In order to mark the Year of Vocations called by Pope Francis, the Johannes Verlag gathered together a number of essays on the topic by its founder, Hans Urs von Balthasar. Each of them seeks to illumine from a different angle what it means to follow Christ in the evangelical counsels. In particular, Balthasar emphasizes that the choice of the consecrated life is not based on a project of self-perfection, but on a divine call to conform to the pattern of Christ’s life in poverty, chastity, and obedience. To answer this call is to leave everything behind: an unsparing demand that, as Balthasar shows, is also an invitation to taste true freedom in the spirit of sonship. The volume also contains a helpful introduction by the Bishop of Passau, Germany, Stefan Oster, SDB.