Part I: Profession of Faith

Catechesis – an education in the faith of children, young, and adult with the view of initiating the hearers
into the fulness of Christian life
Structures of CCC:
1. profession of faith – expounds the revelation by which God reveals himself to man, the faith by which man
responds to God’s invitation, and the gifts that God gives as the Creator, Redeemer, and Sanctifier.
2. sacraments of faith – God’s salvation in present in the sacred actions in Church’s liturgy, especially in the seven
sacraments.
3. life of faith – the final end of man by which we attain through beatitude, God’s law and grace, and the ten
commandments.
4. prayer of the believer – the meaning and importance of prayer in the life of believers, founded on the Lord’s
prayer.

Ways of knowing God:

1. world – through creation by the light of reason
2. human person – through grace by the light of faith

Analogy – all creatures bear resemblance to the Creator, especially man who was made in the image and
likeness of God.
Divine revelation – the unveiling of divine truths by God to intelligent creature, particularly man.
The fall – disobedience of our first parents
Covenant – a pact which binds the divinity to mankind
Tradition – the living transmission of the divine revelation handed down to every generation
Sacred Scripture – the speech of God as it is put down in writing under the influence of the Holy Spirit
Deposit of faith – the heritage of faith entrusted by the apostles down to the last faithful
Magisterium – the teaching office of the church with the task of giving an authentic interpretation of the
Word of God
Dogma – a proposal of the church in a form obliging the Christian people to an irrevocable adherence of
faith
Supernatural sense of faith (sensus fidei) – the manifestation of the universal consent in matters of faith
and morals
Sense of scripture:
1. literal sense – meaning conveyed by the words of Scripture and discovered by exegesis
2. spiritual sense – realities and events which it speaks can be signs
3. allegorical sense – recognition the significance of the events in Christ
4. moral sense – leading us to act justly
5. anagogical – eternal significance

Canon of scriptures:
1. OT – 46 books
2. NT – 27 books

Pentateuch: Historical: Wisdom: Prophetic:

Genesis Joshua Job Isaiah
Exodus Judges Psalms Jeremiah
Leviticus Ruth Proverbs Lamentations
Numbers 1 & 2 Samuel Ecclesiastes Baruch
Deuteronomy 1 & 2 Kings Song of songs Ezekiel
1 & 2 Chronicles Wisdom Daniel
Ezra Sirach Hosea
Nehemiah Joel
Tobit Amos
Judith Obadiah
Esther Jonah
1 & 2 Maccabees Micah
Nahum
Habakkuk
Zephaniah
Haggai
Zechariah
Malachi

Unity of OT and NT – the NT lies hidden in the Old and the OT is unveiled in the New
Typology – prefigurations of God’s works of the Old Covenant in the fullness of time in the person of his
Incarnate Son
Synoptic Gospels: Pauline letters: Christian letters:
Matthew Romans James
Mark 1 & 2 Corinthians 1 & 2 Peter
Luke Galatians 1, 2 & 3 John
John Ephesians Jude
Philippians
Acts of the Apostles Colossians Revelation
1 & 2 Thessalonians
1 & 2 Timothy
Titus
Philemon
Hebrews

Faith:
1. the adequate response and personal adherence of man to God’s invitation
2. the assurance of things hoped for and the conviction f things not seen (Hebrews 11:1)
3. an act of the intellect assenting to the divine truths by the command of the will moved by God through grace
(St. Thomas)

Obedience of faith – to submit freely to the word that has been heard because it is from God who is Truth
himself
Necessity of faith: (w/o faith)
1. impossible to please God
2. impossible to attain fellowship with his sons
3. no one will attain justification
4. no one will obtain eternal life

Language of faith – we do not believe in formulas but in the realities which they express
Church – mother and teacher in the faith
Profession of faith – syntheses of the teachings of the faith
Creed – credo (I believe) is the spiritual seal, our heart’s meditation, and everlasting guardian
Symbols of faith – summary of the principal truths of the faith
Apostle’s creed – the faith professed personally by each believer principally during Baptism; the faithful
summary of the apostle’s faith; oldest Roman catechism

I believe in one God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only son our Lord
He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary
He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried
He descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again
He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father
He will come again to judge the living and the dead
I believe in the Holy Spirit
The holy Catholic church, the communion of saints
The forgiveness of sins
The resurrection of the body
And the life everlasting. Amen

Niceno-constantinopolitan creed – the faith professed by the liturgical assembly of believers; from first
two ecumenical councils; more explicit and detailed

I believe in one God the Father almighty, who made heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible
I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten son of God, born of the Father before all ages
God from God, Light form Light, true God from true God
Begotten not made consubstantial with the Father, through him all things were made
For us men and our salvation, he came down from heaven,
And by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary and became man
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate. He suffered death and buried.
And on the third day, rose again from the dead in accordance with the scriptures.
He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come gain in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.
I believe in the holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son,
Who with the Father and the Son is glorified, who has spoken thru the prophets.
I believe in one, holy, catholic and apostolic church
I confess one baptism for the forgiveness of sins
And I look forward to the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. Amen
Articles – certain articulations which distinguish and separate each one of them

12 Articles of Faith:
1: I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth. This affirms that God exists, that
he’s a Triune God (one God in three persons, known as the Holy Trinity), and that he created the known
universe.
God reveals his name: Implications:
a. God IS – name expresses meaning and essence to know God’s greatness and majesty
b. God is unique – oneness to live in thanksgiving
c. God is truth – one who cannot deceive and be deceived to know the unity and dignity of all men
d. God’s truth is his wisdom – commands and governs the world to make good use of created things
e. God is love – God’s very being to trust God in every circumstance

Theology – refers to the mystery of God’s inmost life within the Blessed Trinity
Economy – refers to all works by which God reveals himself and communicates his life
Trinity – is a mystery of faith which is central in our Christian life
Council of Constantinople – filioque
Council of Florence – HS has his nature and subsistence at once from the Father and the Son
Council of Chalcedon – recognition of filioque
Substance – to designate the divine being in its unity (essence or nature)
Hypostasis – to designate the “person” and the distinction among them
Relation – to designate the fact that their distinction lies in the relationship of each to the others
Dogma of Trinity:
1. the Trinity is one. The divine persons do not share in the divinity among themselves but each of them is God
whole and entire. 4th Lateran council: each of the persons is that supreme reality.
2. the divine persons are really distinct from each other. God is one but not solitary. Designations are not modalities
of being.
3. the divine persons are relative to one another. It is the Father that generates, the Son who is begotten, the HS
who proceeds.

