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Sacrament - Actions of the Church through which Christ continues to minister among His people. The purpose of the sacraments is to sanctify the people, to build up the Body of Christ and to give true worship to God. The sacraments as symbols or signs speak of the mystery which they signify; the mystery is Christ present among the people. There are seven sacraments. The sacraments of Initiation are Baptism, Confirmation and First Eucharist. The sacrament of Penance is explicitly for the forgiveness of sin; the sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick is for those seriously ill; the sacrament of marriage is where husband and wife are joined together in Christ; the sacrament of Holy Orders is for men entering the deaconate, priesthood or episcopacy. The principal sacrament is the Eucharist which is also called the Mass. All Catholics should take part in this sacrament every Sunday. The celebration of the sacraments is always accompanied by the reading of the scriptures which brings out more clearly the meaning of the sacraments. The sacraments are community celebrations wherein the clergy and laity each have their proper and distinctive roles.
Vatican II speaks of the sacraments in The Constitution on the
Liturgy (Sacrosanctum Concilium).
Sacrament of Penance - The sacrament that, by means of certain acts of the penitent and by the absolution of a qualified priest, remits sins committed after baptism. As defined by the Catholic Church, it is "truly and properly a sacrament, instituted by Christ our Lord, for reconciling the faithful to God as often as they fall into sin after baptism" (Denzinger 1701). The required acts of the penitent are contrition, confession, and the willingness to make satisfaction. These acts are called the matter of the sacrament. The priest's absolution is the form. The sacrament of penance
was instituted by Christ on Easter Sunday night, when he told the
Apostles, "Receive the Holy Spirit. For those whose sins you
forgive, they are forgiven; for those whose sins you retain, they
are retained" (John 20:22-23). The Catholic Church interprets these
words to imply that Christ conferred on the Apostles and their
successors not merely the right to declare that a person's sins are
forgiven but also the power of forgiving in Christ's name those who
are judged worthy of remission and of withholding absolution for
those who are not disposed to be absolved.
Sacrament of the Altar
- The Eucharist viewed as the body and
blood of Christ, which are offered on the altar in the Sacrifice of
the Mass. Also the Eucharist as reserved on the altar for adoration
by the faithful.
Sacramental
- Objects or actions that the
Church uses after the manner of sacraments, in order to achieve
through the merits of the faithful certain effects, mainly of a
spiritual nature. They differ from sacraments in not having been
instituted by Christ to produce their effect in virtue of the ritual
performed. Their efficacy depends not on the rite itself, as in the
sacraments, but on the influence of prayerful petition; that of the
person who uses them and of the Church in approving their practice.
The variety of sacramentals spans the whole range of times and
places, words and actions, objects and gestures that, on the
Church's authority, draw not only on the personal dispositions of
the individual but on the merits and prayers of the whole Mystical
Body of Christ.
Sacramental
Character-
The indelible sign imprinted on the soul when the sacraments of
baptism, confirmation, and the priesthood are received. This
sign is indelible because it remains even in a person who may lose
the state of grace or even the virtue of faith. It perdues at
least until death and most likely into eternity. It is a sign
because it signifies that one baptized, confirmed, and ordained
bears a special and unique relationship to Christ. It is a
character because it permanently seals the person with a
supernatural quality, comparable to the character that identifies
each individual as a distinct personality. It is finally a
character because it empowers the one who receives with the
abilities that no one else possesses. In essence the
sacramental character assimilates a person to the priesthood of
Christ. From this primary function, secondary functions flow,
in increasing order of sublimity, from baptism through confirmation
to holy orders.
Sacramental Matter and Form
- The rite of each of the seven
sacraments, viewed as consisting of the materials used and actions
performed, which constitute the matter, and the words pronounced,
which constitute the form.
Sacred
Heart of Jesus
-
The physical Heart of Christ as the principal
sign and symbol of the threefold love with which he loves his
eternal Father and all mankind. It is, therefore, a symbol of the
divine love he shares with the Father and the Holy Spirit but that
he, the Word made flesh, alone manifests through a weak and
perishable body, since "in Him dwells the fullness of the Godhead
bodily" (Colossians 2:9). It is, besides, the symbol of that burning
love which, infused into his soul, enriches the human will of Christ
and enlightens and governs its acts by the most perfect knowledge
derived both from the beatific vision and that which is directly
infused. And finally it is the symbol also of sensible love, since
the body of Christ possesses full powers of feeling and perception,
in fact more so than any other human body (Pope Pius XII,
Haurietis Aquas, II, 55-57).
