Constitution on divine revelation. Constitution on Divine Revelation ns^i/< c/oqi^y^J ICC = /r r/vZ/i^ic? c - I t l ovt cV/v* - - ULc i ///_ , /dClS i' w , r m I Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2016 p / https://archive.org/details/constitutionondivati Constitution on Divine Revelation This booklet is the text of an English translation relayed from Vatican City to the Press Department of the National Catholic Welfare Con- ference, Washington, D.C. PRINTED IN THE U.S.A. BY OUR SUNDAY VISITOR INC. HUNTINGTON, INDIANA 46750 605 ; /• Constitution on Divine Revelation following is the text of an English translation of the ‘‘Con- * stitution on Divine Revelation/* promulgated by Pope Paul VI on Nov. 18, 1965. PREFACE 1. Hearing the word of God with reverence and proclaiming it with faith, the sacred synod takes its direction from these words of St. John: “We an- nounce to you the eternal life which dwelt with the Father and was made visible to us. What we have seen and heard we announce to you, so that you may have fellowship with us and our common fellowship be with the Father and His Son Jesus Christ” (I John 1:2-3). Therefore, following in the footsteps of the Council of Trent and of the First Vatican Council, this present council wishes to set forth authentic doctrine on divine revelation and how it is handed on, so that by hearing the message of salvation the whole world may believe, by believing it may hope, and by hoping it may love. CHAPTER ONE Revelation Itself 2. In His goodness and wis- dom God chose to reveal Him- self and to make known to us the hidden purpose of His will (see Eph. 1:9) by which through Christ, the Word made flesh, man might in the Holy Spirit have access to the Father and come to share in the divine nature (see Eph. 2:18, 2 Peter 3 1:4). Through this revelation, therefore, the invisible God (see Col. 1:15; 1 Tim. 1:17) out of the abundance of His love speaks to men as friends (see Ex. 33:11; John 15:14-15) and lives among them (see Bar. 3: 38), so that He may invite and take them into fellowship with Himself. This plan of revela- tion is realized by deeds and words having an inner unity: the deeds wrought by God in the history of salvation mani- fest and confirm the teaching and realities signified by the words, while the words pro- claim the deeds and clarify the mystery contained in them. By this revelation then, the deep- est truth about God and the salvation of man shines out for our sake in Christ, who is both the mediator and the fulness of all revelation. 3. God, who through the Word creates all things (see John, 1:3) and keeps them in existence, gives men an endur- ing witness to Himself in creat- ed realities (see Rom. 1:19-20). Planning to make known the way of heavenly salvation, He went further and from the start manifested Himself to our first parents. Then after their fall His promise of redemption aroused in them the hope of being saved (see Gen. 3:15) and from that time on He ceaseless- ly kept the human race in His care, to give eternal life to those who perseveringly do good in search of salvation (see Rom. 2:6-7). Then, at the time He had appointed He called Abraham in order to make of him a great nation (see Gen. 12:2). Through the patriarchs, and after them through Moses and the prophets. He taught this people to acknowledge Himself the one living and true God, provident father and just judge, and to wait for the Sav- ior promised by Him, and in this manner prepared the way for the Gospel down through the centuries. 4. Then, after speaking in many and varied ways through the prophets, “now at last in these days God has spoken to us in His Son” (Heb. 1:1-2). For He sent His Son, the eternal Word, who enlightens all men. so that He might dwell among men and tell them of the in- nermost being of God (see John 1:1-18). Jesus Christ, therefore, the Word made flesh, was sent as “a man to men.” He “speaks the words of God” (John 3:34), and completes the work of sal- vation which His Father gave Him to do (see John 5:36, 17:4). To see Jesus is to see His Fa- ther (John 14:9). For this rea- son Jesus perfected revelation by fulfilling it through His whole work of making Himself present and manifesting Him- self: through His words and deeds. His signs and wonders, but especially through His death and glorious resurrection from the dead and final send- ing of the Spirit of truth. More- 4 over He confirmed with divine testimony what revelation pro- claimed, that God is with us to free us from the darkness of sin and death, and to raise us up to life eternal. The Christian dispensation, therefore, as the new and defin- itive covenant, will never pass away and we now await no fur- ther new public revelation be- fore the glorious manifestation of our Lord Jesus Christ (see I Tim. 6:14 and Titus 2:13). 5. “The obedience of faith” (Rom. 13:26; see 1:5; 2 Cor. 10: 5-6) “is to be given to God who reveals, an obedience by which man commits his whole self freely to God, offering the full submission of intellect and will to God who reveals,” and freely assenting to the truth revealed by Him. To make this act of faith, the grace of God and the interior help of the Holy Spirit must precede and assist, mov- ing the heart and turning it to God, opening the eyes of the mind and giving “joy and ease to everyone in assenting to the truth and believing it.” To bring about an ever deeper understanding of revelation the same Holy Spirit constantly brings faith to completion by His gifts. 