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Icon - A flat painting, sacred picture of the Eastern Church. It is generally painted on wood and covered, except the face and hands, with relief of seed pearls and gold or silver. The icon of the saint of the day is usually displayed on an analogion. Icons of Our Lord and Our Lady are reverenced with great devotion, incensed, carried in processions, and normally placed on the iconostasis screen. The icons in the Eastern Church take the place of statues in the West. © Modern Catholic Dictionary, Eternal Life Publications
Idolatry
- Literally "the worship of idols," it is giving divine
honors to a creature. In the Decalogue it is part of the first
commandment of God, in which Yahweh tells the people, "You shall
have no gods except me. You shall not make yourself a carved image
[Greek eidōlon, idol] or any likeness of anything in heaven or on
earth or in the waters under the earth; you shall not bow down to
them or serve them" (Exodus 20:4-5).
The early
Christians were martyred for refusing to worship idols, even
externally, but practical idolatry is a perennial threat to the
worship of the one true God. Modern secularism is a form of
practical idolatry, which claims to give man "freedom to be an end
unto himself, the sole artisan and creator of his own history." Such
freedom, it is said, "cannot be reconciled with the affirmation of a
Lord who is author and purpose of all things," or at least that this
freedom "makes such an affirmation altogether superfluous" (Second
Vatican Council, Constitution on the Church, 51).
Idolatry is
always gravely sinful. Even under threat of death and without
interiorly believing in the idol, a Christian may not give divine
honors to a creature, thereby violating the duty of professing faith
in God.
Image
of God - The reflection that every person has
of God by virtue of being made by the Creator with a human body and
an immortal soul (which has a rational intellect, a will and a
memory). Christ has come to enable man to see what an authentic
exercise of human dignity really is.
Immaculate
Conception –
Title of the Blessed Virgin as sinless from her first moment of
existence. In the words of Pope Pius IX's solemn definition, made in
1854, "The most holy Virgin Mary was, in the first moment of her
conception, by a unique gift of grace and privilege of almighty God,
in view of the merits of Jesus Christ the Redeemer of mankind,
preserved free from all stain of original sin." This means that
since the first moment of her human existence the mother of Jesus
was preserved from the common defect of estrangement from God, which
humanity in general inherits through the sin of Adam. Her freedom
from sin was an unmerited gift of God or special grace, and an
exception to the law, or privilege, which no other created person
has received.
Neither the
Greek nor Latin Fathers explicitly taught the Immaculate Conception,
but they professed it implicitly in two fundamental ways. Mary, they
said, was most perfect in purity of morals and holiness of life. St.
Ephrem (c. 306-73) addressed Christ and Mary with the words "You and
Your mother are the only ones who are totally beautiful in every
way. For in You, O Lord, there is no stain, and in Your mother no
stain." Mary was described as the antithesis of Eve. Again in
Ephrem, "Mary and Eve [were] two people without guilt. Later one
became the cause of our death, the other cause of our life." While
implicit in the early writers, the Immaculate Conception had to be
clarified before becoming explicit dogma. Main credit for this goes
to the Franciscan John Duns Scotus (c. 1264-1308), who introduced
the idea of pre-redemption in order to reconcile Mary's freedom from
original sin with her conception before the coming of Christ.
Immaculate
Heart
– The physical heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary as a sign and
symbol of her compassion and sinlessness, and the object of devotion
by the faithful. Devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary gained
international prominence through the Fátima apparitions in 1917, and
their subsequent approval by the Holy See Immovable
feasts
- Those feast which are celebrated on a
prescribed day of a month. For example, December 8th is
always the Feast of the Immaculate Conception; and Christmas,
Christ’s birthday, always is celebrated the 25th of
December, regardless of what week day these dates fall. Generally
speaking, the feast days of the different saints are considered
immovable feasts.
In contrast,
a movable feast in one which falls on a different date each year.
Easter, perhaps, is the most commonly known movable feast. In 325
the Council of Nicea decreed the Feast of Easter, was to be
celebrated the first Sunday after the first full moon on or after
march 21st. Each year, therefore, the Easter date is
different. When a movable and an immovable feast occur on the same
date, the feast of greater importance is celebrated. The secondary
feast may be celebrated on another date or may be eliminated
entirely that year.
Incarnation - The
Mystery of the incarnation means that God the Son assumed a human
nature so that the divine nature and the human nature were
personally united in the one Person of the Word and Jesus Christ was
true God and True man. In order to redeem all mankind, the Son came
down upon earth in human form. As a man He was able to suffer and
die. The fact the he also was God made His sacrifice infinitely more
valuable and acceptable to the Father. Christmas is the
commemoration of this truth of the Incarnation.
