The religious life through which we surrender ourselves totally to the service of God, wherein perfection lies, consists mainly in the fulfilling of three vows: poverty, chastity and obedience, driven by charity.
The vow of poverty Our Lord is the Way we must follow and the example we must imitate: though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich (2 Cor 8:9). In his preaching, He teaches us: Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven (Mt 5:3), and invites whoever wishes to attain perfection: if you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me. (Mt 19:21) (Const., 60)
The vow of chastity Imitating Jesus Christ – having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end (Jn 13:1) – we want to offer to God by the vow of chastity a holocaust of our body and of our natural affections, living “the obligation of perfect continence observed in celibacy.” This vow implies a preferential election of the exclusive love for God since we have freely chosen to be like eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven (Mt 19:12). (Const., 55)
The vow of obedience Following the example of the Incarnate Word, the members of the Institute surrender themselves totally to God by way of the vow of obedience through which they give up their will.
He learned obedience through what he suffered (Heb 5:8). Sacred Scripture says, “he learned obedience,” that is, how serious it is to obey, because He Himself obeyed in the most difficult and serious things: till death on the cross. (Const., 72-73)