6. Through divine revelation, God chose to show forth and communicate Himself and the eternal decisions of His will re- garding the salvation of men. That is to say. He chose to share with them those divine treasures which totally trans- cend the understanding of the human mind. As a sacred synod has af- firmed, God, the beginning and end of all things, can be known with certainty from created re- ality by the light of human reason (see Rom. 1:20); but teaches that it is through His revelation that those religious truths which are by their na- ture accessible to human rea- son can be known by all men with ease, with solid certi- tude and with no trace of error, even in this present state of the human race. CHAPTER TWO Handing on Divine Revelation 7. In His gracious goodness, God has seen to it that what He had revealed for the salvation of all nations would abide perpetually in its full integrity and be handed on to all gen- erations. Therefore Christ the Lord in whom the full revela- tion of the supreme God is brought to completion (see 5 Cor. 1:20; 3:13; 4:6), commis- sioned the Apostles to preach to all men that Gospel which is the source of all saving truth and moral teaching, and to im- part to them heavenly gifts. This Gospel had been promised in former times through the prophets, and Christ Himself had fulfilled it and promulgat- ed it with His lips. This com- mission was faithfully fulfilled by the Apostles who, by their oral preaching, by example, and by observances handed on what they had received from the lips of Christ, from living with Him, and from what He did, or what they had learned through the prompting of the Holy Spirit. The commission was fulfilled, too, by those Apostles and apostolic men who under the inspiration of the same Holy Spirit committed the message of salvation to writing. But in order to keep the Gos- pel forever whole and alive within the Church, the Apostles left bishops as their succes- sors, “handing over” to them “the authority to teach in their own place.” This sacred tradi- tion, therefore, and Sacred Scripture of both the Old and New Testaments are like a mir- ror in which the pilgrim Church on earth looks at God, from whom she has received every- thing, until she is brought fi- nally to see Him as He is, face to face (see I John 3:2). 8. And so the apostolic preaching, which is expressed in a special way in the inspired books, was to be preserved by an unending succession of preachers until the end of time. Therefore the Apostles, hand- ing on what they themselves had received, warn the faithful to hold fast to the traditions which they have learned either bv word of mouth or by letter (see 2 Thess. 2:15), and to fight in defense of the faith handed on once and for all (see Jud. 3). Now what was handed on by the Apostles includes every- thing which contributes toward the holiness of life and increase in faith of the people of God; and so the Church, in her teach- ing, life and worship, perpetu- ates and hands on to all gen- erations all that she herself is, all that she believes. This tradition which comes from the Apostles develops in the Church with the help of the Holy Spirit. For there is a growth in the understanding of the realities and the words which have been handed down. This happens through the con- templation and study made by believers, who treasure these things in their hearts (see Luke, 2:19, 51) through a penetrat- ing understanding of the spir- itual realities which they ex- perience, and through the preaching of those who have received through episcopal suc- cession the sure gift of truth. For as the centuries succeed one another, the Church con- 6 stantly moves forward toward the fulness of divine truth un- til the words of God reach their complete fulfillment in her. The words of the holy fa- thers witness to the presence of this living tradition, whose wealth is poured into the prac- tice and life of the believing and praying Church. Through the same tradition the Church’s full canon of the sacred books is known, and the sacred writ- ings themselves are more pro- foundly understood and un- ceasingly made active in her; and thus God, who spoke of old, uninterruptedly converses with the bride of His beloved Son; and the Holy Spirit, through whom the living voice of the Gospel resounds in the Church, and through her, in the world, leads unto all truth those who believe and makes the word of Christ dwell abundantly in them (see Col. 3:16). 9. Hence there exists a close connection and communication between sacred tradition and sacred Scripture. For both of them, flowing from the same divine wellspring, in a certain way merge into a unity and tend toward the same end. For Sacred Scripture is the word of God inasmuch as it is con- signed to writing under the in- spiration of the divine Spirit, while sacred tradition takes the word of God entrusted by Christ the Lord and the Holy Spirit to the Apostles, and hands it on to their successors in its full purity, so that led by the light of the Spirit of truth, they may in proclaiming it preserve this word of God faithfully, explain it, and make it more widely known. Conse- quently it is not from Sacred Scripture alone that the Church draws her certainty about ev- erything which has been re- vealed. Therefore both sacred tradition and Sacred Scripture are to be accepted and vener- ated with the same sense of loyalty and reverence. 