M

Macarism: A blessing, a word based on the Greek original, for a statement beginning with the word "blessed." It was a commonly used form of speech, and has been translated as anything from "lucky you" to "God bless you."

Magi: In the Infancy Narrative of St. Matthew’s Gospel (2:1-12), three wise men from the East whose visit and homage to the Child Jesus at Bethlehem indicated Christ’s manifestation of himself to non-Jewish people. The narrative teaches the universality of salvation. The traditional names of the Magi are Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar.

Magisterium: The Church’s teaching authority, instituted by Christ and guided by the Holy Spirit, which seeks to safeguard and explain the truths of the faith. The Magisterium is exercised in two ways. The extraordinary Magisterium is exercised when the pope and ecumenical councils infallibly define a truth of faith or morals that is necessary for one’s salvation and that has been constantly taught and held by the Church. Ordinary Magisterium is exercised when the Church infallibly defines truths of the Faith as taught universally and without dissent; which must be taught or the Magisterium would be failing in its duty; is connected with a grave matter of faith or morals; and which is taught authoritatively. Not everything taught by the Magisterium is done so infallibly; however, the exercise of the Magisterium is faithful to Christ and what He taught.

Magnificat: The canticle or hymn of the Virgin Mary on the occasion of her visitation to her cousin Elizabeth (Lk. 1:46-55). It is an expression of praise, thanksgiving and acknowledgment of the great blessings given by God to Mary, the Mother of the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity made Man. The Magnificat is recited in the Liturgy of the Hours as part of the Evening Prayer.

Maieutics:  "midwifery", it is a method of teaching introduced by Socrates. It is based on the idea that the truth is latent in the mind of every human being due to his innate reason but has to be “given birth” by questions asked by the teacher and answers given by the student.

Malabar Rites Controversy: Inculturation was a key to evangelization for Robert de Nobili and others. But Roman authorities thought that acceptance of such Indian ways could contain some “idolatry” and forbade the rites. In 1940, Propaganda Fide suppressed the oath imposed on missionaries concerning these rites.

Mandate: An attestation by ecclesiastical authority that a teacher of theology in a university or equivalent is in communion with the bishops (canon 812).

Mantra is a religious syllable or poem, typically from the Sanskrit language. They are primarily used as spiritual conduits, words or vibrations that instill one-pointed concentration in the devotee.

Maranatha: Aramaic word used in 1Cr 16:22, meaning “Lord come”. They are primarily used as spiritual conduits, words or vibrations that instill one-pointed concentration< in the devotee.

Mariology: The systematic study of Mary’s person and role in salvation history.

Marks (or Notes) of the Church: The essential qualities of Christ’s church that make it knows: unity, holiness, catholicity and apostolicity, as they are in the creed.

Maronites: Members of the Catholic Church, of eastern rite, originated by St. Maron († 407); they live mainly in Lebanon.

Martyr: A Greek word, meaning witness, denoting one who voluntarily suffered death for the faith or some Christian virtue.

Martyrology: A catalogue of martyrs and other saints, arranged according to the calendar. The Roman Martyrology contains the official list of saints venerated by the Church. Additions to the list are made in beatification and canonization decrees of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints.

Masoretes (ba'alei masorah) were scribes based primarily in Tiberias (but also in Iraq) who compiled a system of critical notes on the external form of the Biblical text, and who effectively determined the precise text of the Tanakh for the Jewish community

Mass for the People: On Sundays and certain feasts throughout the year pastors are required to offer Mass for the faithful entrusted to their care. If they cannot offer the Mass on these days, they must do so at a later date or provide that another priest offer the Mass.

Mass of the Presanctified: Liturgy using bread and wine consecrated in a previous Mass. In Latin rite, it is celebrated only in Good Friday; in Byzantine rite, on Wednesdays and Fridays of Lent (they do not have daily Masses)

Materialism: Theory which holds that matter is the only reality, and everything in existence is merely a manifestation of matter; there is no such thing as spirit, and the supernatural does not exist. Materialism is incompatible with Christian doctrine.

