Summary: This article explores Lectio Divina as a living encounter with the Risen Lord, present in Scripture and active through the Holy Spirit. Rooted in the Church’s liturgy and drawing on St Teresa of Avila’s teaching on recollection and attention, they emphasise the necessity of an act of faith—gazing upon Christ with the eyes of the soul—to allow His Word to speak and transform us. Lectio Divina is presented not as a private exercise, but as a continuation of the Church’s celebration of the Word, enabling the believer to meet Christ personally, cultivate loving attention, and experience His presence as “spirit and life.”
Lectio Divina is a real encounter with the Risen Lord, with the living Word of God, present among us. He is the one who comes invisibly during the Liturgy of the Word and speaks to each one of us in the heart. How does this encounter take place during Lectio Divina? The principal way of meeting Him is to ask for the help of the Holy Spirit, so that we may open the eyes of our soul to recognise His presence. This is not a seeing with the eyes of the body, but with the eyes of faith, the eyes of the soul enlightened and assisted by the Holy Spirit.
St Teresa of Avila explains that the first thing we must do when we pray, whatever the form of prayer, whether vocal or mental, using the general help of the grace of God, is to practise what she calls “consideration”. “Consideration” is attention to the Lord, to the one in whose presence we are, the one to whom we are about to speak and the one who will speak to us. It involves an awareness of who He is. He is God, our Creator, our Redeemer, the one who loves us, the one who desires to speak with us. (In the Lectio Divina‘s 15 steps: step 3 is: “Consider His desire to speak to me”)
“Because, as far as I can understand, the door by which one enters this castle is prayer and consideration; I do not say mental prayer rather than vocal, for whatever is prayer must be done with consideration. For that which does not take notice of whom one is speaking to, and what one is asking, and who it is that asks and to whom, I do not call prayer, even though the lips may move a great deal. Although sometimes it may indeed be prayer even without such attentiveness, this will be because it has been practised with it on other occasions. But anyone who makes a habit of speaking to the majesty of God as he would speak to his slave, without caring whether he speaks badly, but merely saying whatever comes to his mouth and what he has learnt by rote from doing it at other times, I do not consider to be praying; and may it please God that no Christian should pray in this way. Among you, sisters, I trust in His Majesty that this will not occur, because of the custom you have of dealing with interior matters, which is more than sufficient to prevent falling into such brutishness.” (St Teresa of Avila, Interior Castle, I,1,7)
Throughout the time of Lectio Divina, we focus the eyes of our faith and our attention on Him, and we continually renew this gaze, looking at Him, at His face, at His eyes, not by excessive use of the imagination, but through faith. The temptation during Lectio Divina is to focus solely on the Bible, on the text, the book, the words, and to forget that we are in His Presence. We forget that He is here, that He is looking at us, that He loves us, and that He longs to give us a word that is spirit and life, a word that will transform us, free us, purify us, and communicate His own life to us.
The temptation is to wrestle with the text endlessly and to forget that He Himself is present. It is as if we were looking at a stained-glass window and concentrating exclusively on the pigments of the coloured glass, instead of allowing the light behind the stained glass to make it speak to us and to shine, revealing the mystery of God’s presence. It is therefore important to focus on the text, but also, after a time, to remember that we are in His presence and that He wants to speak to us.
In doing this, we lift our head from the text without abandoning it. Rather, we treat the text like a stained-glass window, allowing the presence of Jesus behind it to speak to us. It is as if we had lifted our Bible between Jesus, who is seated in front of us, and ourselves. His light, His word, passes through the text and enters the depths of our soul.
It is similar to focusing on the water during a baptism while forgetting to see, with the eyes of faith, the grace of God at work in the soul of the child who is being baptised. To do this, we change our focus. We still see the water, but we look beyond it, perceiving through it the grace of the Holy Spirit acting in the soul of the child. We defocus from the closest layer, the letter, the visible sign, that is, the water or the pigment of the stained glass, while keeping the same axis, and we focus on Jesus who is about to speak.
It is like a scene in a film where the camera initially focuses on the person closest to us (first plane focus / foreground focus), then slowly defocuses and brings into focus the person standing further back (second plane focus / background focus). The first figure remains visible, though now blurred, while the person behind becomes clear.
The importance of making this act of faith, this deliberate act of focus, is that it allows the sacramentality of the Word to operate and allows the Holy Spirit to work within us. We have the sign, namely Scripture, the text, the letter of the text, and we have the Holy Spirit together with the living Word of God. It is therefore of the utmost importance to activate this act of faith, this movement of defocusing and refocusing.
