The human person
This term refers to the innermost spiritual principle of human beings which, together with the body, forms one unique human nature.
The personal sin of the first human beings by which they disobeyed God and chose their own will over His.
Original Sin
These three virtues—faith, hope, and charity—are bestowed at Baptism to help a person relate to God.
Theological virtues
The official body of rules that provides for good order in the Catholic Church.
Canon law
The mandate of all baptized Christians to follow Jesus and participate in his role as priest, prophet, and king.
Discipleship
A philosophy that denies there is any meaning in existence or religious beliefs, maintaining that only nothingness follows life.
nihilism
Disordered human desires resulting from Original Sin that produce an inclination to sin and remain even after Baptism.
concupiscence
These four "pivotal" virtues support moral living: prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance
Cardinal virtues
The living and teaching office of the Church, consisting of the bishops in union with the pope.
Magisterium
To bring the Good News of Jesus Christ to others by what you say and how you live.
Evangelize
Spiritual, personal, and immortal creatures created by God with intelligence and will who surpass humans in perfection.
Angels
This saving love of God is most fully revealed in the Passion, Death, Resurrection, and Ascension of Jesus Christ.
Paschal Mystery
The moral virtue that inclines you to discern a good, ethical life and choose the means to accomplish it; also called "right reason in action."
Prudence
A gift of the Holy Spirit whereby the pope and bishops can definitively proclaim a doctrine of faith or morals without error.
Infallibility
Charitable actions centered around caring for physical needs, such as feeding the hungry and sheltering the homeless.
The corporal works of mercy
Pope John Paul II’s integrated vision of the human person, body, soul, and spirit expressed in 129 Wednesday audiences.
Theology of the Body
The grace of the Holy Spirit that cleanses you from sins and communicates the righteousness of God through faith and Baptism.
Justification
Perfections formed in you by the Holy Spirit, such as charity, joy, peace, and nine others.
The fruits of the Holy Spirit
The five positive laws that bind Catholics to the Church and help them grow in holiness and charity.
The precepts of the Church
The total rejection of Jesus Christ and the Christian faith by a baptized Catholic.
apostasy
The power, rooted in reason and will, to act or not to act and to perform deliberate actions on one's own responsibility.
Free will
A state of inner harmony between man and woman, and between the first couple and all creation, before sin entered the world
original justice
The Christian virtue of social charity and friendship.
Solidarity
This principle holds that a higher unit of society should not do what a lower unit can do as well or better.
Subsidiarity
A decision-making process that attends to the implications and consequences of an action, aided by the Holy Spirit
discernment