Sacrifice
-
The highest form of adoration, in which a duly
authorized priest in the name of the people offers a victim in
acknowledgment of God's supreme dominion and of total human
dependence on God. The victim is at least partially removed
from human use and to that extent more or less destroyed as an act
of submission to the divine majesty. Thus a sacrifice is not
only an oblation. Where an oblation offers something to God, a
sacrifice immolates or gives up what is offered. In sacrifice
the gift offered is something precious completely surrendered by the
one making the sacrifice as a token of humble recognition of God's
sovereignty.
Sadducees
- The name of Sadducee is probably derived from Saddok, a notable high
priest in the time of David and Solomon; some authorities trace it
to the Hebrew “sadiq” (just), because the Sadducees upheld the
written Law alone in opposition to the Pharisees, or because of
their severity as judges. The Sadducees developed into a priestly
aristocracy and favored the introduction of Hellenic culture, as
opposed to the Pharisee who strenuously opposed Hellenic customs.
Though not as numerous as the adherents and of their social
standing. Many of the Sadducees were put to death by Herod the
Great (37 BC) and he suppressed them further by appointing the high
priest. Under the Romans the Sadducees regained part of their
power, but with the destruction of Jerusalem (AD 70), the temple,
the Sanhedrin and the Sadducees disappeared forever. The Sadducees
believed in God, but rejected the immortality of the soul, the
resurrection of the body and future retribution and the existence of
angels.
Saints
- A name given in the New Testament
to Christians generally (Colossians 1:2) but early restricted to
persons who were eminent for holiness. In the strict sense saints
are those who distinguish themselves by heroic virtue during life
and whom the Church honors as saints either by her ordinary
universal teaching authority or by a solemn definition called
canonization. The Church's official recognition of sanctity implies
that the persons are now in heavenly glory, that they may be
publicly invoked everywhere, and that their virtues during life or
martyr's death are a witness and example to the Christian faithful.
Salvation
- In
biblical language the deliverance from straitened circumstances or
oppression by some evil to a state of freedom and security. As sin
is the greatest evil, salvation is mainly liberation from sin and
its consequences. This can be deliverance by way of preservation, or
by offering the means for being delivered, or by removing the
oppressive evil or difficulty, or by rewarding the effort spent in
co-operating with grace in order to be delivered. All four aspects
of salvation are found in the Scriptures and are taught by the
Church.
Samaritans
- A mixed race brought to
Palestine by the Assyrians after Sargon II destroyed the city of
Samaria in 722 BC. This mixed race intermarried with those Jews who
had remained to till the soil, and from this union sprang the mixed
people of the Samaritans. After the Babylonian Captivity, the
Samaritans offered to help the Jews rebuild their temple under
Zerubbabel in 520 BC, but their offer was refused. The hostility
that resulted was evident even in the time of Christ.
Samuel,
The First and Second Books of
- The First and Second
Books of- Included in the
Vulgate as the first two of the four Books of Kings, the two Books
of Samuel were originally one composition. The title is taken from
the name of the central character, the priest, prophet, and judge
Samuel, a most significant figure in this transitional period of
Israel’s history. In his lifetime, the twelve tribes became a unit,
instituted under the one kingship (1 Sm 8:5-9). God led David to
the heights of leadership and promised him a lasting “house.” The
basic religious idea of these books is “election,” that God has
chosen and made firm a people of His own and one in whom there would
be carried out His salvific will toward the eventual salvation of
all. As Samuel announced the new King of Israel, David, so St. John
the Baptist is called the “new Samuel” who announced the King of
all, the Messiah, the fulfillment of every messianic prophecy, such
as that contained in 2 Sm 7, Christ the Lord.