Matriarchy is a form of society in which power is with the women and especially with the mothers a community. The word matriarchy derives from the Latin word mater meaning mother and the Greek word archein meaning to rule. There exists a different term for 'women's rule,' namely gynocracy.

Matter: Every sacrament has matter and form. The matter is that part of a sacrament to which something is done to confer grace; for example, in Baptism, matter is the water and form is the formula.

Mediation: The intervention of someone to reconcile two parties in conflict. In the OT, Moses or the prophets, in the NT Jesus, God and man, is the only Mediator (1Tim 2:5), a central doctrine in Christianity.

Mediatrix: A title of Mary as especially associated to Christ in the mediation of grace.

Meditation: Mental, as distinguished from vocal, prayer, in which thought, affections, and resolutions of the will predominate. There is a meditative element to all forms of prayer, which always involves the raising of the heart and mind to God.

Melismatic: Melodic style characterized by many notes sung to a single text syllable.

Melkites: (“of the king”) Oriental Church, most of them united with Rome, faithful to the council of Chalcedon (451) belonging to the patriarchates of Antioch, Alexandria and Jerusalem.

Mendicants: A term derived from Latin and meaning beggars, applied to members of religious orders without property rights; the members, accordingly, worked or begged for their support. The original mendicants were Franciscans and Dominicans in the early 13^th century; later, the Carmelites, Augustinians, Servites and others were given the mendicant title and privileges, with respect to exemption from episcopal jurisdiction and wide faculties for preaching and administering the sacrament of penance. The practice of begging is limited at the present time, although it is still allowed with the permission of competent superiors and bishops.  Mendicants are supported by free will offerings and income received for spiritual services and other work.

Mercy, Divine: The love and goodness of God, manifested particularly in a time of need.

Mercy, Works of: Works of corporal or spiritual assistance, motivated by love of God and neighbor, to persons in need. (1) Corporal works: feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, clothing the naked, visiting the imprisoned, sheltering the homeless, visiting the sick, burying the dead. (2) Spiritual works: counseling the doubtful, instructing the ignorant, admonishing sinners, comforting the afflicted, forgiving offenses, bearing wrongs patiently, praying for the living and the dead.

Merit: In religion, the right to a supernatural reward for good works freely done for a supernatural motive by a person in the state of and with the assistance of grace. The right to such reward is from God, who binds himself to give it. Accordingly, good works, as described above, are meritorious for salvation.

Metanoia: A term from the Greek metanoein (“to change one’s mind, repent, be converted”) that is used in the NT for conversion.  It entails the repentance of sin and the subsequent turning toward the Lord. Metanoia is fundamental to the Christian life and is necessary for spiritual growth.

Metaphysics: The branch of philosophy (from the Greek meta —after + physika — physics) dealing with first things, including the nature of being (ontology), the origin and structure of the world (cosmology), and the study of the reality and attributes of God (natural theology). Metaphysics has long been examined by Catholic philosophers, most especially in the writings of St.  Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas.

Metempsychosis: = Reincarnation

Millennium: A thousand-year reign of Christ and the just upon earth be fore the end of the world. This belief of the Millenarians, Chiliasts, and some sects of modern times is based on an erroneous interpretation of Rv. 20.

Minjung theology: emerged in the 1970s, in the experience of South Korean Christians in the struggle for social justice. It is a people's theology, and, according to its authors, a development of the political hermeneutics of the Gospel in terms of the Korean reality.

Miracles: Observable events or effects in the physical or moral order of things, with reference to salvation, which cannot be explained by the ordinary operation of laws of nature and which, therefore, are attributed to the direct action of God. They make known, in an unusual way, the concern and intervention of God in human affairs for the salvation of men.

Mission: (1) Strictly, it means being sent to perform a certain work, such as the mission of Christ to redeem mankind, the mission of the Apostles and the Church and its members to perpetuate the prophetic, priestly and royal mission of Christ. (2) A place where: the Gospel has not been proclaimed; the Church has not been firmly established; the Church, although established, is weak. (3) An ecclesiastical territory with the simplest kind of canonical organization, under the jurisdiction of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples. (4) A church or chapel without a resident priest. (5) A special course of sermons and spiritual exercises conducted in parishes for the purpose of renewing and deepening the spiritual life of the faithful and for the conversion of lapsed Catholics.

