "god" and root *dyeu- "to shine,"
• gospel
  • from Old English godspell
    • = god (good) + spell (news)

H

• hermeneutics
  • =interpretive, interpreting
    • Greek, derived from Hermes, the god of speech, writing, eloquence

• holocaust
  • burnt offerings
  • from Greek holo (whole) + kaustus "burned whole" or holokaustun "a thing wholly burnt"
    • from PIE *sol- "whole, well-kept" +
• holy
  • consecrated, godly
  • from proto-Germanic *hailaga ("holy")
    • from PIE *kailo- "whole, uninjured"

I

• Incarnation
  • the embodiment of God in the person of Christ
  • from Latin incarnari "be made flesh
    • in (into) + carnis (flesh)
      • from PIE *en- + *sker- "to cut"
  • from CCC 432
    • "... Jesus united himself to all men through his Incarnation"
• Genesis
  • origin, birth, creation of the world
    • from PIE *gene for "to give birth, to beget"
• hermeneutics
  • theory, interpretation and study of biblical texts
  • << to expand\
• INRI
  • abbreviation for = Iesus Nazarenus, Rex Iudaeorum
    • Latin for "Jesus the Nazorean, the King of the Jews."
      • the Latin alphabet does not have the letter "J", which was expressed by the vowel "I"
    • from John 9:19-23:

Pilate also had an inscription written and put on the cross. It read, “Jesus the Nazorean, the King of the Jews.” Now many of the Jews read this inscription, because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek. So the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, “Do not write ‘The King of the Jews,’ but that he said, 'I am the King of the Jews.'” Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written."

• invention
  • "finding or discovery"
  • from Latin invenire, "to come upon, find out, discover"
    • in = "in, on" + venir = "to come"
      • PIE root *gwa for "to go, to come"
  • thus an "invention" is not something created by man, it is something discovered or found out by man
  • God creates the world; mankind "invents" or "discovers" it
  • used for the original "Invention of the Cross", which was the discovery of the three crosses from the biblical crucifixion (see Saint Helena, mother of Satin Constantine ("Constantine the Great")

J

• Jesus
  • Hebrew for "God saves"
  • the Archangel Gabriel gave him this name at the Annunciation
• justification
  • the process by which sinners may become righteous in the sight of Gd
  • justification comes through the sacraments
  • righteousness means being "infused" or "poured" upon by God's grace
• lay (adj) / laity (n)
  • not clerical, or "of the people", as in "the lay people" or "the laity
    • from Latin laicus and Greek laikos "of the people,"; both from laos for folk, the people, the crowd; a tribe
  • also indicates common people as distinguished from "experts"

L

• liturgical
  • texts read in worship
• liturgy
  • "the service (mass) of the Holy Eucharist"
  • or the conduct (form, presentation) of divine services
  • from Latin liturgia for "public service, public worship" and Greek leitourgia for "a liturgy; public duty, ministry,"
    • related to leitourgos for "one who performs a public ceremony or service
      • as opposed to leito- "public" (from laos "the people")
  • liturgical = "of or related to divine mass"
  • liturgical calendar = the calendar that guides Catholic masses over a year
  • the four parts of the Catholic liturgy (mass):
    1. Introductory Rites
       1. Procession
       2. Greeting
       3. Penitential Act
       4. Glory to God
       5. Collect (opening prayer)
    2. Liturgy of the Word
       1. ends with the "Universal Prayer" or "intercessions"
    3. Liturgy of the Eucharist
    4. Concluding Rites

M

• Mass
  • "Eucharistic service" or "celebration of the Eucharist
  • per Novus Ordo, Mass = "the Lord's Supper", an assembly of people for memorial celebration of the Lord
    • from Matthew 18:20: where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them
      • note that prior to Vatican II the real presence of Jesus was directly affirmed (transubstantiation)
  • Old English mæsse and Middle English messe or masse\
    • the meaning is likely derived from the "dismissal" at the end of the service
    • as it is related to Latin mittere for "to let go, send" as in on a mission
• Messiah
  • << to do
    • see protoevangelium
  • the gatherer <<
  • CCC 436:
    • Just fulfilled the messianic hope of Israel in his threefold office of priest, prophet and king"
• Novus Ordo
  • known as "Vatican II" or "Second Vatican"

N-O

• obey
  • see CCC 143
    • from Latin/ Greek for "to hear, listen" audio/audire << to do

• orthodox v. heterodox

• orthodox:
• heterodox
  • the orthodox canonical New Testament books were affirmed by Irenaeus in 177 AD
    • his criteria was that the canon be of
      1. the Gospels
      2. teachings and writings by later companions of the Apostles (such as Luke, Jude, James)
      3. early Church traditions as handed down from the Gospels
         • Irenaeus attested to the authorship of the Gospels, especially John and Luke as companion of Paul