Satan
- Chief of the fallen angels. Enemy of God
and humanity and everything good. Other names for Satan are the
devil, Beelzebub, Belial, and Lucifer. The serpent that tempted Eve
was identified with Satan (Genesis 3). In both the Old and New
Testaments he is considered the adversary of God, bringing about
evil and tempting human beings to defy God's laws (Wisdom 2:24; I
Chronicles 21:1; Job 1:6-12). Even Jesus was subjected to temptation
by Satan in the wilderness (Matthew 4:1-11). Later the Pharisees
accused Jesus of "casting out devils through Beelzebub, the prince
of devils" (Matthew 12:24). Paul warned the Corinthians against the
temptations of Satan (I Corinthians 7:6). References to Satan are
numerous in the Scriptures. The dominant feature of this teaching is
that a personal, malign force is active in the world attempting to
pervert the designs of God.
Savior -
A title of Jesus Christ, arising from his
sacrifice of his life for the salvation of the human race, and thus
he won for sinful humanity the graces necessary to reach heaven. It
is only because of his satisfaction and the invocation of his name
that anyone can be saved (Acts 4:12).
Scapular
- An outer garment consisting of two
strips of cloth joined across the shoulders, worn by members of
certain religious orders. Originating as the working frock of
Benedictines, it was adopted by other religious communities and is
now considered a distinctive part of the monastic habit. It
symbolizes the yoke of Christ. A scapular is worn under one's
secular clothes, in abbreviated form by tertiaries associated with
the religious orders. Tertiary scapulars vary in size and shape;
their color corresponds to that of the monastic family. As a further
development, the Church has approved some eighteen blessed scapulars
as two small pieces of cloth joined by strings and worn around the
neck and under the clothes. Best known are the five scapulars of:
Our Lady of Mount Carmel (brown), the Passion (red), Seven Dolors
(black), Immaculate Conception (blue), and the Holy Trinity (white).
Seal
of confession
-
The solemn and inviolate obligation
of the priest in the Sacrament of Penance to maintain absolute
secrecy concerning anything revealed to him in the confessional.
St. Thomas Aquinas wrote, “Whilst hearing confessions, the priest
acts in the name of God and should behave as God Himself behaves.
But God does not reveal, but keeps silent concerning sins manifested
in confession.” The Fourth Lateran Council clearly stated the
position of the Church regarding the seal of confession: “Let the
priest be most careful not to betray any penitent, by word, or sign,
or in any other way. Any priest who presumes to reveal a sin
manifested to him in Confession must not only be deposed from his
priestly office, but must be sent to an enclosed monastery, there to
do penance for the rest of his life.” Secondarily, everyone who
knows something by reason of the confession (one who overhears the
confessions) is bound to the seal.
Seal of Confirmation
-
To establish or determine irrevocably,
in the sacrament of confirmation, when a bishop anoints a person
with chrism and says, "[Name], be sealed with the Gift of the Holy
Spirit." Thus, by confirmation a baptized Christian becomes
permanently marked as a witness of Christ and is enabled to
preserve, profess, and communicate the faith even (if need be) with
the price of his blood.
Second Adam
- A title given to Christ, based on St.
Paul's teaching that as sin came into the world through the
disobedience of the first Adam, so grace has come through the
obedience of one man, Christ the Second Adam (Romans 5:12-21).
Second Coming of Christ
- "I am going now to prepare a place for
you and after I have gone and prepared a place for you, I shall
return to take you with me" (John 14:3). This promise, which Jesus
made to his Apostles the night before he died, will be the
culmination of his incarnation and redemption. On the occasion of
his Ascension, angels repeated the promise. "This same Jesus will
come back in the same way as you have seen Him go there" (Acts
1:11). When the Second Coming will be, no one knows. Some of his
devoted followers were mistaken in thinking that the return would
take place in a short time, possibly in their lifetime.
Nevertheless, that promise is the basis of Christian hope. As Paul
wrote to Titus: "We must be self-restrained and live good and
religious lives here in this present world while we are waiting in
hope for the blessing which will come with the Appearing of the
glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus" (Titus 2:13).
