For the past few weeks, Pope Leo has been delivering a series of catecheses at his Wednesday audiences on Dei Verbum (the dogmatic constitution on divine revelation promulgated by the Second Vatican Council). Each one is relatively short (2 or 3 printed pages). I’ve been finding his reflections meaningful and helpful — reminding me of the core of our faith about divine revelation. In each talk, I’ve found at least a line or two that summarized concepts in a pithy, approachable way that made me take notice and which I’d like to return to for reflection and to remind myself about what’s important.
In his introductory catechesis, Pope Leo reflected on John 15:15 (“No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you”) and emphasized that God’s fullest revelation of himself comes in Christ, who invites us into relationship with his Father.
The Revelation of God, then, has the dialogical nature of friendship and, as in the experience of human friendship, it does not tolerate silence, but is nurtured by the exchange of true words.
Pope Leo XIV, Catechesis. The Documents of Vatican Council II. I. Dogmatic Constitution Dei Verbum. 1. God speaks to men as to friends (Reading: Jn 15:15) Audience Hall, Wednesday, 14 January 2026
He went on to highlight the value and quality of God’s revelation to us by distinguishing between words and chatter. I found this thought-provoking:
God speaks to us. It is important to recognize the difference between words and chatter: this latter stops at the surface and does not achieve communion between people, whereas in authentic relationships, the word serves not only to exchange information and news, but to reveal who we are. The word possesses a revelatory dimension that creates a relationship with the other.
Pope Leo XIV. Ibid.
In the second catechesis, the pope developed the point further by emphasizing that the incarnation of Jesus is an integral part of God’s revelation. Jesus, in his humanity, reveals the Father (John 14:9).
It is not only the death and resurrection of Jesus that saves us and calls us together, but his very person: the Lord who becomes incarnate, is born, heals, teaches, suffers, dies, rises again and remains among us. Therefore, to honour the greatness of the Incarnation, it is not enough to consider Jesus as the channel of transmission of intellectual truths. If Jesus has a real body, the communication of the truth of God is realized in that body, with its own way of perceiving and feeling reality, with its own way of inhabiting and passing through the world.
Pope Leo XIV, Catechesis. The Documents of Vatican Council II. I. Dogmatic Constitution Dei Verbum. 2. Jesus Christ reveals the Father”. Audience Hall, Wednesday, 21 January 2026
The third catechesis pivots to the relationship between Scripture and Tradition, which Pope Leo connects to the relationship between the apostles hearing the Word of God and being sent out to proclaim it. He cites St. John Henry Newman in comparing the Church and its teaching to a seed that grows (cf. Mark 6:24-29):
Christianity, both as a communal experience and as a doctrine, is a dynamic reality, in the manner indicated by Jesus himself in the parables of the seed (cf. Mk 4:26-29): a living reality that develops thanks to an inner vital force.
Pope Leo XIV, Catechesis. The Documents of Vatican Council II. I. Dogmatic Constitution Dei Verbum. 3. A single sacred deposit. The relationship between Scripture and Tradition. Audience Hall, Wednesday, 28 January 2026
Finally in today’s catechesis (the fourth catechesis), Pope Leo turned to the relationship between the human and divine aspects of Scripture. He reflected on the importance of holding onto both realities. If the divine authorship of Scripture is emphasized to the point that the human authors were no more than stenographers, this ultimately does not glorify God, who does not mortify human beings and their potential. On the other hand, overemphasizing the human words of Scripture leads to an overly technical, historical-critical approach which treats Scripture as a historical artifact. The pope emphasized the importance of hearing and reading Scripture with the Church, especially in the liturgy, and reading Scripture under the guidance of the Holy Spirit who inspired the sacred writings. I found his teaching on this topic to be an excellent, brief but well-rounded summary of the massive debate which has spread across many scholarly books and articles about how to understand the divine and human authors of Scripture.
I am looking forward to reading the rest of Pope Leo’s catecheses on Dei Verbum over the coming weeks. The texts of all his audiences in 2026 are available here.