P

• Paschal
  • paschal = pertaining to Passover or Easter
    • from Aramaic pasha for "pass over"
    • Hebrew pesah "he passed over"
• Paschal Mystery
• philosophy
  • = truth discerned through reason
  • from Greek for "love of wisdom"
    • philo (loving, love of) + sophia (knowledge)
      • sophis = "wise, learned"
• prayer
  • = entreaty, petition from Latin precari "to ask, beg, pray"
    • PIE *prek "to ask, entreat"
• profess
• Protoevangelium
  • proto= before, first
  • evangelium = gospel (the good news)
  • the first gospel was God's testiminoly to Satan, Adam and Eve about what would happen to them
• purgation

R

• ransom
  • = a fee paid for the release of someone or something
  • see Timothy1, 2: 5
  • Jesus paid the "ransom" for man's sins
• redemption
  • re (back to) + emere (take, buy, gain)
    • from PIE *em- "to take, distribute"
• revelation
• righteous
• rosary
  • a series or "garden" of prayers w/ beads to guide their recitation (saying of the prayers)
  • related to Latin hortulus animae for "prayerbook"
    • which means "little garden of the soul"

S

• sacrament
  • makes real what is symbolic
• sacred
  • hollowed, consecrated, made holy
  • from Old French sacrer "to consecrate, anoint"
    • PIE *sak- or *shnk "sanctify, make sacred"
• sacrifice
  • sacred offering
• Salvation history
  • = progressive revelation of God's plan to save humanity from death after Man's fall
• salvific
  • as in "salvific character of God's Revelation" (JPII)
• sanctify
  • to make sacred
  • from Latin sanctus "holy"
    • so santus (holy) + facere ("to make or do" from PIE *dhe- "to set, put")
• Septuagint
  • the earliest existing Greek translation of the Old Testament
  • the Apostles and early Christians used this version of the Hebrew Bible and incorporated it completely into the Old Testament
    • including the "Deuterocanonical" books, most of which are in the Catholic and not Protestant bible.
• sin
  • OE synn for "moral wrongdoing, injury, mischief, enmity, feud, guilt, crime, offense against God, misdeed"
    • from PIE *snt-ya-, forming *es-ont- for "becoming"
      • in Germanic language groups, took on meaning of "it is true". as in "the sin is real"
  • CCC 431:
    • "Because sin is always an offences against God, only he can forgive it"

T

• theology
  • study of God's word (scripture) and of Church doctrine (beliefs)
  • from Greek "theologia"
    • theos = God + logia for "word, utterance, sayings"
    • origin in PIE *dhes- = any religious reference, likley from PIE *dhe- for "to set, to put"
      • thus what is set, what is put by God
• transubstantiation
  • the change ("trans") of the bread and wine into the "substance" of Christ
  • "Sacramental Eucharistic Presence" = Christ's actual or "absolute" presence in the sacrament of the Eucharist
• Trinity
  • the mystery of God in three Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit
• Triune God
• typology
  • use of persons, places, etc that serve as antecedents
  • from "type/s" or example/ form
• Word, "the Word"
  • Dei Verbum from Second Vatican Council = "Word of God"
  • see John 1: << to do
  • in Greek, logos from PIE *log-o-, "to collect, gather," (from *leg-) as in "to pick out words," thus "speech"
    • logos also means "reason" (as in "logic")

U-V-W

• Word, the
  • John 1:1

In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God.

• John 1:14

And the Word became flesh 
and made his dwelling among us, 
and we saw his glory, 
the glory as of the Father’s only Son, 
full of grace and truth.