At times, I suggest placing an empty chair in front of us while holding the Bible, the text. This simple gesture helps us to “see”, through faith, the presence of the Word of God, Jesus, the Risen Lord. This act is necessary and can be repeated throughout the hour of Lectio, with growing intensity. It is our way of thanking the Lord for His active presence during the Liturgy of the Word in our parish, and it is our way of truly benefiting from it.
Liturgy is liturgy. It is the active presence of the Risen Lord among us. “He [Christ] is present in His word, since it is He Himself who speaks when the holy Scriptures are read in the Church” (Second Vatican Council, Sacrosanctum Concilium, 7). This is why the reader proclaims, “The Word of the Lord.” This is why we stand. The Risen Lord is here. This is why we sing the Alleluia, to greet Him. This is why there is a procession, candles, incense, silence, attention, and prayer. All of this is relived and consciously acknowledged with immense gratitude during Lectio Divina.
Pope Benedict explains the precise place and role of Lectio Divina in relation to the Liturgy of the Word:
“For this reason, the privileged place for the prayerful reading of sacred Scripture is the liturgy, and particularly the Eucharist, in which, as we celebrate the Body and Blood of Christ in the sacrament, the word itself is present and at work in our midst. In some sense the prayerful reading of the Bible, personal and communal, must always be related to the Eucharistic celebration. Just as the adoration of the Eucharist prepares for, accompanies and follows the liturgy of the Eucharist, so too prayerful reading, personal and communal, prepares for, accompanies and deepens what the Church celebrates when she proclaims the word in a liturgical setting. By so closely relating lectio and liturgy, we can better grasp the criteria which should guide this practice in the area of pastoral care and in the spiritual life of the People of God.” (Pope Benedict XVI, Verbum Domini, 86)
As we can see, “the word itself is present and at work in our midst” and “prayerful reading [Lectio Divina] […] prepares for, accompanies and deepens what the Church celebrates when she proclaims the word in a liturgical setting”. It is difficult to express this reality in a clearer or more precise way.
One might object that our mind, thoughts, and imagination are often distracted, and that we experience great difficulty in remaining focused when the Word is proclaimed and when we encounter the Word who desires to speak to us in the silence of prayer. St Teresa of Avila devoted an entire chapter to this very problem, entitled “how to recollect our thoughts during prayer”. This is chapter 26 of her pedagogical masterpiece, The Way of Perfection.
If we read this chapter attentively, as set out below, we can grasp the core of her method. Jesus, in Himself, is attractive, not in a human or physical sense, but because He is God incarnate. To look upon something beautiful is natural to us and fills us with wonder and awe. In the case of Jesus, St Teresa of Avila, speaking to her daughters, reminds them that Jesus is their Bridegroom, that He loves them, and that He never withdraws His gaze from them. His gaze is gentle and loving, full of mercy.
She begs her daughters to fix their gaze upon Him. She does not mean that we must rely on the imagination in the Ignatian sense. No, it is much simpler, more direct, and more informal. It belongs to the simplicity of a living relationship with Jesus who loves us. She urges her daughters to respond to Jesus’ gaze by fixing their gaze in return upon Him. Love for love, gaze for gaze, openness for openness.
St Teresa knows that God grants us the general help of His grace, and she urges us to make use of this help by turning this “gazing upon Jesus” into a habit. She affirms that this is something we can truly do and that it can become habitual. This is not merely remaining in Jesus’ presence; it is much more. When the two gazes meet, love is set in motion. For her, this is the very foundation of prayer, and it is also a powerful means of escaping the distractions of the mind. It is the act of a loving faith.
It is in this way that we dispose ourselves to listen to Jesus in Lectio Divina. It is in this way that we truly encounter the Risen Lord, the living Word of God, present among us and desiring to speak to us.
Teresa of Avila
“The way of perfection” Ch. 26
Continues the description of a method for recollecting the thoughts. Describes means of doing this.
This chapter is very profitable for those who are beginning prayer
1 Let us now return to our vocal prayer, so that we may learn to pray in such a way that, without our understanding how, God may give us everything at once: if we do this, as I have said, we shall pray as we ought. As you know, the first things must be examination of conscience, confession of sin and the signing of yourself with the Cross. Then, daughter, as you are alone, you must look for a companion — and who could be a better Companion than the very Master Who taught you the prayer that you are about to say? Imagine that this Lord Himself is at your side and see how lovingly and how humbly. He is teaching you – and, believe me, you should stay with so good a Friend for as long as you can before you leave Him. If you become accustomed to having Him at your side, and if He sees that you love Him to be there and are always trying to please Him, you will never be able, as we put it, to send Him away, nor will He ever fail you. He will help you in all your trials and you will have Him everywhere. Do you think it is a small thing to have such a Friend as that beside you?
