United States Catholic Catechism for Adults

506 • Conclusion and Appendices

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CATECHUMEN: An unbaptized candidate for the Sacraments of Initiation. CATECHUMENATE: An extended period of preparation for the Sacraments of Initiation incorporat ing ritual, prayer, instruction, and spiritual and moral support by the parish community. CHARITY (LOVE): The Theological Virtue by which we give love to God for his own sake and love to our neighbor on account of God. us to love others with generous regards for them. It excludes lust and any wish to exploit them sexu ally. It helps us see and put into practice God’s plan for the body, person, and sexuality. All people are called to pursue and live the virtue of chastity according to one’s state in life. CHRISM: Perfumed oil consecrated by a bishop at the annual Mass of the Chrism during Holy Week; it is used in those Sacraments which confer a permanent mark or charac ter—Baptism, Confirmation, and Holy Orders. CHASTITY: Connected to purity of heart, this is a virtue that moves

CANONIZATION: The name for the solemn declaration by the pope that a deceased member of the faithful may be proposed as a model and intercessor to the Christian faithful and venerated as a saint, on the basis of the fact that the person lived a life of heroic virtue or remained faithful to God through martyrdom. CAPITAL SINS: Those seven sins, sometimes called “deadly,” that can lead us into more serious sin. The Capital Sins are lust, avarice (greed), envy, pride, sloth, gluttony, and anger. CATECHESIS: The act of hand ing on the Word of God intended to inform the faith community and candidates for initiation into the Church about the teachings of Christ, transmitted by the Apostles to the Church. It also involves the lifelong effort of forming people into witnesses to Christ and open ing their hearts to the spiritual transformation given by the Holy Spirit. CATECHISM: The name given to a written work that contains a summary of all the beliefs of

the faith and is used for catechetical instruction.