10. Sacred tradition and sa- cred Scripture form one sacred deposit of the word of God, committed to the Church. Holding fast to this deposit the entire holy people united with their shepherds remain always steadfast in the teaching of the Apostles, in the common life, in the breaking of the bread and in prayers (see Acts 2, 42, Greek text), so that holding to, practicing and professing the heritage of the faith, it becomes on the part of the bishops and faithful a single common ef- fort. But the task of authentically interpreting the word of God, whether written or handed on, has been entrusted exclusively to the living teaching office of the Church, whose authority is exercised in the name of Jesus Christ. This teaching office is not above the word of God, but serves it, teaching only what 7 has been handed on, listening to it devoutly, guarding it scrupulously and explaining it faithfully in accord with a di- vine commission and with the help of the Holy Spirit; it draws from this one deposit of faith everything which it pre- sents for belief as divinely re- vealed. It is clear, therefore, that sa- cred tradition, sacred Scripture and the teaching authority of the Church, in accord with God’s most wise design, are so linked and joined together that one cannot stand without the others, and that all together and each in its own way under the action of the one Holy Spirit contribute effectively to the salvation of souls. CHAPTER THREE Sacred Scripture, Its Inspiring and Divine Interpretation 11. Those divinely revealed realities which are contained and presented in sacred Scrip- ture have been committed to writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. For holy mother Church, relying on the belief of the Apostles (see John, 20:31; 2 Tim. 3:16; 2 Peter 1:19-20, 3:15-16), holds that the books of both the Old and New Testaments in their entirety, with all their parts, are sacred and canonical because written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, they have God as their author and have been handed on as such to the Church herself. In composing the sacred books, God chose men and while employed by Him they made use of their powers and abilities, so that with Him acting in them and through them, they, as true authors, consigned to writing everything and only those things which He wanted. Therefore since everything asserted by the inspired au- thors or sacred writers must be held to be asserted by the Holy Spirit, it follows that the books of Scripture must be acknowl- edged as teaching solidly, faith- fully and without error that truth which God wanted put into the sacred writings for the sake of our salvation. There- fore “all Scripture is divinely inspired and has its use for teaching the truth and refuting 8 error, for reformation of man- ners and discipline in right liv- ing, so that the man who be- longs to God may be efficient and equipped for good work of every kind” (2 Tim. 3:16-17, Greek text). 12. However, since God speaks in sacred Scripture through men in human fashion, the interpreter of sacred Scrip- ture, in order to see clearly what God wanted to communi- cate to us, should carefully in- vestigate what meaning the sa- cred writers really intended, and what God wanted to mani- fest by means of their words. To search out the intention of the sacred writers, attention should be given, among other things, to “literary forms.” For truth is set forth and expressed differently in texts which are variously historical, prophetic, poetic, or of other forms of dis- course. The interpreter must investigate what meaning the sacred writer intended to ex- press and actually expressed in particular circumstances by using contemporary literary forms in accordance with the situation of his own time and culture. For the correct under- standing of what the sacred au- thor wanted to assert, due at- tention must be paid to the customary and characteristic styles of feeling, speaking and narrating which prevailed at the time of the sacred writer, and to the patterns men nor- mally employed at that period in their everyday dealings with one another. But, since holy Scripture must be read and interpreted in the same spirit in which it was written, no less serious atten- tion must be given to the con- tent and unity of the whole of Scripture if the meaning of the sacred texts is to be correctly worked out. The living tradi- tion of the whole Church must be taken into account along with the harmony which exists between elements of the faith. It is the task of exegetes to work accojrding to these rules toward a better understanding and explanation of the meaning of sacred Scripture, so that through preparatory study the judgment of the Church may mature. For all of what has been said about the way of in- terpreting Scripture is subject finally to the judgment of the Church, which carries out the divine commission and ministry of guarding and interpreting the word of God. 13. In sacred Scripture, therefore, while the truth and holiness of God always remains intact, the marvelous “conde- scension” of eternal wisdom is clearly shown, “that we may learn the gentle kindness of God, which words cannot ex- press, and how far He has gone in adapting His language with thoughtful concern for our weak human nature.” For the words of God, expressed in hu- 9 man language, have been made like human discourse, just as the word of the eternal Father, when He took to Himself the flesh of human weakness, was in every way made like men. CHAPTER FOUR The Old Testament 14. In carefully planning and preparing the salvation of the whole human race the God of infinite love, by a special dispensation, chose for Himself a people to whom He would en- trust His promises. First He en- tered into a covenant with Abraham (see Gen. 15:18) and, through Moses, with the people of Israel (see Ex. 24:8). To this people which He had acquired for Himself, He so manifested Himself through words and deeds as the one true and liv- ing God that Israel came to know by experience the ways of God with men. Then, too, when God Himself spoke to them through the mouth of the prophets, Israel daily gained a deeper and clearer understand- ing of His ways and made them more widely known among the nations (see Ps. 21:29; 95:1-3; Is. 2:1-5; Jer. 3:17). The plan of salvation foretold by the sa- cred authors, recounted and ex- plained by them, is found as the true word of God in the books of the Old Testament: these books, therefore, written under divine inspiration, remain per- manently valuable. “For all that was written for our in- struction, so that by steadfast- ness and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope” (Rom. 15:4). 