Is Single Life a Vocation?

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Thank you very much Mrs. Cloisters. This is the perfect article I need for someone at the moment.
God bless you.
 
Yes. Jesus was single. He chose not to marry and he chose not to be a rabbi.
Moreover, you do not have to be “consecrated” to the single life, as some seem to urge, to understand that where you are at any moment is your vocation.
 
What do you mean “he chose not to be a rabbi”? Was not a rabbi at the time of Christ a teacher to a group of disciples?
 
Actually He was a rabbi.

To be clearer, He was THE Rabbi. The Teacher.

Deacon Christopher
 
This is a very good question, it’s something our own vocations committee at our parish has talked about a lot.

Many people conflate “state in life” with “vocation.” And to those such persons, being single is something more transitory.

To others, they see their single life as the vocation that God desires for them.

I believe the answer is specific to the person in question.

Discerning your vocation is not really about “what do I want to do,” or “how do I see myself living my life,” although those are related to the finer question, “what does God want me to do?”

Personally, I would have been happy as a priest. I also would have been happy as a married man. But I am most content, most blessed, most happy – by doing what He wants of me, being a deacon – who also happens to be married.

Praying for all to hear the quiet voice of the Holy Spirit directing your vocation,
Deacon Christopher
 
Start said:
One of the Mary’s called Him rabbi.
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You nailed it - Mary Magdalene called Jesus “Rabboni!” John 20:16

The Apostle to the Apostles, and one of the women who stayed at the foot of the cross with our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ.

Deacon Christopher
 
One of the characteristics of “vocation” is permanence, which is why I dispute anyone who does not believe taking vows plays a role. Remember, a person who has done marriage vows may not enter priesthood (except in Eastern rites or certain protestant minister converts), and a priest may not marry without being released from his vows/promises through the laicization process. There is nothing canonically that prevents a single person from entering marriage or religious life.

And to be perfectly blunt, how often is “single as a vocation” used as an attempt to silence/“throw a bone” to those voicing frustration at not being able to find an appropriate spouse? Look for that tone even in posts here on CAF.
 
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Norseman82 said:
One of the characteristics of “vocation” is permanence, which is why I dispute anyone who does not believe taking vows plays a role. Remember, a person who has done marriage vows may not enter priesthood (except in Eastern rites or certain protestant minister converts), and a priest may not marry without being released from his vows/promises through the laicization process. There is nothing canonically that prevents a single person from entering marriage or religious life.
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This is consistent with what I read on the subject. Single life is a vocation when it’s consecrated to the Lord, such as consecrated virginity. But not a vocation if no promises were made or vows taken, leaving you free to marry or enter religious life in the future.
 
For most people it’s not a vocation. It’s just the default state. Can discerning be a vocation? No.

But for others who have chosen the single life over other paths, it is a vocation.

As for me, I chose being a chicken pigeon.

BokbokBAWK
 
Norseman82 said:
One of the characteristics of “vocation” is permanence, which is why I dispute anyone who does not believe taking vows plays a role.
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We can make a vows in private. The vow concerns essentially God and the person who makes the vow. To make a vows , there is no need to enter the priesthood or the religious life.
 
THANK YOU Cloisters!

Concern for the single person is close to my heart. This article states it so well; should be required reading for very Catholic.
when we become fixated on discerning our state in life, referred to in the Church as the primary vocation, “…we become so focused on the ranking of them, rather than looking at each day or the bigger picture and saying, here are all of these components of my life, now how am I called to live the promise of my baptism and of my life, and how do these things work together?”
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It is so true, that we must treat each day as our calling. It is in each moment of our lives that we encounter God and are alive to our vocation.
 
celibacy not chosen is not a vocation. I have always thought that the suffering of celibacy that we have not chosen is because we are still attached to the earth, and this is a sign of imperfection.
I did not read this article until the end because I found it too boring, avoiding asking the real questions. How is celibacy an obstacle to my holiness? what in my celibacy prevents me from practicing the virtues most perfectly possible? how would marriage or priesthood bring a solution to this? and so on…
 
For I would that all men were even as I myself.

But every man hath his proper gift of God, one after this manner, and another after that.

I say therefore to the unmarried and widows, it is good for them if they abide even as I.

But if they cannot contain, let them marry: for it is better to marry than to burn.
 
Crocus said:
THANK YOU Cloisters!

Concern for the single person is close to my heart. This article states it so well; should be required reading for very Catholic.
when we become fixated on discerning our state in life, referred to in the Church as the primary vocation, “…we become so focused on the ranking of them, rather than looking at each day or the bigger picture and saying, here are all of these components of my life, now how am I called to live the promise of my baptism and of my life, and how do these things work together?”
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I agree. That quote is salient! Finding your vocation requires the acceptance of all the components of your actual life.

If I felt a call to become a nun, but was forced to get married and have children instead then my vocation is marriage and motherhood. Even if I felt the sting of having not become a nun, God would still be calling me to pour myself into being wife and mother.

There are several women saints who went through just that experience. Their pathway to holiness flowed through their acceptance of their state in life and the aligning of their will to God’s will.
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