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Part of Holy Spirit: 1. Pneumatology 2. Gifts of the Holy Spirit In Catholic dogmatic theology the gifts of the Holy Spirit are one of the elements of justification. The Council of Trent explains the gifts ( dona) as part of the “interior renewal” ( D 799). The liturgy speaks of the seven-fold gift of the Spirit, e.g., in the hymns Veni Sancte Spiritus, and the Veni Creator Spiritus, and in the rite of ordination of deacons. The biblical basis is the description of the presence and activity of the Holy Spirit in the just (Acts, Paul, Jn). To be united in faith t…

Part of Mariology: 1. Biblical 2. Theological 3. Marian Devotions 1. There are many reasons why the eyes of faith should be fixed with special attention on Mary and why special reverence is due to her: her relationship to Christ, her role in the history of salvation, her perfect mode of redemption and the special nature of her membership of the Church. But the reverence paid to her is always distinguished in the faith of the Church and in theological thought from the adoration due to God alone. Mary is ne…

Part of Mariology: 1. Biblical 2. Theological 3. Marian Devotions Mary, the “mother of Jesus” (Mk 6:8; Mt 13:55; Acts 1 :4), does not figure largely in the NT writings. The testimonies of faith in her regard take on greater extent and depth with the growing interest in the life of Jesus, the death and resurrection of Jesus being the event first and primarily proclaimed in Scripture. In the letters of Paul, which are earlier than the gospels, Mary is mentioned only in Gal 4:4. But the important truth is al…

Part of Pope: 1. Theological 2. History of the Popes A. Definition The Pope is the vicar of Jesus Christ, the successor of the Apostle Peter, the head of the Catholic Church and also Bishop of Rome, Patriarch of the West, Primate of Italy, Archbishop and Metropolitan of the ecclesiastical province of Italy, Sovereign of the Vatican City (cf. Annuario Pontificio). In ancient times, the title “Pope” (“Father”) was given to bishops. It was widely used in monastic circles and became the ordinary title of a priest in the Orthodox Churches, as also in the Roma…

Part of Mariology: 1. Biblical 2. Theological 3. Marian Devotions A. The Problem Mariology concerns us here not in the sense of theological reflection on the person and character of Mary, her role in the history of salvation and the orderly presentation of the results, but as reflection on these primary theological truths. Hence our primary interest is not the content of Mariology, but the ranging of this content in its place in theology as a whole. But the two elements cannot be kept totally separate, since…

Part of Holy Spirit: 1. Pneumatology 2. Gifts of the Holy Spirit The teaching on the Holy Spirit developed very slowly in the faith of the Church from the indications of Scripture. Pneumatology always lagged behind Christology. This is all the more surprising because, according to Paul, the possession of the Spirit is characteristic of the justified and distinguishes him from those who are not justified. In general, Scripture speaks more of the Spirit’s function in our salvation than of his nature. The activity of the Spirit (in inspiration) joins the ОТ and NT together as a unity. 1. The Old…

1. Term and concept. This article is an endeavour to explain the notion of worship, not to give an account of its various forms. In a world of industrialization and technology, there could be a temptation to dismiss worship as outmoded, because unproductive. Kant held that worship was a form of fanaticism and superstition. L. Feuerbach and K. Marx then made a still more radical attack on worship. According to Feuerbach, “God” is a personification of human wishes and satisfactions in a non-human form which has been erec…