Day 258: The New Law

The Law of the Gospel "fulfills," refines, surpasses, and leads the Old Law to its perfection. In the Beatitudes, the New Law fulfills the divine promises by elevating and orienting them toward the "kingdom of heaven." It is addressed to those open to accepting this new hope with faith - the poor, the humble, the afflicted, the pure of heart, those persecuted on account of Christ, and so marks out the surprising ways of the Kingdom. CCC 1967

Today's reading from the Catechism is focused on the New Law or Law of the Gospel. This is founded upon the whole life and teachings of Jesus Christ, especially as found in the Sermon on the Mount (Matt 5-7). The New Law "is the grace of the Holy Spirit given to the faithful" (CCC 1996), "fulfills the commandments of the Law" without abolishing them  (CCC 1968), and "practices the acts of religion" (CCC 1969). 

The Catechism Compendium gives a summary of what the New Law is:

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” because it inclines us to act spontaneously by the prompting of charity. (#420)

The Catechism Companion Vol III has some good commentary on this:

The New Law "works through charity," looking to the Sermon on the Mount (CCC 1966). Through the sacraments it provides the grace we need to live as we are called. Jesus is the source of all grace. He communicates that grace to us and gives us the ability to live this new life through the Paschal Mystery - his life, death, and Resurrection - which we come into contact with through the sacraments. It is through all the sacraments - such as the Eucharist, Reconciliation, and Baptism - that we have access to the grace that God gives us in order to live this new life. (p. 32)

Sermon on the Mount, an 1877 painting by Carl Bloch

This artwork shows Jesus preaching in his Sermon on the Mount. We are meant to see him as the new Moses, as one who comes not to abolish but to perfect the Old Law (CCC 1967). (p. 33)