God reveals Himself to us in His Word, which we encounter in Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition. The Magisterium of the Church authentically teaches and interprets the Word of God so that the faithful might be saved. We are called to encounter the Word of God in Scripture through prayer in our daily lives.
Sacred Scripture
Sacred Scripture, the Bible, is the written record of God’s revelation of Himself. God has chosen to make Himself known to us, His precious creation. From the very beginning He revealed Himself and His loving plan for us in words and deeds. He continued this self-revelation throughout salvation history, culminating in the Incarnation, when God became man in the Person of Jesus Christ. John the Evangelist tells us in the opening words of His Gospel, “In the Beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God … and the Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us, and we saw his glory, the glory as of the Father’s only Son, full of grace and truth” (John 1:1, 14). In other words, the Divine Son, the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, the Word of God, was present with God in the beginning and is God Himself. The Word became flesh, and entered into human history to reveal fully the glory of God, who is truth itself. In Jesus Christ, God has said all that needs to be said. He has spoken His one, perfect, unsurpassable Word and completely revealed Himself.
Divine Revelation and the Magisterium
Divine revelation has reached us today, whole and intact, through the Sacred Tradition of the Church. Sacred Tradition is the mode of transmission of the Word of God. The Word of God was given to the Apostles by Jesus and the Holy Spirit. The Apostles in turn handed it on to their successors, the bishops. With the help of the Holy Spirit, the Church has kept the Word of God whole and safe over the centuries so we can know and believe in the whole Faith today. Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture make up a single deposit – or one gift–of the Word of God. We accept and honor Sacred Tradition equally with Sacred Scripture. The Magisterium, or the teaching authority of the Church and those who wield that authority, guard and protect this sacred Deposit of Faith to ensure that we the faithful have access to all that we need to know for the sake of our salvation. The Magisterium, which comprises the pope and all the world’s bishops in union with the pope, has been given the authority to teach and interpret the sacred truths of our faith by Jesus Himself. Thus, the Church venerates the Word of God as she venerates the Body of Christ. In both, which we receive from the same altar, we receive God Himself. In the Sacred Scriptures we encounter not dead words on a page, but the living Word of God, Jesus Christ. St. Jerome famously said, “Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ.” Therefore, the Church has always implored the faithful to know the Scriptures in order to know Christ.
The Power of the Word of God
Scripture possesses great power in our lives. Not only do we meet our Lord through it, but, as St. Paul reminds us, it is useful for “teaching, for refutation, for correction, and for training in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16) and is capable of cutting directly to our deepest selves, discerning the “reflections and thoughts of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12). In the Scriptures we find our guidebook for living the Christian life, for teaching others about the faith, and for defending the faith. Scripture also speaks directly to our souls and is capable of revealing our truest self.
In order to achieve all of this, we must first read Scripture and know how to read it properly. We must incorporate Scripture into our daily lives. The Church asks us at least to read in advance each Sunday’s Gospel, to reflect on their meaning, and to bring those reflections to God in prayer. Just as we spend time with loved ones in order to know them and be in relationship with them, so too must we spend time with the Lord and hear His voice in the Word.