The Almighty – God conquered evil, sin, and death

The Creator – God is responsible for creation
Divine providence – the disposition by which God guides his creation toward perfection
Moral evil – God permits it because he respects the freedom of his creatures and knows how to derive
good from it

Mystery of creation:
1. God creates by wisdom and love
2. God creates out of nothing
3. God crates an ordered and good world
4. God transcends creation and is present to it
5. God upholds and sustain creation

Heresies on creation:
1. Pantheism – everything is God
2. Manicheanism – wo eternal principles, good and evil in permanent conflict
3. Gnosticism – the world is evil
4. Deism – God made the world and left it on itself
5. Materialism – rejection of any transcendent origin of the world

Earth – world of men

Heaven - God’s own place, eschatological glory, place of spiritual creatures
4th Lateran Council – God made in simul the orders of creatures and deinde the human creature
Angel: purely spiritual and immortal creatures with intelligence and will, surpassing perfection all visible
creatures
1. nature – spirit
2. office – servant, messenger

Visible world:
1. Nothing exists that does not owe its existence to God the Creator
2. Each creature possesses its own particular goodness and perfection
3. Creatures are interdependent
4. There is beauty in the universe
5. There is hierarchy in creatures
6. Man is the summit of creation
7. The Sabbath is the end of the work of six days
8. The eight day begins the new creation
Man:
A. Image of God
1. possesses dignity of a person - as someone and not as something
2. capacity of self-knowledge – ability to know the Creator
3. capacity of self-possession – self-mastery
4. capacity to love - freely giving himself and entering communion with others
B. Unity of spiritual and material worlds
1. soul – life, spiritual and animating principle of man
2. body – temple of the Spirit
3. life – spirit and matter form a single nature
C. Male and Female
1. inalienable dignity – good and willed by God
2. unity of two – God willed each for the other
3. one flesh – to transmit human life and be fruitful
D. Establishment of God’s Friendship
1. man in paradise – state of holiness and justice
2. original justice:
a. inner harmony if the human person
b. harmony between man and woman
c. harmony between first couple and creation
3. mastery – of self
4. concupiscence – inclination to evil
a. subjugation to the pleasure of senses
b. covetousness of earthly goods
c. self-assertion contrary to the dictates of reason

Sin – humanity’s rejection of God and opposition to him

Doctrine of Original sin – the “reverse side” of the Good News that Jesus is the Savior, that all need
salvation, and that salvation is offered to all through Christ
Fall of the angels – the free choice of the angels, who at first were good, in radically and irrevocably
rejecting God and his reign, which led them into their fall and death out of envy.
Satan – father of lies
Man’s first sin – disobedience of God’s command, letting trust in his Creator die and abusing freedom
Temptation - “to be like God, without God, before God, and not in accordance with God”
Consequences of sin:
1. subject to ignorance and suffering
2. weakened powers of human nature
3. inclination to evil
4. death of the soul

Fallen state – contracted not committed

Data on original sin:
1. Council of Orange
2. Council of Trent

Protoevangelium – (first gospel in Genesis) the first announcement of the Messiah and Redeemer, of a
battle between the serpent and the Woman, and of the final victory of the descendant of hers
1. New Adam – Jesus Christ
2. New Eve – Mary

2: And in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord. This attests that Jesus is the Son of God and that he’s most
certainly divine. The word Lord implies divinity, because the Greek Kyrios and the Hebrew Adonai both
mean “lord” and are ascribed only to God. So, the use of Lord with Jesus is meant to profess his divinity.
The name Jesus comes from the Hebrew Jeshua, meaning “God saves.” So, Catholics believe that Jesus is
Savior.

Jesus – God saves and Jesus brings definitive redemption

Christ – the anointed one who perfectly accomplished the divine mission
Only son of God – affirms his eternal pre-existence and unique relationship with the Father
Lord – the divinity of Israel’s God, divine sovereignty, respect, adoration, and love

3: Who was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. This affirms the
human nature of Christ, meaning he had a real, true human mother, and also affirms his divine nature,
meaning he had no human father but by the power of the Holy Spirit was conceived in the womb of the
Virgin Mary. He’s therefore considered both God and man by Christians—fully divine and fully human.
The Word became flesh:
1. in order to save us by reconciling us with God
2. so that we might know God’s love
3. to be our model of holiness
4. to make us partakers of the divine nature

Incarnation – the mystery of the wonderful union of the divine and human natures in the one person of
the Word
Heresies on Christ’s nature:
1. Adoptionism - Paul of Samosata: vs Council at Antioch:
Jesus Christ is Son of God by adoption Jesus Christ is Son of God by nature
2. Arianism – Arius: vs Council of Nicaea 325:
Son of God came from another substance Son of God is of the same substance as the Father
3. Nestorianism – Nestorius: vs Council of Ephesus 431:
Christ as a human person is joined the Word uniting to himself in his person the flesh animated
to the divine person of God’s Son by a rational soul, became man
4. Monophysitism: vs Council of Chalcedon 451:
Human nature had ceased to exist as such Son of God is perfect in divinity and perfect in humanity,
in Christ when the divine person of God’s Son truly God and truly man, composed of body and soul,
assumed it begotten from the Father as to his divinity,
born of the virgin Mary as to his humanity
5. Christ’s human nature vs Council of Constantinople 553:
as a kind of personal subject Everything in Christ’s human nature is to be attributed to his
divine person as its proper subject, not only his miracles but
also his sufferings and even his death
6. Apollinarianism - Apollinarius of Laodicea: vs Damasus:
In Christ, the divine Word had replaced the soul the eternal Son also assumed a rational, human soul

Christ’s knowledge:
1. could not in itself be unlimited
2. by union with the Word, showed everything that pertains to God
Christ’s will: (Council of Constantinople III 681)
1. divine – decided divinely with the Father and the Holy Spirit
2. human – does not resist or oppose to the divine will but submits to it
Christ’s true body – was finite, therefore Jesus can be portrayed legitimately in holy images as per Council
of Nicaea II 787

Mary:
Annunciation – inaugurates the fullness of time when the Holy Spirit will be sent to sanctify the womb of
the Virgin Mary and divinely fecundate it, causing her to conceive the eternal Son of the Father in a
humanity drawn from her.
Dogma - a truth appertaining to faith or morals, revealed by God, transmitted from the Apostles in the
Scriptures or by tradition, and proposed by the Church for the acceptance of the faithful.

Marian Dogma:
1. Immaculate Conception (Ineffabilis Deus by Pius IX)
Mary was, from the first moment of her conception, preserved immune from all stain of original sin.

Panagia – the All-Holy; by the grace of God, Mary remained free of every personal sin her whole life long. It was
necessary that she be wholly borne by God’s grace.

2. Divine Motherhood (Council of Ephesus 431)

Mary is the mother of God, for she bore Jesus according to flesh.

Theotokos – Mother of God: If Jesus is God; And Mary is the mother of Jesus; Then, Mary is the mother of God

3. Perpetual Virginity
Mary is virgin before, during, and after the birth of Christ

Aeiparthenos – the Ever-Virgin: Isaiah – “Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son”

4. Assumption (Munifecentissimus Deus by Pius XII)

Mary, when the course of her earthly life was finished, was taken up body and soul into heavenly glory.

