Single and Catholic: A Book Review

In one of my impromptu visits to my local bookstore, I stumbled about a little gem titled Single and Catholic by Judy Keane. You see, every so often, I get asked, “do you have a boyfriend?” “What are you waiting for?” “Maybe you’re too picky,” and so forth. Maybe you can relate to that?

I’ve learned that there is nothing I can say to make the questions stop, so I hoped to find the proper answer when I found Keane’s. The book explicitly targeting Catholics made it even better. I amazed myself at how quickly I finished reading it; I could not put it down. 

Its Content

Ms. Keane covered various topics on catholic singles, such as our duty to defend life, resisting the hookup culture, and perks of being single in the new evangelization movement; furthermore, the book sporadically reminds us that one’s state of life does not take away God’s graces!

The book was a gentle nudge in the right direction to not fall into despair despite being bombarded with “relationship goals” posts on social media and movies. I get it, having a partner who is your best friend, lover, supporter, and more all wrapped up in one human being sounds lovely, but we often forget that being in a relationship is demanding!

Sure, being in a relationship is nice, but it is also essential to come to terms with who you are and what you can offer the rest of the world. To refer back to Ms. Keane’s book, being single leaves open the possibility to bring others to Christ in ways that a married person cannot, which is so true!

For example, as a single person, you have more flexibility in your schedule to attend events across the globe, join as many organizations as you want, and even stay out all night in adoration if you so wished. While it is not impossible, it certainly harder to do when you are emotionally invested in another person, especially if you are young.

The Many Perks of Being Single

There are many advantages to being single, as there are with any other vocation, of course. But I mention this because Ms. Keane’s book focused quite a bit on the feeling of loneliness that might come from being single.  

As someone who daydreams of having ten children in the near future without any signs of having even a boyfriend soon, I know that I am far from being lonely. 

I love being single! I’ve had so much time to think about God’s love and mercy, and I’ve learned a lot about myself. I know there are many things I need to work on before uniting myself with someone else. I know that I want to help my partner grow in his faith in a relationship, but first, I need to solidify my relationship with Jesus. 

Furthermore, being single allows me to spend quality time with my family and friends! I love them all very much, and after realizing how blessed I am to have wonderful people in my life, I have less of a need to find love and acceptance elsewhere. I pray that everyone joyfully skips to their nearby parish to encounter the Lord’s love and then heads home for a hug from their loved ones! 

Side note: As I’m writing this, I can’t help but sing Tori Kelly’s song Dear No One!

Take away the soulmate part, and I’d proudly wear it on a T-shirt. (Not really, though, because I’m not a fan of t-shirts, but you get the point).

Being Single Does NOT Mean Being Lonely

If you fall under the lonely and desperate group of singles, know that I am praying for you to find peace and comfort in your current state of life. The right lady/man will come into your life if God so wills it. 

In the meantime, live every minute of your single life proudly in the name of Jesus Christ! There are so many things you could be doing as a child of God besides worrying about when and where you’ll meet your future spouse. Like Keane said, “you are not a single person waiting for what comes next; you are following after Christ on the narrow way and are becoming greater than you could have ever imagined” (p. 70).

I’d agree with you if you said that this is the worst book review ever! There is so much I want to say that I don’t even know how to organize my thoughts. 

Anyway, I highly recommend that you read Judy Keane’s book Single and Catholic if you need a pick-me-up kind of book to counter our culture’s demands.