2- O sisters, those of you whose minds cannot reason for long or whose thoughts cannot dwell upon God but are constantly wandering must at all costs form this habit. I know quite well that you are capable of it – for many years I endured this trial of being unable to concentrate on one subject, and a very sore trial it is. But I know the Lord does not leave us so devoid of help that if we approach Him humbly and ask Him to be with us He will not grant our request. If a whole year passes without our obtaining what we ask, let us be prepared to try for longer. Let us never grudge time so well spent. Who, after all, is hurrying us? I am sure we can form this habit and strive to walk at the side of this true Master.
3- I am not asking you now to think of Him, or to form numerous conceptions of Him, or to make long and subtle meditations with your mind. I am asking you only to look at Him. For who can prevent you from turning the eyes of your soul (just for a moment, if you can do no more) upon this Lord? You are capable of looking at very ugly and loathsome things: can you not, then, look at the most beautiful thing imaginable?
Your Spouse never takes His eyes off you, daughters. He has borne with thousands of foul and abominable sins which you have committed against Him, yet even they have not been enough to make Him cease looking upon you. Is it such a great matter, then, for you to avert the eyes of your soul from outward things and sometimes to look at Him? See, He is only waiting for us to look at Him, as He says to the Bride. If you want Him you will find Him. He longs so much for us to look at Him once more that it will not be for lack of effort on His part if we fail to do so.
[Example of Adaptability of Jesus to our need/mood] 4- A wife, they say, must be like this if she is to have a happy married life with her husband. If he is sad, she must show signs of sadness; if he is merry, even though she may not in fact be so, she must appear merry too. See what slavery you have escaped from, sisters! Yet this, without any pretence, is really how we are treated by the Lord. He becomes subject to us and is pleased to let you be the mistress and to conform to your will. If you are happy, look upon your risen Lord, and the very thought of how He rose from the sepulcher will gladden you. How bright and how beautiful was He then! How majestic! How victorious! How joyful! He was like one emerging from a battle in which He had gained a great kingdom, all of which He desires you to have — and with it Himself. Is it such a great thing that you should turn your eyes but once and look upon Him Who has made you such great gifts?
5- If you are suffering trials, or are sad, look upon Him on His way to the Garden. What sore distress He must have borne in His soul, to describe His own suffering as He did and to complain of it! Or look upon Him bound to the Column, full of pain, His flesh all torn to pieces by His great love for you. How much He suffered, persecuted by some, spat upon by others, denied by His friends, and even deserted by them, with none to take His part, frozen with the cold and left so completely alone that you may well comfort each other! Or look upon Him bending under the weight of the Cross and not even allowed to take breath: He will look upon you with His lovely and compassionate eyes, full of tears, and in comforting your grief will forget His own because you are bearing Him company in order to comfort Him and turning your head to look upon Him.
6- “O Lord of the world, my true Spouse!” you may say to Him, if seeing Him in such a plight has filled your heart with such tenderness that you not only desire to look upon Him but love to speak to Him, not using forms of prayer, but words issuing from the compassion of your heart, which means so much to Him: “Art Thou so needy, my Lord and my Good, that Thou wilt accept poor companionship like mine? Do I read in Thy face that Thou hast found comfort, even in me? How can it be possible, Lord, that the angels are leaving Thee alone and that Thy Father is not comforting Thee? “If Thou, Lord, art willing to suffer all this for me, what am I suffering for Thee? What have I to complain of? I am ashamed, Lord, when I see Thee in such a plight, and if in any way I can imitate Thee I will suffer all trials that come to me and count them as a great blessing. Let us go both together, Lord: whither Thou goest, I must go; through whatsoever Thou passest, I must pass.”
7 Take up this cross, sisters: never mind if the Jews trample upon you provided you can save Him some of His trials. Take no heed of what they say to you; be deaf to all detraction; stumble and fall with your Spouse, but do not draw back from your cross or give it up. Think often of the weariness of His journey and of how much harder His trials were than those which you have to suffer. However hard you may imagine yours to be, and however much affliction they may cause you, they will be a source of comfort to you, for you will see that they are matters for scorn compared with the trials endured by the Lord.
