Meaning of State of Life

By a person’s state we indicate something that establishes him with some permanence in his position and lays upon him pertinent duties. A person’s state is not something mainly external and readily changeable; rather it is something internally recognized by intellect and embraced by will as lasting and in some measure binding. Thus, we do not speak of a man’s being rich or poor as his state; this is his condition. But we do speak of a man’s state as his being married or single, priest or layman or religious.

It is suitable that within the Church there should be various states, each with its own duties. For the Church has a variety of activities, and her beauty of order requires a scale of different offices or states to see that these activities are exercised. Says St. Paul (Eph. 4:11, 12): “He gave (that is,appointed) some apostles, and some prophets, and other someevangelists, and other some pastors and doctors, for the perfecting of the saints.”

States with their pertinent duties differ according tothe different activities assigned to each one. There is distinction of states of perfection, and distinction of active duties, and distinction of grades in each state and duty.

Among men who strive to cast off servitude to sin inorder to serve God in justice, we distinguish the three orders of:beginners; the proficient; the perfect.