The Assumption is a singular participation in her Son’s resurrection and an anticipation of the resurrection of other
Christians
Three classes of revealed truths:
1. truths formally and explicitly revealed – clear expressed terms
2. truths revealed formally, but only implicitly – language is somewhat obscure and interpretation is needed
3. truths only virtually revealed – inference from formal revelation

Jesus’ infancy:
1. circumcision – sign of incorporation to Abraham’s descendants and submission to the Law
2. epiphany – discovery of Jesus by the pagans
3. presentation in the temple – the light to the nations and the glory of Israel
4. flight into Egypt – recalls exodus

The keys of Peter – authority to govern the house of God, which is the Church: binding and loosing
Jesus’ public life:
1. Baptism – the acceptance and inauguration of his mission as God’s suffering servant
2. Temptation – Jesus as the evil’s conqueror
3. Proclamation of kingdom of God – to accept Jesus’ words and defeat Satan
4. Transfiguration – revelation of his divine glory and foretaste of heaven
5. Entry to Jerusalem – coming of the kingdom that the King-Messiah

4: He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. The human nature of Christ
could feel pain and actually die, and he did on Good Friday. The mention of Pontius Pilate by name wasn’t
meant so much to vilify him forever in history but to place the Crucifixion within human history. Reference
is made to an actual historical person, the Roman governor of Judea, appointed by Caesar, to put the life
and death of Jesus within a chronological and historical context. It also reminds the faithful that one can’t
blame all Jews for the death of Jesus, as some have erroneously done over the ages. Certain Jewish leaders
conspired against Jesus, but the actual death sentence was given by a Roman and carried out by Roman
soldiers. So, both Jew and Gentile alike shared in the spilling of innocent blood. Anti-Semitism based on
the Crucifixion of Jesus is inaccurate, unjust, and erroneous.

Jesus seems to be acting against essential institutions of the Chosen people:

1. Jesus and the Law: breaking of Sabbath
2. Jesus and the Temple: destroying and raising it up in three days
3. Jesus and Monotheism: Jesus making himself equal to God
Sinners – authors of Christ’s Passion
Last Supper: institution of Eucharist and sanctification of the priests of new covenant
Agony in the garden – expression of the horror that death represented to his human nature
Paschal sacrifice – definitive redemption of men
New covenant sacrifice – reconciliation of man with God
Tomb – real death in such a way that his earthly human existence ended

5: He descended into hell. The third day he arose again from the dead. The hell Jesus descended into
wasn’t the hell of the damned, where Jews and Christians believe the devil and his demons
reside. Hell was merely a word that Jews and early Christians used to describe the place of the dead. This
passage affirms that on the third day he rose, meaning Jesus came back from the dead of his own divine
power. He wasn’t just clinically dead for a few minutes; he was dead dead — then he rose from the dead.
More than a resuscitated corpse, Jesus possessed a glorified and risen body.

Sheol – realm of the dead where Jesus descended not to deliver the damned nor destroy the hell, but to
free the just who had gone before him
Resurrection – the crowning truth of our faith in Christ
1. empty tomb – first step in recognizing the resurrection
2. appearances – witnesses of the women and the disciples
3. risen humanity – glorified body with marks of sufferings

Significance of Resurrection:
1. fulfillment – of promises of OT and Jesus himself
2. divinity – confirmation of God’s eternal plan
3. justification – reinstates us in God’s grace
4. adoption – so that men become Christ’s brethren
5. personal – own future resurrection

6: He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. The Ascension
reminds the faithful that after the human and divine natures of Christ were united in the Incarnation, they
could never be separated. In other words, after the saving death and Resurrection, Jesus didn’t dump his
human body as if he didn’t need it anymore. Catholicism teaches that his human body will exist forever.
Where Jesus went, body and soul, into heaven, the faithful hope one day to follow.
Ascension – the transcendent event between the glory of the risen Christ and the exaltation of Christ to
the Father’s right hand
Being seated at the right hand – signifies the inauguration of the Messiah’s kingdom where Jesus
constantly intercedes for us a mediator and assures of us the permanent outpouring of the Holy Spirit

7: He will come again to judge the living and the dead. This article affirms the Second Coming of Christ
at the end of the world to be its judge. Judgment Day, Day of Reckoning, Doomsday—they’re all
metaphors for the end of time when what’s known as the General Judgment will occur. Catholics believe
that after the death of any human person, immediate private judgment occurs and the person goes
directly to heaven, hell, or purgatory (an intermediate place in preparation for heaven).

Context - The Church on earth is endowed with sanctity that is real but imperfect and all things of this
world are not yet subject to him
Trial - persecution and antichrist – a pseudo-messianism by which man glorifies himself in place of God
Judgment:
1. to reveal the secret disposition of hearts
2. to render to each man according to his works
3. to judge according to his acceptance or refusal of grace

8: I believe in the Holy Spirit, this part reminds the believer that God exists in three persons — the Holy
Trinity — God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. What’s referred to as the Force in the
movie Star Wars isn’t the same as the Holy Spirit, who is a distinct person equal to the other two — God
the Father and God the Son.

Knowing HS – we know him only in his movement by which he reveals the Word to us and disposes us to
welcome him in faith
Place of knowing HS:
1. Scriptures, he inspired 5. Prayer, he intercedes
2. Tradition, he witnesses 6. Charisms
3. Magisterium, he assists 7. Apostolic and missionary life
4. Sacraments, he puts into communion 8. Saints, he manifests his holiness
Titles of HS:
1. Paraclete – he who is called to one’s side (advocatus) 6. Spirit of Christ
2. Consoler 7. Spirit of the Lord
3. Spirit of Truth 8. Spirit of God
4. Spirit of promise 9. Spirit of glory
5. Spirit of adoption

Symbols of HS:
1. Water – living water in Baptism 5. Seal – indelible effect
2. Anointing – with oil 6. Hand – imposition of hands
3. Fire – transforming energy 7. Finger – casting out demons and writing on tablets
4. Cloud and light – overshadowing and revealing 8. Dove – The Flood and Baptism

Theophanies – manifestations of God; God’s Word allowed himself to be seen and heard in such
theophanies
Mary, Seat of Wisdom – dwelling place of the Son and the Spirit
1. prepared by his grace 3. manifests the Son of the Father
2. fulfills the plan of salvation 4. Brings men into communion with Christ

Pentecost – full revelation of the Holy Trinity, with the outpouring of the Spirit
HS and Church – builds, animates, sanctifies, and pours grace

9: The Holy Catholic Church, the Communion of Saints, Catholics believe that the Church is more than a
mere institution and certainly not a necessary evil. It’s an essential dimension and aspect of spiritual life.
Christ explicitly uses the word church (ekklesia in Greek) in Matthew 16 when he says, “I will build My
Church.”

