Reflections on Being Called

I'm (again) in the middle of many books! The two dominant ones are Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston and The Cloister Walk by Kathleen Norris.

The Cloister Walk is fascinating, with the author's Protestant faithful perspective on the liturgy of the hours and monastic living. She seems more catholic than she lets on! She discusses the saints and humanity in beautiful language, and what she says speaks to me in unexpected ways. Here's one example, from a discussion of Jeremiah:

"All of us, I suspect, have times when we're made to suffer simply for being who and what we are, and we become adept at inventing means of escape. ... Jeremiah reminded me that the pain that comes from one's identity, that grows out of the response to a call, can't be escaped or pushed aside. It must be gone through. He led me into that heart of pain, forcing me to recognize that to answer a call as a prophet, or a poet for that matter, is to reject the authority of credentials, of human valuation of any kind, accepting only the authority of the call itself." (p.38)

A few pages later:
"Walter Brueggeman, in a book on the prophets entitled Hopeful Imagination, suggests that 'a sense of call in our time is profoundly countercultural,' and notes that 'the ideology of our time is that we can live "an uncalled life," one not referred to any purpose beyond one's self.' I suspect that this idol of the autonomous, uncalled life has a shadow side that demands that we resist the notion that another might be different, might indeed experience a call. Our idol of the autonomous individual is a sham; the truth is we expect everyone to be the same, and dismiss as elitist those who are working through a call to any genuine vocation. It may be that our culture so fears the necessary other that it has grown unable to identify and name real differences without becoming defensive about them."

These words speak to my own internal struggles with a vocation and how it is perceived. All of us know that choosing religious life is countercultural--who else gives up sex, money, and power? But, of course, there's more to it than that. In my heart, there is the knowledge that if I don't listen to this calling, even if it leads me back to where I started, I will not be happy. I will not be at peace with myself and with God. Despite any hardships that listening to the call might bring.

Responsibility

I had an interesting encounter with a student yesterday, who seems to think that all single people are by definition selfish. She implied that there is nothing that she (as a married woman) can learn from single people in her church.

I started to wonder how deep that stereotype really is. Do most people think that single people are selfish and promiscuous? Our society has been harmed by sitcoms that glorify single life as one endless stream of meaningless sexual encounters. So where does that leave all of us who are faithfully single and celibate? For many that is a temporary state, but many others today have embraced it as relatively permanent and a meaningful way to live in the world.

It's no wonder that the church has been slow to recognize the needs of single people in their parishes. Especially if the stereotype is incompatible with Christian moral values.

So what can a married woman learn from the single people around her? She can witness the time and talent that person can contribute to society because she does not have children and household to take care of. She can take advantage of the services that a single person might be able to offer the parish that others cannot--babysitting, or leading bible studies, or serving donuts and coffee after mass.

On the other side, I think that being single in the church reminds me that there are lonely people who have needs that are not met. It also shows me the value of family life--something that I miss greatly, as I live far from my own family.

I wish that the families and couples in parishes could recognize that single life for most Catholics is not about sex and freedom from responsibility: it's about living out the life Christ has called us to, to love and serve God in all things! That is a heavy responsibility.