Chapter 3 notes

111- balefire: large fire in the open air
“Sanctifying grace…actual grace”—Two divisions of internal grace according to Catholic doctrine. Sanctifying grace is a gift is freely given to the substance of the soul, but is incompatible with sin. Actual grace is an impulse that inspires the mind to perform a good act and is efficacious only if the mind wishes to continue the good acts.

112- “prefecture. . .of the sodality”: leadership of an honorific student association to promote the honoring of the Blessed Virgin.

113- Quasi cedrus. . .odoris: from Ecclesiasticus 24, 13-15, a Biblical book of the Catholic Bible, from what Protestants call the Apocrypha ("I was exalted like a cedar tree of Lebanon, or a cypress on Mount Sion. I was exalted like a palm tree in Engadi, or like the rose bushes in Jericho; like a fine olive tree in the field; I was exalted like a plane tree. I gave forth a perfume like cinnamon and camels thorn, and I spread fragrance like choice myrrh. . . .)

“morning star” one of the titles given to Mary in the Litany of the Blessed Virgin.

113- sums and cuts: math problems, generally based on Euclid
“game ball…scut the whole hour” – meaning, “class is over; we can skip the whole hour”

114- Stephen addresses the seven deadly sins: Lust, Pride, Covetousness, Envy, Gluttony, Anger, Sloth

first beatitude. . .second beatitude: being "poor in spirit" and "meek", from the Sermon on the Mount in the Douay (Catholic) Bible version, Matthew 5.

115-special confessors: priests to whom a penitent goes regularly

116- “a great fisher of souls”- from Matthew 4: 19. This is a reference to St. Francis Xavier the second in command to the founder of the Jesuit order, St. Ignatius Loyola.

simoom: a hot wind, seasonal in some deserts

“Remember the last words…” Actually from Ecclesiasticus 7:40 The last things are death, judgment, heaven and hell.

125 -non serviam: "I will not serve," Lucifer’s (Satans) defiant statement

blue funk: extreme depression and fear

126- “he founded the holy catholic church…rock of ages.” There is a pun here in that the church was founded by St. Peter, whose name in Latin, Petrus, also means rock.

135- poena damni: torment of the damned (removal from Gods sight). There are two kinds of punishment for the damned: poena damni is the punishment of the loss of the sovereign good, poena sesus are all the other torments that the damned experience.

act of contrition: formal prayer expressing remorse

136- “sacraments…indulgences” A sacrament is a visible sign of invisible grace instituted for the justification of mankind. The seven sacraments are Baptism, Penance, Holy Communion, Confirmation, Matrimony, Holy Orders, Extreme Unction. An indulgence is the remission of temporal punishment ; it is effective when the sin has been forgiven.

140- “mortal sin…venial sin…” Mortal sin destroys the soul; venial infects it, but leaves it in a reparable condition.

145- “The ache of conscience…” Stephen associates sexual arousal with sin, which is a misunderstanding of Catholic doctrine. It is an incentive to sin, not a sin in itself.

147- “a canopy” The canopy is carried over the priest who bears the blessed Sacrament in procession on feast days.

148 - brown habit of a capuchin: belted robe worn by Capuchins, a branch of the Franciscan order of friars

149- Confiteor- The prayer of penitence in which the penitent confesses his sins. Stephen stops mid-prayer before the pleas for forgiveness and absolution..

152 - ciborium: vessel that holds the host (eucharistic wafer) during communion

Corpus Domini nostri../ In vitam eternam: “The body of our Lord (lead you to) everlasting life” The first and last three words of the priest as he administers communion.