Missions (Divine): The “sending” or “procession” of the second and third persons of the Trinity in eternity and time (cf Jn 14:26; 20:21; Gal 4:4-6).

Modalism: Heresy that so stress the unity of God as to deny the real difference of the Persons, that are mere “modes” or ways of God’s manifestation.

Modernism: The “synthesis of all heresies,” which appeared near the beginning of the 20^th century. It undermines the objective validity of religious beliefs and practices which, it contends, are products of the subconscious developed by mankind under the stimulus of a religious sense. It holds that the existence of a personal God cannot be demonstrated, the Bible is not inspired, Christ is not divine, nor did he establish the Church or institute the sacraments. A special danger lies in modernism, which is still influential, because it uses Catholic terms with perverted meanings. St. Pius X condemned 65 propositions of modernism in 1907 in the decree Lamentabili and issued the encyclical Pascendi to explain and analyze its errors.

Monastery: The dwelling place, as well as the community thereof, of monks belonging to the Benedictine and Benedictine-related orders like the Cistercians and Carthusians; also, the Augustinians and Canons Regular. Distinctive of monasteries are: their separation from the world; the enclosure or cloister; the permanence or stability of attachment characteristic of their members; autonomous government in accordance with a monastic rule, like that of St. Benedict in the West or of St. Basil in the East; the special dedication of its members to the community celebration of the liturgy as well as to work that is suitable to the surrounding area and the needs of its people. Monastic superiors of men have such titles as abbot and prior; of women, abbess and prioress. In most essentials, an abbey is the same as a monastery.

Monism: Reducing everything to a single principle: all is ‘spirit” (idealism), or all is matter (materialism), or no distinction between God and creatures (pantheism), etc.

Monk: A member of a monastic order — e.g., the Benedictines, the Benedictine-related Cistercians and Carthusians, and the Basilians, who bind themselves by religious profession to stable attachment to a monastery, the contemplative life and the work of their community. In popular use, the title is wrongly applied to many men religious who really are not monks.

Monogenism (or monogenesis) is a word meaning "single origin". It has been used in various contexts as an antonym for polygenism, or "multiple origin". The doctrine teaching that all men come from a single couple.

Monophysite: “One nature”: the doctrine holding that Christ is only divine, and has no properly human nature. Doctrine attributed to Coptic and Syrian churches

Monotheism: Belief in and worship of one God.

Monotheletism: Heresy maintaining that Christ has only one will (divine) and no human will: it was condemned in Constantinople III (680-681).

Morality: Conformity or difformity of behavior to standards of right conduct. (See Moral Obligations on page 134 of the 2001 print edition, Commandments of God on page 132 of the 2001 print edition, Precepts of the Church, Conscience, Law.)

Mortification: Acts of self-discipline, including prayer, hardship, austerities and penances undertaken for the sake of progress in virtue.

Motu Proprio: A Latin phrase designating a document issued by a pope on his own initiative. Documents of this kind often concern administrative matters.

Myron: Chrism, Holy Oil with balsam blessed by the bishop used in Confirmation, Ordination, etc

Mystagogy: Experience of the mystery of Christ, especially through participation in the liturgy and the sacraments. “Instruction in the mysteries” or full initiation after Baptism.

Mysteries of Faith: Supernatural truths whose existence cannot be known without revelation by God and whose intrinsic truth, while not contrary to reason, can never be wholly understood even after revelation. These mysteries are above reason, not against reason. Among them are the divine mysteries of the Trinity, Incarnation and Eucharist. Some mysteries — e.g., concerning God’s attributes — can be known by reason without revelation, although they cannot be fully understood.

N

Narrative theology was a late 20th century theological development which supported the idea that the Church's use of the Bible should focus on a narrative presentation of the faith, rather than on the development of a systematic theology. The Christian faith is thus also to be interpreted by the Christian community, and not by outside scholars or explorers. Narrative theology has also been referred to as post-liberalism. Narrative theology shares much in common with Biblical theology; meaning that theology which attempts to understand the progressive revelation of God towards Man as history developed throughout the Old and New testaments, rather than jumping from one section of scripture to another in a topical manne

Natural Law: See Law.