8 You will ask me, sisters, how you can possibly do all this, and say that, if you had seen His Majesty with your bodily eyes at the time when He lived in the world, you would have done it willingly and gazed at Him for ever. Do not believe it: anyone who will not make the slight effort necessary for recollection in order to gaze upon this Lord present within her, which she can do without danger and with only the minimum of trouble, would have been far less likely to stand at the foot of the Cross with the Magdalen, who looked death (as they say) straight in the face. What the glorious Virgin and this blessed saint must have suffered! What threats, what malicious words, what shocks, what insults! For the people they were dealing with were not exactly polite to them. No, indeed; theirs was the kind of courtesy you might meet in hell, for they were the ministers of the devil himself. Yet, terrible as the sufferings of these women must have been, they would not have noticed them in the presence of pain so much greater.
9 (1-2) So do not suppose, sisters, that you would have been prepared to endure such great trials then, if you are not ready for such trifling ones now. Practise enduring these and you may be given others which are greater.
Believe that I am telling the truth when I say that you can do this, for I am speaking from experience. You will find it very helpful if you can get an image or a picture of this Lord — one that you like — not to wear round your neck and never look at but to use regularly whenever you talk to Him, and He will tell you what to say. If words do not fail you when you talk to people on earth, why should they do so when you talk to God? Do not imagine that they will — I shall certainly not believe that they have done so if you once form the habit. For when you never have intercourse with a person he soon becomes a stranger to you, and you forget how to talk to him; and before long, even if he is a kinsman, you feel as if you do not know him, for both kinship and friendship lose their influence when communication ceases.
10 (3) It is also a great help to have a good book, written in the vernacular, simply as an aid to recollection. With this aid you will learn to say your vocal prayers well, I mean, as they ought to be said — and little by little, persuasively and methodically, you will get your soul used to this, so that it will no longer be afraid of it.Remember that many years have passed since it went away from its Spouse, and it needs very careful handling before it will return home. We sinners are like that: we have accustomed our souls and minds to go after their own pleasures (or pains, it would be more correct to say) until the unfortunate soul no longer knows what it is doing. When that has happened, a good deal of skill is necessary before it can be inspired with enough love to make it stay at home; but unless we can gradually do that we shall accomplish nothing.Once again, I assure you that, if you are careful to form habits of the kind I have mentioned, you will derive such great profit from them that I could not describe it even if I wished.
11 (4) Keep at the side of this good Master, then, and be most firmly resolved to learn what He teaches you; His Majesty will then ensure your not failing to be good disciples, and He will never leave you unless you leave Him. Consider the words uttered by those Divine lips: the very first of them will show you at once what love He has for you, and it is no small blessing and joy for the pupil to see that his Master loves Him.
From Dei Verbum to Verbum Domini
There were heated discussions throughout the four sessions of the Second Vatican Council around the document on Revelation. One of the central debates concerned the relationship between Scripture, Living Tradition, and the Magisterium, and how they relate to God’s Revelation. Are we faced with two sources, namely Scripture and Living Tradition, or with only one? That was the question. The answer is clear: there is only “one source” – the Living Word of God. Yet reaching this clarity required considerable effort, intense discussion, and numerous amendments before the Council arrived at the final text.
One of the main questions occupying the Fathers of the Council was that of the interpretation of Scripture, hence the necessary interaction between Scripture, Living Tradition, and the Magisterium. God reveals himself to us; this is a profound Christian affirmation. But how do we receive his Revelation? How does the Living Word of God encounter us? He does so through “one single source” (the Living Word of God), expressed through “two distinct modes of transmission” (see below the texts of the Catechism, which quote Dei Verbum).
What is particularly striking is that the Catechism opens a very audacious door by speaking of “growth in understanding the faith”. This represents an enormous step. Of course, the development of Christian doctrine is well known. Yet the means by which this development takes place, at least in part, are indicated through the different affirmations of the Catechism:
“94 Thanks to the assistance of the Holy Spirit, the understanding of both the realities and the words of the heritage of faith is able to grow in the life of the Church:
• “through the contemplation and study of believers who ponder these things in their hearts”; it is in particular “theological research [which] deepens knowledge of revealed truth”.
• “from the intimate sense of spiritual realities which [believers] experience”, The sacred Scriptures “grow with the one who reads them.”
• “from the preaching of those who have received, along with their right of succession in the episcopate, the sure charism of truth”.”