15. The principal purpose to which the plan of the old cove- nant was directed was to pre- pare for the coming of Christ, the redeemer of all and of the messianic kingdom, to ^nnounce this coming by prophecy (see Luke 24:44, John 5:39; 1 Peter 1:10), and to indicate its mean- ing through various types (see I Cor. 10:12). Now the books of the Old Testament, in accord- ance with the state of mankind before the time of salvation es- tablished by Christ, reveal to all men the knowledge of God and of man and the ways in which God, just and merciful, deals with men. These books, though they also contain some things which are incomplete and temporary, nevertheless show us true divine pedagogy. These same books, then, give expression to a lively sense of 10 God, contain a store of sublime teachings about God, sound wisdom about human life, and a wonderful treasury of prayers, and in them the mystery of our salvation is present in a hidden way. Christians should receive them with reverence. 16. God, the inspirer and author of both Testaments, wisely arranged that the New Testament be hidden in the Old and the Old be made manifest in the New. For, though Christ established the new covenant in His blood (see Luke 22:20; 1 Cor. 11:25), still the books of the Old Testament with all their parts, caught up into the proclamation of the Gospel, ac- quire and show forth their full meaning in the New Testament (see Matt. 5:17; Luke 24:27; Rom. 16:25-26; 2 Cor. 14:16) and in turn shed light on it and explain it. CHAPTER FIVE The New Testament 17. The word of God, which is the power of God for the sal- vation of all who believe (see Rom. 1:16), is set forth and shows its power in a most ex- cellent way in the writings of the New Testament. For when the fulness of time arrived (see Gal. 4:4), the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us in His fulness of graces and truth (see John 1:14). Christ established the kingdom of God on earth, manifested His Father and Him- self by deeds and words, and completed His work by His death, resurrection and glorious Ascension and by the sending of the Holy Spirit. Having been lifted up from the earth. He draws all men to Himself (see John 12:32, Greek text). He who alone has the words of eternal life (see John 6:68). 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 Testa- ment stand as a perpetual and divine witness to these reali- ties. 18. It is common knowledge that among all the Scriptures, even those of the New Testa- 11 ment, the Gospels have a spe- cial preeminence, and rightly so, for they are the principal witness for the life and teach- ing of the incarnate Word, our savior. The Church has always and everywhere held and continues to hold that the four Gospels are of apostolic origin. For what the Apostles preached in fulfillment of the commission of Christ, afterwards they themselves and apostolic men, under the inspiration of the di- vine Spirit, handed on to us in writing: the foundation of faith, namely, the fourfold Gospel, ac- cording to Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. 19. Holy Mother Church has firmly and with absolute con- stancy held, and continues to hold, that the four Gospels just named, whose historical charac- ter the Church unhesitatingly asserts, faithfully hand on what Jesus Christ, while living among men, really did and taught for their eternal salvation until the day He was taken up into heav- en (see Acts 1:1). Indeed, after the ascension of the Lord the Apostles handed on to their hearers what He had said and done. This they did with that clearer understanding which they enjoyed after they had been instructed by the glori- ous events of Christ’s life and taught by the light of the Spirit of truth. The sacred authors wrote the four Gospels, select- ing some things from the many which had been handed on by word of mouth or in writing, reducing some of them to a syn- thesis, explaining some things in view of the situation of their churches, and preserving the form of proclamation but al- ways 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 recol- lections, or from the witness of those who “themselves from the beginning were eye-witnesses and ministers of the Word” we might know “the truth” con- cerning those matters about which we have been instruct- ed (see Luke 1:2-4). 20. Besides the four Gospels, the canon of the New Testament also contains the epistles of St. Paul and other apostolic writ- ings, composed under the inspi- ration of the Holy Spirit, by which according to the wise plan of God, those matters which concern Christ the Lord are confirmed. His true teaching is more and more fully stated, the saving power of the divine work of Christ is preached, the story is told of the beginnings of the Church and its marvelous growth, and its glorious fulfill- ment is foretold. 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 fulness of truth (see John 16:13). 