Catechism translations

Chapter One: Man's Capacity for God

37 In the historical conditions in which he finds himself, however, man experiences many difficulties in coming to know God by the light of reason alone: Though human reason is, strictly speaking, truly capable by its own natural power and light of attaining to a true and certain knowledge of the one personal God, who watches over and controls the world by his providence, and of the natural law written in our hearts by the Creator; yet there are many obstacles which prevent reason from the effective and fruitful use of this inborn faculty. For the truths that concern the relations between God and man wholly transcend the visible order of things, and, if they are translated into human action and influence it, they call for self-surrender and abnegation. The human mind, in its turn, is hampered in the attaining of such truths, not only by the impact of the senses and the imagination, but also by disordered appetites which are the consequences of original sin. So it happens that men in such matters easily persuade themselves that what they would not like to be true is false or at least doubtful. - Pius XII, Humani Generis, 561: DS 3875	Overview: Made in the image of God, man is capable of understanding God's knowledge as relates to mankind, but... God's knowledge is shielded from man by man's incomplete perception of it and, worse, it is further misguided by sin. As a result, men deny, deflect, or ignore God's wisdom by hiding behind their own ignorance which they use to justify their denial of God's knowledge. Man can only perceive God's knowledge by surrendering and rejecting his own limited perceptions Translation: God's relation with man can be understood by reason Yet man's reason has obstacles to that understanding Man's reason ("the human mind") cannot easily attain "such truths" because the relation between God and man goes beyond what can be observed ("visible order of things") as it is "impacted" (hampered) by senses (what man imperfectly perceives) and imagination (what man imagines or dreams of) to begin to perceive God's truths (that go beyond what can be seen by man), man must "transcend" or get beyond what is seen in "human action" "self-surrender and abnegation" (renouncing man's conceit) are required worse, man's perceptions are "disordered" (negatively impacted by) "appetites" (desires) that "are the consequences of original sin." so when man false short of pure reason (incorrect perception, sin, etc.) he convinces ("easily persuade") himself that what he doesn't want to be true (God's word) is not true, or "doubtful" (likely not true) i.e. = he fools himself Other notes the visible and invisible = parts of revelation we can reason God but we cannot know the Trinity without Jesus God reveals himself through visible creation
52 God, who "dwells in unapproachable light", wants to communicate his own divine life to the men he freely created, in order to adopt them as his sons in his only-begotten Son.3 By revealing himself God wishes to make them capable of responding to him, and of knowing him and of loving him far beyond their own natural capacity.	"unapproachable light" = God told Moses not to come closer God speaks to humans in their own terms, as they cannot fully understand God ("beyond their natural ability") therefore, God "reveals himself" in ways beyond their "natural capacity"
67 Throughout the ages, there have been so-called "private" revelations, some of which have been recognized by the authority of the Church. They do not belong, however, to the deposit of faith. It is not their role to 84 improve or complete Christ's definitive Revelation, but to help live more fully by it in a certain period of history. Guided by the magisterium of the Church, the sensus fidelium knows how to discern and welcome in these revelations whatever constitutes an authentic call of Christ or his saints to the Church.
75 "Christ the Lord, in whom the entire Revelation of the most high God is summed up, commanded the apostles to preach the Gospel, which had been promised beforehand by the prophets, and which he fulfilled in his own person and promulgated with his own lips. In preaching the Gospel, they were to communicate the gifts of God to all men. This Gospel was to be the source of all 1 71 saving truth and moral discipline." (DV 7; cf. Mt 28:19-20; Mk 16:15)
The Magisterium of the Church 85 "The task of giving an authentic interpretation of the Word of God, whether in its written form or in the form of Tradition, has been entrusted to the living, teaching office of the Church alone. Its authority in this matter is exercised in the name of Jesus 888-892 Christ." (DV 10§ 2) This means that the task of interpretation has been entrusted to the bishops in communion with the successor of Peter, the Bishop of Rome. 86 "Yet this Magisterium is not superior to the Word of God, but is its servant. It teaches only what has been handed on to it. At the divine command and with the help of the Holy Spirit, it listens to this devotedly, guards it with dedication, and expounds it faithfully. All that it proposes for belief as being divinely revealed is drawn from this single deposit of faith." (DV 10 § 2) Mindful of Christ's words to his apostles: "He who hears you, hears me," (49 Lk 10:16; cf. LG 20) the faithful receive with docility the teachings and directives that their pastors give them in different forms.

Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults

• abbreviated as "RCIA"
• = lessons on Catholicism and process of full conversion for adults

Vocabulary of RCIA

adopted from Cathedral of St. Thomas Moore, 2022-23

• candidate
  • a baptized person preparing for full communion in the Catholic Church, through the sacraments of First Holy Communion and Confirmation
• catechesis
  • the teaching of Christian doctrine in an organized and systematic way to help form people as disciples of Jesus Christ.
• catechists
  • Those who perform the ministry of catechesis (CCC 5, 426-427)
• catechumen
  • a person who is preparing for Baptism, Confirmation and First Holy Communion (CCCC 1248)
• catechumenate
  • religious instruction and formation in preparation for Christian Initiation
  • its aim is to bring conversion and faith to maturity within the parish community
• conversion
  • a radical reorientation of the whole life away from sin and evil, and toward God (CCC 1423, 1427, 1431)
• faith
  • personal adherence of man to God
  • also and inseparably, a free assent to to the whole truth that God has revealed (CCC 150)
  • faith is a personal act
    • = the free response of the human person to the initiative of God who reveals himself (CCC 166)
• Godparent
  • the sponsor of one who is baptized
    • who assumes a responsibility to assist the newly baptized, child or adult, on the journey of the Christian life (CCC 1255)
• mystagogy
  • a deeper reflection on the mysteries of the Catholic faith;
  • the period of religious instruction and formation following immediately after the reception of the sacraments of initiation by adults (CCC 1075)
• Trinity
  • the mystery of one God in three Persons:
    • Father
    • Son
    • Holy Spirit
  • the revealed truth of the Holy Trinity is at the very root of the Church's living faith as expressed in the Creed (CCC 232, 237, 249, 253-256)