Dei Verbum: Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation, Post 3

This is the third and final post in a series on the Vatican II document, Dei Verbum.  You can find Post #1 here.   

Post #2 here.  

You can also find the online document here.  

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Chapter 5: “The New Testament,” Paragraphs 17 thru 20:

The fifth chapter delineates the importance of the New Testament.  It begins with the manifestation of the incarnation “when the fullness of time arrived (see Gal. 4:4), the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us in His fullness of graces and truth (see John 1:14).”  This was a significant and climatic moment in salvation history.

 

This mystery had not been manifested to other generations as it was now revealed to His holy Apostles and prophets in the Holy Spirit (see Eph. 3:4-6, Greek text), so that they might preach the Gospel, stir up faith in Jesus, Christ and Lord, and gather together the Church. Now the writings of the New Testament stand as a perpetual and divine witness to these realities. (17)

Through the writing of the Gospels we arrive at the full knowledge of Jesus Christ, so the Word made flesh is revealed in the words of the scriptures.

 

It is common knowledge that among all the Scriptures, even those of the New Testament, the Gospels have a special preeminence, and rightly so, for they are the principal witness for the life and teaching of the incarnate Word, our savior. (18)

 

The sacred authors wrote the four Gospels, selecting some things from the many which had been handed on by word of mouth or in writing, reducing some of them to a synthesis, explaining some things in view of the situation of their churches and preserving the form of proclamation but always in such fashion that they told us the honest truth about Jesus. For their intention in writing was that either from their own memory and recollections, or from the witness of those who "themselves from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the Word" we might know "the truth" concerning those matters about which we have been instructed (see Luke 1:2-4). (19)

 

For the Lord Jesus was with His apostles as He had promised (see Matt. 28:20) and sent them the advocate Spirit who would lead them into the fullness of truth (see John 16:13).  (20)

So we obtain the “fullness of truth” through the written word and through the spoken word of tradition guided by the Holy Spirit.

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Christine BoMass Commented:

Manny wrote: " The other takeaway from that passage you quote that should be noted is "we now await no further new public revelation before the glorious manifestation of our Lord Jesus Christ." That is important. Revelation has stopped with the apostles. Stuff like the Book of Mormon or the Koran can never be seen as revelation because revelation has ended. Any revelation by saints or mystics is private revelation and while it may be useful for devotional purposes cannot add to inspired revelation."

What about the experiences of the Saints? I am thinking of St Faustina in particular here, though there are more.

Manny Replied:

Christine, are you referring to private revelation? St. Faustina's diary is considered private revelation. Revelation given to saints and people alike is not considered official revelation. Official revelation ended with the New Testament. Whatever private revelations have come to people is not considered full or clear or complete. It may not be suspect, but the person who received the revelation, even if he/she be a saint, may be filtering it through the prism of their understanding or consciousness. Ultimately these private revelations come from fallible sources. Not only that, if you really started looking at the private revelations of many saints, you will probably find distinctions and contradictions. We Catholics may find useful material in private revelations but we are free to choose to believe or not private revelations.

For instance from what I understand St. Faustina has a vision of an angel of the Lord ready to strike the earth and destroy it. I personally find that hard to believe. It doesn't even seem like Divine Mercy. Perhaps I'm picking a bad example because I haven't read the details. I'll eventually get to reading her diary, but for me that sort of private revelation is something I am free to not believe.

Anyway, here are two articles that explain public versus private revelation by Jimmy Akin from Catholic Answers.
First

Second

If there is something in either article that contradicts what I just explained, let me know. I wish to learn further myself.

Manny Replied:

No! You have not been wasting your time. The saints provide great example and learning but their private visions are for instructive purposes, not doctrine. That angel ready to strike the world from St. Faustina's diary can be seen as showing God's displeasure toward the sin in the world. It has instructive value. But whether it actually happened is for us to choose.

 

For instance, St. Catherine of Siena had a vision that Christ had exchanged her heart with His. On this I believe. It did change her. But I can understand someone saying, "come on, how could that happen?" He would be free not to believe that.

 

Here I found the excerpt from St. Faustina that describes this:

 

As written in the Diary of St. Faustina:

 

"[The angel] was clothed in a dazzling robe, his face gloriously bright, a cloud beneath his feet. From the cloud, bolts of thunder and flashes of lightning were springing into his hands; and from his hand they were going forth, and only then were they striking the earth.

 

When I saw this sign of divine wrath which was about to strike the earth, and in particular a certain place, which for good reasons I cannot name, I began to implore the angel to hold off for a few moments, and the world would do penance. But my plea was a mere nothing in the face of the divine anger.

 

Just then I saw the Most Holy Trinity. The greatness of Its majesty pierced me deeply, and I did not dare to repeat my entreaties. At that very moment I felt in my soul the power of Jesus' grace, which dwells in my soul. When I became conscious of this grace, I was instantly snatched up before the Throne of God. Oh, how great is our Lord and God and how incomprehensible His holiness! I will make no attempt to describe this greatness, because before long we shall all see Him as He is.

 

I found myself pleading with God for the world with words heard interiorly. As I was praying in this manner, I saw the Angel’s helplessness: he could not carry out the just punishment which was rightly due for sins. Never before had I prayed with such inner power as I did then. The words with which I entreated God are these:

 

Eternal Father, I offer You the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Your dearly beloved Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, in atonement for our sins and those of the whole world; for the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us.

 

The next morning, when I entered chapel, I heard these words interiorly:

 

Every time you enter the chapel, immediately recite the prayer which I taught you yesterday.' When I had said the prayer, in my soul I heard these words: 'This prayer will serve to appease My wrath . . ."..

