The Evangelical Counsels

To the uninitiated, it is easy to view religion in general and Catholicism in particular as being dominated by prudish rules. No more is this the case when the subject is the vows taken by consecrated religious people. 

In this paper, I will limit myself to discussing vows known as the Evangelical Counsels. Evangelical because they are found in the Gospels (Evangelium in Latin) and Counsels because they were recommended (counseled) by Jesus.

Generally reducible to poverty, chastity, and obedience, these vows have some basis in the Rule of Saint Benedict. However, they are more closely associated with and practiced by the Mendicant Orders of Saint Francis of Assisi.  

In this paper, I will examine each of these vows and their significance to Catholic religious life.

Poverty

The word poverty is generally associated with economic scarcity. It may seem rather strange then that one would voluntarily seek to live in a state of poverty. While asceticism has a long and important place in the spiritual life, the vow of poverty does not mean that those who take the vow must live in squalor. 

I think that it is helpful to place the vow of poverty within the context of Jesus’ words, “No servant can serve two masters. He will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon [material wealth].” (See Matthew 6:24). By eschewing material goods, one makes a “place” for God. 

Furthermore, and owing to human nature, only God can completely satisfy the soul. Because material goods are tools God gives us, they are not inherently evil. However, possessions can come to possess us and lead our hearts away from God. By renouncing material goods, one embraces spiritual ones. 

Additionally, a vow of poverty releases the soul to love God while placing one in solidarity with those who have less than ourselves, be that physically or spiritually. 

Chastity

In an age of extreme sexual tolerance and liberality, nothing so strikes the modern person as being antiquated as the practice of chastity. 

While chastity is often considered synonymous with celibacy, there are fundamental differences. Chastity should be understood as that virtue that moderates the desire for sexual pleasure according to the principles of faith and right reason. Celibacy, on the other hand, involves completely abstaining from sex, regardless of one’s circumstances.

As such, chastity can take different forms depending upon one’s station in life. In married people, chastity should moderate the desire in conformity with their married state. This includes monogamy in the relationship, with sex being reserved for the purpose of procreation.

In unmarried people who wish to marry, the sexual desire is moderated by abstention until (or unless) they get married. In single people (particularly those consecrated to God), the desire for sex is sacrificed entirely.

Significantly, chastity is considered one of the seven lively virtues. The seven lively virtues are intended to act as a counter to the seven deadly sins. In the case of chastity, it acts as a bulwark against lust. Since lust often leads to the defiling of the body and since the body is the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19), the significance of chastity as a vehicle by which one avoids debasing the body or making the soul unclean becomes evident. 

Ultimately, chastity is that principle that seeks to moderate the lustful appetites of fallen human nature while also subordinating natural sexual desire to human reason.

Obedience

Where chastity requires the body to be subordinated to reason, the third evangelical counsel, obedience, requires that the soul subordinate itself to the will of God.

For most of us, this concept of obedience is quite difficult and subordinating our desires to the desires of another, foreign. However, in a real sense, the body’s subordination to the soul and the soul’s obedience to God is the natural order. Unfortunately, this natural order was lost by the first act of disobedience, which Catholicism calls original sin.

The vow of obedience provides the counter to the temptation to be disobedient, which is to say to listen to one’s own will rather than the will of God. Doing so is also imitative of Jesus’ obedience to the Father (see John 6:38). From the perspective of members of a religious order, the vow of obedience is extended to one’s superiors, as well.

The vow of obedience does present a unique challenge, however. In order to be obedient to the will of God, one must be able to discern the will of God. To a significant degree, the discerning of God’s will is aided by the teachings of the Catholic Church. 

Since the Church is the mystical body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:12-13), it is guided by the Holy Spirit, who works in and through the Church (John 15:26-27). Therefore, if one adheres to the teachings of the Church, one is assured of following the will of God.

Conclusion

Vows are solemn promises, commitments really, often associated with marriage. Within the context of Catholic religious life, vows entail one committing oneself entirely to God. This commitment is manifested in the Evangelical Counsels.

By embracing poverty, one places the material goods of this world aside in favor of devotion to God. By being chaste, one properly orders the body’s desires to reason, thereby allowing the body to be the temple God intended. Obedience to the will of God provides a defense against fallen human nature’s propensity to sin.

Properly understood and placed in the correct context, vows, far from encroaching on human freedom, aid us in achieving true freedom by uniting ourselves with God.