Church – the moon that reflects the light of the sun

Etymology:
1. (Lt) Ecclesia – assembly or convocation
2. (Gk) Ekkalein – to call out
3. (Gm) Kirche – what belongs to the Lord
Christian usage:
1. people of God
2. local community
3. Eucharistic assembly

Symbols:
1. sheepfold – the flock of the Good Shepherd 4. Temple – dwelling place
2. cultivated field – Christ as true vine and we are the branches 5. Spouse – unity with Christ
3. building – stone as foundation 6. Mother - teacher

Stages:
1. OT – call of Abraham
2. NT – proclamation of JC

Mystery of the Church: (Lumen Gentium)

1. society structured with hierarchical organs mystical body of Christ
2. visible society spiritual community
3. earthly Church Church endowed with heavenly riches

St. Paul – to unite all things in him

Mysterion:
1. Mysterium – hidden reality experienced through visible signs
2. Sacramentum – emphasizes the visible sign of the hidden reality of salvation

Sacrament of salvation – sign and instrument in communicating the invisible grace that she signifies
People of God:
1. priestly – consecrated
2. prophetic – witness
3. royal – servant
Charisms – graces of the HS which directly or indirectly benefit the Church
The Church is One:
1. because of her source – one God
2. because of her founder – Jesus who unified people
3. because of her “soul” – the Holy Spirit dwelling and ruling over the Church
“For it is through Christ’s Catholic Church alone, which is the universal help toward salvation, that the
fullness of the means of salvation can be obtained”
Visible bonds of unity:
1. profession of one faith
2. common celebration of divine worship
3. apostolic succession through Holy Orders

The Church is Holy - because of her unity with Christ, she is sanctified; and she has no other life than the
life of grace
The Church is Catholic:
1. because Christ is present in her
2. because she was sent out by Christ on a mission to the whole of human race

Diocese – (eparchy or particular church) refers to a community of the Christian faithful in communion of
faith and sacraments with their bishop ordained in apostolic succession
“outside the church there is no salvation” – St. Cyprian: they cannot be saved who, knowing that the
Catholic Church was founded as necessary by God through Christ, would refuse either to enter it, or to
remain in it.
The Church is Apostolic:
1. because she was and remains to be the foundation of the Apostles
2. because she keeps and hands on the salutary words, she has heard from the Apostles
3. because she continues to be taught. Sanctified, and guided by the Apostles until Christ’s return

Bishops – successors of apostles

Lay participation in Christ’s office:
1. priestly – to offer worship by the holiness of their lives
2. prophetic – to teach (evangelization) in order to lead others to faith
3. kingly – to rule his own person not letting himself be imprisoned by sin

Consecrated life – the state of life which is constituted by the profession of the evangelical counsels, while
not entering into the hierarchical structure of the Church
Evangelical counsels:
1. chastity in celibacy 2. poverty 3. obedience
Communion of saints:
1. sancta – communion in holy things
2. sancti – communion among holy persons

Communion of heaven and earth:

1. blessed in heaven
2. communion with the dead
3. pilgrims on earth

10: The forgiveness of sins, Christ came to save the world from sin. Belief in the forgiveness of sins is
essential to Christianity. Catholicism believes sins are forgiven in Baptism and in the Sacrament of
Penance.

Baptism – necessary for salvation for those who have not yet reborn
Penance – necessary for salvation for those who have fallen after baptism

11: The resurrection of the body, From the Catholic perspective, a human being is a union of body and
soul, so death is just the momentary separation of body and soul until the end of the world, the Second
Coming of Christ, the General Judgment, and the resurrection of the dead. The just go, body and soul, into
heaven, and the damned go, body and soul, into hell.

Parousia – last day, resurrection of the dead

Death – is the end of man’s earthly pilgrimage

12: And in life everlasting. As Christ Our Savior died, so, too, must mere mortals. As he rose, so shall all
human beings. Death is the only way to cross from this life into the next. At the very moment of death,
private judgment occurs; Christ judges the soul: If it’s particularly holy and virtuous, the soul goes directly
to heaven. If it’s evil and wicked and dies in mortal sin, it’s damned for eternity in hell. If a person lived
a life not bad enough to warrant hell but not holy enough to go right to heaven, Catholics believe the soul
goes to purgatory, which is a middle ground between heaven and earth, a state where departed souls
want to go to be cleansed of any attachments to sin before going through the pearly gates.

Particular judgment – eternal retribution in accordance with his works and faith
Heaven – those who die in God’s grace and friendship and are perfectly purified live forever with Christ
Purgatory – all who die in God’s grace and friendship but still imperfectly purified are assured or eternal
salvation; however, after death they undergo purification so as to attain necessary holiness to enter the
joy of heaven (Councils of Florence and Trent)
Hell – the state of definitive self-exclusion from communion with God and the blessed
Last Judgement – those who have done good to the resurrection of life; those who have done evil, to the
resurrection of judgment
Amen - believe
Part II: Sacraments of Faith

Liturgy:
1. public work or service on behalf of the people
2. participation of the people of God in the work of God
3. celebration of divine worship
4. an exercise of the priestly office of Jesus Christ: worship, proclamation, and service of charity
5. memorial of the mystery of salvation

Sacramental economy – the communication or dispensation of the fruits of Christ’s Paschal mystery in
the celebration of the Church’s liturgy
Anamnesis – remembrance of the marvelous works of God
Doxology – praise
Epiclesis – (invocation upon) the intercession in which the priest begs the Father to send the HS, the
Sanctifier, so that the offerings may become the body and blood of Christ, and that the faithful, by
receiving them, may themselves become living offering to God

Sacrament – a visible sign of an inward grace instituted by Christ which confers grace
Seven Sacraments:
1. Baptism 4. Penance 6. Holy Orders
2. Confirmation 5. Anointing of the sick 7. Matrimony
3. Eucharist

Sacraments of Initiation – ground the common vocation and mission

Sacraments of Healing – confer graces for healing and salvation
Sacraments at the Service of Communion – directed towards salvation of others

Sacramental character (seal) – configuration to Christ

Indelible - can never be repeated:
1. as a positive disposition for grace
2. as a promise of divine protection
3. as a vocation to divine worship
Purpose of sacraments:
1. to sanctify men
2. to build up the Body of Christ
3. to give worship to God

Lex orandi, lex credendi – the law of prayer is the law of faith: The Church believes as she prays
Ex opere operato – by the very fact of the action’s being performed: the sacrament is not wrought by the
righteousness of either the celebrant or the recipient, but by the power of God
Sacramental grace – the grace of the Holy Spirit, given by Christ and proper to each sacrament
Celebration of liturgy:
1. who – whole community, presided over by those who received the sacrament of Holy Orders
2. how – perceptible realities can become means of expressing the actions of God and men
a. signs and symbols c. singing and music
b. words and actions d. holy images
3. when – liturgical season and year; Lord’s day or Sunday
4. where – church

Sacraments of Christian Initiation: Sacraments of Healing: Sacraments of communion and mission:

1. Baptism 1. Penance 1. Holy Orders
2. Confirmation 2. Anointing of the sick 2. Matrimony
3. Eucharist

Baptism:
1. basis of the whole Christian life
2. gateway to life in the Spirit
3. door which gives access to other sacraments
4. baptizein – to plunge or immerse
5. washing of regeneration and renewal by the Holy Spirit
6. enlightenment

