Defining Moments April 2007

D

Detachment: In each person’s vocation to holiness, that virtue which frees an individual from any inordinate attachment to another person, object or state of mind. True detachment is not simply a lack of care, but rather it is a liberation from any excessive affection that would hinder one’s love and worship of God.

Development of Peoples: The notion that society must meet the needs of all peoples if they are to attain the fulfillment intended by God. The Church continues to proclaim the dignity of man; she has championed the rights of all.

Devotion: 1) The desire to dedicate oneself to God’s service. Prayer seeks to animate one to abandon himself fully to God’s will — which is the core of sanctity. 2) Consolation experienced at times during prayer; a reverent manner of praying.

Devotions, Private: Pious practices beyond participation in various acts of the liturgy, often called “popular devotions.” Devotions of a liturgical type include Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament and recitation of prayer in the Liturgy of the Hours. Examples of paraliturgical devotions are a Bible service or vigil, the Angelus, Rosary, and Stations of the Cross, each with a strong scriptural basis.

Disciple: The general term for any student or follower of a particular teacher. In the New Testament, the disciples are understood more specifically as the seventy-two who received instruction from Jesus (Lk 10:1-24). After Our Lord’s Ascension, the Apostles added to the number of disciples, with one hundred twenty gathered at Jerusalem in Acts 1:15. In modern usage, the term “disciple” is generally applied to all the baptized.

The deliberate and willful abandoning of hope in God and trust in his providence. It offends against hope as well as faith and charity. To despair is an implicit denial of God’s goodness and intervention in creation. This vice cripples one’s willingness to love God and to serve Him and others, paralyzing any desire to better a given situation. Despair is not the same as fear and anxiety, which may result from illness, trauma, etc.