Second Vatican Council
- The twenty-first ecumenical council of
the Catholic Church, first announced by Pope John XXIII, on January
25, 1959. He opened the council on October 11, 1962, and the first
session ended on December 8 of the same year. After Pope John's
death, June 3, 1963, Pope Paul VI reconvened the Council for the
next three sessions, which ran from September 29 to December 4,
1963; September 14 to November 21, 1964; and September 14 to
December 8, 1965. A combined total of 2,865 bishops and prelates
took part in the Council proceedings, although 264 could not attend,
mainly from Communist countries. Among the sixteen documents issued
by the Council, the four constitutions – on divine revelation, the
liturgy, and two on the Church – were the basis for the rest.
Seminary
- A school established for the academic
and spiritual training of candidates for the priesthood. The Council
of Trent, July 15, 1563, ordered the establishment of a seminary in
every diocese. Seminaries that are not houses of study for the
regular clergy are of different kinds, depending on the authority
that establishes them and has jurisdiction over them. Thus
seminaries may be diocesan, regional, interdiocesan, provincial, and
pontifical. The decree of the Second Vatican Council, Optatam
Totius, issued in 1965, treats at length about the curriculum
and administration of seminarians. In 1979 Pope John Paul II issued
the Apostolic Constitution Sapientia Christiana on
ecclesiastical universities and faculties. The document immediately
affects all institutions of higher education, including seminaries,
which have been canonically erected or approved by the Holy See with
the right to confer academic degrees by the authority of the same
See. Indirectly it affects all Catholic seminaries. Among other
detailed provisions, the constitution requires that, "All teachers,
before they are given a permanent post . . . must receive a
declaration of nihil obstat [formal approval] from the Holy
See" (Part One, III, 27).
Separated Brethren
-
All
Christians who are baptized and believe in Christ but are not
professed Catholics. More commonly the term is applied to
Protestants.
Septuagint
- The Greek translation,
begun in Alexandria, Egypt, in the third century B.C., and completed
in 100 B.C., of the Hebrew Old Testament. The Septuagint includes
several book not found in the Hebrew Scriptures. The symbol LXX
(“seventy”) refers to this translation, representing the seventy-two
Jewish scholars who translated the Hebrew Scriptures for the benefit
of the Greek speaking Jews. When citing Old Testament passages, the
early Church often used the Septuagint.
Service
- In general, performing one's religious
duty as a creature toward God, and fulfilling one's moral
responsibility of meeting the needs of others. To serve God is the
primary obligation of human beings, personally and socially, to be
done in acts of worship and prayer; and in acts of virtue as
prescribed by the natural and revealed laws of God. This corresponds
to the first three commandments of the Decalogue, and is summarized
in the precept to "love the Lord your God with all your heart, with
all your soul, and with all your mind" (Matthew 22:37). To serve
others is the secondary obligation of a person, deriving from the
preceding duty and depending on it. This corresponds to the last
seven commandments of God and is synthesized in the precept "You
must love your neighbor as yourself" (Matthew 22:39). On these two
commandments of service, Christ says, rest the whole law and the
Prophets also.
Seven Sacraments
- The seven rites instituted by Christ to
confer the grace they signify, namely baptism, confirmation,
Eucharist, penance, orders, matrimony, and anointing of the sick.
The number and names of the sacraments and their substantial
institution by Christ (purpose and essential ritual) were defined on
March 3, 1547, by the Council of Trent (Denzinger 1601).
Seven Words of Christ
- The last words of Christ spoken
from the Cross, recorded by Mark, Luke, and John. In sequence they
are "Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing";
"Indeed, I promise you, today you will be with Me in paradise" to
the penitent thief; "Woman, this is your son," spoken to Mary; "This
is your mother," Christ's bequest to John; "My God, my God, why have
you deserted me?" Parched with thirst, Christ called out, "I am
thirsty"; and then, "It is accomplished." When every prophecy had
been fulfilled, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit."
Several oratorios interpreting them have been written.
Shrine
- 1. A holy place, perhaps where the Blessed Mother or some
saint has appeared and to which pilgrimages now are made. 2. A
grotto or chapel containing the images of a saint erected and to
promote devotion or to commemorate some religious event. Usually
flowers are placed by the statue and a candle burns before it.
