Pentecost, Jewish   also called the Feast of Weeks; one of the three great feasts in the Jewish faith; celebrates 

the giving of the Law to Moses; occurs at the end of the harvest season; occurs 7 weeks plus one day, inclusive, 

from the Sabbath of Passover (this can be interpreted as either the Saturday during Passover, or the first holy 

day of Passover, Nisan 15). 

Pentecost, Christian   the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the nascent Church; called  Pentecost  because it 

coincided with Jewish Pentecost and occurred on the 50th day inclusive from the Resurrection of Christ. 

penumbra   an area of partial shadow; used to refer to the lighter shadow of the earth on the visible surface of 

the moon during a lunar eclipse; becomes progressively darker closer to the umbra. 

penumbral eclipse   a lunar eclipse where only the penumbra, not the umbra, of the earth's shadow falls upon 

the visible surface of the moon; such eclipses are not generally visible to the naked eye, because the penumbra 

is a lighter shadow which does not reduce the brightness of the moon's visible surface by a significant degree. 

May be visible with the naked eye if the darkest part of the penumbra (the part closest to the umbra) covers a 

portion of the moon's surface. 

Pliny the Elder   a writer and scholar who was part of the emperor Vespasian's inner circle; lived during the 

first century 

A.D.

; was killed by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius. 

prima facie   at first appearance, i.e. without closer examination. 

private revelation   a revelation from God other than Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition. Many Saints 

have described visions and other revelations from God. Though God is infallible, those receiving private 

revelation are fallible, and so private revelation is not considered infallible. Private revelation is also lacking in 

other ways when compared with Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition. 

Purim    celebrates the rescue of the Jews from extermination  by  Haman, the chief  minister of the King of 

Persia.

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Rosh Hodesh    or Rosh Chodesh, literally  New Moon;  the first day of the lunar month in the Jewish 

calendar coincides with the new moon and is a holy day of worship. 

Roman Consul   a position of leadership in the Roman Senate; two consuls were chosen for each calendar 

year. Though the term of office was one calendar year, it was common for an emperor to hold the office for a 

fraction of a year, in order to obtain the honor of having been Consul, and then to relinquish the position to 

someone else, so as not to have to do the work of Consul for a whole year. 

Sabbath   the day of worship of God and holy rest from labor. In the Jewish faith, the Sabbath is Saturday, 

from Friday at sunset to Saturday at sunset. In the Christian faith, the Sabbath is Sunday, from midnight 

(Saturday/Sunday) to midnight (Sunday/Monday). 

Sabbath, preparation day of   in the Jewish faith, the day before the Sabbath is a day to do the work needed 

to allow one to rest on the Sabbath; Friday, from sunset Thursday to sunset Friday. 

sacred calendar   the Jewish liturgical calendar, beginning with the month of Nisan in the springtime. 

Sacred Scripture   the Bible; God's Holy Infallible Writings. 

sepulchre   a tomb for burial. 

solar calendar   a calendar system based on the solar year. The Julian and Gregorian calendar systems are 

solar calendars. 

solar eclipse   when the shadow of the moon covers a portion of the earth's surface; occurs only about the 

time of the astronomical new moon; occurs whenever the visible disk of the moon partially or completely 

blocks the view of the visible disk of the sun from anywhere on earth. 

solar time   time according to the position of the sun in the sky. 

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