As the Letter to the Hebrews tells us, in times past, God spoke in fragmentary and varied ways to our fathers through the prophets; in this the final age, he has spoken to us through his son, whom he has made heir of all things and through whom he first created the universe. This son is the reflection of the Father's glory, the exact representation of the Father's being, and he sustains all things by his powerful word (Letter to the Hebrews 1:1-3).

Jesus Christ is the eternal Word through which this revelation has been transmitted to us by the heavenly Father in the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus Christ is the mediator and fullness of all revelation (Vatican II, Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation, #2). If we would take all of the words of Scripture, all of the words of the Catechism and other important church documents, these many words all compress, condense, synthesize and distill into one word--the eternal Word--Jesus Christ. The great Carmelite saint and doctor of the church, St. John of the Cross, said it beautifully: "In giving us his Son, his only Word (for he possesses no other), he spoke everything to us at once in this sole Word--and he has no more to say...because what he spoke before to the prophets in parts, he has now spoken all at once by giving us the All Who is His Son" (Catechism #65; cf. St. John of the Cross, The Ascent of Mt. Carmel, 2, 22, 3-5). Divine revelation, quite simply, is God revealing himself to us in the person of his son, Jesus Christ. There will be no further public revelation, as the Catechism tells us (#66).

Analogies are useful, even though they are imperfect. God is one. He is also three. The one God, who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit has revealed himself to us. This one-only divine revelation (the Word) is transmitted to us in a written form (sacred Scripture) and an oral form (sacred Tradition), and has one-only authentic and authoritative interpreter--the magisterium of the church.

The Second Vatican Council taught very clearly and beautifully that "It is clear, therefore, that, in the supremely wise arrangement of God, sacred Tradition, sacred Scripture and the Magisterium of the Church are so connected and associated that one of them cannot subsist (stand) without the others. Working together, each in its own way under the action of the one Holy Spirit, they all contribute effectively to the salvation of souls (Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation, #10).

The Lord Jesus, while on this earth, taught orally. The ones that he taught first were the 12 men that he called to be his closest collaborators in his mission of salvation, the apostles. The apostles then handed on faithfully to their successors, the bishops, what they had been taught by Christ: In order that the full and living Gospel might always be preserved in the Church the apostles left bishops as their successors. They gave them their own position of teaching authority (Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation, #7). Indeed, the apostolic preaching, which is expressed in a special way in the inspired books, was to be preserved in a continuous line of succession until the end of time (Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation, #8).

This living transmission, accomplished in the Holy Spirit, is called Tradition, since it is distinct from sacred Scripture, though closely connected to it. Through Tradition, the church, in her doctrine, life, and worship perpetuates and transmits to every generation all that she herself is, all that she believes (Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation, #8).

So, the one-only Word of God (Jesus) is transmitted to us in an oral form (Sacred Tradition), and a written form (Sacred Scripture); and the one-only authentic and authoritative interpreter of this one-only Word of God is the church's teaching office--the magisterium. The magisterium, quite simply, is the successor of St. Peter, the bishop of Rome, the pope, and the bishops united to him. The magisterium has received a sacred deposit--the Word of God. It is not superior to the Word of God, but is its servant (#86). The magisterium faithfully hands on what it has received from Christ through the apostles--this holy word who is Christ himself.

Mindful of Christ's words to his apostles--"He who hears you, hears me" (Luke 10:16)--the faithful receive the teachings and directives that their pastors give them in different forms. There is an erroneous and dangerous notion in some church circles today that all that the faithful have to accept from the magisterium are ex cathedra dogmatic definitions from the pope. This is absolutely false. As Vatican II and the Catechism clearly assert, the faithful receive with docility the teachings and directives that their pastors give them in different forms (Vatican II, Lumen Gentium, #20).

Encyclicals, apostolic letters and exhortations, post-synodal apostolic exhortations, the Code of Canon Law, and the other manifestations of ordinary magisterium are to be accepted with docility and the full religious assent of mind and will by all the faithful. Theologians, religious educators, and other private persons constitute no parallel magisterium. They can provide advice and insights to the bishops and the Holy Father, but they have no authority whatever to deviate from the teaching of the magisterium.

There is no such thing as legitimate dissent from authentic and authoritative magisterial teaching. The word more properly is not dissent, but disobedience. The words that conclude the passage from the Gospel of Luke cited from Vatican II above are relevant: "He who hears you, hears me. He who rejects you, rejects me. And he who rejects me, rejects him who sent me" (Luke 10:16).

God our loving Father has revealed himself to us, giving us the unimaginably generous gift of his Word. This Word is transmitted to us in the form of Sacred Tradition, Sacred Scripture, and magisterial teaching, no one of which can stand without the other two. May we be thankful for, and ever-faithful to this gift.