We often hear about the word
revelation and it is always associated with the truth. Man searches for truth
as basis for his beliefs and endeavors.
Revelation means “to reveal”
which comes from the Latin word revelare
(to draw back the veil). In the context of theology, it means God’s disclosure
of Himself and His will to His creatures.
God continuously unveils
Himself with the truths He made known to mankind since Adam’s time. In the Old
Testament, He made revelations to Adam, Abraham, Moses and the prophets from
generation to generation until the coming of Jesus as a gradual preparation for
the unveiling of the divine truth He would do through Jesus, His Son. These
truths revealed by God during this time are called “pre-Christian revelation.”
There is also what we call “Christian revelation.” These are the
truths made known to us by Jesus directly or indirectly through His Apostles as
inspired by the Holy Spirit.
The Sacred Scripture is the
written special revelation of God. It was written down under the inspiration
and guidance of the Holy Spirit as the Lord commanded in Jeremiah 30:2 (NABRE) "Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Write down on a scroll all the words I have spoken to you."
However, in John 21:25 (NABRE), it is said that, "There are also many other things that Jesus did, but if these were to be described individually, I do not think the whole world would contain the books that would be written."
This means that there are still many things which are of God but they are not
written. There were still many things that Jesus did, not written in the Sacred
Scripture, but witnessed by His Apostles and they orally taught them. To attempt to write all about God is
impossible.
The divine revelation of God
about Himself, His will and how man can receive eternal life with Him was
fulfilled, completed, and perfected in Christ. Its entirety and completeness
was given to Jesus and His Apostles, written
and unwritten (2 Thessalonians 2:15 GNT: So
then, our friends, stand firm and hold on to those truths which we taught you,
both in our preaching and in our letter.). That’s why St. Thomas Aquinas taught, after the death in 100
AD of St. John, the last Apostle, that all divine revelation ended. These
truths, as revealed by Jesus Himself or
through His Apostles, are the “Deposit of Faith” that must be lived by all Catholics. There were no new truths about
faith that can be added to this deposit, not even the Catholic Church can add
to it. For this reason, whenever there are questions about a certain doctrine
being taught, the basis for its authenticity is always the deposit of faith. Thus:
Deposit of Faith = Apostolic Tradition (or Sacred Oral Tradition) + Sacred Scriptures (or the Bible)
These divine revelations
that comprise the deposit of faith are called the “public revelations” and Catholics are required to uphold them.
But how about when the Pope
solemnly defines a dogma or a doctrine he authoritatively laid down? An example
of this is that of the Assumption. This teaching is not a new truth to be believed
by us. He is simply notifying us that here is a truth which was taught by the
Apostles of Jesus in their time and we must believe it.
How about those revelations
of God to saints and holy people? How about the apparitions? These truths are
not part of the “deposit of faith.” They are classified as “private revelations.” If we deny these truths, we will not be guilty
of heresy, but if we deny public revelations then we are guilty of heresy. If
the Church declares an apparition or revelations to saints and holy people to
be authentic, then we are encouraged to believe them and even have devotions to
the saints, but we are not required to do this unlike the public revelations, as
mentioned above, we are required to believe and live them. Public revelations
are matters of divine faith. Private revelations help us to strengthen and
enhance our personal faith.
We now know that not all
what Jesus taught is in the Bible. There are those which were orally taught by
His Apostles, handed down from generation to generation through the bishops who
are the successors of the Apostles. As Fr. Leo Trese wrote in his book The
Faith Explained - This is what we call Tradition of the Church: truths handed
on from age to age through the living voice of Christ in His Church. It is in
this single sacred deposit made up of the Bible and Tradition we find the
completeness of divine revelation, the truths which we must believe.
Sources:
- The Faith Explained by Fr. Leo
Trese, pp. 15-18
- Catholic Soul by Edgardo C. de Vera,
p. 21
- Catechism of the
Catholic Church 65 – 67 http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/p1s1c2a1.htm#III- Catechism of the Catholic Church 74 – 83 http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/p1s1c2a2.htm
- Dictionary.com http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/revelation?s=t
- Catholic Encyclopedia http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/13001a.htm
- Catholic Basic Training http://www.catholicbasictraining.com/apologetics/coursetexts/1i.htm
- Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Private_revelation
- Catholic Faith and Reason http://www.catholicfaithandreason.org/the-deposit-of-faith-and-the-holy-spirit-of-god.html
