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| Image Credit by Gaetano Esposito |
About that Name
So now that we've defined the vocation briefly, let's talk about the name "Generous Single Life in Christ." First, I must fess up that this term is not used universally. Many just call it "the single life." (Note 1) This is even worse, because it could apply to literally anyone unmarried.
The advantage of using "The Generous Single Life in Christ" is that it is clear that it is a vocation. It is called "generous" to distinguish it from a selfish life lived for oneself. It is "in Christ" to distinguish it from the generous life of the virtuous nonbeliever. However, there are some problems with the longer term.
1) It is not specific to this vocation: All vocations are "generous" and "in Christ." We need something more specific, which still maintaining the clarity that it is a vocation.
2) It is too long: There is a reason most people shorten "Generous Single Life in Christ" to "single life" or "single Catholics." As previously discussed, these terms could also apply to those who are single while they are discerning the other vocations, rather than those committed to the single life. If writers are shortening it to the point it loses its descriptiveness, we need something more concise.
3) It is not poetic: The term "Holy Orders" rolls off the tongue. It has an almost militant sound to it, like soldiers flowing across the battlefield. We need something more poetic
"Holy Matrimony," you'll notice, is the best name by the above criteria. It is specific to its own vocation, concise, poetic, and clear that it is a vocation. Perfection!
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| Or, Pewfection! |
Diving Far Beyond my Authority or Skill
Coming up with a new name would probably require someone more educated in both philology and theology than myself. I wish I could put J.R.R Tolkien on the job, but he'll have to help merely through prayer. |
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I doubt I can come up with a term that is specific to this vocation, concise, poetic, and clearly a vocational term, but I would like one that has at least three of the four. Here are my ideas so far.
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A) The Generative Life: According to Lexico, the word generous and the word generative have the same latin root "gener-" meaning "stock or race." Generous came about due to the associations of magnaminty with noble stock or birth, while generative comes from said roots association with "to beget." I think this rolls off the tongue nicely, suggesting the fruit we will bear if we are rooted in the vine of Christ (John 15:5). However, the problem is the need to be rooted in Christ applies to all vocations. | Pros: concise, poetic, vocational | Cons: Not specific
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B) The Baccalaureate Life: Lexico says that the term bachelor comes from the Old French bacheler "of uncertain origin." A dead end. But then I decided to look up this fancy pants term for a bachelor's degree, and determined it has a much more interesting origin. "Mid 17th century (in baccalaureate (sense 2 of the noun)): from French baccalauréat or medieval Latin baccalaureatus, from baccalaureus ‘bachelor’. The earlier form baccalarius was altered by wordplay to conform with bacca lauri ‘laurel berry’, because of the laurels awarded to scholars." I like this. It suggests the final crown won by those who persevere in Christ, while also suggesting singlehood. However, has too much of an association with college life, which in turn has an association with wild parties and mortal sin rather than holiness in our society. Still, we could try to reclaim the term. | Pros: poetic | Cons: not specific | Unsure: vocational sounding? short?
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C) The Heeled Life: Okay, this one was a lexical journey. I was thinking about how the single life allows one to be be more flexible in filling needs that might otherwise be missed. That led me to the root words for flexible to bend to bond to servant to slave. All of them were dead ends. Then I thought how filling missing needs is like the the caulk in a ship, humbly filling in the cracks so the whole thing stays afloat. I looked up the word "caulk" and by a very meandering path (through a bizarre interlude where it referred to the "copulation of birds") it comes from the French calx or "heel." I like this because it expresses the following at Christ's heels and suggests a profound pun (we are healed). However, I am forced to admit I am too pleased with its cleverness for it to really be clever. | Pros: concise, vocational | Cons: not specific, too wrought
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| Rangers of the North in the Wilderness by Wouter Florusse |
D) Holy Wandering: When Tolkien wrote "Not all who wander are lost," he was not referring to a wealthy college grad backpacking across Europe, but to a king who wandered the wilderness killing demons to protect subjects who hated him. I like this one, but mainly because it makes me think of the Lord of the Rings. | Pros: poetic, concise | Cons: not specific | Unsure: vocational sounding?
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| The Miracle of St. Zita by Bernardo Strozzi |
E) Committed Lay Single: I was determined come up with at least one specific term. This is not very poetic, but it does say it all. One is a member of the laity (i.e. not the clergy or religious life), single, and committed to a vocation. It is not short, but it is shorter than "Generous Single Life in Christ." | Pros: specific, vocational sounding | Cons: not poetic | Unsure: short?
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F) Dedicated Single Life: I did not come up with this one. I discovered after first publishing this article I may be operating under a slightly incorrect starting premise. When I ran it by a friend for review, the good doctor had never heard the term "Generous Single Life in Christ" but had always heard "Dedicated Single Life." I did indeed find some formal acceptance of the term, but not universal acceptance. Thus I think the conversation still needs to be had. | Pros: specific, vocational sounding | Cons: too long | Not sure: Poetic? (Note 2)
Well, that's enough for now. Feel free to add your own in the comments below. Maybe if we find the right one, it will start to be used more frequently, and thus this very important vocation will get the attention it needs.
Or alternatively, maybe Generous Single Life in Christ is just fine; an aspiring yet unpretentious term for a a humble calling.
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Notes:
1) 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.
2) I am also a bit partial to this one, because it reminds me of the Aiel in The Wheel of Time series. "Aiel" in the fictional language of that world translates to "The Dedicated." (Plus they had a society of women who swear not the mary in favor of being married to war.)
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