Ever listen to a homily and think, “what did that mean?” Or watch the news about an upcoming election and wonder, “He’s Catholic, isn’t his view on the issue anti-Catholic?” Or people turn to you to explain a tenant of the Faith but your not quite sure yourself?

I know that I have, and have used many resources at my finger tips to find the answers. Now there is a new resource that will be my new go-to: All Things Catholic: A Guide from A to Z by Shaun McAfee. What is great about this book is that it is alphabetized and each topic is summarized making for a quick read. What is even better, under each heading is a brief definition for those of us who just need a tidbit of information. Let’s see what we can find that we didn’t know before.

Abortion

Yep, first definition in the book, McAfee doesn’t shy away from the hard topics. Catholics distinguish between intention when it comes to the hot topic. Naturally occurring abortions, such as miscarriage, is not a sin. It is when it is direct and intentional killing of an individual that is always a sin and forbidden by God.

Beatific Vision

Another term for Heaven, it is being in the presence of God along with all the saints. It is the goal, what we are working towards, where we want to be after our lives here are complete.

Creed

We all know we say creeds, but what are they? It is the statement of faith that “contains the beliefs central to the Christian religion.” If anyone ever questions what we believe, all we need to do is give them either the Apostles Creed or the Nicene Creed that is a summary of the faith statements of the Church.

Now that we covered the A – B – C’s, let’s do some jumping ahead…

Heterodoxy

Here’s a doozy. Defined as a “disagreement with or misunderstanding of some aspect of Church teaching,” this is an issue when the Church faithful don’t fully understand the faith, and needs to be addressed before it turns into full-on heresy (which is “the formal rejection of a tenet of Christian doctrine”). To avoid this slippery slope, we need to use resources like this one to learn more on the topic so we fully understand the why so that we know the truth.

Kerygma

This is the fancy term for proclaiming of the gospel of Christ. This could be from the actual reading of the gospel during Mass and what we are commanded to do at the end of Mass, to preach the kerygma by living according to the gospel.

Parousia

If you know the definition for this one, you get the gold star! This is the Second Coming of Christ. Before He left in the Ascension (that one is in the book too), Jesus promised he would come back at the end of time, and He always keeps His promises.

Zeal

We started with the first, might as well end with the last. Zeal is an intense love for God. It is not a passive love, but love so deep that we feel like we need to do something, to act. This is why we have the pro-life movement working so hard to protect life from conception to natural death. It is why people will give up their life for the faith, or face amazing opposition to stand up for Christ.

There aren’t many resources available that are complete and easy to use and comprehend, but All Things Catholic by Shaun McAfee checks all of the boxes. Being organized alphabetically, offering a easy definition and deeper explanation is the best way to find the answers needed for all things Catholic (hey, just like the title!). We are all called to be the person with zeal to proclaim the creed and live the kerygma. Always look forward to Parousia, and pray someday we all will be able to join all the faithful in the Beatific Vision. (Honest, I didn’t even select those terms to do that LOL).