Christian initiation:
1. catechumenate – preparation for Baptism
2. infant baptism – catechism
3. Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults (RCIA)
Mystagogy:
1. sign of the cross – imprint of Christ
2. proclamation of the Word of God – reveals truth and elicits response of faith
3. baptismal water – consecrated by a prayer of epiclesis
4. essential rite – triple immersion
5. anointing with sacred chrism – gist of the HS
6. white garment – put on Christ
7. first holy communion – admission to the marriage supper of the lamb
8. solemn blessing – conclusion

Who can be baptized – every person not yet baptized

Who can baptize – ordinary ministers: bishop, priest, deacon
Kinds Baptism:
1. Baptism of water – ordinary form of triple immersion and trinitarian formula
2. Baptism of blood – extraordinary form of suffering death for the sake of the faith without having received Baptism
3. Baptism of desire – extraordinary form of explicit desire of having been baptized for the catechumens before
dying and implicit desire for the ignorant of the Gospel who seek the truth and does the will of God

Grace of Baptism:
1. purification - forgiveness of sins
2. newness – new creature with the sanctifying grace: justification
a. to believe, hope, and love God through theological virtues
b. to live and act under the prompting of the HS through the gifts of HS
c. to grow in goodness through the moral virtues
3. adoption – calling God as Father
4. unity – sacramental bond among Christians
5. character – an indelible spiritual mark

Confirmation:
1. sacrament of Christian maturity
2. completion of baptismal grace
3. binding to the Church
4. enrichment with the special strength of HS

Sign: a spiritual seal

Anointing of oil:
1. abundance and joy 3. sign of healing
2. cleanses and limbers 4. radiant beauty and strength

Celebration:
1. consecration of the sacred chrism – by the bishop on holy Thursday
2. essential rite:
a. anointing with oil
b. laying on of hands
c. formula – be sealed with the gift of HS
d. slap – for fortitude
3. sign of peace – conclusion

Effects of Confirmation:
1. deeper divine filiation 4. more perfect bond with Church
2. firmer unity with Christ 5. special strength of HS
3. increase of the gifts of HS 6. Indelible spiritual mark

Who can receive – every baptized not yet confirmed

Minister – original minister is bishop
Eucharist:
1. a memorial of his death and resurrection
2. a sign of unity and bond of charity
3. Paschal banquet in which Christ is consumed, the mind is filled with grace, and a pledge of future glory is given us
4. the source and summit of Christian life
5. the culmination both of God’s action of sanctifying the world in Christ and of the worship of men offered to Christ
and through him to the Father in the HS
6. perfection of spiritual life and the end to which all the sacraments tend

Other names:
1. Eucharistein – thanksgiving 6. Holy sacrifice – makes present Christ’s sacrifice
2. Lord’s supper – on the eve of his Passion 7. Divine liturgy – center and most intense expression
3. Breaking of bread – Jewish meal 8. Most blessed sacrament – sacrament of sacraments
4. Synaxis – assembly 9. Holy communion – unity with Christ
5. Memorial – of Lord’s Passion and Resurrection 10. Holy mass – sending forth of the faithful (missio)
Bread and wine – Body and blood of Christ and goodness of creation
Unleavened bread – commemorates haste departure from Egypt and manna in the desert
Cup of blessing – festive joy of wine as an eschatological dimension
Zikaron – to re-present or make present again and to re-live what had transpired before
St. Justin the Martyr – basic lines of the order of the celebration writing to emperor Antoninus Pius
Liturgy of the Word: Liturgy of the Eucharist:
1. readings 1. Presentation of bread and wine
2. homily 2. Consecratory thanksgiving
3. general intercessions 3. communion

Celebration:
1. all gather together
2. liturgy of the Word
3. presentation of the offerings
4. anaphora – Eucharistic prayer: thanksgiving and consecration
5. preface – giving thanks for creation, redemption, and sanctification, followed by Sanctus
6. epiclesis – asking the Father to send HS on the bread and wine to become body and blood of Christ
7. institution narrative – power or words that make sacramentally present the body and blood
8. anamnesis – Church recalls the Passion, resurrection, and glorious return of Christ
9. intercessions – celebration in communion
10. communion – preceded by Lord’s prayer and breaking of bread, the faithful receive the body and blood

Sacramental sacrifice:
1. thanksgiving
2. memorial
3. presence

Christ is present:
1. the minister 3. the Word
2. the people of God 4. the Sacred species

Real presence – the whole Christ, body and blood, soul and divinity, is contained truly, really, and
substantially in the bread and wine (council of Trent)
Transubstantiation – the conversion of the Eucharistic elements at consecration, into the body and blood
of Christ, while the appearance of bread and wine remain
Presence in each part – Christ is present whole and entire in each of the species and in each of their parts,
in such a way that the breaking of the bread does not divide Christ
Effects of Eucharist:
1. augments our union with Christ 4. makes us the Church
2. separates us from sin 5. commits us to the poor
3. preserves us from future mortal sins 6. unites us with other Christians

Penance and Reconciliation:

1. to obtain pardon and mercy from God for the offenses committed
2. to be reconciled with the Church due to wounds inflicted

Other names:
1. conversion – returning to the Father
2. penance – satisfaction
3. confession – disclosure of sins
4. forgiveness – absolution with pardon and peace
5. reconciliation – reconciliation to God and brothers

Interior penance – contrition

Sin – offense against God, a rupture of communion with him
Forgiveness – only God forgives
Bind and loose – communion with God
Acts of the penitent:
1. contrition – heart-felt sorrow and aversion to sin
a. contrition: perfect
b. attrition: imperfect
2. confession – disclosure of sins
3. penance – satisfaction or expiation for sins

Act of minister: absolution – granting of pardon and peace

Formula:
God the Father of mercies
Through the death and resurrection of his Son
Has reconciled the world to himself
And sent the Holy Spirit among us
For the forgiveness of sins
Through the ministry of the Church
May God give you pardon and peace
And I absolve you from your sins
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
(Amen)

Minister: bishop and priests

Sacramental seal – the absolute secrecy bound to be kept by priests regarding the sins and the life of the
penitents due to the delicacy and greatness of the sacrament and due to the respect to persons
Effects of Penance and Reconciliation:
1. reconciliation with God and Church
2. peace and serenity of conscience
3. restoration of dignity and blessings of life

Indulgence – the remission of son before God of the temporal punishment due to sins whose guilt has
already been forgiven
Eternal punishment – privation of eternal life due to grave sin
Temporal punishment – purification due to every sin, even venial sin
Church’s treasury – inexhaustible spiritual goods and infinite value, which Christ’s merits have before God

Anointing of the sick – given to those who by old age or sickness are in danger of death, by anointing the
forehead and hands with duly blessed oil
Formula:
Through this holy anointing,
May God in his love and mercy
Help you with the grace of the Holy Spirit. (Amen)
May God who frees you from sin
Save you and raise you up. (Amen)
Viaticum – receiving of blessed eucharist as last sacrament before passing over to eternal life
Effects of anointing:
1. strength, peace, and courage
2. unity with Christ’s passion
3. forgiveness of sins
4. restoration of health
5. preparation for final journey

Holy Orders – the sacrament through which the mission entrusted by Christ to his apostles continues to
be exercised in the Church until the end of time.

