Saturday- eternity, signs, patriarch

Hey! Sorry I have to make this quick. Another early morning tomorrow and I'm gonna try and get some homework done too! Here are the definitions!

eternity: in its full sense, duration of being without beginning, succession, or ending. Only God possesses the fullness of eternity, since only he always existed (no beginning), has no succession (no change), and will never end (no cessation). It is defined Catholic doctrine that God possesses the divine Being in a constant undivided now. His eternity is the perfect and simultaneous total possession of interminable life.
Rational creatures share in God's eternity, but only approximate it, by participation. Angels have a beginning, and they have a succession of past, present, and future, but they have no cessation since they are pure spirits that will never die or cease to be. Human beings likewise have a beginning and they have succession, but unlike the angels they will die in body, to be later resurrected, while the souls live on forever. In God's absolute power, however, angels and human souls could be deprived of existence. Their eternity depends on the goodness and will of God.

signs: Something that leads to something else. It may be an arbitrary or conventional sign that has a connection with what is signified only by agreement among people, as a flag symbolizes a nation. Or it may be a pure sign that leads to the knowledge of something without itself being first known, as our ideas lead to the knowledge of real objects. Instrumental signs give meaning or understanding, as words lead to the knowledge of things and of mental status. Manifestative signs show the existence of something else, as a person's external behavior indicates his or her personality and training.
Each of these types of signs may be either natural or supernatural depending on whetehr its basis is founded on natural reason or divine revelation.
The whole of the Church' liturgy is built on the function of word, action, and object signs as symbols of the sacred. But among the sacred signs the most important are the sacraments, which not only manifest the special presence of God but actually confer the grace they signify.

patriarch:The father and ruler of a family, tribe, or race in biblical history. A name commonly applied to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Also a prelate who has the honor of being called the prince of fathers but is without jurisdiction except in virtue of some particular law. He holds precedence over primates, metropolitans, and bishops. In the order of their dignity, the Patriarch of Rome leads those of Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem. In the East there are patriarchs of the Armenian, Maronite, Melkite, and Chaldean rites, with minor patriarchs of Venice, Lisbon, the West and East Indies. The power and importance of patriarchs, except that of the Pope, have diminished since the Eastern Schism. They have the right to ordain all bishops of their patriarchate; consecrate the holy chrism; summon synods; send the omophorion (pallium) to their metropolitans, and hear appeals from lower courts. they are the highest rulers in their churches. The Sovereign Pontiff alone is over them.

These definitions are all from CatholicReference.net!

-Zoe

Here's the news article of the day!

http://www.cwnews.com/news/viewstory.cfm?recnum=57579
It's about a Hybrid-Embryo breakthrough.