Dei Verbum: On Divine Revelation

By John Graveline, Director of Parish Life

August 2, 2026

“We proclaim to you the eternal life which was with the Father and was make manifest to us—that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you may have fellowship with us; and our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.”

1 John 1:2-3

As we have read and reflected upon the documents of Vatican II at the beginning of the Year of the Holy Spirit so far, we have considered the questions “Who are we as a Church?” and “How are we as Catholic Christians related to political authorities and non-Catholics?” This week we will begin to consider a new question “What is our mission as modern Catholics?” by exploring Vatican II’s Constitution on Divine Revelation (also known by its Latin title Dei verbum).

In opposition to Protestant claims, the Catholic Church has maintained that Divine Revelation is “contained in the written books, and the unwritten traditions which, received by the Apostles from the mouth of Christ himself, or from the Apostles themselves.”

As usual, a little background will help us understand the climate in which the Council addressed the topic of Divine Revelation. Since the Protestant Reformation, this topic was one of the deepest areas of disagreements between Catholics and Protestants. Martin Luthor famously declared that Scripture (the Bible) alone expressed the sure and unerring revelation of God. In opposition to this, the Catholic Church maintained that Divine Revelation is “contained in the written books, and the unwritten traditions which, received by the Apostles from the mouth of Christ himself, or from the Apostles themselves.” As these positions became polemical and hardened, Protestants tended emphasize the Bible, often to the neglect of the Tradition; and Catholics tended to emphasize the Tradition, often to the neglect of the Bible. Although the official teachings of the Catholic Church never denigrated the Sacred Scriptures and the reading of Scripture has always been an important part of the liturgy (however, the overwhelming emphasis was placed on the Mass as Eucharistic sacrifice and sometimes the Scriptures were only proclaimed in Latin); in practice, lay Catholics in the years before Vatican II were often warned about reading the Bible for themselves lest they misinterpret it, and they were often encouraged to depend on the explanations and homilies of the priest at Mass or on the instruction in “Bible History Class” from Religious Sisters or Brothers in Catholic Schools. Most Catholic homes displayed large “Family Bibles” which were used to record family genealogy and sacramental records, but they mainly collected dust from disuse.

However, much was changing behind the scenes in the first half of the 20th century. Advances in science and archeology; historical, literary, and language theory; and scholarly ecumenical and interfaith dialogue led to better understanding of the cultural conditions from which the Scriptures arose. The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls between 1946 and 1956 was a treasure which gave us access to earlier manuscripts of biblical documents than we ever had before. All these factors led to a great desire to retranslate the Bible into various languages in light of these new discoveries. This movement was encouraged by the Catholic Church. Pope Pius XII, who was pope from 1939 to 1958, especially championed this renewed interest in Catholic biblical scholarship. All of this brings us to Vatican II, and the teachings contained the Constitution on Divine Revelation.

The Constitution on Divine Revelation begins, “Hearing the Word of God with reverence, and proclaiming it with faith . . . it wants the whole world to hear the summons to salvation.” (Constitution on Divine Revelation, no. 1) The first step in our mission as modern Catholics is to marvel that we have a God who reveals Godself to us in various ways. The initial move of our mission is receptivity to God’s revelation: “hearing the Word” just as Mary began the Christian Era by receiving the Word of God from the angel Gabriel and receiving the presence of God within her through it. (Luke 1:26-38) God is the initiator of our creation and redemption; we receive God’s gifts with grateful hearts.

Like a three-legged stool, “in the supremely wise arrangement of God, Sacred Tradition, Sacred Scripture and the Magisterium of the Church are so connected and associated that one of them cannot stand without the others.” (Constitution on Divine Revelation, no. 10)

Another key point in the Constitution on Divine Revelation is that ultimately the Father “send his Son, the eternal Word who enlightens all people, to dwell among us and to tell us about the inner life of God . . . He revealed that God is with us, to deliver us from the darkness of sin and death, and to raise us up to eternal life.” (Constitution on Divine Revelation, no. 4) As baptized disciples of Christ, our mission flows from the mission of Jesus Christ, the Living Word of God who was sent into the world for our salvation: He is the ultimate revelation of God and God’s love for all people. (John 1:1-14)   The Constitution on Divine Revelation also highlights that God reveals Godself to us in various ways. “God, the first principle and last end of all things, can be known with certainty from the created world, by the natural light of human reason.” (Constitution on Divine Revelation, no. 6) But through the Holy Spirit, God is revealed especially through the inspired Scriptures and the Apostolic Tradition. “Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture make up a single deposit of the Word of God . . . the task of giving an authentic interpretation of the Word of God, whether in its written form or in the form of Tradition, has been entrusted to the living teaching office of the Church alone.” Thus, like a three-legged stool, “in the supremely wise arrangement of God, Sacred Tradition, Sacred Scripture and the Magisterium of the Church are so connected and associated that one of them cannot stand without the others.” (Constitution on Divine Revelation, no. 10) Heeding the Scriptures in no way denigrates the Apostolic Tradition, and vice versa. 

Finally, the Constitution on Divine Revelation called for the Bible to be restored to its proper place at the center of our discipleship as Catholic Christians. “Access to Sacred Scripture ought to be open wide to the Christian faithful.” (Constitution on Divine Revelation, no. 22) It called for newer translations of the Bible and encouraged ecumenical and interfaith partnerships in this effort. It called for greater emphasis on “constant sacred reading (lectio divina) and diligent study” using all the tools of modern biblical scholarship, always in the spirit of prayer, where the Holy Spirit who inspired the Scrip-tures dialogues with the same Holy Spirit who dwells within us through baptism. (Constitution on Divine Revelation, no. 25) The liturgical reforms of Vatican II would also open up the Scriptures in a greater way through the 3-year cycle of readings, always to be read in the language of the people assembled.

At the beginning of this Year of the Holy Spirit, may our parish renew ourselves to listening to and heeding God’s Word, allowing it to transform us, spur us to greater love of God and neighbor, and proclaim its Good News to all.  

This upcoming week, we will continue our reflections on the question ““What is our mission as modern Catholics?” by reading the Vatican II document The Decree on the Church’s Missionary Activity (also known by its Latin title Ad gentes divinitus). Click here to read this document on the Vatican website.

John