For single people who want to stay single

[Eucharisted]

I remember seeing a thread on here about single Catholics - or single individuals in general - who don’t ever want to get married.

My challenge to you is: Perhaps God is calling you to live a consecrated life!

You may not believe in God, or belong to the Catholic Church, or ever think of becoming an ordained minister or consecrated virgin, but at the same time, you never know. You have nothing to lose in thinking it over, perhaps even praying for it. Prayer can do you no harm, and if God exists, your prayer will actually be answered.

So my challenge to you is this: Think of the vocation to consecrated life. Think of becoming a deacon or priest (men) or becoming a consecrated virgin or religious sister (women). Just think it over, research the vocations. And if you want, pray.

God bless and Happy Advent!

 

[Salonika]

I remember seeing a thread on here about single Catholics - or single individuals in general - who don’t ever want to get married.

My challenge to you is: Perhaps God is calling you to live a consecrated life!

Think of the vocation to consecrated life. Think of becoming a deacon or priest (men) or becoming a consecrated virgin or religious sister (women). Just think it over, research the vocations. And if you want, pray.

I’m one single person who will not be taking up your challenge.

I know that the single life is for me and have known this since I was ten years old - half a century ago.

Also I consider that a well chosen single life well lived is a consecrated way of life.

 

[BarbaraTherese]

I’m one single person who will not be taking up your challenge.

I know that the single life is for me and have known this since I was ten years old - half a century ago.

Also I consider that a well chosen single life well lived is a consecrated way of life.

… …Whether one is called to the consecrated state or whether one is not is the preprogative of The Holy Spirit.

The single state is a consecrated state by virtue of Baptism. How deeply we live out our Baptism - how committed we are to it - is personal and unique to each person.

newadvent.org/cathen/04276a.htm

symbolizes the triple immersion at holybaptism, the consecration of the soul as the spiritual temple of God, to which the material bears a certain analogy.

The formal consecration into the consecrated state in The Church is rooted in our Baptism and is the formal declaration by The Church that the person is indeed now publicly committed to their Baptism and The Gospel in a quite radical manner. This then is the ideal of the consecrated and religious state. It is not necessary to be thus formally consecrated to live out such radical dedication and public witness to Baptismal consecration.

Catholic Catechism
916

The state of consecrated life is thus one way of experiencing a “more intimate” consecration, rooted in Baptism and dedicated totally to God.455 In the consecrated life, Christ’s faithful, moved by the Holy Spirit, propose to follow Christ more nearly, to give themselves to God who is loved above all and, pursuing the perfection of charity in the service of the Kingdom, to signify and proclaim in the Church the glory of the world to come.456

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[BarbaraTherese]

Quoting Eucharisted:

and if God exists

… …

.

 

[LilyM]

Well, I’m going to be a secular Franciscan. That’s enough for me for now.

Of course, to be a consecrated virgin one would have to be … well, a virgin which sadly I ain’t

Are there any alternatives to consecrated virginity for women in my situation? Short of becoming a nun or religious sister? I’ve heard that even some religious orders won’t accept non-virgins

 

[Eucharisted]

Quoting Eucharisted:

… …

.

I was trying to reach out to those who don’t believe in God.

 

[Eucharisted]

Well, I’m going to be a secular Franciscan. That’s enough for me for now.

Of course, to be a consecrated virgin one would have to be … well, a virgin which sadly I ain’t

Are there any alternatives to consecrated virginity for women in my situation? Short of becoming a nun or religious sister? I’ve heard that even some religious orders won’t accept non-virgins

You could live a chaste life Or if you want to be a religious layperson (correct terminology?), you could check out, I believe, apostolic societies and communities - for example, the Confraternity of the Holy Rosary.

 

[BarbaraTherese]

Well, I’m going to be a secular Franciscan. That’s enough for me for now.

Of course, to be a consecrated virgin one would have to be … well, a virgin which sadly I ain’t

Are there any alternatives to consecrated virginity for women in my situation? Short of becoming a nun or religious sister? I’ve heard that even some religious orders won’t accept non-virgins

Congratulations, Lily, on your Franciscan call:thumbsup:

Most religious orders will accept non virgins. Those who will not are in the minority to my knowledge.

The other option is private vows or you could look into consecration under Canon 603 for the hermit’s life of prayer and penance under the local Bishop.
There are of course conditions connected to Canon 603 which are stipulated by one’s Bishop and may vary thus from diocese to diocese.

I am certainly not up to date with everything happening in The Church today and many new things are happening, hence it may pay you to put a thread into the Vocations Forum asking for any alternatives.

Barb

 

[BarbaraTherese]

I was trying to reach out to those who don’t believe in God.

I thought actually I was probably not reading it right and returned a couple of times to re read and then decided to ask I hope that indeed you have reached out to those who do not believe in God:thumbsup:

Barb