a lot of people are like oh yeah I'm
single but I'm looking right I'm talking
about a joy that comes in really being
single
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hey everybody welcome to ascension
presents my name is Jackie Francois
angel and I'm with my friend Kim zember
and today we're going to talk about
being joyfully single why did I bring
Kim because I am married and y'all
wouldn't believe me if I said hey being
single is awesome now listen before I
was married I was single for 20 29 years
and I was so joyful
I even had a video back then called the
ache of singlehood where I talked about
how it's possible but since people may
not believe me because I'm married now
they're like oh you're just saying that
remarried I brought my friend Kim who is
still single and very joyful right
I feel joyful yeah pretending no no it's
not for a 10-minute video now we want to
share a couple things about being single
and that number one it is absolutely
possible and normal to me
to be joyful while you're single
absolutely and and joyful well I'm while
you're single and not searching right
cuz I think that's the other thing is a
lot of people are like oh yeah I'm
single but I'm looking right I'm talking
about a joy that comes in really being
single where you are fulfilled you are
happy you are joyful right where you're
at and when you're joyful and you're
fulfilled you don't want to look
somewhere else and that's where I'm at
so yeah you're at a place where God
satisfies you he fulfills you and your
your longing for his will so if that's
marriage great if that's to be single I
mean so some people take vows of
celibacy obviously there's religious
brothers and sisters there's their
priests but I have a friend who she is a
missionary Maximilian Kolbe and she's
just serene taking a vow of celibacy so
it's I feel like when you're in this
transitional state you're not yet and
they're like a vocation of I've taken a
vow but you are still joyful even in
that like I don't know right well and I
think that's important too though
because even if I am called if the Lord
does have see because it's about a
calling right isn't about what I just
feel or want or what society's telling
me but what I'm called what I'm actually
called by God to and so for me if I'm
seeking Him above all things I can't go
wrong I'm not gonna miss his call on my
life if I am with him if I'm seeking him
if I'm seeking Him above all things even
above a vocation I'm seeking the heart
of God then all will come with that it
wants me to be married guess what I'm
with him he'll he'll open that up for me
if he wants me in the religious life
I'll be with him he'll show me that he's
not gonna keep me from the very thing he
called me to but I remember being single
and thinking that like Lord you could
take me now and my vocation is going to
be with you in heaven like I was really
content day to day because we're not
guaranteed 90 years of life now we don't
know yeah I mean I could die tomorrow
and and my I could be with God in heaven
and ever thinking when I was single kind
of in this space it's hard because
you're like I don't know where if I'm
gonna be married on though for like what
my call is necessarily so why is
possible in that space to really be
content in God absolutely and I think
really what happens I know what happened
in my life is we call ourselves because
we hear it so much in society we hear it
it's all around us our friends baby
showers all these things right and it's
beautiful that's a call but but are we
calling ourselves or are we being called
and responding to a call and and I do
not believe we can go wrong with
focusing our hearts our affections to
the Lord and when we do that like I said
he's gonna guide to that whatever it is
whatever that call might be but we'll
never go wrong giving our hearts fully
to the Lord and I would say leading into
kind of point number two everyone's
called to chastity which is just an
integration of body and soul and its
holiness its purity but in this state of
singleness every single person is called
to celibacy absolutely yeah so I will
say you what you said the the culture
says that you will only be happy if you
are in a romantic relationship and if
you're having sex
basically because even for me when Bobby
and I were or any relationship I had
people like you're not having sex you're
not you're not living together and it's
like no and they're like what it's
you're it's impossible you're a unicorn
part of being a Catholic single person
and striving for holiness is saying that
intimacy does not equal sex know that
you are called to intimacy with God so
absolutely yeah I mean if intimacy was
physical then how am I gonna be intimate
with Christ like I'm sorry but no if
that's besides the Eucharist what I'm
sorry bro yeah like in the physical way
we see physical intimacy with it with a
cart nerve right yes and so
in that yeah so in that like we're
called to an intimacy to where God knows
me already right do I know his heart
there is a component of when you are
single you can focus solely on the Lord
seat Paul says us in 1st Corinthians
chapter 7 he talks about he it's a good
thing to have this undivided when you
were single you can you can solely focus
on God yep and have an undivided heart
and I'm able to do that though I love
coming and visiting families and all of
that I have the freedom when my heart is
fully with the Lord to be with him
however he's calling whether that be a
daily Mass whether that be in the
mission field whether whatever it is I'm
a free agent for him right like I don't
have to I'm not answering to someone
else and that's not just oh this freedom
know about my heart to God right like I
I I look to him and he guides me in that
and that's who I'm accountable to that's
who I'm responsible to right and so
there's a beauty and again it comes back
to a calling what are you called to well
I don't know if we really know our
calling unless we get with the one who
is calling us right
like in that are we really spending time
with the Lord and when we do all that
starts coming I will say to you know if
somebody said oh you're taking a vow of
chastity or you know if you're gonna
live this single life you're gonna be
chased out of been like oh right I was
seeking the heart of God right I now
desire I desire this because he is
fulfilling me in ways that I used to be
fulfilled in physical intimacy right and
so now I'm finding a new intimacy with
Christ and I desire celibacy I that
those words I never thought would come
out of my mouth right so like but it was
because I was seeking the heart of God I
wasn't seeking celibacy I was seeking
him and from that has continued to come
a life of more holiness really now some
of you watching this are called to
marriage and so you're in the state of
singleness where you still yearn for
marriage now some of you watching this
could be called to a life of singlehood
and and maybe you're like content in
your singlehood no matter what we hope
you glean from this like whatever state
you're in that again it is possible to
have this joy that only comes from God
because the world will tell you it comes
from all these other things it comes
money and sex and Status popularity all
the stuff but the truth is that only God
that that joy comes from God
oh well absolutely and it's not fleeting
right it will not like you said if I die
today I have a joy my joy is with the
Lord so whether I'm here on earth
whether whether I'm you know in heaven
with the Lord
I might joy is with him so yeah and
lastly you you pray Ephesians chapter 6
over yourself so explain yet so
Ephesians 6 it starts with the helmet of
salvation which i think is so important
because it's our mind right like what
comes in as a thought is usually what's
gonna then become an action and so if
fusion six is putting on the helmet of
salvation to think of the things of
heaven that is eternal not of the things
of this earth right and and even back to
that marriage is beautiful absolutely
it's a call but in Scripture right it
also says that you will have no husband
you will have no wife in heaven right
you will not be married in heaven if
you're like oh my gosh yeah
no to God exactly so I'm kinda the
bridegroom we are the we the Church of
the bride exactly and so I I think if
you're in a state of man I I have this
desire for the married life or I have
the desire for the celibate religious
life or I don't really know enjoy the
life of singleness where your heart can
be in his hands he will mold it he will
fashion it and and and there will be a
joy and a fulfillment that you will
never even be able to touch outside of
his hands in his heart so there's
there's such there's there's so much
missing when we try to call ourselves to
something when God's already got it
planned and so you can never go wrong
seeking his heart amen amen
thank you guys if there are any comments
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it is possible to be joyful and single
we'll see you next time thanks for
watching us at ascension presents
you
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