BTheol Bachelor of Theology Faith & Catholic Tradition 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which Second Vatican Council document redefined the Church as the 'People of God' and emphasized the universal call to holiness?
- Sacrosanctum Concilium
- Dignitatis Humanae
- Lumen Gentium (Correct answer)
- Dei Verbum
Correct answer: Lumen Gentium
Lumen Gentium (1964), the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, introduced the image of the Church as the People of God and emphasized that all the baptized are called to holiness.
Question 2: In Catholic sacramental theology, which sacrament is administered to the seriously ill or dying as a source of strength, peace, and courage?
- Viaticum
- Anointing of the Sick (Correct answer)
- Last Rites
- Extreme Unction
Correct answer: Anointing of the Sick
Anointing of the Sick is the sacrament administered to those seriously ill or near death, offering spiritual strengthening and union with Christ's suffering.
Question 3: What does the Catholic theological term 'theosis' or 'divinization' mean?
- The process by which a saint is officially canonized
- The transformation of the believer into a god-like state through participation in divine life (Correct answer)
- The study of the divine attributes of God
- The act of declaring a heretic's writings invalid
Correct answer: The transformation of the believer into a god-like state through participation in divine life
Theosis or divinization refers to the believer's transformation through grace into an ever-deeper participation in the divine life of the Trinity.
Question 4: According to Catholic teaching, which of the following best describes the relationship between faith and reason?
- Faith and reason are entirely separate domains that never interact
- Faith supersedes reason, making rational inquiry irrelevant to theology
- Faith and reason are complementary, with reason able to know natural truths and faith elevating reason to revealed truth (Correct answer)
- Reason alone is sufficient for full knowledge of God without faith
Correct answer: Faith and reason are complementary, with reason able to know natural truths and faith elevating reason to revealed truth
Catholic teaching, articulated in Fides et Ratio by John Paul II, holds that faith and reason are complementary paths to truth, neither contradicting the other.
Question 5: In Catholic tradition, what is the liturgical term for the prayer of consecration during which the bread and wine become the Body and Blood of Christ?
- The Epiclesis
- The Anaphora
- The Eucharistic Prayer (Correct answer)
- The Canon of the Mass
Correct answer: The Eucharistic Prayer
The Eucharistic Prayer is the central prayer of the Mass, containing the words of institution by which the consecration takes place.
Question 6: Which of the following Catholic Marian dogmas was the last to be formally defined, proclaimed by Pope Pius XII in 1950?
- Immaculate Conception
- Divine Maternity (Theotokos)
- Perpetual Virginity
- Assumption of Mary (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Assumption of Mary
The Assumption of Mary, defined by Pope Pius XII in Munificentissimus Deus (1950), is the most recently defined Marian dogma, affirming Mary's bodily assumption into heaven.
Question 7: What is the primary distinction between the 'immanent Trinity' and the 'economic Trinity' in Catholic Trinitarian theology?
- The immanent Trinity refers to God's inner life; the economic Trinity refers to God's actions in salvation history (Correct answer)
- The immanent Trinity is accessible to reason; the economic Trinity requires faith
- The immanent Trinity describes Eastern theology; the economic Trinity describes Western theology
- The immanent Trinity refers to the Father and Son; the economic Trinity includes the Holy Spirit
Correct answer: The immanent Trinity refers to God's inner life; the economic Trinity refers to God's actions in salvation history
The immanent Trinity describes God's inner Trinitarian life as it is in itself, while the economic Trinity refers to how the Trinity acts and reveals itself in creation and salvation history.
BTheol Bachelor of Theology Faith & Catholic Tradition 5
Which Second Vatican Council document redefined the Church as the 'People of God' and emphasized the universal call to holiness?