Sign
of the Cross -
The most popular profession of the Christian
faith in action form. The cruciform sign professes one's belief in
human redemption through Christ's death on the Cross. The
pronunciation of the names of the Three Divine Persons professes
belief in the Holy Trinity. The first of the Church's sacramentals,
it has its origins in apostolic times. It is made by saying, "In the
name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit," and its
action takes the form of a cross. One touches the forehead, the
breast, and the left and right shoulders with the right hand as the
words are recited. The prayer ends with "Amen" and is regularly made
with holy water as a person enters a church or chapel or, in
religious communities, upon entering one's room.
Sin
- "A word, deed or desire in
opposition to the eternal law" (St. Augustine). Sin is a deliberate
transgression of a law of God, which identifies the four essentials
of every sin. A law is involved, implying that there are physical
laws that operate with necessity, and moral laws that can be
disregarded by human beings. God is offended, so that the divine
dimension is never absent from any sin. Sin is a transgression,
since Catholicism holds that grace is resistible and the divine will
can be disobeyed. And the transgression is deliberate, which means
that a sin is committed whenever a person knows that something is
contrary to the law of God and then freely does the action anyway.
Sins Against
the Holy Spirit
- Major offenses that carry a
stubborn resistance to the inspirations of the Holy Spirit and a
contempt of his gifts. They are despair of one's salvation, envy of
another's spiritual good, opposing known truths of faith, obstinacy
in sin, presumption of God's mercy, and final impenitence. Because
those who sin in this way, resisting grace, do not wish to repent,
we say that their sins cannot be forgiven them.
Sirach,
The book of - A long sapiential book of the Old
Testament, also called Ecclesiaticus, written in Hebrew at the
beginning of the second century B. C., then translated in to Greek
shortly after in the Catholic canon. The author is actually the
grandson of Sirach, who identifies himself (50:27) as “Jesus, son of
Eleazar, son of Sirach.” Perhaps many of the author’s counsels had
come from his grandfather. Sirach contains the most complete and
systematic presentation of the ideals of Jewish spirituality. In a
paternal, but not paternalistic, way, it shows loving concern for
the well-being of the coming generation. It offers guidance in
almost every area of life.
Sister,
Religious - A popular term
for religious women, whether cloistered nuns or members of
congregations under simple vows. The title corresponds to brothers
in men's religious institutes and signifies that they are all
members of the same spiritual family, share possessions in common,
and live together in Christ-like charity.
Slain in the Spirit
- A phenomenon of pentacostalism
and the charismatic movement, where a person is believed to be
overcome by the Holy Spirit. The experience is temporary, during
which the individual collapses in a faint, although the faculties of
thought and volition remain intact. The "slaying" takes place when a
charismatic, already possessed by the Spirit, lays his or her hands
on the head of another person. It is considered one of the external
signs of a special outpouring of divine grace.
Solemnity
- The highest liturgical rank of a
feast in the ecclesiastical calendar. Besides the movable feasts
such as Easter and Pentecost, fourteen solemnities are celebrated in
the universal Church, namely: Motherhood of God (January 1),
Epiphany (January 6), St. Joseph (March 19), Annunciation (March
25), Trinity Sunday (first after Pentecost), Corpus Christi
(Thursday after Trinity Sunday), Sacred Heart (Friday after the
second Sunday after Pentecost), St. John the Baptist (June 24), Sts.
Peter and Paul (June 29), Assumption of the Blessed Virgin (August
15), All Saints (November 1), Christ the King (Last Sunday of the
ecclesiastical year), Immaculate Conception (December 8), and
Christmas (December 25).
Solomon
- peaceful.’ The son of David (972-932 B.C.) and Bathsheba,
born in Jerusalem. He was anointed by Zadok and proclaimed king at
the spring of Gihon. Although Solomon was not the legal heir to the
throne, the choice of a successor rested in the hands of King David,
subject to ratification by the people. In the case of Solomon, the
choice was by divine appointment and the influence of Nathan, the
prophet.
Son of God -
The Second Person of the Holy Trinity, who
became man to suffer and die for the redemption of mankind. Christ
is therefore the true, natural Son of God, as testified by the
Father in the vision recorded at the baptism of Christ, "You are my
Son, the Blessed" (Luke 3:22), and, as described by St. Paul, that
"God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets; but in our own
time, the last days, He has spoken to us through His Son, the Son
that He has appointed to inherit everything and through whom He made
everything there is" (Hebrews 1:1-2).
