Concept Detail

Evangelical Counsels

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In general, the teachings of the New Law proposed by Jesus to his disciples which lead to the perfection of Christian life. In the New Law, the precepts are intended to remove whatever is incompatible with charity; the evangelical counsels are to remove whatever might hinder the development of charity, even if not contrary to it (1973). The public profession of the evangelical counsels of poverty, chastity, and obedience is a constitutive element of state of consecrated life in the Church

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Catechism Passages

Passages ranked by relevance to Evangelical Counsels, from most closely related outward.

§915 CHAPTER THREE I BELIEVE IN THE HOLY SPIRIT

Christ proposes the Evangelical Counsels, in their great variety, to every disciple. the perfection of Charity, to which all the faithful are called, entails for those who freely follow the call to Consecrated Life the obligation of practicing chastity in celibacy for the sake of the Kingdom, poverty and obedience. It is the profession of these counsels, within a permanent state of life recognized by the Church, that characterizes the life consecrated to God. 454

§1973 CHAPTER THREE GOD'S SALVATION: LAW AND GRACE

Besides its precepts, the New Law also includes the Evangelical Counsels. the traditional distinction between God's commandments and the evangelical counsels is drawn in relation to Charity, the perfection of Christian life. the precepts are intended to remove whatever is incompatible with charity. the aim of the counsels is to remove whatever might hinder the development of charity, even if it is not contrary to it. 32

Catechism of the Catholic Church © Libreria Editrice Vaticana