Today I came across this great article from Christine Whelan over at BustedHalo.com that I thought was worth sharing. I also get this question quite often, “Can being single be a Vocation?” It’s a tough one to answer!
For many of us “vocation” sounds so permanent, and not everyone who is single wants to be single forever. Our vocation is the place to which God calls us. Not all unmarried people are called to the single life. Many people find themselves open to the possibility of marriage or religious life and remain single while waiting for their true vocation to unfold. But there are others who find that single life becomes their vocation, when they recognize that God is using their single lives as a source of joy, fulfillment, and love for others.
It is essential that all of us listen for that call from God, and live our lives with a vocation mindset. Our vocation invites us to respond to God’s call with a sense of purpose, an intention of commitment, and a desire to love others. Who are you purposefully in love with and what are you intentionally committed to? And how does being married or single fit into that picture?
Perhaps we should also ask, “how am I serving God and loving others at every stage of life?” whether I am single, dating, married, ordained, vowed religious, separated, divorced, celibate, widowed, or dying. Ultimately, our vocation is to love God with our whole lives and throughout our entire life.
You may also want to check out this great article from The Michigan Catholic or this description of the single life from the Diocese of Green Bay.
Can being single be your vocation?
Beth M. Knobbe 