“Dei Verbum” and the 60th Anniversary of Vatican II

Friends, in this 60th year since the calling of the Second Vatican Council, I find myself reflecting most of all on Dei Verbum, the constitution on divine revelation, which should be seen as the interpretive lens for the entire council. If we forget the central teaching of Dei Verbum, then Lumen Gentium, Sacrosanctum Concilium, and Gaudium et Spes will be fundamentally misunderstood.

Dei Verbum, which was greatly influenced by the late Joseph Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI), wonderfully highlights that Christianity is a revealed religion. Christianity is not primarily the story of our search for God; it is the story of God’s relentless search for us. It is not primarily our words about God, but rather God’s Word spoken to us. Hence, Christianity is not something that we have invented; instead, it is something that we have received.

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[ralphauer]

Ty Bishop Barron, my faith is in God and my beliefs in the Catholic Church as I
Know them for attaining Heaven. There will only be unity in Heaven 🙏

[christophlindinger]

You are a gift to the Church, Bishop! Thank you.

[brandonh]

Bishop Barron has such a gentle, thoughtful and charitable way of telling the German bishops to pound sand...love it

[BlessedAssurance]

“Christianity is not the story of our search for God. It is the story of God’s relentless search for us. It is not primarily our word to God, but God’s word spoken to us.” Very profound point! I love you, Bishop Barron

[jeanmelanson]

Being a student of history, this revelation of God has always been a centerpiece of my understanding of the unraveling of events in time. It is still going on and will continue to the end of time. Thank you for the reminder.

[rossythasesa]

God bless you always Bishop Barron 🕊️✝️🙏

[pepinperalta]

Love and serve is to me my call to everyone I meet. That to me is not hard to do as I know Him who Loves me as I am, calls me to be Holy (set apart), is in me and is faithful, the faithful Who is Loving Mercy.

[vintage-coversandorigina]

How precious that we have a Worldwide Church that has guided us for 2000 years now! One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church with the promise that the Gates of Hell will not prevail against it!! ❤

[nmfd]

Your Excellency, I have long believed that the Council was good for the church, as you stated before it " allowed us to bring Christ out into the world". One of the debates relative to the counciliary church today was the implementation of the changes the Bishops wanted to see in the Liturgy. I consider myself a Traditional Catholic (with sanity), I go to ordinary form and on occasion the extraordinary form as I find both to be very spiritually fulfilling. I was 15 years old when the Novus Ordo was implemented. I received all my sacraments in the old Latin Rite, except my Marriage of course so I have an attachment to the older forms, that is not to say I don't appreciate and feel comfortable with the ordinary forms, I do and Believe in what Christ said to us "where two or more gather in my name I am there also" (Matthew 18:19-20). I believe most Catholics that are attached to the old rites are very much like me and the people I know who attend the TLM, good Catholics who go to Mass, accept all the teachings of the Church, Support the Church and as the Late John Cardinal O'Connor stated on this topic "They just really love the old Rite and the Latin Language". He dismissed the notion that they were all radicals looking to abrogate the New Mass. This is exactly why St. Pope John Paul II and Pope Emeritus Benedict allowed greater access to this Beautiful Liturgy. Thank you Bishop Barron for allowing us to engage with you, much appreciated.

[jeffreybecker]

I'm interested in the statement of God's search for us. It's a brilliant concept. One that raises quite a few questions. Love following you on you tube.

[meereslicht]

Muy interesante que el documento Sancrosactum Concilium haya sido el primer documento aprobado por el Concilio. Siempre he tenido la impresión de que este Concilio fue convocado, ante todo y en efecto, para responder a los desafíos planteados por el Movimiento Litúrgico en la primera mitad del siglo. Excelente e informativo video, como siempre todo lo de Monseñor Barron. Bendiciones! 🙂🙂

[Barbaramamato]

Thank you for this recommendation and the comparisons. Dei Verdum is available on the Vatican News-English website under Encyclicals, provided at no charge. I don't have a fireplace. I could curl up beside the oven or the central heater. Maybe a comfy chair would do after removing all the books on it. Oh, is that irrelevant, irreverent. If I would do well to read it, perhaps, a commentary or two might be sited.
I like the idea of reading by the fire. What about lighting a candle?

