Origin of various vocations

[moonlight87]

I am very much interested in different vocations within consecrated life.
I read that for woman, this includes:

• Consecrated lay (as a consecrated virgin or by public vows within a secular institute);
• religious life;
• mission.

I was wondering, if anyone knows anything about a calling to mission. I never heard of this as a calling on its own. I thought it was just a calling within religious life, just like one can have a calling to become a contemplative sister.

Also, one day I was discussing with a friend of mine, if the concept of consecrated lay life also applied to for example Mary of Magdalene? It is for sure that at some point in her life, she was totally dedicated to Christ but I wonder if she has undergone some sort of consecration.

 

[nunsuch]

There are many missionary opportunities for laypeople, outside of religious life. For example, many who are Associates of religious communities serve as missionaries. There is the VERY large and well-established Maryknoll Lay Missioner program: mklm.org/ And some groups offer people short-term opportunities to serve as missionaries, such as the Jesuit Volunteer Corps. And there are both domestic and international missioners, of course.

The point is that there are a lot of different ways to serve. You may even want to check out an “oldie but goodie” anthology of missioners’ autobiographical essays, which includes a few by lay missioners: “Why I Became a Missioner,” edited by Father George L. Kane. He also edited another anthology of first-person accounts, called “Lay Workers for Christ.”

 

[moonlight87]

Thanks a lot for the provided information.