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This is something I found today after having Alle speak at our Theology on Tap event.
The Sacred Single Life:
“For I know well the plans I have in mind for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare, not for woe! Plans to give you a future full of hope.” Jeremiah 29:11
The sacred single life is the vocation, I believe, most of us struggle with accepting. The proverbial phrase “the grass is greener on the other side” always seems to be a constant thought, that those who are married or who have found a vocation in the religious life or priesthood have it all. Or, at least they seem to have that one duck in a row that we all desire to have. Believe it or not, the sacred single life is just as beautiful and rewarding when we take a step back and look at what God is asking of us in this time of preparation.
How often are we able to drop everything we are doing to help another? How often are we able to change our plans on a whim because a great opportunity has come up? How many of us can say that our time is ours? Many of us value and appreciate these blessings in our life and yet we at times desire to wish them away for what we believe is better. Have you ever stopped to think that God has placed you exactly where He needs you to accomplish His divine will, instead of wondering why He hasn’t provided this or that? We have been given a great gift of freedom, but with that freedom we are also called to responsibility. Our role in the church is vital. We are called to live a life of virtue, holiness, and sacrifice in a unique way. We are called to give back what has been given to us.
Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, the man of the beatitudes, is a wonderful example of a young, single man living out the call to holiness. Instead of sitting and wondering the “what if’s” of life or dwelling on what will or might come, he stood up and took action. With the great gift of freedom he was given he served the poor, and brought Christ to those who were so desperately in need of love. Are we doing the same?
- Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
- Blessed are the meek: for they shall posses the land.
- Blessed are they who mourn: for they shall be comforted.
- Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after justice: for they shall have their fill
- Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
- Blessed are the clean of heart: for they shall see God.
- Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
- Blessed are they that suffer persecution for justice' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Until we open our hearts and accept the will of God in our lives, we will not find true joy and fulfillment. The single life is a time of preparation, a time of waiting in hope for God’s will to continually be revealed. Most of us will be called to marriage or to a religious vocation, but there are those who will be called to a live a life of perpetual singlehood. Nonetheless, this gift we have been given whether short or long must not be ignored. How are we actively preparing and discerning God’s will?
We all desire to be loved. We were made to love and be loved. It is very easy to think that the desire to be loved is to be fulfilled by another, instead of the One who is LOVE. Christ desires to be the one to charm our hearts. Are we letting Him? Are we open to God’s love and His specific call to holiness for us?
As we continue to pray and train for Race for Vocations let us keep in mind that God has great plans for us, plans for our welfare not for woe. Plans to gives us a future full of great Hope!
- Alle Owens
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