(n.): God’s communication of Himself to us through the created order.
Divine Revelation
:
God’s communication of Himself, by which He makes known the mystery of His divine plan by deeds and words over time, and most fully by sending His Son, Jesus Christ.
Divine Pedagogy
:
(n.):
The teaching method
of God, who is the
divine teacher, by which He revealed Himself gradually and in stages and by words and deeds.
Sacred Scripture
:
Sacred Scripture is the Word of God put down in human writing through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
Covenant
:
A covenant is a solemn agreement between persons that makes a sacred and permanent
family relationship.
Mediator
:
A mediator is a person who represents everyone else entering a covenant with God.
Covenantal Sign
:
(n.): An external representation
of the interior reality occurring within a covenant. Every covenant included a sign taken from human experience to represent the depth of God’s love and mercy present at the heart of the covenant.
Incarnation
:
The Incarnation is the assuming of the human nature by the Son of God in order to accomplish our salvation.
Paschal Mystery
:
The suffering, death, Resurrection, and Ascension of Jesus. These events saved us from sin and death as the Passover of the New Covenant.
Great Commission
:
The final words of Christ to His Apostles before His Ascension into Heaven, found in Matthew 28:18-20. In these words, Christ gave His Apostles, and thereby the Church, the mission of making disciples of all the nations.
Gospel
:
“Good News.” Jesus preached the Good News, or gospel message, of salvation: that now was the time for God’s Kingdom to begin on earth. (849)
Martyr
:
Someone who is killed for bearing witness to the Christian Faith.
Bishop
:
(n.): A successor to the Apostles, who has received the fullness of the Sacrament of Holy Orders. He is the leader of a particular church, or diocese, entrusted to him.
Apostolic Succession
:
(n.): The handing on of apostolic preaching and authority from the Apostles to their successors, the bishops, through the laying on of hands, as a permanent office in the Church.
Tradition
:
The most important beliefs of the Christian faith handed on by Jesus to the Apostles and to their successors, the bishops.
Sacred Tradition
:
The mode of transmission of the Word of God given to the Apostles by Jesus and the Holy Spirit. The Apostles in turn handed it on to their successors, the bishops.
Deposit of Faith
:
The whole content of the Christian faith formed by Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition together. The deposit of faith was revealed by God through Jesus Christ and has been faithfully guarded and interpreted by the Magisterium of the Catholic Church.
Magisterium
:
(n.): The living teaching authority of the Catholic Church whose task it is to give authentic interpretation of the Word of God found in Scripture and Tradition, and to ensure the faithfulness of the Church to the teachings of the Apostles in matters of faith and morals. This authority is exercised by all of the world’s bishops in union with the pope, and by the pope alone when he defines infallibly a doctrine of faith or morals.
Infallibility
:
Being without error. The Magisterium of the Catholic Church (the pope and all of the world’s bishops in union with the pope) are incapable of error when teaching about matters of faith and morals in a definitive way.
