year of faith - dei verbum

8/14/2019 Year of Faith - Dei Verbum

1/44

1/3/2013, Jeffrey Bame Content of this presentation may not be used without explicit permission.


2/44

The Word of God Interpreting Scripture and

Tradition Cornerstone document: Dogmatic Constitution onDivine Revelation: Dei Verbum

Date: November 18, 1965

English Copy:http://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_const_19651118_dei-verbum_en.html

Spanish Copy:http://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-

ii_const_19651118_dei-verbum_sp.html
http://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_const_19651118_dei-verbum_en.htmlhttp://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_const_19651118_dei-verbum_en.htmlhttp://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_const_19651118_dei-verbum_en.htmlhttp://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_const_19651118_dei-verbum_sp.htmlhttp://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_const_19651118_dei-verbum_sp.htmlhttp://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_const_19651118_dei-verbum_sp.htmlhttp://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_const_19651118_dei-verbum_sp.htmlhttp://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_const_19651118_dei-verbum_sp.htmlhttp://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_const_19651118_dei-verbum_sp.htmlhttp://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_const_19651118_dei-verbum_sp.htmlhttp://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_const_19651118_dei-verbum_sp.htmlhttp://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_const_19651118_dei-verbum_sp.htmlhttp://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_const_19651118_dei-verbum_sp.htmlhttp://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_const_19651118_dei-verbum_en.htmlhttp://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_const_19651118_dei-verbum_en.htmlhttp://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_const_19651118_dei-verbum_en.htmlhttp://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_const_19651118_dei-verbum_en.htmlhttp://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_const_19651118_dei-verbum_en.htmlhttp://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_const_19651118_dei-verbum_en.htmlhttp://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_const_19651118_dei-verbum_en.html


3/44

Tonights Outline A. Prologue of the Gospel of John

B. Dei Verbum

1. What is Divine Revelation?2. What Constitutes Divine Revelation?

3. Development of Canon of Sacred Scripture

4. Inspiration of Scripture

5. Interpretation of Scripture

6. The Word of God in Liturgy and Christian Life

C. Prayer: Lectio Divina


4/44

Tonights Outline A Prologue of the Gospel of John

B. Dei Verbum

1. What is Divine Revelation?2. What Constitutes Divine Revelation?







5/44

The Prologue of the Gospel according to John:In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was withGod, and the Word was God. He was in the beginningwith God. All things came to be through him, and

without him nothing came to be. What came to bethrough him was life, and this life was the light of thehuman race; the light shines in the darkness, and thedarkness has not overcome it.

A man named John was sent from God. He came fortestimony to testify to the light, so that all might believethrough him. He was not the light, but came to testifyto the light. The true light, which enlightens everyone,was coming into the world.


6/44

He was in the world, and the world came to be throughhim, but the world did not know him. He came to whatwas his own, but his own people did not accept him.

But to those who did accept him he gave power to

become children of God, to those who believe in hisname, who were born not by natural generation nor byhuman choice nor by a mans decision but of God.

And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling

among us and we saw his glory the glory as of theFathers only Son full of grace and truth.


7/44

John testified to him and cried out, saying, This was heof whom I said, The one who is coming after me ranksahead of me because he existed before me. From hisfullness we have all received, grace in place of grace,because while the law was given through Moses, graceand truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever

seen God. The only Son, God, who is at the Fathers side, has revealed him.

- John 1: 1-18


8/44

Bible Quiz

Question 1:

What is the origin of the wordBible? What does it mean?


9/44

Bible Quiz

Answer:

The word Bible comes from in Greek. In Greek,

this is a plural noun literallymeaning the books.


10/44

Bible Quiz

Question 2:

How many books are there in theBible?


11/44

Bible Quiz

Answer:

The Catholic Bible has 73 books,46 from the Old Testament and

27 from the New Testament.(The Protestant Old Testamentcontains seven fewer books.)


12/44

Bible Quiz

Question 3:

What are the extra books of theCatholic Bible called?


13/44

Bible Quiz

Answer:

The extra books are called thedeuterocanonical books (meaning

second canon). The Protestantsoften call these booksapocyrphal (hidden).


14/44

Bible Quiz

Question 4:

In what language was the Biblewritten?


15/44

Bible QuizAnswer:

Most of the Old Testament was

written in Hebrew, while thedeuterocanonical books and theNew Testament were written inGreek. The official translationused by the Church is in Latin.