The union of the
divine nature of the Son of God with human nature in the person of
Jesus Christ. The Son of God assumed our flesh, body, and soul, and
dwelled among us like one of us in order to redeem us. His divine
nature was substantially united to our human nature. Formerly the
Feast of the Annunciation was called the Feast of the Incarnation.
In the Eastern Churches the mystery is commemorated by a special
feast on December 26.
Indissoluble
Marriage
– Christian marriage, between two baptized persons who enter
into a valid contract and consummate their marriage by natural
intercourse, cannot be dissolved by any human power, whether civil
or ecclesiastical
Indwelling
– Presence of the Holy Spirit in a person who is in the state
of grace. He is present not only by means of the created gifts of
grace, which he dispenses, but by his uncreated divine nature. This
personal indwelling does not produce a substantial but only an
accidental union with the souls of the just. As the indwelling of
the Holy Spirit is an operation of God outside himself and as all
activity of God outside the Trinity is common to the three persons,
the indwelling of the Holy Spirit implies the indwelling of the
three divine persons. This indwelling as a manifestation of the love
of God, the personal love of the Father and the Son, is appropriated
to the Holy Spirit. St. Paul speaks of the third person: "Know you
not that you are the temples of God and that the Spirit of God
dwells in you" (I Corinthians 3:16). But he also says: "You are the
temple of the living God" (I Corinthians 6:16), and Christ declares:
"If any one loves me, he will keep my word. And my father will love
him; and we will come to him and will make our abode with him" (John
14:23).
The immediate
effect of the divine indwelling is sanctifying grace, which is the
created result of the uncreated grace of God's presence. Its effect
on the person is an experience that spiritual writers compare to a
foretaste of the beatific vision; the mind is able to understand
something of the mystery of God and the will is enamored of his
goodness beyond anything possible by the light of reason or the
natural affective powers of humans.
Infallibility
– Freedom from error in teaching the universal Church in
matters of faith or morals. As defined by the First Vatican Council,
"The Roman Pontiff, when he speaks ex cathedra – that is, when in
discharge of the office of pastor and teacher of all Christians, by
virtue of his supreme apostolic authority, he defines a doctrine
regarding faith or morals to be held by the universal Church, by the
divine assistance promised to him in Blessed Peter, is possessed of
that infallibility with which the divine Redeemer willed that his
Church should be endowed in defining doctrine regarding faith or
morals; and therefore such definitions are irreformable of
themselves, and not in virtue of consent of the Church" (Denzinger
3074).
The bearer of the
infallibility is every lawful Pope as successor of Peter, the Prince
of the Apostles. But the Pope alone is infallible, not others to
whom he delegates a part of his teaching authority, for example, the
Roman congregations.
The object of his
infallibility is his teaching of faith and morals. This means
especially revealed doctrine like the Incarnation. But it also
includes any nonrevealed teaching that is in any way connected with
revelation.
The condition of
the infallibility is that the Pope speaks ex cathedra. For this is
required that: 1. he have the intention of declaring something
unchangeably true; and 2. he speak as shepherd and teacher of all
the faithful with the full weight of his apostolic authority, and
not merely as a private theologian or even merely for the people of
Rome or some particular segment of the Church of God.
The source of the
infallibility is the supernatural assistance of the Holy Spirit, who
protects the supreme teacher of the Church from error and therefore
from misleading the people of God.
Infants, Unbaptized
– The common teaching of the Catholic Church is that
unbaptized infants who die do not enjoy the beatific vision but
enter into a state of perfect natural happiness, commonly called
limbo.
Infidelity
- Either a lack of faith or of faithfulness. As a lack of
faith, it may be positive, privative, or negative. Positive
infidelity means that a baptized person sufficiently instructed in
the Christian faith rejects it by a denial of any of God's revealed
truths. Privative infidelity is the culpable neglect either to
examine the grounds for divine revelation or to admit one's
obligation to embrace the faith once these grounds are seen to be
credible. Negative infidelity is simply a lack of faith in the
Christian religion by one who has some other faith and, through no
fault of his or her own, has not had the Gospel adequately
presented. Infidelity as a lack of faithfulness is commonly
associated with marriage.
Inquisition – The
special court or tribunal appointed by the Catholic Church to
discover and suppress heresy and to punish heretics. The Roman
Inquisition of the middle twelfth century, with its ecclesiastical
courts for trying and punishing heretics, arose during the ravages
of the anti-social Albigensian sect, whose doctrines and practices
were destructive not only of faith but of Christian morality and
public order. While Church authorities would condemn a person found
guilty of heresy, it was the civil power that actually inflicted the
penalty. The reformation of the heretic was first sought. By
exhortations and minor punishments he was urged to give up his
heresy. Many did. Only the relapsed heretics who were found guilty
were turned over to the civil government for punishment required
under civil law. The fact that secular law prescribed death must be
understood in the light of those days when heresy was anarchy and
treason and leniency in criminal codes was unknown. Like all
institutions that have a human character abuses crept in.