Order – an established organizing body

Ordinatio – incorporation into one of the bodies
Ordination – sacramental act which integrates man into the order of bishops, presbyters, and deacons
Consecratio – setting apart and investiture by Christ for his Church
Sacra potestas – the sacred power conferred at ordination
Mechizedek – prefiguration of the priesthood of Christ
Common priesthood – exercised by the faithful in a life of faith, hope, and charity
Ministerial priesthood – exercised at the service the service of the common priesthood
In persona Christi capitis – Christ as Head of the Church represented by the minister
Three degrees of Holy Orders:
1. episcopate (degree of priestly participation)
2. presbyterate (degree of priestly participation)
3. diaconate (degree of service)

Episcopal ordination – high priesthood, summa of the sacred ministry, fullness of the sacrament
Presbyterial ordination – co-workers of bishop
Essential rite:
a. matter – laying on of hands on ordinand
b. form – consecratory prayer of bishop

who can confer – bishops

who can receive – baptized man
Effects of Holy Orders:
1. indelible character - unrepeatable
2. grace of the HS – configuration to Christ

Marriage – a covenant by which a man and a woman establish between themselves a lifetime partnership
naturally ordered for the good of the spouse and the procreation and education of offspring
Matrimonial consent – the act of the will by which the man and woman mutually give themselves to each
other
Preparation for marriage:
1. remote – young people 3. Immediate – decided
2. approximate – planning 4. Post-prep - married

Mixed marriage – between a Catholic and a baptized non-Catholic

Disparity of cult – between a Catholic and a non-baptized person
Effects of Marriage:
1. conjugal bond – unity and indissolubility
2. sacramental grace – perfection of love to help one another attain holiness

Goods of marriage:
1. proles - offspring
2. fides – faith
3. sacramentum – sacrament

Sacramentals – sacred signs instituted by the Church which bear a resemblance to the sacrament by which
men are disposed to receive the chief effects of sacraments
Forms:
1. blessings
2. exorcism

Popular piety – expressions of the faithful through devotions which extend the liturgical life of the Church,
but do not replace it
Funeral: Christian’s last Passover
Part III: Life of Faith

Human dignity – the divine image and likeness present in every person with endowment of soul
Moral law – the obligation to do what is good and avoid what is evil
Beatitudes: the paradoxical promises of Christ ordered to possess the kingdom of heaven
1. blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven
2. blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted
3. blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth
4. blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied
5. blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy
6. blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God
7. blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God
8. blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven
9. blessed are you when men revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my
account, rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven (Mt 5:3-13)

Freedom – the power rooted in reason and will to act or not to act, and so to perform deliberate actions
on one’s own responsibility
Abuse of freedom – disobedience and sin
Human acts – acts that are freely chosen
Sources of morality:
1. object – the good toward which the will deliberately directs itself
2. intention – the movement of the will toward the end
3. circumstance – the secondary element of a moral act which increase or diminish the moral goodness or evil of
the human acts

Morally good act – requires the goodness of all the sources of morality
Passions – emotions or movements of the sensitive appetite that incline us to act or not to act toward
what is seen to be good or evil
Love – the movement f the heart toward the good
Moral conscience – the law laid upon man by which he must obey
Conscience – the judgment of reason whereby the human person recognizes the moral quality of a future,
present, and past concrete act
Rules of morality:
1. the end does not justify the means
2. the Golden Rule
3. the precedence of charity

Ignorance – the error in judgment

Virtue – the habitual and firm disposition to do good
Cardinal virtues:
1. prudence – the virtue which disposes practical reason to discern our true good in every circumstance and to
choose the right means of achieving it
2. justice – moral virtue that consists in the constant and firm will to give what is due
a. to God - religion
b. to neighbor – respect of rights
3. fortitude – the moral virtue that ensures firmness in difficulties and constancy in the pursuit of the good
4. temperance – moral virtue that moderates the attraction of pleasures and provides balance in the use of created
goods

Theological virtues:
1. faith – the virtue by which we believe in God and his revelation
2. hope – the virtue by which we desire the kingdom of heaven and eternal life as our happiness
3. charity – the virtue by which we love God above all things for his own sake, and our neighbors as we love ourselves

Gifts of HS: permanent dispositions which make man docile in following the promptings of HS
1. wisdom 5. knowledge
2. understanding 6. piety
3. counsel 7. fear of the Lord
4. fortitude

Fruits of HS: perfections that the HS forms in us

1. love 4. patience 7. generosity 10. modesty
2. joy 5. kindness 8. gentleness 11. self-control
3. peace 6. goodness 9. faithfulness 12. chastity

Sin - the offense against God and neighbor, in reason, truth, and right conscience
Mortal sin – a grave violation of God’s law which destroys charity in the heart of man
Conditions:
1. object is grave matter – specified in ten commandments
2. with full knowledge – of the sinful character of the act
3. deliberate consent – personal choice

Venial sin – subsistence of charity, even though it offends and wounds it

Capital sins:
1. pride 5. lust
2. avarice 6. gluttony
3. envy 7. sloth
4. wrath

Common good – the sum total of social conditions which allow people to reach their fulfillment more fully
and more easily
Essential elements:
1. respect for the person
2. social well-being of the group itself
3. peace – stability and security of a just order

Law – a rule or conduct enacted by competent authority for the sake of common good
Expressions of moral law:
1. eternal law – divine law
2. natural law – revealed law in OT and NT
3. civil law – social law
4. ecclesiastical law – church law

Justification – the grace of the HS which cleanses us from our sins and communicates to us the
righteousness and God through Baptism and faith in Christ.
Grace – the participation in the life of God; the free and undeserved favor or help that God gives us in
order to respond to his call of becoming children of God and partakers of the divine nature and eternal
life
Sanctifying grace – the habitual gift, the stable and supernatural disposition that perfects the soul in order
to live with God and to act by his love
Habitual grace – the permanent disposition to live and act in keeping with God’s call
Actual grace – God’s interventions whether at the beginning of conversion, or in the course of
sanctification
Sacramental grace – the grace of the HS given by Christ proper to each sacrament
Special grace – charism: gratuitous gift oriented toward sanctifying grace
Merit – the recompense owed by a community for the action of its member, experience whether
beneficial or harmful, deserving reward or punishment
Precepts of the Church:
1. you shall attend Mass on Sundays and on holy days of obligation and rest from servile labor
2. you shall confess your sins at least once a year
3. you shall receive the sacrament of the Eucharist at least during Easter
4. you shall observe the days of fasting and abstinence established by the Church
5. you shall help to provide for the needs of the Church

The Ten Commandments: (Ex 20; Dt 5)

1. I am the Lord your God: you shall not have strange gods before me
2. you shall not take the name of the Lord you God in vain
3. remember to keep holy the Lord’s day
4. honor your father and mother
5. you shall not kill
6. you shall not commit adultery
7. you shall not steal
8. you shall not bear false witness against your neighbor
9. you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife
10. you shall not covet your neighbor’s goods

