Catholic Dictionary

Find accurate definitions of over 5,000 Catholic terms and phrases (including abbreviations). Based on Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary, © Eternal Life. Used with permission.

Random Term from the Dictionary:

BORN AGAIN

Spiritual rebirth at baptism, as commanded by Christ: "Unless a man be born again of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the Kingdom of God" (John 3:5). The term is used in Catholic theology to describe the spiritual change worked by divine grace, by which a person, from having been conceived and born in sin, is regenerated into a new creature, a child of God and heir of heaven. It is synonymous with supernatural regeneration. In some Protestant circles the expression refers to a new experiential knowledge in Christ, wrought by baptism or by a sudden and lasting conversion from sin to a fervent service of God.