Customer Reviews

Celebrating the Single Life

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This is one of the best spiritual books I have ever read. Susan Muto is not only theologically learned, but she also writes from experience as a single, celibate laywoman living her vocation in the world. Muto cogently defends the place of singleness in Christianity and elucidates the single life as a calling just as noble, spiritual, honorable, and apostolically productive as marriage, the priesthood and diaconate, and the religious life.

Reading this book truly changed my life. I knew that I wasn't called to marriage, and I was starting to have doubts about my possible callings to the priesthood and/or the religious life. I had given some thought to the single life, but I had a limited understanding of it. This book opened my eyes and made me realize that this way of life really is for me. I continue to re-read parts of it for continued enlightenment and inspiration. It gave me a road map for my celibacy and growth in Christian charity.

In addition to the important theological context that Muto provides, she offers a mainly practical take on lay celibacy, explaining precisely what celibate love for one's sisters and brothers in the human family entails and offering important advice such as a single's exercising both love and "forgetfulness" with people in order to avoid excessively close friendships that may antagonize others. She offers great ideas such as conversing with Jesus while going about one's work. She includes chapters on those who are single by circumstance and single parents. In addition, there is an insightful introduction by Muto's frequent collaborator, the late Father Adrian van Kaam, himself a brilliant spiritual writer.

Though Muto writes from a Catholic perspective, her wisdom is thoroughly applicable for celibate lay people of any Christian tradition. Even non-Christian celibates will find much of relevance to their lives within these pages. If you are a single person of religious faith and even remotely considering embracing celibacy or are unhappy with your single state and struggling to cope, you must read this excellent book.