 

It's part of a large article

For God to have that kind of "wrath" strikes me as attributing to God an extremely anthropomorphic personality. It just doesn't feel correct to me. But those who have a very Old Testament view of God's personality may find that natural.

Christine BoMass Replied:

Thank you Manny. I will look into this. I do read a lot on the Saints as they are great examples. I was taken aback a bit there, concerned that I have been wasting my time.

 

I read St Faustina's diary. Stream of consciousness...very difficult to read. I don't recall the striking bit, however I could have easily missed it.

 

Yes we are all still learning. It is a blessed thing. :)

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Chapter 6: “Sacred Scripture in the Life of the Church.” Paragraphs 21 thru 26:

The sixth chapter brings all this context into a culminating point.  We see here why the Word of God is so important.

 

The Church has always venerated the divine Scriptures just as she venerates the body of the Lord, since, especially in the sacred liturgy, she unceasingly receives and offers to the faithful the bread of life from the table both of God's word and of Christ's body….Therefore, like the Christian religion itself, all the preaching of the Church must be nourished and regulated by Sacred Scripture. (21)

 

… Since the word of God should be accessible at all times, the Church by her authority and with maternal concern sees to it that suitable and correct translations are made into different languages, especially from the original texts of the sacred books. And should the opportunity arise and the Church authorities approve, if these translations are produced in cooperation with the separated brethren as well, all Christians will be able to use them. (22)

And so we come to what I think is the completion of thought of Dei Verbum.

 

The bride of the incarnate Word, the Church taught by the Holy Spirit, is concerned to move ahead toward a deeper understanding of the Sacred Scriptures so that she may increasingly feed her sons with the divine words. Therefore, she also encourages the study of the holy Fathers of both East and West and of sacred liturgies. Catholic exegetes then and other students of sacred theology, working diligently together and using appropriate means, should devote their energies, under the watchful care of the sacred teaching office of the Church, to an exploration and exposition of the divine writings. This should be so done that as many ministers of the divine word as possible will be able effectively to provide the nourishment of the Scriptures for the people of God, to enlighten their minds, strengthen their wills, and set men's hearts on fire with the love of God. The sacred synod encourages the sons of the Church and Biblical scholars to continue energetically, following the mind of the Church, with the work they have so well begun, with a constant renewal of vigor.  (23)

The Word of God is God, and one of the key ways to know God and to love God.  The religious and the laity need to understand it, through the teaching of the Church, for it builds our foundation as Christians.

 

For the Sacred Scriptures contain the word of God and since they are inspired, really are the word of God; and so the study of the sacred page is, as it were, the soul of sacred theology. By the same word of Scripture the ministry of the word also, that is, pastoral preaching, catechetics and all Christian instruction, in which the liturgical homily must hold the foremost place, is nourished in a healthy way and flourishes in a holy way.  (24)

The document lays down the gauntlet: we Catholics are Bible Christians.  We use the Bible as much as Protestants, and we should all do so with frequency.

 

The sacred synod also earnestly and especially urges all the Christian faithful, especially Religious, to learn by frequent reading of the divine Scriptures the "excellent knowledge of Jesus Christ" (Phil. 3:8). "For ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ." Therefore, they should gladly put themselves in touch with the sacred text itself, whether it be through the liturgy, rich in the divine word, or through devotional reading, or through instructions suitable for the purpose and other aids which, in our time, with approval and active support of the shepherds of the Church, are commendably spread everywhere. And let them remember that prayer should accompany the reading of Sacred Scripture, so that God and man may talk together; for "we speak to Him when we pray; we hear Him when we read the divine saying."  (25)

And why must we do so, that is, read scripture more frequently?  To evangelize! 

In this way, therefore, through the reading and study of the sacred books "the word of God may spread rapidly and be glorified" (2 Thess. 3:1) and the treasure of revelation, entrusted to the Church, may more and more fill the hearts of men. (26)

I know we Catholics have a lot of devotionals and non-scriptural means of building a relationship with all three persons of the Trinity and with the Body of Christ, and that is a good thing.  But one should not exclude the frequent reading of scripture.  Indeed, one needs to integrate scripture to fully nurture those devotionals.  I found Dei Verbum a wonderful and clearly argued document. 

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Here is a fine exegesis of Dei Verbum by Bishop Robert Barron. 

 

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My Goodreads Review:

What an important Church document.  And for a Papal document, how easy to read.  This document from Vatican II is on the nature of divine revelation, that is, how God made Himself known in the world, how that manifestation was written in inspired texts we call scripture, how that those scriptures are understood by the Church through the eyes of tradition, how the Church preserves that understanding, and how she promulgates it to the world.  All in about nine or ten pages.  Two quotes which sum up the document, from paragraphs 21 and 24:

 

The Church has always venerated the divine Scriptures just as she venerates the body of the Lord, since, especially in the sacred liturgy, she unceasingly receives and offers to the faithful the bread of life from the table both of God's word and of Christ's body….Therefore, like the Christian religion itself, all the preaching of the Church must be nourished and regulated by Sacred Scripture. (21)

 

For the Sacred Scriptures contain the word of God and since they are inspired, really are the word of God; and so the study of the sacred page is, as it were, the soul of sacred theology. By the same word of Scripture the ministry of the word also, that is, pastoral preaching, catechetics and all Christian instruction, in which the liturgical homily must hold the foremost place, is nourished in a healthy way and flourishes in a holy way.  (24)

If you are only going to read one papal document, read this one.  All thoughtful Catholics should read Dei Verbum because the Bible is a Catholic book, and you should understand why it exists and how the Catholic Church preserves the Apostolic teaching from sacred scripture.