We Need a Better Name for this Vocation (Part 1 of 2)

Often, when I do not understand why the Church does what is does, I discover a hidden wisdom later that makes me wonder why I made such a fuss.  This may indeed be one of those cases, but for now, I have a bone to pick with the English-speaking Church: words are important; we cannot keep calling one of the four vocations of the Church something as clunky as "The Generous Single Life in Christ." (Note 0)

A Very Brief Summary of the term "Vocation"

For those of you who are not Catholic, let me backup a bit.  Vocation in the Catholic Church has a specific theological meaning; it does not mean merely a career.  The word comes from the Latin vocare, meaning "to Call" (Lexico by Oxford).  In other words, a vocation is a calling from God.

Every Christian in the world has the same primary vocation: holiness.  This cannot be overemphasized, and deserves a blog article of its own.  However, when Catholics talk about "vocational discernment," they usually mean the four "secondary" vocations, which break down as follows:

A)  Consecrated and Religious Life

B) Holy Orders

C) Holy Matrimony

D) Generous Single Life in Christ

These can overlap a bit; for instance a married man can be called to be a permanent Deacon, while a Benedictine priest is called to both Religious Life and Holy Orders.  I couldn't find a good venn diagram to illustrate this, so I had to make one myself in Microsoft Paint.  Apologies in advance for most definitely not being a graphic designer.  You might need to scroll this way ---->

I could get tangled up in the finer points of this forever, but I don't want to get too much farther off topic.(Note 1)

What is meant by a Generous Single Life in Christ?

The Generous Single Life in Christ is not just a default state of being single while dating, or floating through life because one has not discerned any other vocation.  Like ALL other vocations, it is a "preordained" calling by God which involves a "permanent commitment" and "sacrifice" in order to "help others get to heaven" (Note 2).

However, of all the vocations, it is the one with the least written about it theologically.  Even The Catechism of the Catholic Church has only a few brief sentences on it (Note 3).  Google results are scanty; the best definition I found comes from the Diocese of Saginaw:

"Life as a single person can be a vocation from God! It is not simply reserved as the last "default" option, but the single life can be the way we serve God and one another.
The vocation to the single life is a vocation to generosity. Single women and men usually have more freedom than those in other vocations. They tend to have more time, energy, and sometimes money to give themselves in service of God and others. Single people can become examples of great service and generosity. Often it is single people who do so much to make things happen. The vocation to the single life is a gift to the Church!"

Okay, we've defined it.  In the next part, I will expound upon my issues with the name.

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Notes:

0) Throughout this article, I am talking about the common names of vocations in the English-speaking world.  While each has a specific theological meaning, the Generous Single Life in Christ does not appear to have a universally accepted term in English.  I don't know if this is the case in other languages.

1) After I first published this article, a friend corrected me that Religious Life is actually a subset of Consecrated Life.  Consecrated Life takes vows related to the apostolic councils (traditionally poverty, celibacy, and obedience, though it is a bit more complex than that).  Religious Life involves consecrated individuals who live in community.  Societies of Apostolic Life are difficult to categorize; they make promises rather than take vows, live in community like Religious, and often include ordained men.  Thus I put them spanning all three, but that might be incorrect.  Dr. Matson believes Secular Institutes are also difficult to categorize, but my research shows them firmly in the consecrated life. 

2) Most of my understanding of the four secondary vocations in the Church comes from Fr. Brett A. Brannen's excellent book To Save a Thousand Souls.  This paragraph quotes from him heavily, but the entire article is indebted to him.

3)  "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.'" (CCC 1658)