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In this episode we interview Rome Bureau Chief,
Joan Lewis
1 Corinthians 7: 32-35: 32 I would like
you to be free from concern. An unmarried man is concerned
about the Lord’s affairs - how he can please the Lord. 33 But
a married man is concerned about the affairs of this world -
how he can please his wife - 34 and his interests are
divided. An unmarried woman or virgin is concerned about the
Lord’s affairs: Her aim is to be devoted to the Lord in both
body and spirit. But a married woman is concerned about the
affairs of this world - how she can please her husband. 35 I
am saying this for your own good, not to restrict you, but
that you may live in a right way in undivided devotion to the
Lord.
Catechism of the Catholic Church: 1658 We
must also remember the great number of single persons who,
because of the particular circumstances in which they have to
live - often not of their choosing - are especially close to
Jesus' heart and therefore deserve the special affection and
active solicitude of the Church, especially of pastors. Many
remain without a human family often due to conditions of
poverty. Some live their situation in the spirit of the
Beatitudes, serving God and neighbor in exemplary fashion. The
doors of homes, the "domestic churches," and of the great
family which is the Church must be open to all of them. "No
one is without a family in this world: the Church is a home
and family for everyone, especially those who 'labor and are
heavy laden.'"170
Tips on Discernment: When God calls
someone to a particular mission, he gives the desire, the
ability, and the opportunity. One’s desires are not
necessarily in conflict with God’s will; in fact, it is
precisely through those desires that God may be revealing his
will.
In John 1, the following account clarifies discernment. These
two disciples wanted to have a conversation with Jesus on the
road to figure out if they should be with him. But Jesus tells
them simply to come and see. Sometimes we have all the
information we are going to get through thinking and talking,
and are at the point where we simply have to keep walking, and
get more clarity through the experience of “trying out” a
particular way of life.
35 The next day John was there again with two of his
disciples. 36 When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look,
the Lamb of God!”
37 When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed
Jesus. 38 Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked,
“What do you want?” They said, “Rabbi” (which means
Teacher), “where are you staying?” 39 “Come,” he replied, “and
you will see.” So they went and saw where he was staying, and
spent that day with him. It was about the tenth hour.
Two other points to keep in mind:
→God will deal with us in a similar pattern as he has
done in the past. In other words, when trying to make a
difficult decision, think about how God has made clear the
right decision in the past.
→ If you feel called to marriage, that is a normal
aspect of our human nature. The mere desire for it doesn’t
mean that is your call. But if you feel you may be called to
religious life, presume that you are, because it requires a
special grace to feel the attraction to that.
Pope John Paul II Letter to Women states:
Thank you, women who work! You are
present and active in every area of life-social, economic,
cultural, artistic and political. In this way you make an
indispensable contribution to the growth of a culture which
unites reason and feeling, to a model of life ever open to the
sense of "mystery", to the establishment of economic and
political structures ever more worthy of humanity.
Thank you, consecrated women! Following
the example of the greatest of women, the Mother of Jesus
Christ, the Incarnate Word, you open yourselves with obedience
and fidelity to the gift of God's love. You help the Church
and all mankind to experience a "spousal" relationship to God,
one which magnificently expresses the fellowship which God
wishes to establish with his creatures.
Thank you, every woman, for the simple
fact of being a woman! Through the insight which is so much a
part of your womanhood you enrich the world's understanding
and help to make human relations more honest and authentic.
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