Everyone has a God-given vocation. Yet, not everyone realizes their calling.
When the Lord created you, He envisioned a beautiful path for your life—a way for you to bring His love into the world and serve Him in building up His Church. For many, this vocation is marriage. For a few, it is religious life or the priesthood. Others are called to a vocation that is often overlooked or misunderstood—the most hidden of all: the Generous Single Life.
It might be hard to grasp that this is a vocation. After all, don’t we all start out single? There is no sacrament that confers this vocation upon us, like Marriage or Holy Orders. There is no ceremony where we make vows, as in religious life. Still, simply “being single” is not the same as living the vocation of the Generous Single Life.
Remember: a vocation is a call from the Lord to live in a particular way for the building up of His Church. He invites each of us to a specific way of life because He is counting on the fact that we, and only we, can fulfill a particular need of His people. Our vocation is how we are meant to contribute to His mission of salvation.
Primarily, married people are dedicated to their spouses and children, priests provide sacramental care for their congregations, and religious serve the apostolates and ministries of their communities. Each of these three vocations is focused on individual persons and their needs.
But what about everyone else? Who takes on the broader concerns of the Church? Who is available to give of themselves to assist the faithful with the myriad of needs that might otherwise go unmet?
This is where the vocation of the Generous Single Life comes in.
God entrusts certain individuals with the responsibility of building up His Church by giving of themselves continually to the whole community, rather than focusing on particular individuals or ministries. These people are often freer and more flexible than those in other vocations, making repeated offerings of their time, talent, and treasure to assist the whole parish, diocese, or people of God. They may be more available to serve in parochial leadership roles or ministries, contribute more of their income to helping the needy, or dedicate their lives to a particular ministry or work. They may regularly volunteer, tirelessly advocate for those in distress, or take on jobs that those supporting a family could not afford to accept. Some may become part-time caretakers for family members or friends. There is no limit to the type of work that those in this vocation can undertake—all for the glory of God and the sanctification of their neighbor. And often, they are able to do it in ways that no one in the other vocations can.
Generosity is the key to this vocation, which is why we always emphasize the term Generous Single Life. Without generosity, one is not living any vocation. A “bachelor lifestyle” has nothing to do with this particular call from the Lord.
Not everyone called to the Generous Single Life desires this vocation. Many, perhaps most, hope for a partner in marriage, ordination to the priesthood, or community life in a religious order. For some, this vocation is temporary—lived before entering another vocation or after a spouse dies—but it can also be a permanent calling. It is important to remember: that the Lord calls us not where we desire to be, but where we are most needed in His divine plan.
A vocation to the Generous Single Life may not always be widely recognized, but it is essential to the mission of the Church. Without the selfless charity of those called to this vocation, the Church could not fully carry out her mission of bringing the Gospel to the world.
By Father Jeffrey Ellis
Diocesan Vocations Director