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States in life (OSV Encyc. 1997)
'State in life' in secular language usually refers to the type of job or work each person has, and to whether or not he or she is married or single, etc. For a Christian the term should have a much richer meaning, for it implies a position in life which a person holds not by accident or even by simple personal preference, but essentially by a divine choice, within a plan of love drawn up by God.
In the early Church the conviction was universal that to be a Christian was to be called to holiness, and that this was to be achieved there wherever each one was already living and working: "Every one should remain in the state in which he was called" (1 Cor 7:20).
The Second Vatican Council has wished to restore this sense of the fullness of the call to holiness within ordinary life. "This holiness of the Church is expressed in many ways by the individuals who, each in his or her own state of life, tend to the perfection of love, thus sanctifying others... All Christians in any state or walk of life are called to the fullness of christian life and to the perfection of love" (LG 40). Marriage, "the state of life that is sanctified by a special sacrament", is specially noted as a way of life that should lead to holiness for the spouses, for their children, and for those around them (LG 35).