Triune God

• Trinity


  God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit
• There is only one God
• There are three distinct persons
• Each person is God
• Eucharist


  Meaning 'thanksgiving', it is especially used to describe the Mass
• Acclamation


  Praising with great enthusiasm
• Gloria


  A hymn of praise of God's glory and goodness sung early in the Mass
• Alleluia


  Meaning 'praise God' and is used before the reading of the Gospel at Mass
• Mystery of Faith


  When the bread and blood has been turned into the body and blood of Jesus, everyone believes that they are saved because of Jesus' death and resurrection
• Celebrating the Eucharist


  1. Giving God the gift of thankfulness for all his love and kindness to them

  2. Emphasize the celebrations through acclamations (Gloria, Alleluia, Sanctus, Mystery of Faith)
• Gloria


  A hymn of praise to God, based on the hymn of the angels when they announced the birth of Jesus in Luke 2:14
• The Gloria is said during Advent or Lent as these seasons are sorrowful periods when the church celebrates the coming of Christ or the suffering of Jesus before his crucifixion
• Sanctus


  Sung just before the Eucharistic prayer, based on a vision of the prophet Isaiah in the Bible (Isaiah 6:1-3) where he saw angels calling out 'Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord'
• The Sanctus is not used during Lent or Advent
• Alleluia


  A Hebrew word that means 'Praise God', sung before the Bible is read to announce the presence of Christ
• Alleluia is normally sung three times on Holy Saturday to announce the resurrection of Christ
• Alleluia is never sung during Lent, as Lent is a sorrowful season to remember Jesus' death and resurrection
• Mystery of Faith


  An acknowledgement that Christ's life, death and resurrection has been made present through the consecration
• Consecration


  The act or process of officially making something Holy and able to be used for religious ceremonies
• Holy Trinity


  One God who exists in three persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit
• The Nicene Creed shows that there is one God who exists in three persons
• God the Father is the creator of all things
• Jesus, as God the Son, suffered and died as a fully human being to save other humans from sin
• Jesus rose from the dead and is seated in Heaven as the Son of God
• God the Holy Spirit gives life to all things and inspires people and shows them the will of God
• All three parts of the Trinity were present during Jesus' baptism (Matthew 3:16-17)
• Relational


  Having a personal, direct link with another person or people
• From eternity, the Father, the Son and the Spirit have been in community, in relationship together. They have loved each other
• Real love requires relationship
• St Augustine of Hippo


  Love can't exist on its own - there must be someone to give it and someone to receive it. Therefore to have love there must be three things: the person who loves, the person who is loved, and the love that unites them. The Trinity can be thought of as three persons united in love
• Catherine LaCugna


  The Son comes from the Father but He did not suddenly come into being - He has always been part of God. The Son is continually, eternally coming from the Father. The Holy Spirit is the love that unites the Father and the Son, and this love constantly pours outwards into the whole of creation. The Son came to earth as Jesus to bring redemption: to bring people back to a relationship with the Father. The Holy Spirit - God's love - is continually guiding believers towards the Father, to complete the work of Jesus' redemption. Once redemption is complete, through the Trinity, all things will be brought back to God
• Laying of the Hands


  A symbolic gesture that passes on the power of the Holy Spirit
• Apostolic Authority


  The authority of the apostles, as leaders of the early church, that is passed on to the bishops
• Magisterial Teachings


  The decisions of the Magisterium that should be accepted by Catholics
• Council


  A gathering of bishops to make decisions about important issues for the Church
• When the apostles went to an area to preach, they chose individuals and lay their hands on them, giving them authority to continue their work of preaching the gospel
• The Bishop, who succeeded Peter, and any Bishop after him is seen as the Head of the Church usually called the Pope
• The Catholic Church believes that the Holy Spirit guides the Pope and all the Bishops in decision making so whatever they say is accepted by Catholics as the truth, clearly expressed in the magisterial teachings
• Magisterium


  Comes from the Latin 'magister' which means 'a master', and signifies authority to teach. This authority rests with the Pope and his bishops, and comes from the Holy Spirit, whom Jesus sent to guide the Church at Pentecost