Son
of Man
- The most frequently
used title of Christ in the New Testament, occurring eighty-two
times and, all but once (Acts 7:56), in the Gospels. A messianic
title (Daniel 7:2-14), it identifies the heavenly transcendence of
the Savior while stressing his humanity, in contrast with the "Son
of God," which emphasizes his divinity.
Song
of Songs, The -
Known also as the Canticle of
Canticles and the Song of Solomon, a clutch of long songs and
fragments of love poems, apparently not the composition of one
author. Through the mouth of lovers, the book praises love in
courtship and in marriage is celebrated through a series of rich
images drawn from a blend of nature and love. The book reveals the
warm and innocent satisfaction the ancient Hebrews drew from the
physical and emotional relationship of man and woman. There was
some reluctance to receive the Song of Songs into the canon of
Jewish Scriptures, but it was eventually accepted as ceremonial.
Beginning with the Jewish period and onward, there has been an
almost irrestible tendency to allegorize the work. For the Jews,
Yahweh was seen as the lover, Israel as the beloved. For some of
the Church Fathers and other Christian commentators, the bride was
the Church. At times the figure of the bride has been felt to have
layered meaning: Israel, the church, the Virgin Mary, and the
individual believer. In recent times the urge toward allegorical
interpretation of the Song of Songs seems to have abated.
Soul
- The spiritual immortal part in human
beings that animates their body. Though a substance in itself, the
soul is naturally ordained toward a body; separated, it is an
"incomplete" substance. The soul has no parts, it is therefore
simple, but it is not without accidents. The faculties are its
proper accidents. Every experience adds to its accidental form. It
is individually created for each person by God and infused into the
body at the time of human insemination. It is moreover created in
respect to the body it will inform, so that the substance of bodily
features and of mental characteristics insofar as they depend on
organic functions is safeguarded. As a simple and spiritual
substance, the soul cannot die. Yet it is not the total human
nature, since a human person is composed of body animated by the
soul. In philosophy, animals and plants are also said to have souls,
which operate as sensitive and vegetative principles of life. Unlike
the human spirit, these souls are perishable. The rational soul
contains all the powers of the two other souls and is the origin of
the sensitive and vegetative functions in the human being.
Spiritual Life
- The life of the Holy Spirit, dwelling in
the souls of the faithful and enabling them to praise and love God
and serve him in the practice of virtue. It is called the spiritual
life because: 1. its animating principle is the Spirit of God, the
"Soul of the soul" in sanctifying grace; 2. it is the supernatural
life of the human spirit; 3. it is mainly lived out in the spiritual
faculties of intellect and will, although affecting the whole
person, body and soul.
Spiritual Works of Mercy
- The traditional seven forms of Christian
charity in favor of the soul or spirit of one's neighbor, in
contrast with the corporal works of mercy that minister to people's
bodily needs. They are: converting the sinner, instructing the
ignorant, counseling the doubtful, comforting the sorrowful, bearing
wrongs patiently, forgiving injuries, and praying for the living and
the dead. Their bases are the teaching of Christ and the practice of
the Church since apostolic times.
Sponsor
- The person who presents a child
at baptism and professes the faith in the child's name. A sponsor
serves as the official representative of the community of faith and,
with the parents, requests baptism for the child. The sponsor's
function after baptism is to serve as proxy for the parents if they
should be unable or fail to provide for the religious training of
the child. Also called godparents, sponsors are required for
baptism, even of adults. One sponsor is sufficient, of the same sex
as the one baptized; but two (no more) are permitted, i.e., one man
and one woman. Sponsors contract a spiritual relationship with the
person baptized, but not with one another. It has been customary
also to have sponsors at confirmation, but the practice is not
universal.
