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-A-
ABORTION:
The intentional
destruction of an unborn child;
such an act is gravely contrary
to the moral law and the will of
the Creator.
ABSOLUTION:
The act of the
priest, using the power Christ
entrusted to the Church, in the
Sacrament of Penance by which he
pardons sin(s) of the penitent.
ADVENT:
A period of roughly four
weeks prior to Christmas, during
which the faithful prepare them-
selves spiritually for the celebration
of the birth of Christ.
AGNOSTIC:
One who claims to
be unable to know whether or not
God exists.
AMEN:
A Hebrew word meaning
“so be it” or “it is so”; its use serves
as an affirmation of what was said
previously; this term most often is
used to conclude prayer.
ANAMNESIS (THE MEMORIAL):
Prayer after the words of conse-
cration at the Mass in which we
recall the death and Resurrection
of Christ and look forward to his
glorious return.
ANGEL:
A spiritual, personal,
immortal creature with intelligence
and free will, created by God to
serve him unceasingly and to act
as a messenger to carry out the plan
of salvation.
ANGER:
When considered as
one of the Capital Sins, anger is
that passion which leads one to
either harm a person or want to
harm a person because of a desire
for vengeance.
ANNULMENT (DECLARATION
OF NULLITY OF A MARRIAGE):
The consent of the spouses enter-
ing into marriage must be a free
act of the will, devoid of external
or internal invalidating factors. If
this freedom is absent, the mar-
riage is invalid. For this reason, the
Church, after an examination of the
situation by a competent Church
court, can declare the nullity of a
marriage, i.e., that the sacramental
marriage never existed. In this case,
the contracting parties are free to
marry, provided the natural obli-
APPENDIX A.
GLOSSARY