Mystagogy: to lead through the mystries
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Mystagogy: to lead through the mystries
Adult learning: see United States Catholic Conference (Our Hearts Were Burning Within Us: A Pastoral Plan for Adult Faith Formation in the United States, 1999).
Assessment: According to the APA Dictionary of Psychology, assessment is a finding of the value, worth, quality, or importance of some personal quality. In research, it is a systematic process of gathering information from participants and using it to make inferences about them or to help them understand something about themselves. It involves gathering and integrating data to estimate a person’s behavior, abilities, and other characteristics.
Catechist in the Catholic Church refers to a person who teaches the faith and morals of Christianity, especially Catholic doctrine. Catechists are also known as teachers. They are responsible for sharing their faith through word, experience, prayer, and liturgy. They also plan and lead weekly or other periodic catechetical sessions.
Catechumenate is the formal process of preparing unbaptized people, called catechumens, for membership in the Catholic Church through religious instruction and celebration of sacramentals, paraliturgies, and sacraments. The catechumenate includes liturgical rites, instruction, spiritual development, and introduction to the local community. The catechumenate can be divided into several periods, including: Inquiry or pre-catechumenate, Catechumenate, Purification and Enlightenment (Lent to Easter), and Mystagogy.
Commandments, the ten:
(The Catholic News Agency). The Catechism has extended sections on each of these.
Developmental stage theories are psychological constructs that distinguish phases of the human life which are categorized by physical or qualitative differences in behavior. There are multiple empirically validated theories for human development and/or physical growth. Research abounds on the characteristics and measurement of the phases of developmental maturation throughout the life span. As research has expanded developmental psychology has become a distinct and rigorous psychological sub-specialty. However, developmental psychology generally agrees that growth occurs 1) in an orderly way and 2) simultaneously in different domains. Research in those areas supports the perspective that at each stage there are behaviorally measurable developments of ego, cognition, morality, learning, motivation, and spirituality.
Flight of stairs is a stairway (set of steps) between one floor or landing and the next.
Grace: Sanctifying grace is a habitual gift, a stable and supernatural disposition that perfects the soul itself to enable it to live with God, to act by his love. Habitual grace, the permanent disposition to live and act in keeping with God’s call, is distinguished from actual graces which refer to God’s interventions, whether at the beginning of conversion or in the course of the work of sanctification (Catechism, paragraph #2000).
Great commandment According to Catholic teaching, the greatest commandment is to love God and love your neighbor. Jesus Christ taught that these two commandments are inseparable and go together. In Matthew 22:37-39, Jesus says, “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself”.
Illuminative is one of three periods or stages of spiritual growth, also known as the “Way of the proficient,” that is, those more accomplished or skilled spiritually. It is the stage between “purification” and “union” on the path to Christian perfection. The illuminative stage is characterized by enlightenment of the mind in the ways of God and a clear understanding of His will in one’s own state of life. It is also the profound study of Jesus Christ and the example of the saints and their virtues.
Imperceptible not observable by a sense or by the mind.
Mystagogy is understood in two senses:
Mystagogue one who introduces others to religious mysteries.
Nones those who when asked in surveys what their religious affiliation might be replied, “None.”
OCIA (The Order of Christian Initiation of Adults) is a process for adults to become full members of the Catholic Church. It was formerly known as the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA), which is the written text, whereas the OCIA relates to the process. The process gradually introduces prospective converts to Catholic beliefs and practices.
Purgative is the first period or stage of spiritual growth and freedom, and is also known as the “way of the beginner.” In this stage, a person experiences their initial conversion, and responds to grace by moving away from sin and pursuing virtue. It can be difficult to overcome daily temptations, and practicing virtues can require an inner battle.
RCIA stands for Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults, which is a process for non-baptized men and women to enter the Catholic Church. It is also known as the Catechumenate. The RCIA is a gradual process that involves several stages, including study, prayer, and rites at Mass. The process prepares people for the sacraments of initiation, which are Baptism, Confirmation, and Holy Eucharist.
Risers A stair riser is the vertical space between each step on a staircase. It connects the treads, or horizontal parts of the steps that people stand on, to form the face of the step. Risers can be open or closed, depending on the style of the stairs. (see transitions).
Steps are literally an act or movement of putting one leg in front of the other in walking or running. Metaphorically, in the Bible, e.g., “The valiant one whose steps are guided by the LORD, who will delight in his way, May stumble, but he will never fall, for the LORD holds his hand” (Psalm 37:23-24), refer to God has giving guidelines as to the way his people should walk and, allegorically, live in this world.
Trinity is the central mystery of the Christian faith and of Christian life. God alone can make it known to us by revealing God’s inner life. The Church’s belief that God is one being made up of three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The three persons are distinct, but share the same divine nature. The Father generates the Son, the Son generates the Father, and the Holy Spirit proceeds from both the Father and the Son (see Catechism, paragraph #261).
Transitions: The psychological transition is understood as change that is to move from a state of psychological equilibrium (e.g., identification with a certain vision of the world) to another. This approach is derived from our combined socio-constructivist and psychoanalytic standpoint, (APA Psych Net, see risers).
Unitive, the third and final period or stage of Christian perfection in Catholicism. It is characterized by a constant awareness of God’s presence and a habitual disposition to conform to God’s will. The unitive period is also known as the “union” way, because it is a state of union with God through love and the experience of that love. The unitive period is marked by Heard ever deeper and deeper prayer, openness to God’s will, and communion with the Trinity, the saints, and the Church on earth.
Witness and witnessing: secular: a person who sees an event. Christian witness is someone who demonstrates their faith through their words, actions, and attitude, and who serves as an ambassador or missionary for Christ. They testify to what they have perceived as a religious experience A subjective religious experience (sometimes known as a spiritual experience, sacred experience, mystical experience) which is interpreted within a religious framework. A Christian witness is variously conceived as calling attention to something other than themselves, is called upon to give or be evidence of something, aims to be totally given to God and others, describes their faith in a living way, and apprehends a presence within themselves.