Greatest commandment – you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and
with all your mind
The second commandment – you shall love your neighbor as yourself
Decalogue – ten words of God are conditions of a life free from slavery of sin
The first commandment: you shall not have strange gods before me
Sins against faith:
1. voluntary doubt – disregard of God’s revelation
2. involuntary doubt – hesitation to believe
3. incredulity – neglect of revealed truths
4. heresy – the obstinate denial of some truth of catholic faith after baptism
5. apostasy – total repudiation of the Christian faith
6. schism – the refusal of submission to the Roman Pontiff or communion with Church members

Sins against hope:

1. despair – cease to hope
2. presumption – only on personal capacities or on God’s almighty power or mercy with conversion

Sins against charity:

1. indifference – refusal to reflect divine charity
2. ingratitude – failure to acknowledge divine charity
3. lukewarmness – hesitation in responding to God’s love
4. acedia – spiritual sloth or refusal of joy that comes from God
5. hatred of God – denial of God that comes from pride

Other gods:
1. superstition – deviation of religious practices
2. idolatry – divinization of what is not God
3. magic – attempt to tame occult powers
4. irreligion:
a. tempting God – putting God’s goodness and power to test
b. sacrilege – profaning sacraments and others who and which are consecrated to God
c. simony – buying or selling of spiritual things
5. atheism – denial of the existence of God
6. agnosticism – practical atheism

Veneration – the honor rendered to images which is different from adoration that is due to God alone
The second commandment: you shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain
Blasphemy – uttering against God ill words
Promises – made to others in God’s name (swearing)
Perjury – making a promise under an oath with no intention of keeping it

The third commandment: remember to keep holy the Lord’s day

Lord’s day:
1. day of resurrection – new creation
2. Sunday – fulfillment of Sabbath
3. Eucharist – heart of Church’s life
4. day of obligation – participation in Christian practice
5. day of grace – rest from work

The fourth commandment: honor your father and mother

Reason – we owe our life to them and as a sign of respect for the universal relationship

The fifth commandment: you shall not kill:

Reason – human life is sacred because it involves the creative action of God and has its end to its Creator
Respect for human life:
1. legitimate defense – self-defense
2. intentional homicide – murder
3. abortion – killing of innocent life
4. euthanasia – putting an end to lives of weakened
5. suicide – disposing one’s own life, as owners not stewards

Respect for dignity:

Scandal - attitude which leads another to do evil

The sixth commandment: you shall not commit adultery

Chastity – successful integration of sexuality within the person having inner unity in bodily and spiritual
being
Sexuality – integration into the relationship of one person to another
Offenses against chastity:
1. lust – disordered desire or inordinate enjoyment of sexual pleasure
2. masturbation – deliberate stimulation of sexual organs in order to derive sexual pleasure
3. fornication – carnal union between unmarried man and woman
4. pornography – removal of real sexual acts from the intimacy of partners
5. prostitution – reduction of a person into an instrument of sexual pleasure
6. rape – forcible violation of sexual intimacy of another person

Offenses against the dignity of marriage:

1. adultery – marital infidelity
2. divorce – break of contract
3. polygamy – concubinage
4. incest – intimate relations between relatives and in-laws within a prohibited degree
5. free union – inability to make long-term commitments
6. trial marriage – scarce assurance of sincerity and fidelity

The seventh commandment: you shall steal

Principles:
1. universal destination – common good
2. private property – a right acquired in a just way

Offense - theft
Communal justice:
1. commutative – regulation of exchanges between persons
2. contributive – owe in fairness to the community
3. distributive – proportionate contributions

The eighth commandment: you shall not bear false witness against your neighbor
Offenses against truth:
1. false witness – statement contrary to truth in court
2. perjury – statement contrary o truth under oath
3. rash judgement – assumption of moral fault of neighbor
4. detraction – disclosure of another’s faults to those who do not know
5. calumny – harmful remarks leading to bad reputation
6. boasting – bragging
7. irony – disparaging someone by maliciously caricaturing some aspect of his behavior
8. lying – falsehood with the intention of deceiving

The ninth commandment: you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife
(on concupiscence of flesh)

Three kinds of covetousness:

1. lust of the flesh
2. lust of the eyes
3. pride of life

Battle for purity:

1. by virtue of the gift of chastity 3. by purity of vision
2. by purity of intention 4. by prayer

Required modesty:
1. patience
2. decency
3. discretion

The tenth commandment: you shall not covet your neighbor’s goods
(on intentions of the heart)

Forbids:
1. greed – desire to amass earthly goods
2. avarice – passion for riches and their attendant power
3. injustice – harming neighbor for their temporal goods
4. envy – sadness at the sight of another’s goods and the immoderate desire to acquire them
Part IV: Prayer of the Believer

Prayer:
1. personal relationship with the living and true God
2. a surge of the heart and a simple look turn toward heaven (St. Theses of Lisieux)
3. the raising of one’s mind and heart to God or the requesting of good things from God (St. John Damascene)

OT:
1. creation – God has always called us to prayer
2. Abraham – attentiveness of heart
3. Moses – prayer not foe himself but for God’s people
4. David – the shepherd who prays
5. Elijah – prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective
6. psalms – personal and communal prayer

Principal parables on prayer: (St. Luke)

1. importunate friend
2. importunate widow
3. pharisee and tax collector

Magnificat – canticle of Mary is her prayer

Blessing: the basic movement of Christian prayer - an encounter between God and man
1. ascending – our prayer in HS through Christ to the Father
2. descending – the grace of HS through Christ from the Father

Prayers:
1. Adoration – exaltation of the greatness of the Lord as Creator
2. Petition – pleading every need at all times
3. Intercession – asking on behalf of another
4. Thanksgiving – giving thanks in all circumstances
5. Praise – recognition that God is God, lauds him and gives him glory

Hail Mary: prayer of Mary’s singular cooperation with the HS

Expressions of prayer:
1. vocal – union of body and soul through words
2. meditation – prayerful quest engaging thought, imagination, emotion, and desire
3. contemplation – simple expression of the mystery of prayer

The Lord’s prayer: the summary of the whole Gospel

Our Father, who art in heaven,
Hallowed by thy name
Thy kingdom come
Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven
Give us this day our daily bread
And forgive us our trespasses
As we forgive those who trespass against us
And lead us not into temptation
But deliver us from evil

Our – new relationship with God in communion with the Church

Father – revelation by Christ
Who art in heaven – not a place but God’s majesty and his presence in the hearts of the just

Seven petitions:
1. Hallowed by thy name – to recognize his name as holy and to treat in a holy way
2. Thy kingdom come – looks to Christ’s return
3. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven – to unite our will to that of his Son
4. Give us this day our daily bread – earthly nourishment for subsistence and super-essential nourishment of the
Bread of life
5. And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us – begs for God’s mercy for our offenses,
after learning to forgive our enemies
6. And lead us not into temptation – asking God not to allow us to take the path that leads to sin
7. But deliver us from evil – praying to God to be made victorious in the struggle of good over evil
The General Councils:

1. The First Council of Nicaea (A.D. 325) This Council, the first Ecumenical Council of the Catholic Church,
was held in order to bring out the true teaching of the Church as opposed by the heresy of Arius. It formally
presented the teaching of the Church declaring the divinity of God the Son to be one substance and one
nature with that of God the Father. There were twenty canons drawn up, in which the time of celebrating
Easter was clarified and a denunciation of the Meletian heresy made, also various matters of discipline or
law were dealt with and several decisions advanced. From this Council we have the Nicene Creed.

