“Take my hands and make them as your own”

Some people realise that God’s call is not to marriage, but it is also not to religious/consecrated life or to the priesthood. They literally feel called to live a life of service in the single state.

Let’s get one thing clear, a call to the single life is as authentic a call as any of the other states of life, and should never be considered a bracket for people who do not fit anywhere else. Expressed in a variety of ways, the single life is a call at the service of God and His people.

Some single people put time and energy into a ministry to which they feel they are being asked to focus their efforts and often that involves their professional lives and just being present in a way others who have family and vocational commitments cannot be.

For some “singles” the call is to be a missionary and they share their life as lay people in the mission field. As a single person they have the time and freedom to devote months, years or a lifetime to such activites. Others work on social projects within their local community. For others still the call may be to some form of consecration in private vows, whether that be as a member of a third order, as an oblate or as a Consecrated Virgin.

Whatever the call, our relationship with God and others needs to be developed and nurtured as it is here we discover more of where God is calling us.