St. Joseph, Devotion to - Manifestation of reverence for the spouse of the Virgin Mary. In the first centuries of the Church, there was no sign of a liturgical devotion to St. Joseph, which parallels the slow development of Marian piety and is understandable in view of the need first to stabilize the Church's Christology. However, the Eastern Fathers since the fourth century, such as Ephrem, John Damascene, and John Chrysostom, often speak of Joseph and extol his purity of life as in the classic phrase of St. Ephrem (306-73): "No one can worthily praise St. Joseph." The Latin Fathers, notably Jerome and Augustine, stress the justice of Mary's spouse, in the biblical sense of his fidelity to the laws of God. The earliest public cults of St. Joseph appeared in the East, with June 20 the commemorative feast. Later Oriental sources variously assigned December 25, 26, and the Sunday before or after Christmas as feast days honoring St. Joseph at the head of other persons associated with the birth of Christ. By the ninth century the Western martyrologies celebrated his memory on March 19. The Crusades gave great impetus to the devotion, as seen in the basilica that the Crusaders built in honor of St. Joseph at Nazareth. From the Middle Ages on, the veneration of the foster-father of Jesus entered the full stream of Christian piety, through the writings and preaching of Sts. Peter Damian, Bernard of Clairvaux, Thomas Aquinas, and Bernardine of Siena. Before the Council of Trent, the Feast of St. Joseph (March 19) was placed in the Roman Breviary by Pope Sixtus IV in 1479. And after Trent, by a decree of 1621, Pope Gregory XV made it a day of obligatory attendance at Mass and abstention from servile work, which it still remains according to canon law, except in certain countries such as the United States. A parallel feast to honor the patronage of St. Joseph was extended by Pope Pius IX in 1870 to the whole Christian world, and at the same time the saint was declared "Patron of the Universal Church." In 1955, Pope Pius XII instituted a new feast of St. Joseph the Worker for May 1, and March 19 now commemorates his patronage of the Church. St. Joseph's pre-eminent
sanctity, which places him next to the Blessed Virgin among the
saints, was confirmed by many papal documents, especially those of
Popes Leo XIII and Pius XII. He is invoked as the patron of a happy
death, and by a long-standing custom the month of March and each
Wednesday of the week are dedicated to him. In paintings and statues
he is usually shown with the Child Jesus and a lily or staff. More
recent artists picture him with a carpenter's square or other
instrument of his trade in his hand.
State
of grace
- The condition whereby one enjoys the
friendship of God. One who possesses “sanctifying” or “habitual”
grace is enabled to know, love and serve God and others in reference
to Him. The state of grace is relinquished upon committing a mortal
sin but may be regaining through the Sacrament of Penance of perfect
contrition.
Stations
of the Cross
- A
devotion performed by meditating on the Passion of Christ,
successively before fourteen stations of the Cross. The stations are
wooden crosses, normally attached to the interior walls of a church,
although they may be erected anywhere, e.g., outside along a
pathway. The pictures or representations depicting various scenes
from Christ's Via Crucis are aids to devotion on the
traditional stations: 1. Jesus Is Condemned to Death; 2. Jesus Bears
His Cross; 3. Jesus Falls the First Time; 4. Jesus Meets His Mother;
5. Jesus Is Helped by Simon; 6. Veronica Wipes the Face of Jesus; 7.
Jesus Falls a Second Time; 8. Jesus Consoles the Women of Jerusalem;
9. Jesus Falls a Third Time; 10. Jesus Is Stripped of His Garments;
11. Jesus Is Nailed to the Cross; 12. Jesus Dies on the Cross; 13.
Jesus Is Taken Down from the Cross; 14. Jesus Is Laid in the Tomb. A
plenary indulgence is gained, once a day, for making the Way of the
Cross. But it is only necessary for a person to move from one
station to the next and "nothing more is required than a pious
meditation on the Passion and Death of the Lord, which need not be a
particular consideration of the individual mysteries of the
stations."
Stephen
- The first Christian martyr, he was one of the seven deacons
chosen by the early Christians of Jerusalem to aid the Apostles and
consecrated by the latter for this purpose. His zeal among the
Hellenists aroused the Jews, and he was denounced to the Sanhedrin
for blasphemy because he foretold the end of the Mosiac dispensation
and the destruction of the temple. When he was accused before the
Sanhedrin, his face had shone like that of an angel; and he died by
stoning with the vision of heaven before his eyes. It is believed
that he won the grace of conversion for Saul.