One must acknowledge that Lectio Divina is not mentioned explicitly in CCC 94. Yet if one truly meditates on and deepens the first two indications, “through the contemplation and study of believers who ponder these things in their hearts” and “from the intimate sense of spiritual realities which [believers] experience”, together with the affirmation that “the sacred Scriptures ‘grow with the one who reads them’”, it becomes readily apparent that this is the royal path for deepening our “understanding of both the realities and the words of the heritage of faith”. It is important to note that this growth occurs “thanks to the assistance of the Holy Spirit”. “To bring about an ever deeper understanding of revelation the same Holy Spirit constantly brings faith to completion by His gifts.” (DV 5) Isn’t Lectio Divina one of the main catalysts of this growth? Lectio Divina is not mentioned explicitly in CCC 94. Yet one must recognise that, between the lines of this text, Lectio Divina clearly emerges as the royal path.
It is absolutely clear that the primary goal of Lectio Divina is not the intellectual understanding of the heritage of faith. Yet it is equally clear that a renewed understanding constantly arises as a collateral, indeed normal, consequence of Lectio Divina (see the article “The Nature of Contemplation in Lectio Divina”). Why is this so? Because when, by the grace of the Holy Spirit, we put into practice the Word received today, we spontaneously experience a new knowledge of that Word, an experiential knowledge from within, born of the fact that the Word has become incarnate in our personal life, in our very soul. Therefore, it is clear that the aim of Lectio Divina is not, in the first instance, growth in understanding the faith. However, when we reread Dei Verbum, if we shift our attention from “interpreting Scripture” to “encountering the Word of God” on a daily basis, it becomes evident that here in Lectio Divina the interplay between Scripture and the Light of Faith, that is Tradition, is fully active and operative in a unified way.
Lectio Divina is this “obedience of faith” quoted by Dei Verbum 5 from Romans, lived and practised each day. Revelation, in this sense, has at least two planes: a general one for the Church and a personal one (see CCC 94 above). In both, Scripture and Tradition, understood as the Light of Faith, interact intimately and inseparably.
In this perspective, the daily practice of Lectio Divina is the best way to live concretely the teaching given to us in Dei Verbum and in CCC 94. Lectio is the catalyst of the encounter between Scripture and Tradition. We stand before the texts of the daily readings; this is Scripture. We read it “in the same Spirit in which it was written” (“Holy Scripture must be read and interpreted in the sacred spirit in which it was written”, (DV 12)) ; we understand it in the light of the faith of the Church, that is, Living Tradition. In reality, the experience of Lectio Divina is precisely the lived experience of what the Council and the Catechism seek to convey, at the level of the individual believer.
Lectio Divina is the “laboratory” at the level of the individual baptised person where the encounter with the Word takes place, is interiorised, and is lived. It is the place where the Church, through each individual, grows and becomes more conformed to the image and likeness of her Creator and Saviour.
Note: Lectio Divina is not a private revelation. Lectio Divina is the simple putting into practice of what the Lord himself says: “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord’, and do not do what I say?” (Luke 6:46). “I will show you what someone is like who comes to me, listens to my words, and acts on them. He is like a man building a house, who dug, went deep, and laid the foundation on rock.” (Luke 6:47–48). “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” (John 14:15). It is not about Revelation, private revelation, or knowledge; it is about truly loving Jesus.
In this sense, between 1965, the year of the promulgation of Dei Verbum by Paul VI, 1969, with the publication of the new Lectionary of the Roman Rite, 1992, with the publication of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, and 2010, with the publication of Verbum Domini, the Church underwent an extraordinary renewal. Lectio Divina stands as one of its major fruits among the people of God, something largely unseen and unheard of in the history of Christianity. What was debated and eventually agreed upon in Dei Verbum became, or can become, since this remains a work in progress for each generation, the personal life of each baptised person; it became Lectio Divina. Indeed, Verbum Domini is the first official document of the Magisterium in history to speak in some detail about Lectio Divina. Much remains to be done, but the intense debates surrounding the drafting of Dei Verbum, which led to the affirmation of a “single source” of Revelation (the Living Word of God), can now be lived daily in the personal practice of Lectio Divina, especially when it is closely linked to the Liturgy of the Word, in communion with the Church, and grounded in the daily readings of the Mass.
