The Church has always
venerated the divine Scriptures just as she venerates the body of the Lord,
since, especially in the sacred liturgy, she unceasingly receives and offers to
the faithful the bread of life from the table both of God's word and of
Christ's body. She has always maintained them, and continues to do so, together
with sacred tradition, as the supreme rule of faith, since, as inspired by God
and committed once and for all to writing, they impart the word of God Himself
without change, and make the voice of the Holy Spirit resound in the words of
the prophets and Apostles.
Therefore, like the Christian religion itself, all
the preaching of the Church must be nourished and regulated by Sacred
Scripture. For in the sacred books, the Father who is in heaven meets His
children with great love and speaks with them; and the force and power in the
word of God is so great that it stands as the support and energy of the Church,
the strength of faith for her sons, the food of the soul, the pure and
everlasting source of spiritual life. Consequently these words are perfectly
applicable to Sacred Scripture: "For the word of God is living and
active" (Heb. 4:12) and "it has power to build you up and give you
your heritage among all those who are sanctified" (Acts 20:32; see 1
Thess. 2:13).
