Christian Spirituality and Practices Quiz

Christian Spirituality

• Christian spirituality is the lived experience of faith, encompassing prayer, worship, and daily practices deepening one's relationship with God.
• It's how people feel, experience, and live out their religious faith.

Christian Charity

• Also known as agape love, it's selfless, unconditional love modeled after Christ's.
• It's expressed through service to others and caring for the poor and marginalized.
• Includes concrete acts of service and gift giving.

Body of Christ

• The Church is a unified body with Christ as the head and believers as parts, functioning harmoniously. (1 Corinthians 12)

Liturgical Elements

Christian Calendar

• Annual cycle of Christian worship:
  • Advent (Christmas preparation)
  • Christmas
  • Ordinary Time (first part)
  • Lent (40 days before Easter)
  • Easter
  • Ordinary Time (second part)

Mariology

• Theological study of Mary, mother of Jesus.

Key Marian Prayers

• Hail Mary

• Rosary

• Magnificat

• Angelus

• These prayers honor Mary's role as Mother of God and intercessor.

Sacrament vs. Sacramental

• Sacrament: Seven official rites instituted by Christ (Baptism, Confirmation, Eucharist, Penance, Anointing of the Sick, Holy Orders, Matrimony).
• Sacramental: Sacred signs or objects (e.g., holy water, crosses, medals) that prepare for grace, but aren't sacraments.

Altar

• Sacred table in a church for Eucharist, symbolic of Christ's sacrifice and the heavenly banquet.

Eucharist Components

• Table/Altar: Site of Eucharistic celebration.
• Host: Bread used in communion.
• Chalice: Cup containing wine.
• Prayers of Consecration: Prayers transforming bread and wine.
• Transubstantiation: Catholic doctrine that bread and wine become Christ's body and blood.
• Real Presence: Christ's actual presence in the Eucharist.
• Communion of Saints: Spiritual union of all Christians, living and dead, in Christ.

Canonization of Saints

• Formal process for declaring deceased people saints by the Catholic Church.
• Involves investigation of their life and confirmation of two miracles.

Interreligious Dialogue

Approaches to Other Religions

• Exclusivism: Only one religion (Christianity) holds the truth and path to salvation.
• Inclusivism: Christ is the source of salvation, but God's grace can work through other religions.
• Pluralism: Multiple religions are valid paths to God.

Contemporary Issues

Secular

• Relating to worldly (rather than religious) matters; separation of church and state.

Ethics Approaches

• Deontology: Ethics based on duty and moral rules.
• Utilitarian: Ethics based on maximizing the greatest good for the greatest number.
• Virtue: Ethics focused on developing good character traits.

Catholic Social Teachings

• Human dignity
• Common good
• Subsidiarity
• Solidarity
• Preferential option for the poor

Catholic Medical Ethics

• Respect for human life from conception to natural death.
• Alternatives to fetal surgery
• Prolonging life?
• Principle of double effect
• Stewardship of creation

Modern Developments

"Nones"

• Growing demographic of religiously unaffiliated individuals.
• Many still find spirituality important.

St. Kateri Tekakwitha

• First Native American saint, known as "Lily of the Mohawks".
• Persecuted for converting to Christianity.

Black Theology

• Theological perspective emphasizing liberation from racism and oppression, arising from the Civil Rights Movement.

Mission and Liberation

Mission

• Spreading the Gospel and serving others as messengers of Jesus' story.

Colonialism & Postcolonialism

• Colonialism: Historical European expansion and domination of Africa, Asia, North America, and South America.
• Native populations were frequently labeled "pagan."
• Postcolonialism: Critical analysis of historical colonial practices and their lasting effects, including moral questions regarding Christianity and its impact in colonized areas.

Liberation Theology

• Praxis: Combination of reflection and action for social change, driven by theory.
• Priority of the Poor: Preferential option for the poor and marginalized as central to Christian faith.
• Mother Rosalise Hill fostered a belief in beauty inspiring students to goodness and truth.