The Word of God, experienced as a living reality, had already emerged in theology prior to Vatican II; it was enthroned by the Council as the heart of theology, the centre of prayer, the head of all liturgy, the pulse of the personal relationship with Jesus, and the driving force of evangelisation. Historically, this constitutes a silent revolution, yet perhaps the most significant revolution in the modern history of the Church. One can only give thanks to God. From the fear of “sola Scriptura” and “sola fide”, Scripture was marginalised; it has now not only returned but has been enthroned among the people of God, rightly and in its proper place. Let us celebrate the fact that the words of Jesus are now, more than ever, in our hearts.
Dei Verbum (extracts)
“”The obedience of faith” (Rom. 16:26; 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, moving 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.” (DV 5)
“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 consigned to writing under the inspiration 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. Consequently it is not from Sacred Scripture alone that the Church draws her certainty about everything which has been revealed. Therefore both sacred tradition and Sacred Scripture are to be accepted and venerated with the same sense of loyalty and reverence.
10. Sacred tradition and Sacred 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, practising and professing the heritage of the faith, it becomes on the part of the bishops and faithful a single common effort.
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 has been handed on, listening to it devoutly, guarding it scrupulously and explaining it faithfully in accord with a divine commission and with the help of the Holy Spirit, it draws from this one deposit of faith everything which it presents for belief as divinely revealed.
It is clear, therefore, that sacred 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.” (DV 9-10)
“But, since Holy Scripture must be read and interpreted in the sacred spirit in which it was written, no less serious attention must be given to the content and unity of the whole of Scripture if the meaning of the sacred texts is to be correctly worked out. The living tradition of the whole Church must be taken into account along with the harmony which exists between elements of the faith.” (DV 12)
Catechism of the Catholic Church
The Relationship Between Tradition and Sacred Scripture
One common source. . .
80 “Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture, then, are bound closely together, and communicate one with the other. For both of them, flowing out from the same divine well-spring, come together in some fashion to form one thing, and move towards the same goal.”40Each of them makes present and fruitful in the Church the mystery of Christ, who promised to remain with his own “always, to the close of the age”.
. . . two distinct modes of transmission
81 “Sacred Scripture is the speech of God as it is put down in writing under the breath of the Holy Spirit.”
“and [Holy] Tradition transmits in its entirety the Word of God which has been entrusted to the apostles by Christ the Lord and the Holy Spirit. It transmits it to the successors of the apostles so that, enlightened by the Spirit of truth, they may faithfully preserve, expound and spread it abroad by their preaching.”
82 As a result the Church, to whom the transmission and interpretation of Revelation is entrusted, “does not derive her certainty about all revealed truths from the holy Scriptures alone. Both Scripture and Tradition must be accepted and honoured with equal sentiments of devotion and reverence.”
Apostolic Tradition and ecclesial traditions
83 The Tradition here in question comes from the apostles and hands on what they received from Jesus’ teaching and example and what they learned from the Holy Spirit. the first generation of Christians did not yet have a written New Testament, and the New Testament itself demonstrates the process of living Tradition.
Tradition is to be distinguished from the various theological, disciplinary, liturgical or devotional traditions, born in the local churches over time. These are the particular forms, adapted to different places and times, in which the great Tradition is expressed. In the light of Tradition, these traditions can be retained, modified or even abandoned under the guidance of the Church’s Magisterium.
Growth in understanding the faith
94 Thanks to the assistance of the Holy Spirit, the understanding of both the realities and the words of the heritage of faith is able to grow in the life of the Church:
- “through the contemplation and study of believers who ponder these things in their hearts”; it is in particular “theological research [which] deepens knowledge of revealed truth”.
- “from the intimate sense of spiritual realities which [believers] experience”, The sacred Scriptures “grow with the one who reads them.”
- “from the preaching of those who have received, along with their right of succession in the episcopate, the sure charism of truth”.
95 “It is clear therefore that, 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. Working together, each in its own way, under the action of the one Holy Spirit, they all contribute effectively to the salvation of souls.”
Read Also
– The Nature of Contemplation in Lectio Divina.
– Vatican II. La Révélation divine. Constitution dogmatique « Dei Verbum ». Texte latin et traduction française par J.-P. Torrell. Commentaires sous la direction de B.-D. Dupuy. Coll. « Unam Sanctam », 70a, 70b.
– Commentary on the documents of Vatican II, Vol. III, Herder 1969.
– Giuseppe G. Scollo, “Joseph Ratzinger, Dei Verbum, and the Interpretation of Sacred Scripture “Sub Lumine Fidei”, Logos, A Journal of Catholic Thought and Culture, Vol. 29, Issue 1, 2026.