The Spanish
Inquisition, set up by King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella in 1478 and
empowered by Pope Sixtus IV, was directed against the lapsed
converts from Judaism, crypto-Jews, and other apostates whose secret
activities were dangerous to Church and State. The civil government
had great influence in the administration of this Inquisition, and
the Spanish ecclesiastical tribunal accused of scandalous cruelty
must share its condemnations with them. The latter worked during
these days in defiance of the Holy See, which often condemned
inquisitors because of their cruelties. Even so, these cruelties
have been grossly exaggerated, and the fact that the Inquisition did
tremendous good in saving the Latin countries from anarchy has been
forgotten. Much falsehood surrounds the events of this period, which
should be judged by the standards of those times, not by modern
ideas of the human person and of religious freedom.
Intercession –
Entreaty in favor of another person; hence mediation. In biblical
language, "there is only one mediator between God and mankind,
himself a man, Christ Jesus, who sacrificed himself as a ransom for
them all" (I Timothy 2:5-6). The Blessed Virgin, Mediatrix of all
graces, the angels, saints in heaven, souls in purgatory, and the
faithful on earth intercede for mankind by their merits and prayers.
Interior Struggle – Conflict within a human person between his or her own
desires and the will of God. What naturally pleases is not always
good. This is the fight of the spirit versus the flesh – human will
against human passions, whether bodily or spiritual. This internal
struggle varies in intensity for different persons and at different
times. Although often difficult, with divine grace it is always
possible to overcome self in conflict with the known will of God.
Isaac
- ‘laughter’
. The only son of
Abraham by Sara, born in fulfillment of repeated promises of God
long after Sara, who had been barren all her life, was past the age
of childbearing. His subservience to his father right up to the time
of Abraham’s death was marked by the highest degree of affection and
reverence. Even in the sublime act of Abraham in the test of his
faith when commanded to offer his son as a burnt offering to God,
Isaac’s childlike confidence in his father was most commendable.
Isaac married Rebecca, the daughter of Abraham’s nephew, Bathuel,
who was brought from Haran to Chanaan. They had two sons, Esau and
Jacob, who were twins, Esau was the firstborn and was favored by
birthright and his father’s blessing. Although Isaac’s health was
much enfeebled and he was almost totally blind, he lived quietly for
twenty years after the incident in which he inadvertently blessed
Jacob and made him the heir to the Abrahamic Covenant. He died at
Hebron at the age of 180, and was buried by Esan and Jacob. Isaac is
also known as a type of Christ, who offered his life to God the
Father for mankind. Although Isaac is a much less striking figure
than his father, yet he was pre-eminently a man of peace, the
fitting typo of prince of Peace whose great sacrifice on Mount
Calvary he foreshadowed.
Isaiah,
The book of -
‘the Lord is salvation.’
The first of the four prophets
who prophesied. Author of the longest prophetic book in the Old Testament,
he was the son of Amoz, born about 760 B.C. in Jerusalem. His
writing paralleled the reigns of three Judaean kings, Jotham, Ahaz,
and Hezekiah. His mission was to proclaim the fall of Israel and
Judah and the punishment that would befall the nation because of its
sinfulness. The beauty of his style and the consistent nobility of
his message made him one of the most revered of biblical writers.
Constantly he pleaded with his people to place their trust in God
and not in military achievements. No other prophet foreshadowed as
convincingly the coming of the Messiah, who would be a descendant of
David. Biblical students point out numerous incidents in Jesus' life
which were foreshadowed in Isaiah's prophetic lines (Isaiah 2:1-5,
7:10-17, 9:1-6, 11:1-5).
Israel
- ‘God strive’.
This sacred name was divinely bestowed upon Jacob after his
wrestling with the angel at Phanuel in which it was clearly
demonstrated to him that as long as he relied upon his own strength
he was Jacob with all the frailties of the past, but in yielding to
God he became a Prince. Prior to this incident in the life of Jacob
the chosen people of God or descendants of Abraham had been known as
‘Hebrews’. Henceforth, they were called ‘Israel, the
children of Israel’, or ‘Israelites’. After the
disruption of the Kingdom of Israel in the time of Roboam, the name
Israel was assumed and accepted as the name of the Northern Kingdom
of which Juda, Benjamin, Levi and Simeon were not a part. After the
Babylonian Captivity, the returned exiles, although they were mainly
of the Kingdom of Juda, assumed the name Israel as the title of
their nation. Individuals, however, were nearly always referred to
as Jews, as in the New Testament.
© Fireside New
American Bible
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