Natural Theology: The field of knowledge that relies upon human reason and the observation of nature, instead of revelation, to determine the existence and attributes of God.

Necromancy: Supposed communication with the dead; a form of divination.

Necrophilia:  is a paraphilia characterized by a sexual attraction to corpses. It comes from Greek words meaning "love of the dead".

Negative Theology: Like “apophatic” theology, it insists that we ignore more than we know about God, that we can say what God is not more than what God is. It stresses more wisdom than science in religion.

Neocatechumenate: A lay movement aiming at helping baptized Christians live the experience of conversion and initiation, as in the early Church.

Neophyte: Ancient name of the newly baptised.

Neo-Scholasticism: A movement begun in the late 19^th century that had as its aim the restoration of Scholasticism for use in contemporary philosophy and theology. Great emphasis was placed upon the writings of such Scholastic masters as Peter Lombard, St. Albert the Great, St. Anselm, St. Bonaventure, Bl.  John Duns Scotus, and especially St. Thomas Aquinas. The movement began at the Catholic University of Louvain, in Belgium, and then found its way into theological centers in Italy, France, and Germany. Particular attention was given to the philosophical and theological works of St. Thomas Aquinas, from which arose a particular school of neo-Thomism; the movement was strongly reinforced by Pope Leo XIII who issued the encyclical Aeterni Patris (1879) mandating that Scholasticism, in particular Thomism, be the foundation for all Catholic philosophy and theology taught in Catholic seminaries, universities, and colleges. Neo-Scho­lasticism was responsible for a true intellectual renaissance in 20^th-century Catholic philosophy and theology.  Among its foremost modern leaders were Jacques Maritain, Étienne Gilson, M. D. Chenu, Henri de Lubac, and Paul Claudel.

Nicene Creed: The formula of faith proclaimed by the council of Nicaea (325), expanded at Constantinople (381) and adopted by Chalcedon (451).

Nihil Obstat: See Censorship of Books.

Nihilism is the belief that all values are baseless and that nothing can be known or communicated. It is often associated with extreme pessimism and a radical skepticism that condemns existence.

Nominalism is the position in metaphysics that there exist no universals outside of the mind. Nominalism is best understood in contrast to realism. Philosophical realism holds that when we use descriptive terms such as "green" or "tree," the Forms of those concepts really exist, independently of world in an abstract realm. Such thought is associated with Plato. Nominalism, by contrast, holds that ideas represented by words have no real existence beyond our imaginations.

Non-Expedit: A Latin expression. It is not expedient (fitting, proper), used to state a prohibition or refusal of permission.

Notes of the Church: characteristics that make knowable the true Church. They are Unity, Sanctity, Catholicity, Apostolicity.

Notion: in the Trinity is a characteristic of the Person, or a Relation.

Novena: A term designating public or private devotional practices over a period of nine consecutive days; or, by extension, over a period of nine weeks, in which one day a week is set aside for the devotions.

Novice: A man or woman preparing, in a formal period of trial and formation called a novitiate, for membership in an institute of consecrated life. The novitiate lasts a minimum of 12 and a maximum of 24 months; at its conclusion, the novice professes temporary promises or vows of poverty, chastity and obedience.  Norms require that certain periods of time be spent in the house of novitiate; periods of apostolic work are also required, to acquaint the novice with the apostolate(s) of the institute. A novice is not bound by the obligations of the professed members of the institute, is free to leave at any time, and may be discharged at the discretion of competent superiors. The superior of a novice is a master of novices or director of formation.

Novissima: The Last Things; De Novissimis: Eschatology

Nun: (1) Strictly, a member of a religious order of women with solemn vows (moniales). (2) In general, all women religious, even those in simple vows who are more properly called sisters.

Nunc Dimittis: The canticle or hymn of Simeon at the sight of Jesus at the Temple on the occasion of his presentation (Lk.  2:29-32). It is an expression of joy and thanksgiving for the blessing of having lived to see the Messiah. It is prescribed for use in the Night Prayer of the Liturgy of the Hours.