12 CHAPTER SIX Sacred Scripture in the Life of the Church 21. The Church has always venerated the divine Scriptures just as she venerates the body of the Lord, since, especially in the sacred liturgy, she unceas- ingly receives and offers to the faithful the bread of life from the table both of God’s word and of Christ’s body. She has always maintained them, and continues to do so, together with sacred tradition, as the supreme rule of faith, since, as inspired by God and committed once and for all to writing, they impart the word of God Himself without change, and make the voice of the Holy Spir- it resound in the words of the prophets and Apostles. There- fore, like the Christian religion itself, all the preaching of the Church must be nourished and regulated by sacred Scripture. For in the sacred books, the Fa- ther who is in heaven meets His children with great love and speaks with them; and the force and power in the word of God is so great that it stands as the support and energy of the Church, the strength of faith for her sons, the food of the soul, the pure and everlasting source of spiritual life. Conse- quently these words are per- fectly applicable to sacred Scripture: “For the word of God is living and active” (Heb. 4:12) and “it has power to build you up and give you your heritage among all those who are sanctified” (Acts 20:32; see I Thess. 2:13). 22. Easy access to sacred Scripture should be provided for all the Christian faithful. That is why the Church from the very beginning accepted as her own that very ancient Greek translation of the Old Testament which is called the septuagint; and she has always given a place of honor to other Eastern translations and Latin ones, especially the Latin trans- lation known as the vulgate. But 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 trans- lations are made into different languages, especially from the original texts of the sacred books. And should the opportu- nity arise and the Church au- thorities approve, if these translations are produced in co- operation with the separated brethren as well, all Christians will be able to use them. 23. The bride of the incarnate Word, the Church taught by the 13 Holy Spirit, is concerned to move ahead toward a deeper understanding of the sacred Scriptures so that she may in- creasingly 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 oth- er students of sacred theolo- gy, 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 writ- ings. 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 en- lighten 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 Bib- lical scholars to continue ener- getically, following the mind of the Church, with the work they have so well begun, with a con- stant renewal of vigor. 24. Sacred theology rests on the written word of God, to- gether with sacred tradition, as its primary and perpetual foun- dation. By scrutinizing in the light of faith all truth stored up in the mystery of Christ, theology is most powerfully strengthened and constantly re- juvenated by that word. For the sacred Scriptures contain the word of Gk)d and since they are inspired really are the word of God; and so the study of the sa- cred page is, as it were, the soul of sacred theology. By the same word of Scripture the ministry of the word also, that is, pasto- ral 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. 25. Therefore, all the clergy must hold fast to the sacred Scriptures through diligent sa- cred reading and careful study, especially the priests of Christ and others, such as deacons and catechists who are legitimately active in the ministry of the word. This is to be done so that none of them will become ‘‘an empty preacher of the word of God outwardly, who is not a lis- tener to it inwardly” since they must share the abundant wealth of the divine word with the faithful committed to them, especially in the sacred liturgy. The sacred synod also earnest- ly and especially urges all the Christian faithful, especially Religious, to learn by frequent reading of the divine Scriptures the “excellent knowledge of Je- sus Christ” (Phil. 3:8). “For ig- norance of the Scriptures is ig- norance of Christ.” Therefore, they should gladly put them- selves in touch with the sacred text itself, whether it be through the liturgy, rich in the 14 divine word, or through devo- tional reading, or through in- structions suitable for the pur- pose and other aids which, in our time, with approval and ac- tive 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.” It devolves on sacred bishops “who have the apostolic teach- ing” to give the faithful en- trusted to them suitable instruc- tion in the right use of the di- vine books, especially the New Testament and above all the Gospels. This can be done through translations of the sa- cred texts, which are to be pro- vided with the necessary and really adequate explanations so that the children of the Church may safely and profitably be- come conversant with the sa- cred Scriptures and be pene- trated with their spirit. Furthermore, editions of the sacred Scriptures, provided with suitable footnotes, should be prepared also for the use of non-Christians and adapted to their situation. Both pastors of souls and Christians generally should see to the wise distribu- tion of these in one way or an- other. 26. 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, en- trusted to the Church, may more and more fill the hearts of men. Just as the life of the Church is strengthened through more frequent celebration of the Eucharistic mystery, simi- larly we may hope for a new stimulus for the life of the Spir- it from a growing reverence for the word of God, which “lasts forever” (Is. 40:8; see I Peter 1:23-25). 15