1Abortion
the removal of a foetus from the womb to end a pregnancy, usually before 24 weeks
2Alpha and Omega
a symbol made of the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, which are used to show that God and Jesus are eternal- the beginning and end of all things
3Annunciation
when the angel Gabriel asked Mary to accept the role of the mother of the Son of God
4Angel
a spiritual being believed to act as a messenger of God
5Chi-Rho
a symbol to represent Jesus, made up of the first two letters of his name in Greek
6Doctrine
official Church teachings
7Emmanuel
a Jewish name meaning’ God is with us’
8Eternal
without beginning or end
9Evangelists
the writers of the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John)
10God’s will
the things that God wants people to do
11Grace
God’s free gift of his unconditional love to the believer
12Genealogy
a list of the generations in a family, which shows how people are related to each other
13Heresy
a belief that goes against the accepted teaching of the Church
14Ichthus (fish)
a symbol of a fish, based on a Greek acronym that translates as ‘Jesus Christ, Son of God, Saviour’
15Imago dei
‘the image of God’
16Incarnation
God taking on the human condition in Jesus 'became flesh'
17Magisterium
the teachings authority of the Catholic Church, exercised by the Pope and the bishops
18Sinful
when humans turn away from God and do what they want, rather than what God wants
19Sacrament
rites and rituals through which they believe received as special gift of grace. An outward sign of an inward grace
20Sacred heart
a representation of Jesus that focuses on his burning love
21Sanhedrin
the Jewish Council that looked after all aspects of Jewish life and religion at the time of Jesus
22Son of Man
the title which Jesus used to describe himself: has two meanings (1) emphasising that he was a human being, (2) from the Old Testament, a person who is given power by God
23Tradition
that which has been handed on or passed down from the teachings of the apostles; things which have value because they have stood the test of time
24Virgin birth
the belief that Jesus was fully human but did not have a human father