[Southernromanist]

Great video, bishop! Thank you for your continued work. One quibble: Sanctosacrum concilium has not proven to be massively influential as the Novus Ordo (especially its widespread use) went way beyond what it called for. See Louis Bouyer's (who worked on crafting the NO) memoirs on the topic. Or a book that Ratzinger highly endorsed: The Organic Development of the Liturgy.

[mBeata]

Bishop Barron, do you plan to issue a special video marking the 550th anniversary of the birth of Nicholas Copernicus? February19th will mark the 550th anniversary of the birth of astronomer Copernicus, a member of the Catholic clergy (a canon) and the founder of the heliocentric theory whose revolutionary discovery initiated the Scientific Revolution in the 16th century.

[JohnR.T.B.]

It's the culture that says I can't be wrong, it's the rest of the world and God himself who can't understand and affirm me, hence it is I who is "I am who I am", and not God. If it's our quest for God, it is we who then dictate how God should receive us, which cannot be more wrong. Since it's God's quest for us, hence we have to allow God to come in and cleanse us, take over our whole selves as King of the universe and hence make us truly alive in Him for eternity.

[garyolsen]

I asked you one time your eminence, what are the fruits of V II? Increased Mass attendance? Increased vocations to to the Priesthood and Religious Life? Increased seminarians. Increased marriages? Increased baptisms (infant)? Increased adult baptisms? Increase in those who believe in the real presence, (70% don't) because lack of reverence for Him (communion in the hand). Increase in ordinations? Increased amount of Catholic schools? So much for the new "springtime of renewal".

[trumpwon]

I’m still stuck on that Pope Francis, as well as cardinals and bishops, were seemingly venerating the pagan Pachamama statue in the Vatican Gardens. Do we have a Pope that is not doing right by God?
You all can google this! There’s pictures as well. I’m still shocked.

[javierserna]

I actually like you & I was brought up Catholic. As a kid, I had a hard time with Priests still speaking Latin in Mass. Even after VaticanII it took time for older priests to adapet & engage me. Jordan Peterson is not a good man no matter how many subscribers he has. When i leave my body behind if i see you, 'I will think I could be in heaven. If I see Charles Stanley, I'll know for sure I'm in Heaven.

[DanDeuel]

“This sacred Tradition, then, and the sacred Scripture of both Testaments, are like a mirror, in which the Church, during its pilgrim journey here on earth, contemplates God, from whom she receives everything, until such time as she is brought to see him face to face as he really is (cf. Jn. 3:2).”

The woman before her mirror, enraptured not by her own beauty which is striking enough, but rather the man of her dreams who is communicating to her through it in somewhat occluded fashion. The success of their planned rendezvous, which will be fraught with dangers, depends on her following his every direction, so she is especially attentive!

The master wordsmith of the citation (and was he not just laid to rest?) managed to infuse the thrill of a fairytale to explain a dogmatic feature and by implication invites the reader to participate on the same perilous quest. Certainly the message of Dei Verbum is important, as the Bishop states, but the text is also enchanting.

(Quote is from Dei Verbum, paragraph 7, edited by Austin Flannery, O.P. 1981 edition.)

[goofygrandlouis]

So here is my cold and brutal opinion about what's wrong with Catholicism today.
a) Don't try to emulate Protestants. Young Catholics actually *want* a *SERIOUS* Mass. If they wanted a diet-coke version of the liturgy, they would go non-denominational.
b) Communicate to the outside world. Priests in Europe are absent from social networks. 🤦‍♂🤦‍♂
c) Stop being stiff about private affairs. Sex, marriage, anything that has to do with things of the bedroom is not worth losing the youth on.