Single and Blessed

“Dalagang ulay. Old maid. Nalipasan ng panahon. Pilian.”

Have you ever heard these words being said of someone or of you? Men are also called “ulitawong guwang” but not as much as women who are usually the object of ridicule. Not all unmarried individuals, however, are single by circumstances. Some are single by choice. Others could be members of secular institutes.

So, what are secular institutes? The 1983 Code of Canon Law states: “A secular institute is an institute of consecrated life in which the Christian faithful living in the world strive for perfection of charity and work for the sanctification of the world especially from within (Canon 710).”

Every man’s vocation is a life lived in holiness. Some are called to marriage. Husbands and wives help each other to attain holiness. Others are called to seek holiness in the priesthood or the religious life. But not everyone is called to marriage or the priesthood or the religious life.

A secular institute is different from the Religious life. Members of a Religious life profess poverty, chastity and obedience in their Community. Lay persons can live out that same consecration by seeking to make sacred the secular world in which they live and work. These means that single laymen and laywomen consecrate their lives wholly to God without leaving their home, profession, or parish. Both the Religious life and secular institutes have given their lives to God in service of his Church but distinct from one another by rule and application.

Vatican Council II states that “Secular Institutes, although not religious institutes, do at the same time involve true and full profession of the evangelical counsels in the world and are recognized by the Church. This profession confers a consecration on people living in the world, lay men and women, and clerics.”

By consecrating one’s life to the evangelical counsels, single laypersons can work to change this world from within by example and service to others. In the words of Pope Paul VI they can be a transforming presence in the world in order to mold, perfect and sanctify it by sharing the Good News of God’s love for all peoples with others.

“Dalagang ulay” or “ulitawong guwang” you are but single and blessed you could be. If you feel that the secular institute is the vocation for you, you can research online or join the Mary’s Little Children Community. You may email this writer at nenaquijano@yahoo.com or text 09424656893 for more information. (Nena Quijano)