47 It should be pointed out, also, that God does not urge all Christians to virginity, as the Apostle Paul teaches us with these words: "Now concerning virgins, I have no commandment of the Lord; but I give counsel." We are, therefore, merely invited by counsel to embrace perfect chastity, as something which can lead those "to whom it is given" more safely and successfully to the evangelical perfection they seek, and to the conquest of the kingdom of heaven. Wherefore it is "not imposed, but proposed," as St. Ambrose so aptly observed.
Source: Sacra Virginitas (Vatican.va)