Posted on 05/27/2015 5:42:38 AM PDT by Salvation
Paul wasn't talking about vows, either.
I just read a quote from one of the Pope’s that you can obtain holiness what ever your vocation in life is.Our Lady of Fatima said you can be Holy what ever your vocation in life is.I could go on and on.This is basic stuff.
He was talking about a permanent commitment to celibacy and not just a temporary status.
I’ve met and talked with a consecrated virgin. She took vows. She belongs to a community although I think she lives alone. She is very happy.
I think I understand what Msgr. Pope means. It’s one thing to have an active vocation, to which one commits by vow or marriage covenant; another to simply accept that God decided you should be alone, and passively accept His Will for you. Being alone can be a cross- sometimes like Jesus in the Garden; yet it gives the opportunity to serve God with the freedom that would not exist if there were a spouse or family to care for. Daily Mass, prayer groups, even something as simple as washing altar linens, can be something important to do, and it eases some of the loneliness and gives one time with Jesus. Msgr. isn’t minimizing this: he’s simply stating that, again, it doesn’t involve a vow or commitment, as the other lives do.
This is a very sensitive subject for many. And let me be clear, I agree with the article.
However, there are many who are never going to be married, and are tired of having to explain it.
Why do you agree with article?
For many reasons.
While I am a Lutheran, and hence have a different philosophy of what “vocation” means, in the Catholic sense Msgr is correct. There is no vocation where there is no vows before God.
As a Lutheran, to speak of a “vocation to the single life” is rather odd. I know of many who have said so, until they met a new object of their affection. I know of many who claim said vocation out of pain and suffering for some sort of event. The are using the phrase to either rationalize the pain, or cover it up.
I know of few who are really called to a vocation that precludes a family. A few pastors, a handful of missionaries, and a person who has dedicated their life in service to God. None of them state it as “I have a vocation to the single life!” but as “I am called (vocation) to do X”. Being single may be a part of that calling, but it isn’t the calling.
That doesn’t mean those who, for whatever reason, are not married should be shunned. Many churches put heavy burdens on those who are single with out realizing it. There are many support functions and out reaches for families, there are few for those who are single. Part of the reason is the ever present fear of lawsuits (which is why you don’t see the singles groups you used to at churches any more). Some of it is that they are easier to forget. An old pastor of mine made a special point to set up Bible studies and events for single adults. Not as a “mixer”, but as a way to say “We view you as valued members of the Church and our family”.
Thanks redgolum.Whats up with the lawsuits?
Having said that I find marriage (especially today) to be a terrifying prospect for a multitude of reasons. As others have pointed out here it is a risk. I'm in my mid-30's so I guess I can be counted as one of the younger generation whose given up on it for all of the secular reasons mentioned.
I won't deny that there is a certain misanthropic/misogynistic quality to my thinking, but marriage is also a calling (like parenthood) and personally, I don't want to be entrusted with the care of another person's soul.
But life is not over yet. We'll see what God has in store. Which is why single life is no vocation.
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