A Glossary of Catholic Terms, Part 1

From "acolyte" to "motu proprio," learn the definitions of unfamiliar terms as well as new aspects of familiar ones

The Catholic religion makes use of a lot of specialized vocabulary, and sometimes we use common words in unusual ways. Moreover, traditionalists have a unique contribution to offer — when, for instance, we define terms more accurately than the ecclesiastical Establishment might do. In my book Reclaiming Our Roman Catholic Birthright (Angelico Press, 2020), I offer a Glossary of about fifty words that many readers have told me was enormously helpful to them, and I thought that it would be both beneficial and enjoyable to share this Glossary with readers of Tradition & Sanity.

Even if you’re already familiar with some or all of the terms, you’ll find interesting details in my definitions that you might not have seen before — together with some wry observations.

ACOLYTE. Not just a fancy name for “altar server,” but the fourth of the four ancient minor orders (the others being porter, lector, and exorcist), which became standardized over time as steps on the way to priestly ordination. The rite of ordination of an acolyte involves the touching of a candle and a set of cruets, to the liturgical use of which he is solemnly deputed. Despite Paul VI’s attempt to suppress minor orders in their longstanding form, they remain fully in use to this day in communities that avail themselves of the usus antiquior (see SUBDEACON).

AGGIORNAMENTO. Italian for “updating” or “bringing up to date”: a word frequently tossed about at the time of the Second Vatican Council to explain why that gargantuan gathering and its tedious work of re-explaining the Faith through sixteen rambling documents were deemed necessary. Initially, Pope John XXIII’s idea was that, while nothing was really wrong with the Church, she was looking a bit frumpy and old-fashioned, out of touch with the modern world, and needed a fresh makeover for evangelistic purposes. The shortsightedness and rashness of this proposal were pointed out by perceptive observers at the time, who were ignored as naysayers; its abysmal failure, which has compounded like interest on an unpayable loan, is no longer a matter of dispute, although theories as to why it failed vary a great deal depending on whether you are talking to a progressive, a conservative, or a traditionalist.

ASPERGES. In the TLM, the ritual sprinkling of the congregation and ministers that takes place at the start of the principal High Mass on Sundays. The priest, having processed in with the ministers and wearing a cope, intones the antiphon Asperges me, which the choir and people take up: Domine, hyssopo et mundabor, lavabis me, et super nivem dealbabor. V. Miserere mei, Deus, secundum magnam misericordiam tuam. “Thou wilt sprinkle me, O Lord, with hyssop and I shall be cleansed: Thou wilt wash me, and I shall be washed whiter than snow. Have mercy on me, O God, according to Thy great mercy” (Ps 50:9, 3). The Gloria Patri doxology is chanted while all bow, then the antiphon is repeated by all. During the singing the priest walks through the church sprinkling the faithful with holy water, not just as a reminder of baptism, but also as a present help in time of danger, and as a means for the forgiveness of venial sins. When the priest is back in the sanctuary, he sings a prayer asking the Father to “send Thy holy Angel from heaven, to guard, cherish, protect, visit, and defend all that are assembled in this place: through Christ our Lord.” The priest steps to the side to remove the cope and don the chasuble, and commences High Mass with the prayers at the foot of the altar, while the Schola chants the Introit. (In Eastertide, the Asperges antiphon is replaced with the Vidi aquam, and alleluias are added to the versicle.)

BALDACHIN. Also know by its Italian form, baldacchino: a canopy of wood or stone built over an altar or a throne, as a sign of honor for the one who comes to be present there. While the most famous is Bernini’s lavish Baroque baldacchino over the high altar and the tomb of St. Peter at the Basilica of St. Peter in Rome, thousands of baldachins are still to be found in older churches around the world — and happily in some newer ones, too, whose architects have taken up again this elegant ancient Christian structure, which does so much to draw attention to the place of the Holy Sacrifice by separating it visually from the rest of the sanctuary.

BREVIARY. See DIVINE OFFICE.

CANON. See ROMAN CANON.

COLLECT. The Collect is one of the three Orations. Said aloud or sung by the priest after the Kyrie (or, if appointed that day, the Gloria), it “collects,” as it were, all of the people’s petitions together in one formal petition presented by the Church to God. Unlike the verb, however, the noun is accented on the first syllable.