16/44


B. Dei Verbum

1 What is Divine Revelation?

2. What Constitutes Divine Revelation?







17/44

1 What is Divine Revelation?

God has revealed himself to man by graduallycommunicating his own mystery in deeds and inwords. (CCC 69)

God revealed himself:in the order imposed during creation

in the Law given through Moses

through the prophets

through his promises and covenant

in the Incarnation (the fullness of revelation)

in the tradition passed down through the apostles


18/44

1 What is Divine Revelation?In His goodness and wisdom God chose to revealHimself and to make known to us the hidden purposeof His will (see Eph. 1:9) by which through Christ, the

Word made flesh, man might in the Holy Spirit haveaccess to the Father and come to share in the divinenature (see Eph. 2:18; 2 Peter 1:4). Through thisrevelation, therefore, the invisible God (see Col. 1;15, 1Tim. 1:17) out of the abundance of His love speaks tomen as friends (see Ex. 33:11; John 15:14-15) and livesamong them (see Bar. 3:38), so that He may invite andtake them into fellowship with Himself . (DV 2)


19/44


B. Dei Verbum

1. What is Divine Revelation?

2 What Constitutes Divine Revelation?







20/44

2 What Constitutes Divine Revelation?Revelation is constituted by two elements:

Holy Scripture the set of holy writings inspired bythe Holy Spirit

Sacred Tradition the living transmission of themessage of the Gospel in the Church (CCCGlossary)

However, these are not separate or distinct elementsbut one sacred deposit that along with theMagisterium (the teaching authority of the Church)are so linked and joined together that one cannotstand without the others. (DV 10)


21/44

2 What Constitutes Divine Revelation?While in the Church we greatly venerate the sacredScriptures, the Christian faith is not a religion ofthe book: Christianity is the religion of the word of

God, not of a written and mute word, but of theincarnate and living Word . Consequently theScripture is to be proclaimed, heard, read, receivedand experienced as the word of God, in the streamof the apostolic Tradition from which it isinseparable .

- John Paul II, Verbum Domini, 7 (2010)


22/44


B. Dei Verbum



3 Development of Canon of Sacred Scripture






23/44

3 Development of Canon of Sacred Scripture

Old Testament comes together over the millenniumbefore the birth of Christ

Apostles witness the words, deeds, and life of Christ

Apostles and followers commit oral tradition to writing

During the first six centuries of the Church, individualChurch Fathers and then councils determine bytradition the canon of Scripture.

During the Reformation (16 th century), Martin Lutherrejects some books traditionally held as canonical

The canon is dogmatically defined by the Council ofTrent in 1546


24/44

3 Development of Canon of Sacred ScriptureThe Canon of Scripture, that is, the understanding ofwhat is divinely inspired, comes from Tradition (DV 8)

Public revelation is closed no new Scriptures are

forthcoming (DV 4)

Saint John of the Cross expresses this truthmagnificently: Since he has given us his Son, his onlyword (for he possesses no other), he spoke everything

at once in this sole word and he has no more tosay because what he spoke before to the prophetsin parts, he has spoken all at once by giving us this Allwho is his Son .(Verbum Domini 14)


25/44


B. Dei Verbum




4 Inspiration of Scripture





26/44


27/44


Warning Against Rationalism

Tendency of modern biblical science to examineScripture with a presupposition of its mythical nature

Rationalistic scholars deny the possibility of Godsself- disclosure (or flat out deny Gods existence)

Tendency to study Scripture out of context and useerrors as a means of disproving divine inspiration

The unity of the two levels at work in theinterpretation of sacred Scripture presupposes, in aword, the harmony of faith and reason . (VerbumDomini 36)


28/44


Warning Against Fundamentalism

Approach championed by many Protestant groups

Takes each word of Scripture at face value, literally,

without consideration of genre, message, or context inthe rest of Scripture - incorrectly treating Scripture asif it was dictated by God

the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life (2 Cor 3:6)

Christianity , on the other hand, perceives in thewords the Word himself, the Logos who displays hismystery through this complexity and the reality ofhuman history . (Verbum Domini 44)


29/44


B. Dei Verbum





5 Interpretation of Scripture




30/44


(see The Interpretation of the Bible in the Church by thePontifical Biblical Commission for more information)

Historical-Critical Method

Scientific study of the ancient texts of ScriptureStudy of the patterns, genres, forms, sources,redaction, archaeology, anthropology, history, etc.

Canonical Exegesis

Not opposed to the Historical-Critical Method, butoffers balance

Reading each passage of Scripture in context ofthe entire body of Scripture (DV 12)


31/44


Literal Sense vs. Spiritual Sense

Literal sense is the direct meaning conveyed bythe words of the human author (not necessarily

literalism that ignores metaphor or context)Spiritual sense is the meaning of a text when readunder the influence of the Holy Spirit in the contextof the paschal mystery of Christ

Typology: discerns in Gods works of the Old Covenantprefigurations of what he accomplished in the fullnessof time in the person of his incarnate Son. (VerbumDomini 41)


32/44


33/44


Difficult Passages

Some passages seem difficult or problematic,especially in the light of the Gospel message

(passages of revenge, permitted murder orviolence, or promiscuity, etc.)

