The Catholic Church recognizes three paths for how human beings can choose to live their life: marriage, religious life, and single life. Marriage, one of the most frequently chosen paths for knowing and expressing the love of God, is consecrated in the Catholic Church through the sacrament of matrimony. Ideally, marriage vows are regularly nurtured by the couple, and recognized yearly with anniversary celebrations.
The religious vocation includes priests who commit themselves to the church, and brothers and sisters who commit themselves to God in a religious community. For priests, their vows are consecrated in the church through the sacrament of ordination. Other religious make perpetual vows to God and their community on a yearly basis after years of discernment and preparation. Like married couples, religious members devote considerable time to nurturing their commitment to God, and they recognize their vows on a yearly basis with jubilee celebrations.
Unlike married and religious vocations, the single vocation does not have a special sacrament or yearly celebration. Often, the single vocation is disparaged as “left over” when marriage or religious life doesn’t work out. While the church acknowleges and is certainly concerned for the single vocation, rarely does the Catholic single vocation receive the attention, support and celebration that the other vocational paths receive. Even many Catholic Single groups and websites exist to help singles discern a religious vocation and/or to meet their future spouse, rather than celebrating and supporting the single vocation as a viable life choice.
In contrast, the purpose of this website is to celebrate and support the Catholic who has chosen the single vocation as the best and most joyful and fulfilling way to know and love God in the Catholic Church.
I am writing an article for Tobias Magazine, a magazine aimed at Catholic singles. It’s called “Singled Out,” and will address the difficulties faced by singles in a couples’ world. As you say, so many singles are focused on finding a life partner. I would love to include the perspective of the single vocation, which I agree is underrepresented and under-supported in the Church–and everywhere.
If you would be willing to speak with me, please contact me at ckbasi@yahoo.com. I’m working on a pretty tight deadline, so I hope to hear from you soon!
Thank you for your comments above. I feel left out sometimes because the Church seems to place a high value on marriage and family. I am not saying that is wrong, but it seems to forget about those of us who are single, never married and past the age where that is “acceptable”–I am in my late 40s.When I go to a women’s group, the talk is of children and grandchildren; I challenge them to talk of things I can relate to as well. Sometimes this is maddening, but I try to remember WHO I am here for and serve HIM.
The single life is chosen by some people, but mot all. There are some who have returned to the single state because we are widowed. We did not choose the single life, just the opposite. It was God who has asked this of us when our spouse died. It is by God’s grace that we accept this vocation.