Spiritual growth in Dei Verbum from Vatican II
What is the Word of God?
Dei Verbum, which means “Word of God” in English, is the Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation from the Second Ecumenical Vatican Council. It’s funny that most American Catholics are so used to hearing our Protestant brothers and sisters calling the Bible “the Word” that they immediately assume Dei Verbum is all about Bible Study. It is true that this document strongly urges Catholics to study the Bible. But that’s not what leads the Church’s understanding of the “Word of God.”
The Church understands the Word of God to be Jesus Christ himself. Jesus Christ is God’s final revelation to humanity. A song by Michael Card says it beautifully.
He spoke the Incarnation
And so was born the Son
His final Word was Jesus
He needed no other one!
By the way, Michael Card is a Baptist (I think), but obviously has a broad understanding of “the Word”! But for many Protestants and evangelicals, “the Word” is synonymous with the Bible.
Dei Verbum talks about how God revealed Himself throughout history, ultimately revealing Himself completely through Jesus Christ. We come to know Jesus Christ through Sacred Scripture and also through Sacred Tradition – the faith passed down from generation to generation and protected by the Holy Spirit through the Magisterium of the Church.
Dei Verbum invites us to Spiritual Growth
The message of Dei Verbum is that we are called to get to know the Word of God, and through Him to grow in intimacy with the Holy Trinity. Growing in intimacy with God means studying Sacred Scripture, of course. But it also means being engaged in prayer, the Sacraments, conversion fo heart, and participation in the Divine Life by growing in charity. While Dei Verbum does not cover all of these areas of spiritual growth, it does get us started. Here are some quick lessons we can take from this Church document.
1. Study the Bible and the teachings of the Church in order to grow in intimacy with Jesus. How much do you study your faith? Are you reading and studying the Bible? Are you studying the documents and teachings of the Church? How can you fit regular study into your life?
2. Pair study with prayer so that the Holy Spirit will guide our intimacy with Jesus. Meditative prayer is focusing the mind on the mysteries of our faith and then asking God to give us greater understanding. Bring what you study to prayer and let the Holy Spirit teach you the heart of Jesus.
3. Trust the Holy Spirit is working through Sacred Scripture, Sacred Tradition, and the Magisterium of the Church. Don’t let hangups about human authority get in the way of trusting the way Jesus made for the Holy Spirit to lead us to all truth.
4. Share the Gospel with others through teaching & evangelization. This mission will be covered in more detail because it’s a major theme of the Council.
Dei Verbum calls us to greater intimacy with God through greater knowledge of Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition. It is calling you to study your faith in order to know God more deeply. Will you join From the Abbey in answering this call to spiritual growth?
There is a lot that we can learn from this document about building a deeper, more meaningful spiritual life. The same is true of many of the documents of Vatican II as well. The Live the Glory series of online courses takes you through four documents from Vatican II (including Dei Verbum), shows you what the documents really say, and then reveals lessons you can pull from them for your own walk with Christ.
If you’re interested in spiritual growth, join From the Abbey as we study the Faith and apply it to our lives. Please consider the offer below to take your next step with From the Abbey!
Where does the RC go to find out if they have the correct ineirpretatton of a verse or passage if the RCC has never officially interpreted all the verses of the Bible?Catholics approach the Word of God (that includes the Bible) in a manner fundamentally different than Protestants. We approach the Word of God in the manner which Scripture recommends. We learn the Word of God from our teachers (Heb 13:7). We learn the Word of God in Sacred Tradition and in the Sacred Writings (2Thess 2:15). When we do focus upon the Scriptures, we don’t neglect the spiritual meaning of the Word (2 Cor 3:6).And most importantly, as Catholics, we understand that we are fallible. We also believe that God has established an infallible Teacher of His Wisdom (Eph 3:10). Therefore, we don’t go around re-interpreting what the Church has already explained. Since it is the Church which is called the Pillar and Foundation of the Truth (1 Tim 3:15), when it comes to Scripture, we believe the Church.Protestants, on the other hand, discover the Word of God every time the open the Bible. That’s why they come up with so many innovations. That’s why they come up with so many errors.