 Thomas Merton became a Trappist monk, was ordained a priest, and lived for a time in a hermitage on the monastery grounds.Since the Second Vatican Council, it has become more popular to consider committed single life, marriage, parenthood, and many other services as "lay" vocations, since each also requires a commitment to Christian faith and practice.For women, vocational discernment would consist of feeling called to marriage, the life of a religious sister or nun, a consecrated member of a Secular Institute, a hermit, or a Consecrated Virgin.