420. What is the New Law or the Law of the Gospel?
The New Law or the Law of the Gospel, proclaimed and fulfilled by Christ, is the fullness and completion of the divine law, natural and revealed. It is summed up in the commandment to love God and neighbor and to love one another as Christ loved us. It is also an interior reality: the grace of the Holy Spirit which makes possible such love. It is "the law of freedom" (James 1:25) because it inclines us to act spontaneously by the prompting of charity.
Further reading: CCC 1965-1972, 1983-1985
421. Where does one find the New Law?
The New Law is found in the entire life and preaching of Christ and in the moral catechesis of the apostles. The Sermon on the Mount is its principal expression.
Further reading: CCC 1971-1974, 1986
The New Law or the Law of the Gospel, proclaimed and fulfilled by Christ, is the fullness and completion of the divine law, natural and revealed. It is summed up in the commandment to love God and neighbor and to love one another as Christ loved us. It is also an interior reality: the grace of the Holy Spirit which makes possible such love. It is "the law of freedom" (James 1:25) because it inclines us to act spontaneously by the prompting of charity.
"The New Law is mainly the same grace of the Holy Spirit which is given to believers in Christ." (Saint Thomas Aquinas)
Further reading: CCC 1965-1972, 1983-1985
421. Where does one find the New Law?
The New Law is found in the entire life and preaching of Christ and in the moral catechesis of the apostles. The Sermon on the Mount is its principal expression.
Further reading: CCC 1971-1974, 1986
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