Glossary

A set of prayers counted on beads, distinct from the full Rosary—e.g. the Divine Mercy Chaplet or chaplets to particular saints.

The act of setting a person or thing apart for God—supremely the Eucharistic consecration; also personal dedication to Christ or Our Lady.

Prayer before the Blessed Sacrament—reserved in the tabernacle or exposed in a monstrance—adoring Christ truly present.

Prayer and rites centered on the Blessed Sacrament—adoration, Benediction, processions, and hymns of the Real Presence.

Of or directed to the Blessed Virgin Mary—her feasts, antiphons, hymns, and the Church's filial devotion to the Mother of God.

A nine-day pattern of prayer for a particular intention, modeled on the apostles' prayer between Ascension and Pentecost.

The bodily remains of a saint, or an object closely connected with a saint or with Our Lord, honored by the Church with due veneration.

A sacred sign instituted by the Church—holy water, medals, scapulars, blessings—that disposes the soul for grace; not one of the seven Sacraments.

A sacramental of two small cloth panels worn over the shoulders, signifying consecration and enrollment in a religious family or devotion.

Spiritual listlessness or disgust with the good of prayer — not mere laziness; classically linked to the noonday demon of Psalm 90/91.

A remission before God of temporal punishment due to sins already forgiven, granted by the Church from the treasury of merits.

Classical terms: latria is worship of God alone; dulia is veneration of saints; hyperdulia is the unique veneration due to Mary.

A plenary indulgence remits all temporal punishment; a partial remits part. Both require the Church's grant and the proper dispositions.

Revelations given to individuals after the close of public revelation—never equal to Scripture or dogma, even when Church-approved.

Sacraments are seven signs instituted by Christ that confer grace; sacramentals are Church-instituted signs that dispose the soul for grace.

Worship (latria) is due to God alone; veneration (dulia) honors saints and angels. Confusing them is the charge—and the Catholic answer is distinction.

A saint whose teaching the Church has formally recognized as outstanding in doctrine and holiness of life.

The Church's teaching authority, exercised by the Pope and bishops in communion with him, guarding and handing on the deposit of faith.

A reported supernatural appearance of Christ, Our Lady, or a saint. Even when approved, it belongs to private revelation.

An official declaration by a bishop that a book is free of doctrinal or moral error and may be printed—literally, "let it be printed."

A censor's judgment that a manuscript contains nothing opposed to Catholic faith or morals—literally, "nothing stands in the way."

The four-week season preparing for Christmas—watching for Christ's coming in history, in grace, and at the end of time.

A short scriptural or liturgical text sung or said before and after a psalm, canticle, or as a refrain in the Mass and Office.

A rite of Eucharistic devotion: the Host exposed, hymns sung, and the priest blessing the people with the Blessed Sacrament.

The feast of the Nativity and its season—God born in the flesh, prolonged through the octave and Christmastide.

Night Prayer—the final hour of the Divine Office before sleep, classically including the Nunc Dimittis and a Marian antiphon.

The Church's daily liturgy of psalms, hymns, and readings sanctifying the hours—also called the Liturgy of the Hours.

The feast of the Resurrection and its fifty-day season—Christ risen, through the octave to Pentecost.

A weekday in the liturgical calendar that is not a feast—kept with ferial (weekday) Mass texts rather than a saint's proper.

The official book of Mass chants for the Roman Rite — graduals, tracts, alleluias, and related propers as used in the Gregorian tradition.

Morning Prayer of the Divine Office—psalms of praise at daybreak, classically including the Benedictus.

The forty-day penitential season before Easter—fasting, prayer, and almsgiving in preparation for the Passion and Resurrection.

The postconciliar name for the Divine Office—the Church's official daily prayer of psalms and readings across the hours.

The Church's central act of worship—the Sacrifice of Calvary made present, and the sacrament of Christ's Body and Blood.

The liturgical book containing the texts of the Mass—the priest's altar missal, or a hand missal for the faithful to follow.

One of eight tonal frameworks of Gregorian chant (modes 1–8); Mode II (Hypodorian) is plagal, lower, and often introspective.

An eight-day liturgical celebration of a great feast, prolonging its joy and mystery through the following week.

The green seasons of the liturgical year outside Advent, Christmas, Lent, and Easter—ordered growth in the mystery of Christ.

The final stretch of Lent focused on the Passion—traditionally the two weeks before Easter, culminating in Holy Week.

The feast of the Holy Spirit's descent—and the close of Eastertide—fifty days after the Resurrection.

The variable prayers and chants of the Mass or Office assigned to a given day—introit, collect, readings, and the like.

A Mass offered for the dead—praying that God grant them rest, mercy, and the light of His face.

A Gregorian chant sung after the Gradual in penitential Masses when the Alleluia is omitted — often long and meditative (e.g. Qui habitat).

Evening Prayer of the Divine Office—psalms, a New Testament canticle, intercessions, and often a hymn at day's decline.

One of seven efficacious signs of grace instituted by Christ: Baptism, Confirmation, Eucharist, Penance, Anointing, Orders, Matrimony.