Sacred Scripture refers to a collection of ancient writings that are believed by Christians to be inspired by God to reveal Him to us. These writings are considered holy and sacred, and their words are regarded by the devout as such. The Catholic Church believes that God is the author of Sacred Scripture, and that the Holy Spirit inspired the many different individual human authors of the Sacred Scriptures. The Scriptures are divided into individual books, and they reveal truth in different ways, including actual history, theological, moral, metaphysical, or metaphorical truths. The Catholic Church asserts that Sacred Scripture is the revelation of the Hidden God, and that God shares truths about Himself through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and His interaction with human authors, who express these truths through a variety of means.
The Scriptures are not limited to Christianity, as many other religions also have their own sacred texts. These texts vary greatly in form, volume, age, and degree of sacredness, but their common attribute is that their words are regarded by the devout as sacred. The most important and most holy of the sacred texts have in many instances been gathered into canons, which become fixed and limited to certain works that are alone viewed as fully authoritative and truly beyond all further change or alteration.
In the Catholic Church, Sacred Scripture is one of three closely united elements, along with Tradition and the Magisterium, that contribute effectively to the salvation of people. The Church recognizes two senses of Scripture: the literal and the spiritual. The literal sense is the meaning conveyed by the words of Scripture and discovered by exegesis, following the rules of sound interpretation. The spiritual senses of Sacred Scripture derive from the unity of God’s plan of salvation, and there are three spiritual senses of Scripture: the allegorical, the moral, and the anagogical.
In summary, Sacred Scripture refers to a collection of ancient writings that are considered holy and sacred by many religions, including Christianity. These texts reveal truth in different ways and are believed to be inspired by God. The Catholic Church recognizes two senses of Scripture: the literal and the spiritual, and both are important for understanding the meaning of the texts.