2. The First Council of Constantinople (A.D. 381) Again the true faith was maintained against the Arians.
Answer was also given against the Apollinarian and Macedonian heresies. In answering the latter which
denied the Godhead of the Holy Spirit, the dogma of the Church was again stated and the words inserted
into the Nicene Creed declaring the truth that the Holy Spirit proceeded from both the Father and the
Son.

3. The Council of Ephesus (A.D. 431) The third General Council of the Church defined the Catholic dogma
that the Blessed Virgin is the Mother of God and presented the teaching of the truth of one divine person
in Christ. The Council was convened against the heresy of Nestorius.

4. The Council of Chalcedon (A.D. 451) Held twenty years after the third General Council, this was to
answer the Eutychian or Monophysite heresy and affirm the doctrine of two natures in Christ. This
followed as a result of the growing controversy among the early theologians who were being led into error
by a confused idea of the one divine person being both God and man or that there are two natures, human
and divine, in the one person of the Word.

5. The Second Council of Constantinople (A.D. 553) This Council is sometimes referred to as the Council
of the Three Chapters because its chief work was to condemn the writings and teaching of Theodore of
Mopsuestia, the erroneous portions in the writings of Theodoret, and the letters of Ibas. It reaffirmed the
dogmas stated by the third and forth General Councils.

6. The Third Council of Constantinople (A.D. 680) This Council gave the definition of two wills in Christ as
the true teaching against the Monothelite heresy which claimed only one will.
7. The Second Council of Nicaea (A.D. 757) Here was defined the veneration due to holy images, that we
give honor only to those they represent and not to the image itself as such; it presented the answer to
the image breakers or iconoclasts. It also gave twenty-two canons regarding the clergy.

8. The Forth Council of Constantinople (A.D. 869) This was a disciplinary Council to heal the threat of
schism which was separating the East and Rome. This was done by deposing the usurper, Photius, and
restoring the patriarch, Ignatius. The Greeks finally refused acknowledgment of the Council.

9. The First Council of the Lateran (A.D. 1123) The Lateran is the Cathedral Basilica of Rome. This was the
first General Council held in the West. It was convened to confirm the peace between the Church and
State and to give final settlement to the problem of Investiture between Emperor Henry V and the Holy
See. It was agreed that the Church has all rights to choose and consecrate prelates and invest them, and
Church goods were restored to the Church.

10. The Second Council of the Lateran (A.D. 1139) This Council took disciplinary action and
excommunicated Roger of Sicily who championed the anti-pope. Anacletus II, and imposed silence on
Arnold of Brescia. Canons against simony, incontinence, breaking the "Truce of God," dueling or group
feuding were advanced, and regulations concerning clerical dress were given.

11. The Third Council of the Lateran (A.D. 1179) After forty years again the General Council took actions
against simony and abuses of the clergy. Also defense of the true teaching was made in answer to the
Albigenses and Waldenses.

12. The Forth Council of the Lateran (A.D. 1215) Besides disciplinary action the seventy decrees of this
Council answered prevailing heresies, gave pronouncements in favor of the Crusades, prescribed the duty
of annual confession and Easter Communion, offered additional definitions on the absolute unity of God,
and presented definition of the doctrine of the Church regarding sacraments, and in particular that the
bread and wine, by transubstantiation, become the Body and Blood of Christ.
13. The First Council of Lyons (A.D. 1245) This Council was called to bring disciplinary action against
Emperor Frederick II and at the same time sentence of the solemn renewal of excommunication was
passed on the emperor.

14. The Second Council of Lyons (A.D. 1274) Effort was made at this Council under Pope Gregory X to
bring about union between the East and West. It also defined that the Holy Spirit proceeds eternally from
the Father and the Son. The discipline governing the election of the pope was formulated.

15. The Council of Vienne (A.D. 1311 and 1312) The purpose of this Council was to settle the affair of the
Templars, to advance the rescue of the Holy Land, and to reform abuses in the Church. The doctrinal
decrees of the Council were: condemnation that the soul is not "in itself the essentially the form of the
human body",; that sanctifying grace is infused into the soul at baptism; and denial that a perfect man is
not subject to ecclesiastical and civil law.

16. The Council of Constance (A.D. 1414 - 1418) This Council can be regarded as ecumenical only in so far
as it was in union with the pope. The heretical teaching of John Huss and Wyclif were answered. It was
here that communion to the laity under one species was prescribed as a cure to the make it understood
that the entirety of Jesus Christ is present under both or either species. In transubstantiation all of the
bread is changed into the body, blood, soul and Divinity of Christ and all of the wine is changed into the
body, blood, soul and Divinity of Christ and reception of either species was reception of the total; body,
blood, soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ.

17. The Council of Ferrara-Florence (A.D. 1438 - 1439) This was convened to unite the Greeks and other
oriental sects with the Latin Rite. It was defined that "the Holy Apostolic See and Roman Pontiff hold the
primacy over all the world; that the Roman Pontiff is the successor of Peter, prince of the Apostles; that
he is the true vicar of Christ, the head of the whole Church, the Father and teacher of all Christians."

18. The Fifth Council of the Lateran (A.D. 1512 - 1517) It defined the Pope's authority over all Councils
and condemned errors regarding the human soul, namely, that the soul with its intellectual power is
mortal.
19. The Council of Trent (opened under Pope Paul III in 1545, continued under Pope Julius III, and
concluded under Pope Pius IV (A.D. 1563) The doctrine of original sin was defined; the decree on
Justification was declared against the Lutheran errors that faith alone justifies and that the merits of
Christ; the doctrine of the sacraments of Penance and Extreme Unction was defined; decrees relating to
the censorship of books were adopted; the doctrine of Christian marriage was defined and decrees on
Purgatory and indulgences adopted. Besides many refutations against the so-called reformers were given
and measures of true reform advanced.

20. The First Vatican Council (opened under Pope Pius IX in 1869 and adjourned on October 20, 1870)
This General Council was never closed officially, but was suspended. Technically, it continued until it was
closed by Pope John XXIII. Of this council the most important decree was that of the primacy of the pope
and of papal infallibility.

21. The Second Vatican Council (opened under Pope John XXIII in 1962, it continued under Pope Paul VI
until the end in 1965) Several important constitutions and decrees were promulgated, the most far
reaching being the Constitution on Sacred Liturgy.

Prepared by:

Sem. Mark Louie M. Lazaro

Diocese of Antipolo