Catholic Christianese

The four weeks before Christmas, kept as a season of waiting and preparation — for the celebration of Jesus' birth and for His return.

The first day of Lent, marked by a cross of ashes on the forehead as a sign of repentance and mortality — "remember that you are dust."

A summary of Christian teaching in question-and-answer form, used to instruct new believers and the young (catechism); and a person being instructed in preparation for baptism (catechumen).

A church's formal process for confronting a member in serious, unrepentant sin — private conversation, then wider involvement, and, if it fails, removal from membership — with the aim of restoring them.

Telling one's sins to a priest and receiving God's forgiveness through him — a sacrament in Catholic and Orthodox practice, also available in Anglican and Lutheran churches.

Set prayers — psalms, scripture readings, and prayers — said at fixed times through the day, in a pattern the church has kept for over 1,500 years.

A short song or formula of praise to God, especially the one that begins "Praise God from whom all blessings flow," often sung when the offering is brought forward.

January 6, the feast marking the arrival of the Magi to worship the infant Jesus — Christ revealed to the nations — and, in the Eastern church, the baptism of Christ. It ends the twelve days of Christmas.

A formal rite of prayer to drive an evil spirit out of a person or place — in the Catholic Church, performed only by a priest with the bishop's permission and after other explanations are ruled out.

A day on the church calendar honoring a saint or an event in the life of Christ or Mary — marked with special readings, sometimes a Mass or Liturgy, and often, despite the name, no feast.

Two physical gestures of reverence — a brief kneel on one knee toward the altar (genuflecting), and the hand motion touching forehead, chest, and shoulders (the sign of the cross).

A phrase meaning "I disagree with what you're doing, but I care about you as a person" — meant as a formula for combining moral conviction with love, and often heard very differently by the person it's said to.

Two physical elements of liturgical worship: water blessed by a priest, used for blessings and for the sign of the cross on entering a church; and incense burned as a symbol of prayer rising to God.

The week before Easter, walking day by day through Jesus' last days — Palm Sunday (His entry into Jerusalem), Maundy Thursday (the Last Supper), Good Friday (the crucifixion), and Holy Saturday — ending at Easter.

A sacred painted image of Christ, Mary, or a saint, made in a traditional style and honored — not worshipped — in Orthodox and some Catholic worship.

The roughly forty days before Easter, from Ash Wednesday to Holy Saturday, kept as a season of repentance, fasting, and preparation — often by giving something up.

A set, repeated order of worship with written prayers, readings, and congregational responses, followed the same way every week.

The Catholic worship service, centered on the Eucharist — scripture readings, a homily, prayers, and communion, in a fixed order every time.

The Thursday before Easter, remembering the Last Supper — when Jesus washed His disciples' feet, instituted communion, and gave the "new commandment" to love one another. It opens the three holiest days of the year.

The long stretches of the church year that aren't a special season — after Epiphany until Lent, and after Pentecost until Advent — when the Sundays are simply numbered and the liturgical color is green.

A local Catholic, Anglican, or Orthodox church community and, traditionally, the geographic area it serves — everyone living within its boundaries belongs to it.

The moment in a church service when everyone turns and greets the people around them, usually with a handshake and the words "Peace be with you."

Two Catholic structured prayers. The Rosary is a set of prayers counted on beads while meditating on events in Jesus' life; a novena is a prayer repeated for nine days for a particular intention.

Orthodox evening prayer (Vespers), usually Saturday evening, and the main Sunday service (the Divine Liturgy), centered on the Eucharist — long, sung, standing, and ancient. Vespers also names evening prayer in Catholic and Anglican use.