Here it must be remembered first and foremostthat biblical revelation is deeply rooted in history .

Gods plan is manifested progressively and it isaccomplished slowly, in successive stages anddespite human resistance . (Verbum Domini 42)


34/44


Caution for Interpretation

In this regard, however, one must avoid the risk ofan individualistic approach , and remember that

Gods word is given to us precisely to buildcommunion, to unite us in the Truth along our path toGod. While it is a word addressed to each of uspersonally, it is also a word which builds community,which builds the Church. Consequently, the sacredtext must always be approached in the communionof the Church . (Verbum Domini 86)


35/44


B. Dei Verbum






6 The Word of God in Liturgy and Christian Life



36/44


Proper response to Divine Revelation

Our proper response to God is the obedience offaith, offering the full submission of intellect and

will to God. (DV 5) Respond in prayer: The word of God draws eachof us into a conversation with the Lord: the Godwho speaks teaches us how to speak to him. Here

we naturally think of the Book of Psalms , whereGod gives us words to speak to him, to place ourlives before him, and thus to make life itself a pathto God . (Verbum Domini 24)


37/44


Private Revelation

Not on the same level as public revelation (i.e.Scripture and Tradition)

Ex.: Rosary, Divine Mercy, apparitionsDistinguish the word of God from privaterevelations whose role is not to completeChrists definitive revelation, but to help live more

fully by it in a certain period of history . (VerbumDomini 14)


38/44


Liturgythe double table of the word and of the Eucharist(Verbum Domini 68)

Christs body and blood are really the word ofScripture, Gods teaching. When we approach the[Eucharistic] Mystery, if a crumb falls to the groundwe are troubled. Yet when we are listening to theword of God, and Gods Word and Christs flesh

and blood are being poured into our ears yet wepay no heed, what great peril should we not feel ?. Christ, truly present under the species of breadand wine, is analogously present in the word

proclaimed in the liturgy . (Verbum Domini 56)


39/44

Other Papal Documents Referenced:

Benedict XVI Verbum Domini :http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/apost_exhortations/documents/hf_ben-xvi_exh_20100930_verbum-domini_en.html

The Pontifical Biblical Commission The Interpretationof the Bible in the Church (1993)

Catechism of the Catholic Church
http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/apost_exhortations/documents/hf_ben-xvi_exh_20100930_verbum-domini_en.htmlhttp://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/apost_exhortations/documents/hf_ben-xvi_exh_20100930_verbum-domini_en.htmlhttp://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/apost_exhortations/documents/hf_ben-xvi_exh_20100930_verbum-domini_en.htmlhttp://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/apost_exhortations/documents/hf_ben-xvi_exh_20100930_verbum-domini_en.htmlhttp://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/apost_exhortations/documents/hf_ben-xvi_exh_20100930_verbum-domini_en.htmlhttp://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/apost_exhortations/documents/hf_ben-xvi_exh_20100930_verbum-domini_en.htmlhttp://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/apost_exhortations/documents/hf_ben-xvi_exh_20100930_verbum-domini_en.htmlhttp://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/apost_exhortations/documents/hf_ben-xvi_exh_20100930_verbum-domini_en.htmlhttp://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/apost_exhortations/documents/hf_ben-xvi_exh_20100930_verbum-domini_en.htmlhttp://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/apost_exhortations/documents/hf_ben-xvi_exh_20100930_verbum-domini_en.html


40/44

1/3/2013, Jeffrey Bame Content of this presentation may not be used without explicit permission.


41/44

Tonights Outline

A. Prologue of the Gospel of John

B. Dei Verbum







C Prayer: Lectio Divina


42/44


Lectio divina is an ancient prayer practice thatinvolves praying and meditating upon a Scripturepassage. In the Word of God, we hear God speak tous and then respond in prayer.

Practice established by St. Benedict in the 6 th century

In Dei Verbum , Paul VI recommends this practice forall Christians

Importance of Silence


43/44


Traditional Structure: Lectio, Meditatio, Oratio,Contemplatio ( Verbum Domini 87)

Alternative Approach

Read and LISTEN

Read and THINK

Read and FEEL & RESPOND

Read and ACTION

Another alternative approach is to read a passageseveral times, while assuming the point of view of adifferent character in the passage each time.


44/44