Single by Vocation

Single by Vocation | Jim Graves | Catholic World Report

Those who remain single are able serve their families, communities, and the Church in unique and varied ways.

The unmarried man gives his mind to the Lord’s affairs and how he can please the Lord; but the man who is married gives his mind to the affairs of this world and to how he can please his wife, and he is divided in mind. So, too, the unmarried woman, and the virgin, gives her mind to the Lord’s affairs and to being holy in body and spirit; but the married woman gives her mind to the affairs of this world and to how she can please her husband.” 1 Corinthians 7: 32-34

In a November 1, 2010 letter, Archbishop Robert Carlson of St. Louis offered encouragement to lay men and women of his archdiocese who choose to remain single in order to make themselves available for prayer and apostolic work. In the letter he said, “Single men and women who have given themselves wholeheartedly to Christ…bind themselves to the service of others, and they participate directly in the Church’s mission and share themselves intimately with those who walk with them on the journey to Christ’s kingdom.”

Archbishop Carlson continued, “They discern God’s will for themselves through prayer, spiritual reading, and retreats. They commit to their families—parents, siblings, and extended family members. They partner with friends, co-workers, fellow parishioners, neighbors, and all whom they encounter in seeking to make our world a better place.”

Not "leftover"

For 60-year-old Sara (who declined to give her last name), a St. Louis resident who works in the health care industry, being a dedicated single gives her an opportunity “to enrich the Church and serve others in need.”

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