Catechism of the Catholic Church

866

Glossary

ANAMNESIS: The “remembrance” of God’s saving deeds in history in the liturgical action of the Church, which inspires thanksgiving and praise (1103). Every Eucharistic Prayer contains an anamnesis or memorial in which the Church calls to mind the Passion, Resurrection, and glorious return of Christ Jesus (1354, 1362). ANAPHORA: The Eucharistic Prayer—the prayer of thanksgiving and consecration— which is the heart and summit of the celebration of the Mass (1352). ANGEL: A spiritual, personal, and immortal creature, with intelligence and free will, who glorifies God without ceasing and who serves God as a messenger of his saving plan (329-331). See Guardian Angels. ANGER: An emotion which is not in itself wrong, but which, when it is not controlled by reason or hardens into resentment and hate, becomes one of the seven capital sins. Christ taught that anger is an offense against the fifth commandment (1765, 1866, 2262). ANNUNCIATION: The visit of the angel Gabriel to the virgin Mary to inform her that she was to be the mother of the Savior. After giving her consent to God’s word, Mary became the mother of Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit (484, 494). ANOINTING: A symbol of the Holy Spirit, whose “anointing” of Jesus as Messiah fulfilled the prophecies of the Old Testament. Christ (in Hebrew Messiah ) means the one “anointed” by the Holy Spirit. Anointing is the sacramental sign of Confirmation,

called Chrismation in the Churches of the East. Anointings form part of the liturgical rites of the catechumenate, and of the Sacraments of Baptism and Holy Orders (695). See Christ. ANOINTING OF THE SICK: One of the seven sacraments, also known as the “sacrament of the dying,” administered by a priest to a baptized person who begins to be in danger of death because of illness or old age, through prayer and the anointing of the body with the oil of the sick. The proper effects of the sacrament include a special grace of healing and comfort to the Christian who is suffering the infirmities of serious illness or old age, and the forgiving of the person’s sins (1499, 1520, 1523, 1526-1532). ANTICHRIST: The “deceitful one” referred to in the New Testament, associated with the “mystery of iniquity” which will precede the second coming of Christ, through which people will be led away from the truth to follow a false “messianism,” by which man glorifies himself and human achievement in place of God and his Messiah come in the flesh, in whom the kingdom will be fulfilled (675-677). APOSTASY: The total repudiation of the Christian faith (2089; cf. 817). APOSTLE: A term meaning one who is sent as Jesus was sent by the Father, and as he sent his chosen disciples to preach the Gospel to the whole world. He called the Twelve to become his Apostles, chosen witnesses of his Resurrection and the foundation on which the Church is built (857).