Tabernacle · is the secure box/house in a church or chapel that is specially constructed for the reserved Blessed Sacrament. It is usually made of precious metals or a worthy wood, is suitably adorned, features a veiled within, and may be veiled itself (often white or as per the liturgical colour of the day). When the Blessed Sacrament is reserved within, there is usually a single lamp (red or white) lit to recognise the presence of Our Lord.
They originated when some Christians could no longer attend Mass (usually due to illness or incarceration). The Eucharist was reserved until it could be brought to them. Over time, devotions developed.
For ritual reasons, the tabernacle is practically ignored through the Mass (as focus should be on the mysteries taking place). It (or really the Blessed Sacrament within it) is acknowledged only when the ministers first enter the sanctuary and then as they depart.
Thanksgiving · is a core tenant of the Judeo-Christian faith. The Psalms, for instance, are full of thanksgiving verses. It can be easy to forget the place of thanksgiving in our prayers, between all the petitions and contrition.
Thanksgiving after Mass · is encouraged, and can be accomplished through a brief time of prayer. There are various notable colloquies of thanksgiving, including ones by St Thomas Aquinas and Pope Clement XI; these and some others of unknown authorship are found in the Missal. Otherwise, the traditional Lord’s Prayer, three Hail Marys, Glory Be, and the Prayer to St Michael are still most fitting.
Out of respect for those taking a moment of thanksgiving, it is customary to refrain from talking in the Church after Mass (at least until exited the main part of the building).
Theology · is literally the study (ology) of God (Theo). Though there are major branches and styles of theology, they all come down to the mystery of humanity in relation to the divine. Christian theology hinges on the mystery of the incarnation. Usually, to study theology
fruitfully, some philosophy is helpful. For a long time (though not at his time), the Church endorsed with a kind of primacy the theology of Thomas Aquinas (based on Aristotelian philosophy); however, it not and has never been the only authentic(ally) Catholic theology.
Teleology · looks toward the end (the telos). Strictly speaking, it is the science or study (ology) of the same. It is the foundation of a branch of ethics that considers the end to which an action or endeavour is oriented; this is opposed to deontology which considers the inherent value of the act or endeavour. The telos (end) of faith is the salvation of our souls (1 Peter 1:9).
Tetragrammaton · refers to the written and traditionally unspoken ‘name of God’ in ancient Hebrew: YHWY. As the archaic language was written without vowels, attempts to translate it into English have landed with ‘Jehovah’ and ‘Yahweh’. Jews never speak it out loud, replacing it with Adonai (‘Lord’); out of respect for the Jewish people, we use the replacement ‘the Lord’ in all liturgical texts and translations of the scriptures.
Tridentine · is the adjective form of the word Trent (Trento), the town in the Northeastern Italian alps. It is typically applied in reference to the Council of Trent (1545–1547, 1551–1552, & 1562–1563) or resulting liturgical (re)forms. For example, people speak of the ‘Tridentine Mass’ as the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite codified at the Council of Trent (albeit reformed as late as 1962; the ‘Latin Mass’) or the ‘Tridentine model of Seminary’ (live-in colleges) that was made the universal norm for presbyteral training at the Council of Trent.
Transubstantiation · describes (though does not define) what takes place in the sacrament of the Eucharist. The term was developed by St Thomas Aquinas and was confirmed by the Council of Trent as a true and correct description of what takes place when the bread becomes the Body of Christ; when exactly it takes places is not stipulated. As the etymology suggests, the term says that there is a change in the host’s substance (which retains the form/’accidents’/properties of bread) into the Body and Blood of Jesus.