…REVELATION…THE UNVEILING…

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