The U.S. Catholic bishops wanted to commemorate the 20th anniversary of Vatican II by taking a fresh look at the council's documents. That was in 1985.

I was invited to work with the National Pastoral Life Center in New York to develop an adult study program titled "Vatican II: Act II." It presented key sections of those documents to interested Catholics.

In 2005, on the 40th anniversary of Vatican II, there was similar interest in revisiting the council's achievements. One document that drew particular attention was Dei Verbum, the Constitution on Divine Revelation. It fostered developments related to interreligious dialogue with Jews and Muslims, the scholarly study of the Bible and the role of Scripture in spirituality.

In the last chapter of the Constitution on Divine Revelation, the council discussed Scripture in the life of the church and urged Catholics to read, study and pray the Bible (No. 25). It called for translations with suitable explanations so that Catholics would acquire an accurate understanding of the texts.

Revelation, prior to Vatican II, was widely understood in terms of the divine mysteries that unaided human reason could not deduce and which God therefore entrusted to the church as sacred doctrines. Vatican II put this understanding in a larger context, speaking of revelation as God's self-manifestation to men and women "in order to invite and receive them into his own company" (No. 2).

In that same vein, the council described faith as a personal response to God by which "one freely commits oneself entirely to God" (No. 5). Within this relationship, initiated by divine love and sustained by the interior gifts of the Holy Spirit, the truths revealed by God are professed as doctrines.

Part of the council's agenda was to encourage dialogue with other religions. In the years since the council, interreligious dialogue has raised two issues that the Constitution on Divine Revelation already had addressed. The first is the centrality of the Old Testament in the lives of Jews, Muslims and Christians.

All three of those religions are "religions of the book." Although there are differences, there is a common reverence for the sacred text as the inspired word of God. Moreover, the constitution says, the content of sacred Scripture taken as a whole reveals "God's ways with humanity" (No. 14), which can be shared beneficially with all people.

As dialogue continues with the major monotheistic religions, those that believe God is one, the council's description of Scripture as a privileged witness to God's way of salvation is indispensable.

The other issue raised in interreligious dialogue concerns Jesus. While Christians proclaim him as Son of God and savior of the world, Jews and Muslims regard him only as a holy man, a great teacher and a prophet of God.

As difficult as it may be to achieve consensus about Jesus with other religions, the council leaves no doubt where Catholic teaching stands. Jesus is the definitive completion of God's revelation; everything that preceded him, both in Scripture and in history, foreshadowed his coming.

But far from regarding the Old Testament irrelevant, this position affirms its timeless value as "a storehouse of sublime teaching on God and of sound wisdom on human life," the constitution points out (No. 15). Christians should accept the Old Testament message with deep respect and see implicitly present within it the mystery of salvation.

In high-level ecumenical discussions among Christians of different denominations, it is important for scholars to know how to proceed when representing the church. In the Constitution on Revelation the council clearly endorsed a method of interpreting the Bible that pays attention to the different literary forms and diverse historical circumstances in which the books of the Bible were written (No. 12). It also encouraged translations from the original texts, especially if they are made "jointly with churches separated from us" (No. 22).

Along with this guidance is a reminder that ultimately the authentic interpretation of Scripture is entrusted to the teaching office (magisterium) of the church (No. 10). In fulfilling its role, the hierarchy takes into account not only the sacred texts themselves but the whole tradition of the church. Thus, the fullness of God's word is found in the twin sources of Scripture and tradition, which together constitute a single body of revelation flowing from the same divine wellspring and moving toward the same ultimate goal (No. 9).

In the years since the council, there has been a tremendous growth among Catholics in biblical literacy and biblical spirituality. For this reason the council's reminder is all the more pertinent:

The interpretation and application of Scripture, especially in the realm of one's personal life, should take place in tandem with the living tradition of the church rather than in a purely private manner. In this way people will become steeped in the spirit of the sacred Scriptures (No. 25), and God's revelation will continue to nourish their spiritual lives.

Father Robert L. Kinast is director of the Center for Theological Reflection in Prairie Village, Kan.