Sterilization
- Any action that deprives the body,
either temporarily or permanently, of the power either to beget or
to bear children. It consists in rendering the faculties of
generation unfruitful. Four types of sterilization are distinguished
in Catholic morality: therapeutic, contraceptive, eugenic, and
penal.
Stigmata - Phenomenon in which a person bears all or some of the wounds of Christ in his or her own body, i.e., on the feet, hands, side, and brow. The wounds appear spontaneously, from no external source, and periodically there is a flow of fresh blood. The best known stigmatic was St. Francis of Assisi. During an ecstasy on Mount Alvernia on September 17, 1224, he saw a seraph offer him an image of Jesus crucified and imprint upon him the sacred stigmata. Blood used to flow from these wounds until the time of his death two years later. He tried to conceal the phenomenon but not very successfully. Since that time scholarly research has established some three hundred twenty cases of stigmatization, among them more than sixty persons who have been canonized. Authentic stigmatization occurs only among people favored with ecstasy and is preceded and attended by keen physical and moral sufferings that thus make the subject conformable to the suffering Christ. The absence of suffering would cast serious doubt on the validity of the stigmata, whose assumed purpose is to symbolize union with Christ crucified and participation in his own martyrdom. Through centuries of
canonical processes, the Church has established certain criteria for
determining genuine stigmata. Thus the wounds are localized in the
very spots where Christ received the five wounds, which does not
occur if the bloody sweat is produced by hysteria or hypnotism.
Generally the wounds bleed afresh and the pains recur on the days or
during the seasons associated with the Savior's passion, such as
Fridays or feast days of Our Lord. The wounds do not become festered
and the blood flowing from them is pure, whereas the slightest
natural lesion in some other part of the body develops an infection.
Moreover, the wounds do not yield to the usual medical treatment and
may remain for as long as thirty to forty years. The wounds bleed
freely and produce a veritable hemorrhage; and this takes place not
only at the beginning but again and again. Also the extent of the
hemorrhage is phenomenal; the stigmata lie on the surface, removed
from the great blood vessels, yet the blood literally streams from
them. Finally true stigmata are not found except in persons who
practice the most heroic virtues and possess a special love of the
Cross.
Suffering
- The disagreeable experience of soul that
comes with the presence of evil or the privation of some good.
Although commonly synonymous with pain, suffering is rather the
reaction to pain, and in this sense suffering is a decisive factor
in Christian spirituality. Absolutely speaking, suffering is
possible because we are creatures, but in the present order of
Providence suffering is the result of sin having entered the world.
Its purpose, however, is not only to expiate wrongdoing, but to
enable the believer to offer God a sacrifice of praise of his divine
right over creatures, to unite oneself with Christ in his sufferings
as an expression of love, and in the process to become more like
Christ, who, having joy set before him, chose the Cross, and thus
"to make up all that has still to be undergone by Christ for the
sake of His body, the Church" (I Colossians 1:24).
Sunday
- The first day of the week. Since New
Testament times it replaced the Jewish Sabbath (Acts 20:7; I
Corinthians 16:2). St. John called it the Lord's Day, which the
Western Church later translated Dominica. The immediate reason for
substituting Sunday for the Sabbath was to commemorate Christ's
Resurrection from the dead. Eventually Sunday also became a memorial
of the descent of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost. Moreover, the
original purpose of the Sabbath remained as a liturgical day of rest
to recall God's lordship of the universe. "On the seventh day, He
rested; that is why Yahweh has blessed the Sabbath day and made it
sacred" (Exodus 20:8-11).
Synod
- An assembly of ecclesiastics, not
necessarily all bishops, gathered together under ecclesiastical
authority to discuss and decide on matters pertaining to doctrine,
discipline, or liturgy under their jurisdiction. The words synod
and council were for centuries synonymous, and the terms
are still interchangeable. At the Council of Trent, synod referred
to a diocesan assembly, which the council decreed should be held
once every year. In the Code of Canon Law, diocesan synods were
legislated to be held every ten years at least, at which only a
bishop was to have legislative authority, everyone else being only a
consultor.
Synoptics
- The first three evangelists, Matthew,
Mark, and Luke. They are so named because they follow the same
general plan and reflect great similarity in the events related and
even in literary expression. They offer the same comprehensive view
of the life and teachings of Jesus Christ.
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