It all began in 1962, when the world was pressing the floodgates of social change and political powers were on edge. One man a shepherd of his people seeks renewal, in an unpredicted decision by an ailing Pope, John xxiii grabs the world’s attention calling a council that will burst open the windows of the church. Speaking to all nations of the world the four years of prayer reflection and debate by the world’s bishops would come to be known as Vatican 2. Already during the first session of the council the bishops had turned their attention to the very foundation of Christian belief. The Holy Scriptures and the 2,000-year-old tradition of the church.

Bishops and theologians gather from all corners of the world to the centre of Catholicism St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. The council is in its first of ultimately four autumns and one of the key points of discussion was the role of Holy Scripture in the life of the Church.  

The Bible has always played a central role in Christian life and renewal would be incomplete without the council fathers deepening the Church’s understanding and use of these fundamental texts. The focus was on God’s revelation: that what we know about the faith we know it because God has chosen to reveal to us,  him himself, his mystery the mystery of his son, the mystery of salvation and the mystery of our eternal destiny.

 The bishops at Vatican2 began to discuss a draft document examining divine revelation a document that would ultimately become the dogmatic Constitution known as Dei Verbum : “The Word of God”

The dogmatic Constitution Dei Verbum would come to deliver six dynamic chapters summarizing how scripture and revelation are essentially two sides of the same coin. Dei Verbum teaches that God reveals himself to mankind in words and deeds narrated through Sacred Scripture and at the centre of the scripture is Christ the eternal Word of God made man.

Divine revelation is to be discovered in the scriptures as transmitted and understood through the centuries-old tradition of the church. As described in Dei Verbum Sacred tradition and Sacred Scripture then are bound closely together and communicate with the other or both of them flowing out from the same divine wellspring come together in some fashion to form one thing and move towards the same goal.

The term inspiration of Scripture does not mean that the biblical writers were mere tools but rather authors in the real sense moved to proclaim the Word of God under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. This dogmatic Constitution Dei Verbum emphasises that the content of our faith comes from God through revelation. Dei Verbum attests that the Holy Spirit affirms the sacred writers it calls on the faithful to acknowledge that the books of Scripture, firmly, faithfully, and without error, teach that truth, which God for the sake of our salvation wished to see, and confide it to the sacred scriptures.  Christians see the inherited scriptural tradition of the Hebrew people, the Old Testament, as an essential part of discovering God’s will. The New Testament reveals the New Covenant founded through Christ and the unveiling of the mystery of God as three persons Father Son and Holy Spirit. The story of Christ’s life death and resurrection is brought to the people firsthand by the Apostles and the inspired writing of the Gospels. These Gospels show the church’s beginnings and its ability to grow through God’s grace.

Dei Verbum encourages all members of the church to read the scriptures prayerfully and consistently in order to more fully enter into a living authentic relationship with Christ

The dogmatic Constitution on divine revelation would finally be promulgated by Pope Paul the sixth on November 18 1965. The intention of the council fathers in the context of Dei Verbum is best expressed in scripture itself :  All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for refutation, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that one who belongs to God, may be competent, equipped for every good work, to understand, how God calls everyone, to holiness, through union with Christ and to find meaning in him, in the midst of the joys and sorrows of everyday life. 2 Timothy 3:16-17